Christmas Magic

I LOVE this time of year! Christmastime makes me sentimental for the days of my youth when believing in Santa was as important as believing in ANYthing else! One of my favorite memories is when my brother Scot and I spent Christmas Eve over at our Grandparents house on Bunting Dr. in North Augusta. As was the case EVERY Christmas Eve, we were straining as hard as we could to go to sleep because we were under the impression that if we were awake when Santa got to our house he'd bypass us and we'd awaken to no presents! Of course, the ONLY natural response to this kind of pressure at our young ages was insomnia! I remember closing my eyes EXTRA hard in a vain attempt at falling asleep quicker! I remember my Granddaddy poking his head into our room...he announced to my brother and I that he'd just looked down the street and spied Santa's sleigh on top of the Cox's house...I've never prayed to fall asleep as sincere as I did that night because I knew that the Cox's house was only a few houses down! SUCH good memories! I LOVE this time of year! As I've grown much older...I've found that the magic has shifted for me. It's not less...just different!

Tonight, as I watched all my nieces and nephews rip into their presents, I delighted in their pure joy! Seeing their faces light up with each gift really made me happy. Had I been their age, I'd have been more focused on what I was getting and wouldn't even notice what they were getting...where did this change come from?! 

With little doubt, it HAD to be when I started learning more about the 'Reason of the Season'. Sure, even though I didn't grow up going to church...I was aware of the Christmas story. Back in those days, it was common to see Nativity scenes everywhere and I was the kid that would ask, "What's up with this?". My mom would tell me the short version of the story and that was enough for me. At that age, it was still about the presents on Christmas morning that mattered most! As I grew older, I got my hands on a Bible and read it from cover to cover...a number of times. I confess that I didn't understand everything I read and confess, yet again that I still don't. But the story of Jesus' birth ALWAYS intrigued me. Everything about it seemed extraordinary! That Mary, a virgin would give birth to a baby and that Joseph would stay with Mary after learning of her pregnancy KNOWING that he hadn't 'been' with her always blew my mind. Sure, an angel gave them BOTH a heads up, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't have written the messenger off as a weird dream or something had this happened to me! Ok?! HOW does this begin the transition from finding the best joy of being a receiver to finding the greater joy to being a giver? It's in, as Paul Harvey would say, "the REST of the story". 

EVEN if you don't believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior...you HAVE to admit, he was an AMAZING giver! At 30, Jesus committed his life to blessing through healing. Blind received sight, lepers were healed, dead lived again, etc....he DID do some extraordinary things to the benefit of those that would cross his path! The Bible is silent on Jesus' life from 12-30...I contend that Jesus was going through an important process of life that we ALL must go through and it's in this process that I believe we ALL go from being receivers to becoming givers! There's a development that has to take place! Somewhere, we have to embrace a Mark 10:31 moment of NEW reality! Did Jesus come to lord over us or did the King of kings, Lord Jesus come to serve us? For Christians, Jesus is the standard...impossible standard, but he IS the example of how Christians are to live. He's reversed ALL logic...kings don't 'serve'...they GET served. As Mark 10:31 says, "the first shall be last and the last shall be first"...wouldn't THAT change everything?! Imagine giving a gold medal to the person that came in last and nothing to the person that actually won the race! As weird as it reads...it IS the transition that I'm talking about!

Remember, when I was a child, my best delight on Christmas morning was tearing through endless amounts of wrapping paper unveiling the new treasures that were intended for me. But now, as someone that has benefitted from age, receiving gifts has become less enjoyable...don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting gifts but I've come to a point in my life (process) where I get more excited over seeing someone delight in a gift that I've given them! In fact, I'd wager that the delight I get from giving outlasts that of the recipient! As the magic of Santa has faded for me I've become mystified of the miracle of Jesus! His process inspires me in my own! For Him, it started with the hands of an infant becoming the hands of a carpenter to becoming the hands of a healer....ONLY to have those same hands nailed to a cross for MY sins! Jesus is the ultimate giver and I believe that He has laid out a process for us all! 

We ALL start off with the hands of infants...desperately in need for nurturing. The last mention of Jesus as a boy is when He was 12 years old...in Luke 2:41-47, He was in the temple listening to the religious leaders and challenging them with his own wisdom. Obviously, Jesus had the advantage...being born God assures this! But for you and I, it's an important part of the process! We have to pay attention to the teaching and respond to it to the best of our ability! The 'missing years' are important, too! In Jesus' day, it would have been normal for him to spend years at his earthly father's side learning the family trade. Joseph, Jesus' earthly father was a carpenter. More than likely, this occupation didn't look like those of 'carpenters' of today. Today, this title might make one think of building furniture out of wood and such. But back then, a carpenter was more like a contractor. It would involve building anything from furniture to building bridges, repairing and building of homes, etc....in short, it was a job of meeting whatever need that was known by the people of the community for a monetary fee. This is an important part of our process as we're surrounded by people with needs of all shapes and sizes. At 30, Jesus begins His ministry...in THIS period of the process...he gives us the example of giving without a fee...He was going to pay that for us later! In His ministry years, Jesus proved selfless...right up to the day that those same hands would be nailed to a cross. 

I believe that the TRUE Christmas magic comes in the attitude of selflessness! I'm FAR from being selfless, but I'm MUCH closer to its hope than I was as a child. I know this because tonight, I delighted more in the smiles of the children as they opened the presents that I had given them than I did when I opened my present. I know this because I'm moved MORE by the example of Jesus than I ever was by the belief in Santa. I still love Santa...but, he's a one day out of the year kind of selflessness. Jesus is 365 days out of the year...I pray that we ALL celebrate selflessness in our lives and celebrate a 'magic' greater than Christmas morning for children! 

