Today is the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent simply means “arrival.” It is the season to celebrate and reflect on God’s breaking into His creation in the form of a human life approximately 2,020 years ago.

This is the first season of the Christian Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the preceding four Sundays.

It’s beautiful.

During Advent, we reflect upon, meditate upon, even work at what it means to be watchful. To be hopeful and watchful. To be ready for Christ’s coming, His advent, the most important and significant event in our human history.

Passages in Scripture that have been misappropriated or misused for Christ’s second coming actually much more likely point to Jesus’s vindication at the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (more on that another day). Quite important for us to keep in mind is being ready for Christ’s little advents everyday throughout each day. Christ’s coming like a thief in the night, or even His standing at the door knocking are His unexpected anytime moments of calling on us for service, worship, listening, or changing.

We Christians do believe Christ will return as King, but many over the decades have abused passages to the provocation of a response by some with the bumper sticker, “Jesus is coming, hide the bong.” That’s what it sadly turns into. But (hopefully) it’s much deeper than that. It’s to always be at the ready for Christ’s calling upon you. He may very well tell you to put the bong away, I don’t know. But I do know, and have experienced, many times the beautiful call to His work of listening to someone, to sending a message of encouragement, to stop reading and just listen to Him, to stop staring…

Growing up very Protestant, I unfortunately missed and misunderstood the season of Advent. It was something “they” did that we don’t do so as not to be confused with “them” over there on the wrong side. And I missed out on the beauty I now appreciate greatly of the Christian calendar. We are not of this world, we are of God’s kingdom. Therefore, isn’t it right to base our seasons upon the true Center of the universe Jesus Christ, and not on ourselves?

On this Thanksgiving Day I feel compelled to share with you an experience I had recently (Tuesday, November 15th).

I awoke at 2:30 in the morning and felt this strong urge to go downstairs. Not sure why, but I went. And, like many parents I’m sure, I checked on our two daughters, making sure they were breathing and peaceful. I prayed over them, and then walked around the living room, double checking that the front door was locked, and wondered why I was up walking around.

I decided to head back up to bed, and just before I got to the stairs, I peered out the back kitchen window and saw something striking. Out on our girls’ play-set slide there appeared to be three lights–on the top, middle, and bottom. They looked just like stars as they appear from looking up at the night sky. The middle one also had a crescent on top of it, like a smile. They were extremely bright.

It was so mesmerizing, that I could not stop staring, trying to figure out the cause of this light show that dazzled me so. Now this was the time of the “super moon” when the moon was its closest to earth in decades. So logically, I figured it must be a reflection from the intensely bright and close moon. It’s just that these three “stars” looked to be emanating their own light, again, very brightly. As practical as it seemed to call this a moon reflection, it simply did not appear to be the case as it looked like no reflection I’ve ever witnessed. Also, I stared at these attractive lights for about twenty minutes straight, and they stayed fixed. They did not move. At all. If a reflection, I would expect some movement. But I’m not a scientist.

Actually, the crescent was the one thing that did shift. It morphed over the middle “star” in such a way that it looked more and more like a bird’s wings. A dove.

Transfixed, I prayed, thanking God, asking God what was happening here. The answer I wrote in my journal as follows: “I take this as a sign of you, Trinity–Father above, the Son sent below, and the Spirit, like the wind, ever moving, unpredictable. You are here with us, in this place.”

I felt a tremendous peace as I looked upon this sign and manifestation as the presence of God with us, the truth of the Trinity–that God is Father, Son, and Spirit, here with us in this very place. The shekinah. It’s as if God sent this sign of lights to lovingly to say, “I am here. I am with you. I am three-in-one relationship presence.”

I’m not sure if this gives you some comfort, or causes you to think I’m even crazier than you already suspected–I hope both! Because that would really make me smile.

What I’m really trying to say is that I am most thankful for the presence of God which is very real, even if it’s without a laser light show on our daughters’ play-set at three in the morning.

