first net-fishing

Last Saturday, December 6th, which, as all good Christians know is St. Nicholas' Day, we celebrated our first net-fishing event, focusing on Grandparents raising grandchildren. 19 net-fishers visited, played, crafted creative memories, sang and ate with 3 adults and 5 children from our local community. God knew what we could handle:) Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

lasting value

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-6)
Things of lasting value:
--the gospel of God
--the Holy Scriptures
--the birth
--the resurrection
--grace and apostleship
--obedience to the faith.
These are the foundational gifts, sine qua non. Without these gifts, there will be nothing of lasting value (unless the LORD builds the house...). These gifts create and constitute the Church, the body of Christ. These things are worth living and dying for. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

breaking the cycle

Does it ever seem like we're living in the book of Judges? Every man does what is right in his own eyes, and the cycle of rebellion - chastening - repentance - deliverance - rebellion; goes on and on. The only motive for repentance seems to be alleviation of the symptoms, i.e. pain and suffering, not radical change at the heart level. How to get there? Try this from Fr. Thomas Merton:
The inward movement of compunction (Latin: compunctio, a pricking; a sharp feeling of uneasiness brought on by a sense of guilt, twinge of conscience, remorse)is not so much a matter of hiding ourselves within ourselves, as a liberation of ourselves, which takes place in the depths of our being, and lets us out of ourselves from the inside. This liberation from concentration on our self is the beginning of a conversion, a metanoia, a real inner transformation. The true interior life is not our own life within the depths of our own being. It is the coming of God into our being, from which we have previously gone out, in order to make room for him."
Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Is there room in my heart for Thee?

already advent

A beautiful dusting of snow this morning to welcome cold December in!
These prayers from Magnificat seem extra-meaningful in these confusing times:
From the emptiness when we do not recognize your presence;
from the silence in which we do not hear your voice;
from the darkness in which we do not see your light,
Come, Lord, and save us!

Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation!

Almost Advent

Such a strange assortment of days around Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent each year. Thanksgiving Day found us with seven families in a large home. Sharing what was on our hearts took at least one and one half hours. Yesterday Mary and I hit the stores and sales hard for about four hours, and then had the grandparents and cousins over for dinner, 14 in all. Same at the Windes' home tonight. Our tech-savvy kids got us hooked up on wireless at the house too. An early Christmas present for me! A good work out at the YMCA this morning keeps the calories at arms length, now that its too cool to really do things outside regularly. God is good, even in the worst of times.

cool prayer

Lord God of power and might, you have revealed to us in Jesus Christ that true strength lies in self-surrendering love. Make us his true disciples in every trial, and make us a true source of strength to one another, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. (Magnificat daily prayer book)
What I am thankful for: (a BRIEF summary!)
past grace -- the glorious company of apostles, the noble fellowship of the prophets, the white-robed army of martyrs;
present faith -- Word and Sacraments of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church;
future hope -- (borrowing from J. Vajda) that the faithful will breathe the Spirit's grace, see the Father's face, and feel the Son's embrace.

relentless love

The favors of the LORD I will recall, the glorious deeds of the LORD, because of all he has done for us; for he is good to the house of Israel, He has favored us according to his mercy and his great kindness (Isaiah 63:7). Many words have been used to describe the love of our God, but this morning the word RELENTLESS came on loud and clear. God relentlessly searches for his lost and straying sheep; He relentlessly embraces us with His love and does not allow any corner of our hearts to be untouched. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can love as we have first been loved, relentlessly, persistently, leaving the results to God. Relentless love, indeed!