Happy Adventing!

We’ve all seen them. You know, those beautiful Christmas decorations that have been up in the mall and in stores since before Halloween. And I must say … when I was in Atlanta the week before Thanksgiving the CNN Center had the most gorgeous display of extra-large ornaments hanging from their ceiling … a truly breathtaking sight.

Yea, I guess I get it … Christmas is a HUGE money maker for businesses and they want us to get in the “spirit” as early as possible in hopes that we spend more money. But as I shopped in a clothing store about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, it was all I could do to deal with the Christmas carols blaring on the store’s sound system. Seriously, I felt nauseous. And last week (BEFORE THANKSGIVING) I began to notice several of my neighbors putting up trees and lights and other decorations on their houses. All I could think was … REALLY? IT’S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET! We’ve got to get through Thanksgiving before we get to Christmas. I felt like such a scrooge.

Since we’ve been out of town since Thursday, driving into my neighborhood last night was a shocking reminder of all I’ve been feeling these past weeks! There are so many houses fully decorated with twinkling lights, icicles, and Santa’s! Actually really cool looking this year are some of the LED lights! And now that it’s okay with me if you decorate, seeing those lights last night really made me wonder … why?!

Take the retailers and the money the season makes them out of the equation! Why do we normal human beings feel this overwhelming need to bring on Christmas so early? Why rush it getting here? How can we just skip right over Thanksgiving? And what difference is there between Thanksgiving and Christmas if our trees are up and houses are full on decorated before the turkey is even in the oven and our family arrives in town?

And how does this apply to teenagers today? When I was in high school, I remember so vividly wishing my time away. I lost out on so much because I was constantly thinking about all of the great things to come which I thought were way better than I could possibly imagine. And then I spent so much time in college thinking about what was to come and obsessing over my future freedom and how desperate I was to get there that I can only imagine the moments of awesomeness right in front of that I completely let slip by. And I remember being right out of college and realizing that the grass wasn’t so green on the other side and regretting all the time I just let slip by! While maybe not able to fully voice some of this, teens today deal with it! And, further, we’ve become so busy these days that letting time slip through their fingers happens (almost) naturally. In our crazy culture, rarely are there moments to just be and to live in the moment of what is happening here and now!

Yesterday in Confirmation Class we were talking about worship with Fr. Paul. One of the youth asked a question about the true meaning of Advent. Expectant waiting. This is when we Christians prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering the longing of the Jews for a Messiah! It’s waiting with this great expectation. There’s not a lot of other times during the year that teens get to “wait” like this or encouraged to slow down! And, of particular note, there is real power in waiting and anticipating!

But Advent should be just like that! And we parents and youth workers are called to teach our teens how! We should teach our youth that Advent is a time of getting excited, getting ready, of reflection, and of living in the moment of the joyful anticipation the moment that is to come in Jesus’ birth, not simply wishing it away! For without the baby Jesus, our faith would look altogether much different!

Advent is a time, unlike much other, in the lives of our teenagers! And we MUST be intentional in helping our teens find ways to slow down … because they really may not know exactly how to do it! Just think about it … when was the last time that media, text alerts going off incessantly, selfies being taken, music blaring, or a TV wasn’t on in your house or car when you teen was around? When was the last time you had some uninterrupted time as a family just to be?

Think about this. When we get ready to have a baby in our families, there are some things we have to do to prepare and things that we do to get excited! There are cribs and strollers and clothes to be bought. There are parties to attend so as to celebrate and anticipate the birth with friends and family. Things are just the same with Advent! We need to prepare our families hearts for the arrival of baby Jesus!

I don’t know exactly what or how creating this anticipation and joy and moments of slowing down looks like for your family and it will take some intentional time to create it! Maybe it is as simple as decorating with a nativity set and wondering aloud about the characters together. Maybe it is sharing Christmas memories of past years or Christmas Eve worship service favorite moments (like the lighting of the candles at midnight or the leaping we did in Fr. Paul’s sermon two year’s ago). Maybe it is just watching a Christmas movie together. Maybe it is using some of the resources from my earlier post about Advent. But I do know it is necessary, especially for your teens!

And as much as I hate to say it … we can take a lesson from the retailers (and my neighbor’s) and drag things out or at least give our youth every opportunity to see signs that this great thing is about to happen and help get their heart’s ready! Happy Adventing!

Observe Advent, Don't Fight Santa: Advent Resources for Youth Families

As we start Advent 2014 it is important to remember to slow down! Our rector, Fr. Paul will be issuing a challenge to SJE families and the Parish to do just so! We know that slowing down is tough in our culture ... and slowing down as a family is even more difficult! And ... if you are able to slow things down (even for just 30 minutes) ... what do you do while slowed down?

