Redeem, Reconcile, Restore

During the break, I've been working on a house project in the midtown area of Kansas City, MO.  I thought this picture of the basement went well with today's post at king.typepad.com.  He posted something written by Kurt Rietema about the restoration happening in the Argentine district of Kansas city, Kansas.  Kurt is a friend and fellow Youthfront employee who is also a gifted writer and thinker about community development.

Let’s exchange these locked doors for newly, mopped floors

Abandoned places for sacred spaces

Let’s trade silence for singing 

Languishing for laughing

Let’s turn cracked concrete into green grass

Bored teenagers and boarded up windows into wide-eyed wonderers with wide-open futures

Let’s exchange negligence for neighborliness

Hostility for hope

Graffiti for gratitude

Let’s turn ‘unfit for human habitation’ into the beginning of our own emancipation

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Gender Cake

Last night we had a party at my parents house to find out the gender of our next baby.  When we had our sonogram last week, we told them not to tell us the gender, but instead to write it on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.  Then we took the paper to a baker who made a cake with blue or pink icing in the middle.  Here is the video of the cake cutting.  We've never done anything like this before.  It was so much fun.  

Modular Courses

This week I'm in Louisville taking a week long intensive course on Leadership and Family ministry at Southern Seminary.  I really like these modular courses.  I get much more professor and peer interaction than an online course and I complete class time for the entire course in a week.  There are a lot of books to read and assignments to complete outside of the class, but it can all be done before the week-long seminar starts or after its over.  This class has been a little more free-flowing with schedule, but usually class is from 8am to 5pm with an 1 to 1-1/2 hour break for lunch.  During lunch you can usually grab the professor and get some personal interaction.   This is a picture of one of the buildings on campus.  Its so beautiful here.

Advent

I love Christmas.  As crazy as Christmas can be with family in two different states, I love seeing everyone. There are gifts, good food, games, and lots of laughter. Christmas is a celebration unlike any other holiday.

Throughout history, God’s people have had celebrations. There were feasts that lasted days and holidays that were so big everyone who held debts forgave them. Can you imagine that?

Unfortunately, it is typical to forget the reason for a feast or a party and be consumed by the planning, logistics, and the good things gained from the holiday. Christmas is no different. We get distracted by wonderful things and forget the purpose of it all.

Thousands of years ago, God made a promise, the first in a series of promises that point to someone who will make things right again.

Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God promised that one of their offspring would one day crush the head of that serpent and bring humanity back to the garden. To Abraham, again, the promise came that one of his offspring would be the avenue through which God would bring blessing on the earth again.   David, King of Israel, was meant to be someone who reminded us, that God’s true King was coming. 

Throughout the Old Testament, over and over and over again, God declares that he is sending a hero to reverse the curse and restore humanity.   Imagine being one of those ancient people, seeing history, wondering, “will the Messiah ever come?  We need a better ruler, who is courageous and just.” Imagine looking at your heart, knowing its brokenness and saying, “will the messiah ever come and make things right.  When, O God, will you come to reverse this curse.” Imagine the longing year after year after year. 

Now, read the story of Jesus’s birth. This is not just about trees, lights, gifts, and parties. It’s about the coming of the long awaited Messiah. It’s about the reconciliation your heart has longed for. Its about the stomping of the serpent, reversing the curse and the coming of a True and Just King.

More Sonogram Pictures

Sister Fun

We’re going to have a new baby!!! I don’t know if its a girl or not, but I would like a brother. Anna loved playing in the leaves this fall, and started swinging in a big girl swing. One of my favorite things is to make popcorn in the Whirli-pop and eat it with Mommy while we watch a Christmas movie.  ABi