Already Advent

     Whew.  Already December 2nd.  I awoke this morning feeling like I've missed the start of the race and have already fallen far behind.  The gun went off...the runners took off...and I'm just plain off.  Still standing here slack jawed and staring at the starting line while struggling to simply tie my shoelaces.  O mercy.
     Already--there's that word I found myself thinking and writing.  It's "already" Advent.  We've "already" received some Christmas cards in the mail.  It's "already" past time to have figured out our own Christmas card picture and started shopping--neither of which we have even begun to contemplate.  Between a brand new puppy, a wedding coming up, and a full household for Thanksgiving, I'm "already" lagging far, far behind.  And feeling quite overwhelmed.  Can you tell?
     Sigh.  I'm complaining--forgive me, Lord.
     So I went back to the Word--in fact, I just returned to the Bible verses we read with the children yesterday for Advent:

 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins. 

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain. 

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”   (Isaiah 40:1-5)

      God reminded me once again what Christmas is all about--our Messiah coming on a quiet night in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.  He came to bring comfort and peace and forgiveness and wisdom and joy and hope.  He came to bring the greatest Gift this world has ever known--Himself.  And He came to give that which we could never, ever obtain for our weak, worn, and wandering souls--salvation.  

     But how can we rejoice in Him and His gift of redemption if we're preoccupied with the fluff and flotsam of the season?  

     No, to rediscover His peace we must, in the words of Brother Andrew, "practice His presence."   We must rediscover stillness before Him and listen for His still small voice as He speaks to us through His Word. 

     Thank You for doing that for me just now, Lord.  Thank You that You will lift up every valley of struggle in our lives.  You will make straight highways of hope in our deserts.  You will even out the ground of our grumpiness and ingratitude with Your grace.  You will reveal Your glory to us in the midst even of our sometimes messy and mundane lives...all as we look to You.  As we look for You in Your Word, in Your people, and in Your plans for our lives, whatever they might look like.  

     I read these few words from Ann Voskamp early this morning: "Making space in the pace for more peace for more Jesus...Slow for more joy in Jesus."   

     Yes, Lord, calm our racing hearts and slow our frazzled pace so that we might experience a fresh filling of Your hope and peace this Advent.  We want to see You above all and through all and in all.  For in You is fullness of joy. If we fail to mail even one card or we mess up the cookies or we miss the mark--which we will--on our idealized fantasy version of Christmas, O Lord, help us to laugh it off in the joyous wonder of seeing You.  

     You, Lord Jesus, and You only...for that will be enough to fill our Christmas this year with joy and peace. It's already Advent--but to be all ready for You is all that matters.  So we're focusing on and following You in this race of life...and that means we'll be right on pace.  On pace for peace and joy.  

     To God--who not only came, but stayed and is here with us that we might run the race with Him and for Him --be all the glory. 

Bingley, Black Friday...and gratitude

     It's 4:45 a.m., and I feel like Elmer Fudd: "Be berry berry qwuiet.  We're hunting wabbits."  Or in my case, "We're twying not to wake the puppy."  Tiptoeing into the kitchen, hunting around in the darkness for the switch to the hot water kettle--there must be still be hot tea even in such desperate times.
     There's a wild rumor going around that getting a puppy is a lot of work.  I would like to debunk that rumor.  No, puppies really aren't a lot of work--they are an enormous, gigantic, time-devouring sink-hole of work.
     People compare them to having a baby, but again, that's simply not true.  Not only can you put babies in a crib, you can also place these marvelous contraptions on babies--they're called "diapers."  O my, I never truly appreciated the joy of diapers until the last few days.  (Sorry I forgot to ever thank You for diapers, Lord.  But I'm thanking You now.)
     Imagine the wonder of diapers--no pee pee accidents on the floor.  No picking up a puppy mid-accident and rushing him out to the backyard while fussing, "Bad bathroom, Bingley. Bad bathroom."  No standing out in the pouring rain when it's 42 degrees with a sweet little black fur-ball looking at you quizzically with an expression that says, "Are you crazy?  Why on earth are we out here when it's so warm and nice in there?"  Only to trudge back inside--for the 27 time that day in the rain--and that precious little dumpling promptly going pee pee on the kitchen floor...and then seeming to smile up at me as if to say, "See how much more comfortable it is in here?"  O my stars.
     But I'm not complaining.  O nooooo.  After all, the No Complaining Challenge is still in effect...although, clearly, there have been a few falls off the wagon.  But for this we have Jesus and abundant grace.  Thank You, Lord.  Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and that in You we have an infinite supply of patience, peace, and joy.  So time to be thankful!
    "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phi.4:6-7)
     "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Col.3:15)
     Thank You, Lord, that You command us to do that which transforms our grumpiness and irritability into gratitude and joy.  Isn't it amazing what a simple thing like choosing thankfulness over complaining can do to your attitude and to the atmosphere of your heart and your home?
     So today, thank You, Father, for the gift of sweet little Bingley and the enormous amount of fun and delight he has added to our family.  Thank You that he does things like this--