Merry Christmas!

Gold vs Fools Gold

I love Pintrest...truly! I find it to be a GREAT escape from the drama infested Facebook, Twitter, etc. There are no conversations, no accusations and I haven't seen ANY hint of Sub-Pintresting to this point! With that said, of all the boards I've created to my Pintrest  account (I think I'm up to 70 something...don't judge), the one I've dedicated to inspiring quotes is my favorite. I have found some AMAZING quotes that I, either find apply to my life or they SHOULD apply to my life. There are a lot of golden nuggets of wisdom in the world of Pintrest! However, there are a TON that I've found disturbing...fools gold, if you will!

The ones that bother me most are the ones that speak of "following ones heart"in relationships. Follow my heart?! I don't want to devalue the heart...after all, it IS the pump that keeps everything functioning. Without it...we'd die! I can, ALSO appreciate the way it acts as a barometer for our emotions. When I hold a woman's hand for the first time, it races. When I'm cuddling, it slows to a calming rhythm. But, how long do these emotions last? They're ALL temporary...some longer than others, but no emotion last forever so WHY would I "follow my heart"?!

When we were created, we were equipped with a brain AND a heart! The two communicate constantly and I don't believe that this is by chance! Our hearts serve a noble purpose...the two that I mentioned above seem to be the greatest. Our brain has it's own purpose...it is the 'communicator' of our bodies! It is CONSTANTLY at work giving our bodies information....if NOT for the brain, our heart rate would ONLY mean that our beats per second are high or low. It's our brain that discerns our heart beats from those of a hurried pace and those of moments of passion...aka "Love".

My problem with leading with one's heart is that it lacks reasoning. It puts us in a "If it feels good do it" mentality. Again, without reasoning, there is nothing cautioning us against consequences. Who doesn't enjoy falling in love?! It changes every thing when this magic occurs! But, when the emotion dies....what then? We find ourselves in a revolving door of false hope...looking for the next 'magic'. Love isn't as easy as emotion...it demands reason! Does this person make me a better person? Am I happiest with this person? Reason will permit us to see our partner's imperfection, but inspire us to endure the down times for the heights of the good times. Reason allows for hope! Heart AND reason MUST come together for us to realize our greatest hope!

In summary, I believe that there MUST be a balance! Where our hearts and minds intersect, I find that the best answers to relationships reside! Too much reasoning and man and woman would NEVER unite! Truly, one is from Mars and the other is from Jupiter! Understanding each other can be as futile an effort as any might ever know! Too much heart responds only to a present emotion that will change as quickly as the wind. True gold sits at the crossroad of the heart and mind. The is wealth awaiting us all! Don't settle for fools gold...we weren't created to be fools!

Express Yourself

There are MANY things that touch the depths of my spirit! Pure worship of an amazing God, reading a verse of scripture that jumps out at me from the Word, seeing an underdog win, people reaching out to the less fortunate, lost people finding their way, etc! Without a doubt, Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I try to celebrate that in my daily walk. That said, in the past few years, I've found that writing songs has become a therapeutic response to the things that have effected me most throughout my life! I've ALWAYS been moved by music in a special way. I lost my father to suicide when I was 18, buried a girlfriend that same year, seen friends come and go, I've known failure in ministry, as well as victory in ministry along with the typical ups and downs of life! As I write lyrics and compose the music, I've discovered that, by doing so I take ownership of these areas as opposed to them having ownership over me! It has freed me from the persistent tugging on my spirit! I share this, because I've known TOO many people that keep stuff buried within themselves. Sadly, this leads to a numbness that robs them of TRUE existence. Numbness is Satan's cheap substitute for the peace that surpasses understanding God offers! When Satan is victorious in this, he blurs our vision of God's grace and mercy! The more we give into this, the harder it is to embrace God's best hope for our lives! If we're not careful, ANYTHING to do with the LIGHT offends our embrace of darkness! You might not be able to write songs, but the Lord has provided each of us with the ability to express ourselves....DO IT! You HAVE to have TRUE friends that you can confide in...the kind that will KNOW you and STILL love you! You can't do it alone...my songs are the results of many conversations I've had with friends like this! I'm thankful for each and everyone of them....shoot....they EVEN endure my songs!

I'm a simple soul surrounded by complexities that, regardless of all my efforts, consume me. I'll always be clear in my love for Jesus, yet find myself in a tug-of-war with Him daily. I have NO doubt that His hopes for me are MUCH greater than my own, yet the struggle remains. Pride is my greatest weakness. It affords Satan MANY opportunities to distract me from God's grace. I seek to be transparent in all that I do, but find too many people salivate at the chance to see one of God's children fall. Sadly, I can ONLY be transparent to a small number of people...this can happen quickly, however, as I feel inspired by their own willingness to celebrate transparency! My hope is to be 'real' in all I am and do. Even at the expense of 'relationships'. I confess, that I have little faith in humanity...especially, in these days. Selfishness reigns supreme in a time where selflessness is so desperately needed. "What's in it for me?" has become the sad mantra of our society and it drains the few "givers" left in this world of any sunshine they may cling to. We project all our shortcomings on our childhood or surroundings using them as a crutch supporting our sense of entitlement. I DO trust God in this area, but grow weary of the overwhelming sense that things are only getting worse. I'm committed to the mission. My calling is clear and I shall remain faithful in the pursuit to see things amended. God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!