Happy New Year!

Psalm 98

Today is the cusp of a new year. Today is a day when we look at our lives, look over the year, and make some promises to ourselves for the next year.

Where have you been this year? What are you ok to let go of? What are you hoping for the next year? How can we live in this moment? What is scary? What is exciting?

What I hope for us as we move into 2010 is a hope of God's presence. We are called to make a joyful noise to God today. Today is the day that we lift up our voices. Today is the day when birth has come to light, when we are still journeying, and hope is restored.

Today is the day. What will it look like for you?

Merry Christmas Eve!

Good morning all! This will be my last Advent devotional! Our journey just begins tonight...


Today’s Readings: Micah 6:6-8; Hebrews 10:5-10; Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 1:18-25 (and we will be worshipping off of Luke 2:1-20 tonight)


I have always LOVED Christmas Eve. From early on, I wanted to get as much church as I could on Dec. 24th. My entire family would gather to eat together and then go to the 7pm service in Lebanon. It was more of the family service and we have always enjoyed it. I loved seeing who would show up. There would be people there I had never seen, or kids who had gone off to college or people returning for the first time again. I always looked back to wave and oooh and ahh at who I would see. Plus I liked the service but I really went to the 11pm service to spend time in reflection. For a long time my dad and I were the only ones who would go together from the family in my house. My aunt and uncle sometimes would join.

In between the services, we read Polar Express and got new pajamas and perhaps eat another cookie. My brothers then got ready for bed and for the longest time, to insure that no one got up before the others, they all slept in my room.

Then I would be off to service. I loved the candlelight. I loved the stories. I loved the choir singing. I loved walking into the sanctuary at 11 knowing that when we ended it would be Christmas morning. The world, I knew, had shifted and we were ready to transform.

So I awoke this morning with the words of Isaiah ringing in my hears "Arise, shine for the glory of the Lord is upon you." Arise, o people to welcome the day. I know that today will bring so many things....bustle, getting ready....I know in my own day I have an appointment with someone at 9am, some work to do then come home to change into different clothes for our three services. It's a busy day! We are putting on the last touches for tomorrow...wrapping packages, baking, etc. Maybe you are a family that does presents today so you are in the midst of chaos today. But Arise, shine, o you people. Joseph rose to the challenge of what the angel brought. Joseph arose to find Mary and be her support. Arise, shine.

On that note, I will be worshiping later at 4, 7, 11...hope to see you there! Should be wonderful.

God, we arise this morning called by you to watch at the world awakes and shifts. We ask you to open our hearts today to see something new. Allow us to take a breath in the midst of chaos to take a moment to worship you. This may be even harder for some due to the season. Be their comfort. Be the one to hold them up during this time. Amen

Peace,
Court

Dec. 23rd

Hey all! Tomorrow is our last day of Advent and my last morning devotional. I hope that you have all enjoyed reading these at least a fraction of how much I have enjoyed writing them. Who knows, I like it so much, maybe I will come again over your email at Lent!

Today’s Readings: Luke 1:67-80 ; Psalm 113; Jeremiah 31:1-14


As many of you know, I read all of the time. So at the advice of Barb Nay I reread The Best (Worst) Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. What a great idea! It is a kids book but it is so great! This group of not so great kids (to say the least) take over the Christmas pageant and it becomes wonderful. Why? Because these kids had never ever heard the Christmas story before and to many, they made it real. Everything from burping the baby to bringing a ham instead of the myrrh. My favorite part of the whole story is while they hear the story for the very first time. What would that be like? What would you think of our Christmas story or even our scriptures today?

Let me give you an example from the book...

"I couldn't understand the Herdmans. You would have thought the Christmas story came right out of the F.B.I. files, the got so involved in it - wanted a bloody end to Herod, worried about Mary having her baby in a barn, and called the Wise Men a bunch of dirty spies.

And they left the first rehearsal arguing about whether Joseph should have set fire to the inn, or just chased the innkeeper into the next country."

Again, if you had never heard the story....what would be shocking to you? Or comforting? Or full of wonder? Would it be the teenage mother aspect, the no room at the inn and the manger, the shepherds being called first? Or perhaps you would cry at Mary's song or when Zechariah received his voice back or when Mary treasures the baby? Or would you be in awe when the angels appeared and filled to the brim with their song?