(Climbing into my gym bag sitting by the kitchen door and curling up for a little nap.  Needless to say, I never got to the gym that day...but I had fun with Bingley.)
     Thank You that all our children are home for Thanksgiving...thank You both for the enormous joy of having them home but also for the fact that they are helping with Bingley.  Otherwise, I might not have had time for a shower or brushed my teeth in three days.
     Thank You for Thanksgiving...and pilgrims...and freedom...and our great and godly heritage and this wonderful nation.
     Thank You for turkey and dressing and sweet potatoes and squash casserole and spinach casserole and cake and pie...O my, thank You for food!  And, of course, thank You for chocolate.
     Thank You for our wonderful cousins, the Bordens, who hosted us once again for Thanksgiving. Thank You for the gift of family and friends and the joy of gathering together to talk and laugh and eat.  And thank  You for my amazing niece, Emily, playing the violin every year so we can all sing Thanksgiving hymns.  The picture of Emily was all blurry but here are a few of us singing "Now Thank We all our God"--

      Thank You for this fresh new day to live to Your glory and to love those You have placed in our lives.
      Thank You that today might be "Black Friday," but that the blackest of fridays occurred over two thousand years ago.  Thank You that on that black, horrific, wonderful friday, You gave Your life that we might gain eternal, abundant life.
     Help us to live this day in the light of Your amazing grace and filled with gratitude for all that You've done, all that You are, and all that You've given us.   To God be the glory.
     

Beloved and Mr. Bingley

      Introducing---Bingley!

     The newest boy in the Fountain family.   We picked  him up last night, and here he is with his new siblings, all sitting on the kitchen floor.  By this point last evening, we had already taken 7,000 pictures...and had completely fallen in love with him.  But it was love at first glimpse--the moment we saw his little black fur peaking out through the sides of the kennel crate.
      No, no, I take that back.  It was actually love at first moment...the moment we decided Bingley was going to be ours.  Way back a few weeks ago, when we choose him while he was still a wee little pup with his mama and his other siblings.  When we choose him, he became ours, our beloved little puppy who would always belong to our family.
     And I couldn't help but think--isn't that exactly what God does with us?  He chose us before the creation of the world to be His very own, His beloved children.  He chose to adopt us into His family...and so we are forever a part of His kingdom.  Yes, we have to choose Him by making Jesus our Savior, but all along, it's really all by His sovereign grace that He chooses us. O thank You, Father!
     And just as we adored Bingley from that very first moment, so too, our Father loves us with a love we cannot begin to fathom.  We are truly His beloved.  The beloved of the Beginning and the End.  Incredible.
     Just this morning, I read in Daily Light, "The Lord delights in you." (Isa.62:4)  O to think the Lord of the universe delights in us!  Just as we delight in our sweet little Bingley.
     And God's delight doesn't diminish one iota when we mess up or miss the mark...nor does our delight in Bingley (though he's already have a few "accidents!").  We're still crazy about him--not for anything he does...but simply for who and what he is--our precious puppy.  It's all just the tiniest glimpse of the way our Father cherishes us simply because we are His.  Thank You, Father.      Last night, he got up...a lot.  But somehow, I wasn't one bit irritated...even with his hoooowling.  In fact, I got up pretty cheerfully at 3:00 a.m. to take him outside.  And then came back in and played fetch with him.  (I know--not a good plan--I'll do better tonight and just put him back to bed.  But I couldn't resist.)