The resources below are meant to provide you with some help as you slow down! There are some great family time ideas, craft projects, service projects, Advent calendars, and so much more! And, Matt and I will also be posting a daily photo on Instagram and Facebook to try to keep Advent and the anticipation of the birth of baby Jesus in the forefront of our teen's minds and days! Let's think of it as project Observe Advent, Don't Fight Santa! Please feel free to contact Matt or I for other ideas or to ask questions! And, we'd love to hear what you'll be up to .... Happy Advent! Here are a few suggestions:

*Lead (Living Every Day as Disciples) Website: http://waytolead.org/resource/advent-resources-pinterest/
Lots of ideas using Pinterest and other sites to help spark your creativity! Family time ideas, service project ideas, and more!

*Advent Conspiracy: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
Christmas can still change the world! Mtr Suz will be presenting on this in the Rector's Forum THIS Sunday at SJE! The idea is to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all! The site has some great ideas about relational gift giving, fighting injustice, and supporting water wells in 3rd world countries with the money you save by making gifts instead of buying! Your teens could REALLY get into this!

*Family Resource Ideas from The Episcopal Dio of PA: http://www.diopayouth.org/blog/family-advent-resources
This site offers some excellent and practical tools for devotions, texts, video clips of a modern day nativity, and more!

*Living Montessori Now: http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/11/29/50-plus-december-family-activities/
A great site with 50+ crafty ideas, Advent prayers, family traditions, and more!

Lamps on Lamps on Parties: How the Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids is Relevant for Teens Today.

I love parables! Parables are a stories told by Jesus that illustrate a spiritual point or lesson. And Jesus was good at telling parables ... at taking every day objects and the experiences of his day and translating them into some really cool spiritual truth! Sunday in worship we heard the interesting parable of the 10 bridesmaids! I’ve been thinking about it since! Specifically, I’ve been pondering about the foolish women in the story, the mistakes and screw ups they made, and how it relates to the lives of teenagers today! As Fr. Paul pointed out in his sermon, five of the bridesmaids were not prepared, had to walk away, and missed out on a grand party with the groom! This story is not insignificant to the teenagers I am blessed to work with as a youth minister but the awesomeness of it could easily be missed … so here are a few of my thoughts! The parable goes that there was a wedding party and 10 bridesmaids went out to meet the groom. In Jesus' day, a wedding celebration lasted several days and typically would start with the groom heading to the bride’s house at night time! The bridesmaids would have gone to meet the groom as a part of the celebration and would light his way into the house. Further, the guests and wedding party were determined by those carrying a lamp. Those who were not were thought to be intruders! So having a lamp/light at a wedding celebration was very important on multiple levels and everyone knew it! In this parable, the groom takes a lot longer to arrive than the bridesmaids had expected. Scripture says that while they were waiting for him, the 10 women fell asleep. How often do teens today wait for Jesus to show up in their world or situation. When we Christians perceive Jesus isn't showing up "fast enough" (or in the way we want), we give up and go to "sleep" too, sometimes! I'm just sayin' ... In this parable when they awoke to hear that the groom was getting ready to arrive, only half of the women had come prepared with extra oil and could re-light their torches / lamps. The “wise” and “prepared” women were able to re-light their lamps and go to meet the groom, telling the “foolish” and “unprepared” women they didn’t have enough extra oil to share. While the “foolish” women go to buy more oil, the groom arrives and the celebration begins! The women with the lamps and extra oil are invited in to the party and the door is locked, leaving the "foolish" women out! Sometime later, these “foolish” women who had to walk away from the celebration (to go buy more oil) arrive back at the party. They knock on the door and ask to be let in but are told no. The bridegroom says something to the effect of “I don’t even know you!” If we think about this parable as the bridegroom representing Jesus, the 10 bridesmaids representing you and me, and the oil representing our faith, there is a very clear lesson! When the parable starts, note that ALL 10 of the bridesmaids have a lamp burning. As the story goes on, the lamps of those who weren’t prepared with extra oil … or who were carless and foolish … their fires begin to die out. I think this is a lot Christian teens! At some point they all have hearts on fire for Jesus. Perhaps their flame really starts to glow on a church retreat or perhaps because of a Young Life event or through a small group Bible study! But as time goes on, busy-ness takes over, or teens face peer pressure or cultural expectations, the "foolish" or "unprepared" teenager's fire for Jesus begin to grow dim and maybe even dies out. Often when a teen's fire dies out, they walk away from the celebration and party of which Jesus invites us to be a part. God created us to worship and be in relationship with God. When our fire dies out and we walk away from the celebration of a Christian life, it’s like Jesus is saying to us that he doesn’t even "know" us! I mean, come on, we’ve turned our backs and walked away from this amazing party that is the Christian faith! Who would walk away from a celebration such as the one in the parable? Seriously? Who? Us! And it happens more frequently than we’d like to think, especially as a teenager being pulled by youth culture and peer pressure! But, as Fr. Paul says, if being a Christian makes you angry or is stressful then you aren’t doing it right! It’s a party! And there is probably a lesson in the fact that the five wise women who were "prepared" with extra oil weren’t willing to share the oil! In his sermon Fr. Paul talked about being disturbed by this fact. As I thought through it, I think teens can learn from the things Jesus really could have meant by this piece of the story! The first option could be that it truly matter with whom we associate. As a teenager, it is important to be with and surround yourself with people who are generous and who unconditionally love you (despite your foolishness) and will do things to help you as you journey in faith together! Having friends with the same values and morals is key as a teenager. But this can also be quite challenging; we need adults need to understand. And not only is it important to have peers such as this, but also mentors! That's why we work so hard and are so blessed in youth ministry to have adults willing to be present in the lives of teenagers who volunteer as advisors, confirmation mentors, and event Lenten prayer friends! They are a non-judgmental, loving, dependable presence in the lives of teenager and that is so important. The second option could be that Jesus was trying to teach us that ultimately we are each responsible for our own faith. Even as a teen! Often times we grow complacent in our faith (teens and adults). We think we have enough to get by. But faith is about more than getting by! We each need to be accumulating "extra" faith or a stronger faith and knowledge (i.e. the oil) so that when our faith is tested, we have more than enough to make it through. So, ask yourself (or your teen) when was the last time your heart was really on fire for Jesus? Was it during the fall retreat? Last year? Last week? And how are you accumulating an extra jar of oil or working to strengthen your faith and be prepared for times of trail? Prayer, worship, youth group? Are you reading your Bible? Do you even know where your Bible is right now? How big is your fire burning or is it growing dim? Come on, join the party!

