Inside the Tree Trimming…a phone call & a baby!

 

Advent 2013.

A friend of mine called late last night; his wife was going into labor. Her water had just broke…they were heading to the hospital. His call was a bit more specific than just the ‘good news’ – it was to ask if we could watch his son…to come over and take care of business as they rushed to the hospital to have their brand new baby!

I didn’t answer my phone. It was late, my phone lives on vibrate and at night these days, it lives under my pillow. Again, my phone shows another means of my friend communicating: a text message at 1:51 a.m. – again, at 3:32 a.m.

A cry out? A call for help? But, where was I…?

READ SCRIPTURE

Luke 12:35-40

Am I ready to be watchful? Am I ready to lean in….to listen internally – at the sound of the heartbeat of God?

I wonder, what is it, that God is calling me (you) to? Are we waiting for this baby…to be born that our lives would forever be changed? What reminder….what phone call or text message or ring tone is needed to job my brain? Yours?

Am I thinking of His coming….remembering His deeds; the true stories of His past, present and all-that-will-come-to-be??

For a moment, think of a road sign. This sign has an arrow pointing up, ^

The up arrow also has an arrow that shows a right turn…like an exit ramp off the freeway. (something like this one)

^->

This off-ramp sign is a an exit strategy. It’s His offer to you…to me. He comes, it’s Christmas! For all those times when what we are doing is not life-giving and we continue on the road…we continue to pursue what we think we want, we further a relationship, we push a little harder, we stay the course of what does not bring us true satisfaction…yet if we take a minute to look back, perhaps we can recall a time when He has provided a means of escape: freedom. He provides an off-ramp; we have passed by many exits…yet we kept our foot on the gas…and kept driving, kept pushing, maybe you wanted to leave that scenario but didn’t feel you could…maybe you can recall when you knew what was happening was not good, was not healthy, yet you ran yourself through the ringer anyways?

READ SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13

This IS His offer…an off-ramp from ourselves, our permanent condition – Jesus became a baby to offer me life! Life in Him.

What is He calling me (you) to? Am I thinking of His coming…of His deeds and all His true stories?  Am I considering all that ever was…all that ever will and is to come? Perhaps I am not….but maybe I am wondering what all this has to do with me. Mostly, yes, about me.

Christmas…happened for “me”. (fill in your name)

As you hang the garland and tape the bows…may your decorations be like a robe of the Christmas Glory we remember and celebrate – may we ask God to enrich not only our hearts & lives but our homes as well.

Let us remember. Let us watch…let us prepare.

Prayer and response. A time to journal your thoughts to God…

Blessings of Christmas,

-ao

Day 2. Christmas…inside the tree trimming

 

Advent 2013

Day 2. The Passover…

Asking the Lord to speak to your heart…open up about YOU, as you are…even now.

This morning, I read Exodus 12.(READ EXODUS 12)

From “The Advent Party”, Buddy says, “Who is this God? What is He doing? Does He really know me? Does God think that these old stories fit into my life?”

What is it about Passover? About Christmas…about me? and Jesus? and the Cross…

God, the Father, provided an escape…a route to Himself; for His people. For all who had the blood of the lamb (sacrificed) painted across the lintel of the doorpost, the death angel would pass over that home…ultimately, that the people would be set free. There that word is, again. FREE. To be set free. To be rescued. To be saved. Redeemed. Made anew….as time has unfolded and our ways that are not life-giving nor freedom retaining…they show up time and time again and give way to something other in our lives. It isn’t of God. It cannot be. Yet, if we are willing to peel back this curtain, rather, if we are willing to watch God in his majestic production of love and truth – He is the one peeling back the curtain!! He sends His Son for me, for you. That this baby would be born…to be the Rescuer, and take upon Himself all our Sin, so that we might gain access to God!

That the curtain separating me from the presence of the Lord…well, that it would be torn in two and I might gain access to God. That I might have an opportunity to experience life in paradise, in the heavens, in the Holy presence of the Creator. You see, Christmas is so much more than wreaths and ornaments. So much more than feasts and sausage balls. Christmas is the Gospel.

Are you willing to stand in front of the mirror and take a look? What is it in your life that is in need of rescue?

Are you enslaved to something? Probably so, perhaps it can be named…now.

If God offered His people, then…and now, an exodus…a route to freedom, life better than imagined (John 10:10) – what life is it that you desire?

What are you drawn to about Christmas?