 Look how jaunty he looks for 3:15 a.m.!  I, on the other hand, didn't look quite so dapper...but I was sure delighting in him!
     And I'm thinking God doesn't mind it when we howl or keep Him up at night.  Nope, because here's what else I read today: "But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isa.43:1)
     He doesn't just know our names; He calls us by name.  He has redeemed us and sustains us and even right this very moment, He is calling you, calling me, by name.  Why?  He tells us--"You are mine."  
     We are His beloved.  We are His redeemed.  We are His.
     Just as Bingley is ours.  We bought him (which is one of the meanings of redeem--to buy back).  We named him, and he is ours.
     So thank You, Lord Jesus, for choosing us.  For redeeming us.  For delighting in us.  For calling us by name.
     And thank you for Bingley.  Here he is a little later this morning--after our early morning, all night play session--

     Boy, I know the feeling....but thank You, Jesus, that we rest in You.
     And thank You for yet another gift from Your gracious, glorious hand--our Bingley.  Help us to remember this day that You delight in us and call us by name for we are Yours.  Might we live this day as children of the King.
     To God be the glory.

The music of thanksgiving

    "...singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph.5:19-20)
     On this cold, clear Monday morning, Father, help us to give thanks to You "always and for everything."  Help us to sing Your praises--O might our lives resound with the melodies of thanksgiving that live in our hearts but that also pour from our lips. You tell us to not only think gratitude, but to speak it, to sing it, to proclaim it, to share it. 
     And Lord, please give us thankful hearts even when the gratitude comes hard and begrudgingly.  When the road behind has been brutally difficult and sorrowful.  Or when the road ahead looks dark and uncertain...give us, even then, hearts that see and trust You in the midst of it all, and so still to find room for thanksgiving.
      For You have promised that You inhabit the praises of Your people.  Might the sound of our personal thanksgiving choruses be reflected not just in the happy blessings of our lives, but also in our hard and perplexing challenges.  For You are in them all and will use them all--somehow, someway--in Your divine sovereignty for our good and Your glory.  O Lord, give us thankful hearts!

     And so this day, I thank You, Lord for a bridal shower last night in Charlotte for our oldest daughter.  Thank You for the hands that worked so hard to prepare it.  Thank You for her dear and wonderful friends who were there to celebrate.  Thank You even for Charlotte, NC--though I wish our daughter lived here in Raleigh!--and for the good life You are giving all those young folks there.  (Okay, but just in case, Lord, I'm still praying for an eventual return to Raleigh.  I'm just saying...but I'm thankful!)  Thank You for safe travel for everyone.  Thank You that our younger daughter could go with me even though she has a lot of work for school.  Thank You for my husband manning the fort back home.  Thank You for Matt (the wonderful man she's marrying!). Thank You that we didn't get lost driving to Charlotte--a complete miracle with my total lack of any directional skills whatsoever.  Seriously.  Thank You for GPS on cell phones.  Thank You for the yummy food--O my, thank You for that food..especially, of course, the CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!  Life is so good when there is chocolate cake to be shared with the people you love.
     Well, I could go on and on, but you get the point--God tells us to be thankful in everything, and I'm trying to practice that in my life.  To reflect, to remember, to recount all the big and little gifts He gives us everyday.  When I started this morning, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything on my plate...but now I'm just feeling grateful and joyful.  For gratitude always always always leads to joy.
     So today, if you're feeling a bit anxious or grumpy or discouraged, start recalling and recounting--right this minute--God's goodness in your life, big and small.  And watch His joy start flowing.  And the music resounding.  To God be the glory.

This year--Delighting...not dazzling!