Elisha: Ordinary meets Extraordinary

Do you ever feel ordinary? I was talking to someone at church Sunday morning who said she just felt invisible and so ordinary. She felt like nothing she had done recently was "good enough" or noticed. She thought that no matter how nice she was to others it just didn't seem to matter much. She was convinced she was in this rut of just go, go, go and do, do, do for others and no one even noticed or bothered to say thank you. What she described was a feeling of being quite ordinary or maybe even less than ordinary. She felt ordinarily invisible. But ... watch and think about the above video. Almost everyone in the Bible that God uses to accomplish extraordinary things (that I can think of anyways) is pretty ordinary person. Perhaps many of them even felt invisibly ordinary from time to time! So, to my Sunday morning friend, I say take comfort in the invisible ordinary and remember that God is at work and is using your gifts and beautiful spirit each day in ways you may not even be aware! With this in mind and knowing that I wanted to talk about Elisha in my EYC devotion Sunday night, I was reminded as I read through 2 Kings just of ordinary Elisha was! Before being called to be a prophet (one who speaks for God), Elisha was a REALLY, REALLY normal guy. In fact, when Elijah calls him to be a prophet (one who spoke for God) Elisha was literally in the fields, plowing his land. Elijah comes up and puts his cloak on Elisha. This was a symbolic act that Elisha was to follow his now mentor Elijah. Elisha immediately goes and tells his family what has happened and then kills all the cattle he was using to plow the land and uses the equipment / plow as firewood to cook the cattle. This guy was either ridiculously stupid or had a ridiculous faith. I mean that’s commitment, right? At this point there was no turning back for Elisha; this was no ordinary commitment, right? If he decided he didn’t like Elijah or didn’t want to be a prophet, there was no turning back because he just destroyed everything that he used for his livelihood! He was ALL in! So God uses this ordinary guy, Elisha, to accomplish some pretty extraordinary things! This invisibly ordinary guy goes on to get messages from God, performs miracles for God, and tries to get the people of Israel to follow God! When you are an ordinary guy with a ridiculous faith, crazy things can happen! And, how timely, Elisha's and the stories surrounding him in 2 Kings really are perfect for this time of year ... Halloween-like with some gory, nasty, horribly scary details! If you know me, you know I don’t do scary … no rollercoaster, no dark houses, no scary movies! This stuff is scary ... and I could never make this up! Check out all the action in the beginning of 2 Kings! Some of the extraordinary things God worked through Elisha: *Not really gory but really cool is the story of when Elisha saves and entire town and people! Jericho's water source had become polluted and was killing the people and harming the land! Elisha prayed to God, threw some salt into the spring / water source and God fixes things! An entire people saved. Extraordinary. *The next story we hear about Elisha is pretty gory! He was traveling to a town and a massive group of young men came up and were picking on him! The called him baldy (an insult to those who had leprosy) and told him to go away. They were probably getting ready to beat Elisha and there were probably lots of them! Elisha tells them to stop and curses them by probably saying something like "You seriously need to stop, I can't believe how ridiculous you guys are being! Darn you!" All of a sudden two bears come out of the woods and maul the boys, killing 42 of them! Extraordinary. *Another not so gory but amazingly wild story about God working through Elisha is when Elisha is able to help a poor widow! Her husband had died and left a great debt and this widow had no way to pay it. She came to Elisha for help. He sent her away with her only possession, a bottle of olive oil, and told her to go pour it in jugs. She was miraculously able to fill many, many jars which she could sell to repay the debt. Extraordinary. *Still another wickedly weird story