Its hard to get into the story this year. So read it again with a different lens somehow or go back to the kid's books. They always help me. :)

God, we want to hear your story again for the first time. We want to feel how it must feel to those who have never heard it. We want to be refreshed and given new hope during a hard season. Breathe life into the words once again. Amen.

Peace,
Court

Dec. 22 Advent

Hey all! The countdown is on by now! Just two days until Christmas Eve!

Today’s Readings: Luke 1:57-66; Micah 4:1-5; Ephesians 2:11-22

The moment Zechariah writes the name of John when he is born, he begins to speak and praising God. What do you have to say today? What is pressing on your heart that you need out yell out today? Have you been mute with God's praises residing in you this season? Or is it harder than ever to find that voice this season? Do you feel as you are part of the crowd watching this spectacle we call Advent this time?

When I lived in Ireland, I attended the only Protestant church in town when I could. It was the United Methodist/Presbyterian church in the middle of Galway. One of my flatmates was Catholic and we would take turns taking the other one to church when we were in town. The United Methodist/Presbyterian church was a unique church because it was mostly filled with an African population. The pastor appointed to this church was an immigrant from Sierra Leone who had married an Irish woman and they had three beautiful kids together. The leadership of the church attracted all sorts of African immigrants as the worshiping body along with a few Irish in Galway and these two wayward American college students who stumbled in one day and stayed. I had promised myself to not get too attached and yet by the second Sunday I was taking offering and helping out wherever I could.

The church had three rooms in it - the sanctuary, a very small kitchen and a bathroom. There was no organist so they had a friend record organ onto tapes and the pastor would push play when they were ready to sing the hymn. During the days, they had kids drop in time and would move all the chairs to the side in the sanctuary so kids could play. I volunteered there many times a week when I could. I would go over to the Pastor's house with my new African friends (mostly from South Africa or the West Coast of Africa) and have dinners and discussions. I loved this church whole heartedly and the people in it. I learned so much more depth to different perspectives on stories I had always known and lives I only began to know. And here I was, a 20 year old with purple hair standing out like a sore thumb and people brought me into community without question.

The one thing that really impressed me was the singing out! When the music on the tape recorder began, the voices would raise to loudest potential. Now hear this...this was NOT a band of angelic voices. People were off tempo, out of tune, some beautiful mixed with the loudest and most out of tune! BUT the voices rang out with whole hearts and swaying and wondrous noises...of all kind. It was as if God had just been waiting on their hearts to sing out. At first, my flatmate and I looked around in disbelief and perhaps giggled a bit and then we grew to completely adore this part of the service. After that, the preacher might preach and more often than not someone would be moved to say something else.

My time in Ireland gave me many adventures and this particular community holds a place in my heart. I keep in contact with one of my friends from that church and he also remembers that time well as he has moved to another city. Filled with rejoicing and hard times! Lift up your voices like Zechariah this morning. sing out.

O God, for some of us this is a really hard time. It's hard to get in the spirit of the season. For some of us, the rejoicing has just begun. For some of us we have been waiting a long time for you to open our vocal chords to sing out. We sing out to you this morning and throughout our day. Hear our songs! Amen

Peace,
Court

Dec. 21

Ah, Monday again. Good morning!


Today’s Readings: Genesis 25:19-28; Colossians 1:15-20; Palm 113


Yesterday I talked to all three of my little brothers. Andrew came to Corvallis to finish up some shopping so we randomly went to coffee. Colin and I worked together yesterday evening for the evening service. I talked to Grant on the phone. What I love more than just about anything is that we are connected whether we like it or not. Out of the four of us, some of us are more connected than others but I am lucky to have these family members that I can actually just chat with. What I loved about yesterday and talking with them all were the connections we made in those conversations. Andrew and I talked about this devotional and what we have remembered or not in our stories. Colin brought up more stories from the family during worship and we spent some time afterward catching up. Grant and I talked about the fact he better not move where I sit Christmas morning....and we were giggling the entire time because of family traditions and what is changing.