     "385 WAYS TO DAZZLE FAMILY & FRIENDS"
     That's what it said right there on the cover of Southern Living.   And with a picture to boot of a spectacularly beautiful and luscious looking cake perched beside the headline.  And there are "155  HOLIDAY RECIPES!" and "114 GRACIOUS GIFT IDEAS" inside the magazine's covers as well.  O mercy, we better get working, working, working right this minute!  Not to mention the back cover features a gorgeous young blond in a slinky gold dress and bedecked in jewels.  Yeah, I look like that a lot over the holidays.
     Okay, not to sound like the Grinch, but these editors are clearly living in Martha Stewart la-la land.  Yeah, sure, maybe some of you out there are Super-Duper-Fabulous-Incredible-Organized cooks and moms and spouses and decorators...all rolled into one.  If so, stop reading this immediately and run pick up a copy of Southern Living or Martha Stewart Living and go all out over these next few weeks.  More power to you...though I don't think I want to invite you over to our house.
     Because here's the thing--I'm not good at "dazzling" my loved ones--especially when it comes to cooking, cleaning, and decorating.  My family would probably read that and laugh, "Ya think?  Duh!"  Dazzling clearly isn't the word that comes to mind when it comes to my very limited repertoire, limited time, and even more limited skill set.
      Oh my, how I wish I could dazzle, decorate, cook, and look like Giada whatever-her-name is  on the Food Network.  Who wouldn't love to create that "magical" Christmas about which the magazine cover boasts?
      But here's what I know--none of us (and certainly not yours truly) can ever live up to the impossible standards of perfectionism and dazzling magic that our culture promotes and that we often place upon ourselves during the holidays.  And when we try--and fail yet again--we exhaust ourselves and grow discouraged and even bitter in the whole ugly process.
     Dazzling, I've found, does not produce the godly characteristics God longs to see in us.  And even worse, our often futile but zealous attempts at dazzling cause us to forget the very reason and purpose that originally lurks deep behind our dazzling goals--to LOVE our families and friends!
     Why do we want to have lovely homes of refuge and rest that reflect the joy of the holidays?  Why do we want to cook good food to nourish and strengthen our loved ones?  Because we LOVE those people, that's why!  Because we want to REJOICE together with them for all the manifold ways God has blessed us.  Because we want to experience a truly thankful Thanksgiving!
     And because we want to CELEBRATE and REVEL in the wonder of God--the Almighty, Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, All-glorious Lord of the universe--coming down to earth as a helpless, dependent, fragile infant...for us!  Can you believe that?  For you, for me...even with our sorry and selfish attitudes and our prideful self-sufficiency.  Because "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)  That's far beyond dazzling love, isn't it?
     How can we not rejoice in the astounding, eternity-altering wonder of that...and celebrate it with JOY with those that we love?
     But you know what--for many of us, that means forgetting about dazzling and focusing instead upon delighting.  Delighting first in our Savior who is both the Greatest Giver and also the Greatest Gift.  And gifts call for rejoicing and thanking, do they not?
     And secondly delighting in those that Christ has so generously loaned to us for our brief sojourn on this planet.  Delighting in our children (instead of always finding fault or looking for ways they can "improve").  Delighting in our spouses (maybe we need to do a little dying to ourselves and our selfishness and pride in this category, no?).  Delighting in parents, in our brothers and sisters, and in our friends.  Delighting in these eternal souls lovingly hand-crafted by their Creator--souls for whom His love was so infinitely great that He came to live and love and serve and die for them.
     Jesus didn't seek to dazzle them, did He?  No, the Savior simply delighted in those He had made...and then He steadfastly went to the cross to die for them.
     So this Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm laying aside my goal of dazzling in favor of a much humbler--but far harder and greater--hope.  To die to myself.  And to delight in God and those He's placed in my life.  I may not bake any show-stopping cakes or purchase perfect gifts for everyone or live in a magically decorated Christmas palace.  But if I can love and serve unselfishly, if I can share a thankful, contented heart, if I can rejoice in God's goodness and greatness...well, then, I think we'll be good around here.  Even without the dazzling.
     Because nothing's more dazzling than the love of Christ and the joy He gives.
     To God be the glory.