involves Elisha and a rich woman in a town that Elisha frequented. This woman frequently fed Elisha and liked him so much that she built a room on her home just for Elisha. The rich woman did not have a son. Elisha strikes a deal (so to speak) with God and the woman becomes pregnant with a son. When this son is an older child, he is out working in the field and gets a bad headache. He dies and the rich woman is devastated that her only son, this gift from God is now dead. She goes and gets Elisha and Elisha lays on him twice; Scripture says the son sneezes 7 times, and comes back to life. Extraordinary. *There was another somewhat scary time when some peeps were having a feast. They had used poisonous herbs and didn't realize it! Elisah pours some flour in and God is able to make the stew edible for 100 people. Extraordinary. *Elisha is able to lead a great army leader (Naaman) to have his leprosy healed. When Naaman comes to Elisha with this gross skin disease and asks to be healed, Elisha tells Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan river 7 times. Naaman thinks this is a ridiculous action to perform and seems to ordinary to heal him. After some convincing by his fellow army mates, he does it and completely healed. Naaman comes to believe in God and have a devout faith because of this! Extraordinary. *There is another story of Elisha that isn't horrifyingly gross but is one of those you had to see it to believe it types of stories! There is a group cutting trees near the rive and an ax head flies off into the river, sinking to the bottom as an ax head would do! Turns out the ax was borrowed and feeling terrible about what happened, the person using the ax asks Elisha for help. Elish is able to make the ax head float. Really extraordinary. *Then there is the disgustingly gory story of Jehu and Jezebel. Jehu had been anointed by Elisha and his team of prophets to be the next king. Jehu then goes on a killing / avenging spree! This killing spree includes pushing Jezebel out of a window in the palace to her death. Jehu tramples her dead body with his horse. Later he sends some servants to go and bury her and all they find is her skull, hands, and feet as dogs had eaten the rest of her. All of the had been previously prophesized that it would happen! Extraordinary. Jehu's killing spree continues to the 70 sons of Ahab living in Samaria. He had them beheaded and their heads placed in baskets and put on display at the city gate. *The final story that we read about Elisha is pretty freaky. Elisha has died in a very ordinary way ... he got sick. After he has been placed in his grave, there is another man being buried. The group burying him gets spooked by a group they think are coming to attack them and they carelessly throw the man's body into Elisha's grave. When the man's body touches Elisha's he is revived and jumps to his feet. Extraordinary. What we can learn from Elisha's ordinary life meeting an extraordinary God is that maybe ordinary is just what we need to be. Maybe invisible is just what we need to be. God can use that. God can make extraordinary things happen. In other words, we can model ourselves after Elisha! Elisha got a call from God, stepped out in a completely ridiculous (in a good way) faith, acted on God's word to him and extraordinary things happened. Our challenge is to take a step back and take inventory of the extraordinary moments that come your way through God's call to you. Now, I don’t know what you God is calling you to do from your ordinary teenage life … maybe it is simply to sit with someone who is alone at lunch or to stop and help someone who is being bullied. Perhaps God is calling you to stop being the bully. Maybe God is calling you to leadership in a way that’s uncomfortable for you on the football field or court or maybe at your dinner table with your family. Maybe the extraorindary act your being called to through your ordinary life is to just learn the name of the homeless guy standing on the corner as you bring him some food. Or maybe it involves a situation with your friends. The challenge is to have a ridiculous faith even when you just feel ordinary and know that extraordinary things will happen if you do.