The fact is, whether we are connected to chosen family or not, we are connected to someone in this world. Even if we live solitary lives, we affect others in our world around us. Colossians is talking about that connection. “We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created,” the author stated in Colossians 1:16 from The Message). The author went on to add: “Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe –people and things, animals and atoms-get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies…” (Colossians 1:20 from The Message) Everything is connected and reconciled into Christ on some level according to our author.

We live in community. This season harkens us back to that community. This season harkens us back to an amazing story, part of connective narrative. Somehow, some time this story has touched us on some level. But why? Why would a poor family, traveling to Bethlehem, touch us? How does that light touch you this morning?

This is what we get to explore this week! All of this leading up to Thursday night when we welcome transformation of the world, our world, our connection.

O God, allow us to feel connected again to each other and to our earth. As the rain beats down, fill us with reconciliation with it and with each other. Open our eyes this season to be moved. Amen.

Peace,
Court

Dec. 20

Happy fourth Sunday of Advent! Can you believe it?

Today's readings: Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 1:46b-55, Luke 1:39-45, Micah 5:2-5a

An excerpt from Maya Angelou's Amazing Peace:

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.


Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.


In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.


We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.


We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.


This morning as you get ready for the day, welcome peace this Fourth Sunday of Advent. We are almost fully into the whirlwind of the holiday and yet I always find that this week has a calming affect on my soul. The church gets still just before the beauty of Christmas Eve. The world around us quiets for just a moment in time, as long as you stay out of the stores this week. The kids aren't in school this week so traditions can take hold. The campus has stilled for the week while students either travel home, to another location, or nestle into quiet Corvallis. The lights are all up, the concerts are dying down after today. The carols will be sung louder today and Christmas eve. Go into this week beckoning peace. Go into this week ready to hear sweetness and relish in that space. Today we get to hear kids voices sing of joy. Remember that even if your heart is dark and depressed, which can most definitely happen in these dark days.


See you soon.


God, even if we are depressed during the season allow us to relish the moments of sweetness and calm this week. Open our hearts to peace and joy. Reach out our hands across divides to welcome the stranger. Just BE with us as we await for you.


Peace,

Court

Advent 2009 Dec. 19

Good morning! Happy Saturday! Just a few more days until Christmas Eve. :)

Today's Readings: Psalm 90, Titus 1:1-16, Luke 1: 1-25

Last night I had a free evening and rarely do I not have these booked during this season to be honest. I didn't really know what to do with my time. There were so many things I could do but I knew that I could really only do one thing. This thing is a tradition in my family and Christmas time is not Christmas time without it....watching White Christmas. So I watched it last night, sang along with every single song and even did some wrapping while I watched. I quoted where I wanted to quote because no one else could hear me. I did however miss hearing my brothers and family sing along. There was something rather silent about the whole thing...not bad just quiet. It was still sweet, touching, merry,and at the end snow still fell and made me feel wonderful inside.

There is a character that we rarely talk about in the advent story. He is highlighted by Luke today. He comes in the very very beginning, right after Luke makes all of his disclaimers about his story. He is Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband. He is moving right along in his age, life is full of the holy....he prays and is a man of God we are told. But as his life progresses he is just missing one thing. Then the angel of the Lord appears to tell him that his life will be whole because Elizabeth will be pregnant. But here's the catch...much like my silence that I felt last night or even more...he is mute until the boy is born. In his sweet moment, his moment of grace and love, his most holy of moments, he cannot sing aloud. Although the angels words are sweet, touching, and merry, he cannot tell anyone about it. Can you imagine?

And still, he will find ways to communicate God's blessings until he regains his voice. And everyone knows that because he is mute this must mean he has seen a vision. There is no need to communicate that Zechariah is blessed.

What are you holding this morning that is a sweet spot? What speaks to your heart that you don't need to communicate but it just is? What is blessing you this morning? It doesn't have to be decorations, or busy shopping or the baking or etc. etc. etc....what still blesses your soul this season that isn't all of that? Because let's face it, we don't all have that stuff together...heaven knows I don't during this season. :)

God, we hold you dear to our hearts and listen for your proclamations to our souls. Help us to see through the other stuff and get to the sweet spots of the season. Let us be joyful like Zechariah who needs no voice to show it. Amen.

Peace,
Court