   

How to shine

  There is something so comforting about wading through a gentle carpet of leaves.  Does that sound odd?  Well, maybe so, but what can I say?  I love God's carpet!  That quiet rustling sound as you slide through...the softness on the foot...the perfume of fall's earthy scent.  The leaves form a pathway for autumn's goodbye kiss.  

 I'm sure some folks see the leaves and think "Ugh--raking."  That's what I should be envisioning, I'm sure...but I don't!  Instead, I'm choosing to rejoice in God's blanketing of leaves on our driveway.  Maybe tomorrow we can blow them or rake them...or maybe not.  But for now, let's indulge in the last beautiful vestiges of one of God's finest seasons.  Let's jut walk on those leaves and choose gratitude for their beauty rather than grumbling for their messiness. 

     And while we're on the subject of thanking versus complaining...I wanted to add the "why" Paul gives us behind God's admonition not to grumble and complain.  If I don't remember today, I'll likely forget all about it, so here goes-- 

  After telling us to "Do all things without grumbling or questioning"(Phil.2:14), Paul goes on in verses 15-16 to explain the reason--“that you may become blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life...”  What a promise!  If believers would stop complaining, we’d start shining!  The world is filled to overflowing with grumbling people who are never satisfied and are quick to complain, dispute, and fuss.  If we would simply choose to cease griping, of course we’d stand out like sparkling stars in inky black sky!  We don’t need more bumper stickers or buttons or banners proclaiming we are Christians.  We need more believers who shine like stars in a dark world, because they’re living out the truth of what they believe by refusing to grumble and instead choosing to give thanks!

     The world complains, but the Christian rejoices, because her joy is in Christ.  Society is twisted and distorted, but the Christian stands straight because she measures her life by God’s Word.  The world is dark, but the Christian shines, because she carries the Light of Christ within her.  The world has nothing to offer, but the Christian, Paul tells us, holds forth the Word of Life! 

     O might we shine for Christ this day, because we refuse to go along with the culture's penchant for griping about everything and fussing about any perceived denial of our rights and preferences.  

     O Lord, keep us counting our blessings rather than calculating our burdens.  One leads to piercing the darkness and the other simply adds to it.  Help us to shine like stars for You, Father.  For You are glorious.  To God be the glory.

                

One bloom

     In case you aren't familiar with this particular type of flower, it is called "The Persevering Against All Possible Odds Rose."   Yes, this rare type of rose grows only in the Fountain's yard where the two forlorn rose bushes are never--and I mean never--pruned, fertilized, or cared for in any manner whatsoever.  I admit this to my utter shame, but my full disclosure should give you a greater sense of wonder and admiration for "The Persevering Against All Possible Odds Rose." (PAAPOR for short--doesn't that have a snappy ring to it?)
     Yes, loads of her sissy, wimpy cousins flourish in yards where they have fancy men in a white truck that come and slather them with all manner of fertilizer and bug repellent and other assorted potions to enable them to grow and produce loads of beautiful blooms. But still, wouldn't any flower flourish under such excessively luxurious conditions?  They're gorgeous...but then, why shouldn't they be?--they live on easy street.
     But not our hardy PAAPOR!  No sir!  Despite the negligence, ignorance, and lack of all gardening prowess or desire by her caretakers,  our little PAAPOR bloomed anyway!  Incredible!  In fact, I was stunned one morning when I looked over toward the boxwood bushes and there she was: one perfect blossom, opening up her pale pink blooms to a sun-splashed fall day as if in celebration of life.  Just one solitary bloom, but that was enough.  Thank You Lord for the gift of her beauty...her persevering beauty.
     This all brought to mind a quote I read just the other day by French novelist Alphonse Karr: "Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses."  Amen.  Sometimes we need a little reminder, don't we?
     So today, I'm thankful for PAAPOR, for fall days, for roses--and even for thorns--and for their lessons on perseverance, perspective, and gratitude.  Just a little more ammunition in the war against complaining!  Keep us grateful for You and Your gifts, Father.  To God be the glory.