One of my favorite facts about the Christmas tree is it’s pointings. It points…to God. It points…to Heaven. It points…to a Creator. It points…to something deeper. Something deeper in me. Something deeper…in you? As the ornaments are hung, as the star settles in atop your family’s tree – take another look…both at this Christmas and in the mirror.

God, what are you up to?

Gratitude…does it abound? Am I in a wild goose chase? What season am I really in…?

Pray. Read. Pray. (our daily rhythm)

Blessings,

-ao

A birthday removed–thankful for my mother

 

November 28, 1951

Donna Lynn Tramell (born, Donna L. Sizemore)

Today would have been my mom’s 62nd birthday. It’s hard to imagine that almost nine years ago my mom passed away. However, today isn’t the day to focus on the death of my mom…it’s THANKSGIVING – it’s a day to focus on what we are thankful for. I am thankful for my mom. I am thankful that, while her life was shorter than we had hoped for, no one can take away who she was to me nor the impact she has left (her imprint) on my life, my soul, my family, and my children whom she never had the chance to meet.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you with all I have. Part of the thankfulness of the month of November and it’s pre-Advent season has always been the curiosity and joy of looking forward to November 28th – it’s your day. It always will be. So glad that today, this year, this day, is the same day when so many take a few minutes to pause and reflect with family what we are thankful for – and to partake in BEING a familia. I hope that Jesus is strolling you around in the Heavens, revealing more and more of His riches and blessings for you – to remind you of His greatness and His beauty – that you are one-in-the-same with Him…and His Glory! That this day was the day He created you to exist on Earth….and that 62 years later, your son would be remembering, missing, loving, and honoring you.

You were one wonderful woman. I have the heart and the memories to prove it. I have the daughter, with red hair, and your nose…to prove it all over again! Happy Birthday to you, dear Mom. Dear Donna. Dear Aunt Donna. Dear Mama D.

Remembering you,

 

-ao

[The Wild Wild West] a heart of thanksgiving

A sweet note from my bride's blog....

I love this picture. No, really. I love it. I can't stop looking at it. I might even print it off and hang it on my fridge. Andy took this yesterday morning. Wyatt and Boone had gone outside and played in the "snow" and Wyatt just decided to keep his warm jacket on. I am wearing my mint colored robe that I have had for 8 years. 8 years!!! I bought it for when I was in the hospital about to have my first baby. It is so warm and cozy. I had gone to the library the day before and surprised them with a bunch of new books about squirrels, koalas, lemurs and owls…yes, I'm not kidding. They are obsessed with animals. I love that they are all in our bed, cozied up next to each other, engaged in this book. There is not a worry in the world at this moment. They are warm and safe and little. I wish I could freeze time in this picture…but I guess that is what pictures really are…time frozen. 8, 5 and 2. I look at this picture and thank God that He gave them to us. That he chose me to be their Mama and these three to be my children. I thank God for my husband who loves me in a way that I can't even put into words. I love doing life with him. I love that God put us together to hold each other up when the other needs it. I am so grateful he "gets" me. He knows my broken and dark places and loves me through them.

I am thankful that during times of pain and sadness, God gives us glimpses of Heaven. A song, a scripture, a sweet note from a friend, laughter, sunrises and sunsets.

Thanksgiving will be different this year. My heart misses my Dad. I wonder if Heaven has a big Thanksgiving feast. With a long banquet table of all his friends and family that have gone to be with Jesus through the years. I picture him sitting with the Lord and his heart so full of thanksgiving and gratitude. That his faith has been made sight.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

Just thinking

To listen to the instructions of God.

Seems simple and desirable enough. It's a hope of mine...and to carry them out, the instructions of God, well, that can feel like a different task altogether. However, when we pause and consider enough...in our inmost places, the desire and love of God - those "instructions" suddenly become more a guide, a poem of direction rather than a list of do's and don'ts which allow no freedom nor fun. 

I'm gathering more and in my experiences that God's desire is more of presence and dwelling than boundaries and wrong doing, etc. I believe His desire is to be fully present with us, His creation.  If that is the case, because He is God, there must be Holiness and Glory. For He says, "Be Holy, for I am Holy.". So, it shouldn't be any surprise as what his requirements are to walk with Him. It's more like a license to live...live truly and in freedom. Otherwise there is living hopelessly and in bondage. To me, that spells misery and nothing that is life-giving. 

 I want to live where there is freedom and hope and Glory and goodness and desires that come from Heaven. So, today, I will do my part to honor that which God the Father has called me forth. 

What other "choice" is there? 

The instructions of God...

Blessings,

Andy O. 

Out of my time in Exodus...

This morning I was reminded of the delivery methods of God.  He delivers clearly and so it seems is in the same manner by which Jesus put on skin, that we might have life abundantly (John 10:10). He delivers with ample supply...more than enough...more than is desired..more than our fill - He essentially over delivers. 

I think it's a matter of fully trusting in his power. Fully trusting in His calling. His word. His desires. When this occurs, belief rings true and I believe it pleases the Father even more so and He can't resist...the truth is, He's crazy over His creation. 

May we listen more deeply and trust from our roots upward into the arms and direction of God. 

Blessings today. 

-ao

Notes from Holy Week contemplation

Psalm 22:19

"But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me."
-Psalms 22:19 (NIV84)

And then...

Psalm 27:14

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
-Psalms 27:14 (NIV84)


Take heart and wait...for the Lord.

Watching the snow fall.

Waiting for the depths of what this Thursday night and Friday morning mean within the core of myself...longing to hope for the the Life that will spring forth on Sunday morning...Life from the power of God. Life from the focused Christ...from His heart..from His love. It was......for me. For you. For us. All of us.

Again, snow falling today; yet another reminder that He is in control. Not me. Thank heavens. He is in control. While I have things, ambitions, and specific hopes....not one thing will happen that has not first been allowed to happen by the love and mercy of God. Oh how I hope for things to come...yet the sense I get within, the one that seems to be from the Spirit of the Lord, His Holy Spirit...seems to say "wait for the Lord!" "keep your focus on Easter...on what I have done for you!"

So here in the snow...I wait, I watch, and I long for the next move of Jesus. It's snow for now...what to make of this perfectly unique and pure white covering from the skies??? I suppose I can only continue to watch and wait in gratitude alone.

Gratitude, Lord.

Here am I. Hoping. Waiting. Watching. (secretly crossing my fingers)

Blessings,

-ao

genesis 32:22-32

From Olivia's blog. From our reading today....I say "ditto" - read below. 

The back drop is also Psalm 31. 

-ao 

 [The Wild Wild West] genesis 32:22-32

Please, go read this now.

I am doing a Lenton Devotional written by a friend of ours, Jim Branch. It's been neat because Andy is doing it too and we have had some great conversations. I have had so many "Ah-ha" moments where God continues to show me another deep layer of Himself. This week the title is Broken. We are all broken. Christians, non-Christians. We are broken. We have all experienced pain, sadness and even some of us have questioned "Why". Why me?  Why am I having to go through this? Why is this happening?

This brings me encouragement:

In fact, blessings sometimes come through brokenness that could never come in any other way. –Gerald G. May

A night when God finds us alone, grabs us, throws us to the ground, and wrestles with that fundamental flaw in our character. In that dark night of the soul, though He cripples us, in the dawn He blesses us. –Ken Gire

Deepen my hurt until I learn to share it and myself openly, and my needs honestly. Sharpen my fears until I name them and release the power I have locked in them and they in me. –Ted Loder

Some of the times I have felt the closest to God, have been some of the most dark times in my life. God was faithful and continues to be faithful. Thank you Lord.

--
Posted By Blogger to The Wild Wild West at 3/12/2013 02:30:00 PM

Tuesday...it's the only today I have

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." -Psalm 51:10

The best day of your life?

Recently, a friend sat with me discussing our lives, our trust in God...or lack of trust, and the hope we have in God's faithfulness & provision. We talked about desires and from where do they come from...of how the Lord both placed them (the ones we referred to in our conversation) and wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He delights in our hearts' desires!

Then, my friend spoke up about living our lives. He said, "I spent my entire life living "out there", waiting on my life and my ministry to unfold. He said I knew that when I got there (pointing with his finger out from his body) I would have everything in order...all my financials, all my details of my ministry, my family...my dreams. But, you can't live out there in the future just the same that you can't live your life in the past...and you know you can't do that!!" Then he looked at me and said, "Andy, today is the BEST day of your life...it's the only one you have. Live in this moment, this breath, this one..right now, every single day. It's all you have."

TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!

Lord, help me to live today in each breath as a gift from you because it's precisely what I have been given from you. Let me live my life purely. Renew my spirit with you each day. Beginning, now.

Amen.

"Your breath isn't your own; it has been borrowed from God."

"We experience being drawn, like a magnet, to the Divine."

-both from Macrina Wiederkehr

Blessings,

-ao