If I had to say who my favorite author is today, I would enthusiastically put forth the Cistercian monk of the Tarrawarra Abbey in Victoria, Australia–Michael Casey.

I urge you, if you have time, read anything this wonderful man writes. It’s all gold. His is about the most insightful, poignant, and meditation-provoking writing I’ve yet encountered. His understanding of the human condition is off the charts.

I’m slowly working my way through his masterful work Fully Human Fully Divine for the second time, and I just wanted to share this excerpt from it with you today. I have found this so foundational and representative of The Ripple Effect core:

The act of contemplation, although it occurs within a spatio-temporal shell, is not of this world. It is like a glimpse into eternity.

It is, as we have already remarked, too easy to reduce Christian existence to its cognitive and ethical components. These are important because they provide the kindling and fuel by which the fire of devotion is initiated and sustained; but it is the flame that is the irreplaceable heart of religion. Without ongoing access to the invisible world where God dwells, all the other aspects of Christian discipleship lose their savor. Contrary arguments seem more convincing and the attractions of loose living more powerful. Rebellion seethes. Without personal experience of the divine, there is a danger that our spiritual life will become mere semblance without substance, keeping up appearances.

Romans 8:35-39

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow–not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below–indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can Donald Trump separate us from the love of God?

Can Hillary Clinton separate us from the love of God?

My goodness, some of us Christians sure act like they can, don’t we?

I am convinced that no president shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God.

How does the president of the United States change your relationship with God?

How does the president affect your personal interactions with the risen Christ?

How does political leadership prevent you from doing good to your neighbor who is right in front of you?

How does congress make you pray less?

Does the senate block the Holy Spirit from being the great Comforter?

No matter who our leaders are, I keep praying everyday. I continue to interact with Jesus about everything throughout each day. I keep loving the person the Holy Spirit places in front of me. Leaders may be able to change some of our outer circumstances, but they will never be able to take our inner freedom to experience the love of God. No leader can affect our personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus, or prevent us from loving our neighbor.

Psalm 150

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

I came across the richest, beautifullest definition of praise yesterday.

Praise is the joyful recognition that we are not the center of the universe, and the grateful acknowledgement that Someone Else is and always will be.

I never really thought of it quite like that before. But that does seem to capture the beautiful essence of praise.

It is good to praise God. Not only is to good for us, but I believe it blesses God as well. Somehow, God is honored by our praise. Maybe it has to do with God’s self-limitation combined with His high value on relationship with us humans. Maybe it’s kinda like when a child compliments you or draws you a picture. You love it, appreciate it, are honored and affirmed by it, but you don’t really need it….or do you?

Perhaps as you are praising God today, however that may look for you, this naming of what you are deeply doing will inspire you and affirm just how important it is to do what you are doing.

As mentioned yesterday, I wanted to share with you the practice we took part in at our last contemplative service on Sunday nite.

It is called “Thought Rhyming.” Let me tell you briefly why it has this name. Ephesian 2:10 says that we are God’s “handiwork” or “workmanship” according to many translations. Some even say “masterpiece” which is perhaps more descriptive.  The Greek word Paul used here was “poiema” which has come to mean “poetry” in its English translation. Now originally, Paul most likely meant “fabric of God’s creation” thus handiwork. But you can see the beauty in humans being God’s poetry.

Poetry in Scripture does not rhyme sounds; it follows the Hebrew pattern of rhyming thoughts. You see this a lot in Proverbs and of course the Psalms. We can actually rhyme the thoughts of our Heavenly Father. And that is where this practice derived its name–“Thought Rhyming.”

The idea behind this practice is to see God seeing you. As we said yesterday, it’s one thing, a foundational thing indeed, to have a healthy and right view of God. It is another, perhaps even deeper thing, to have a healthy view of God’s view of you!

Thought Rhyming is a way to write out, in a healthy manner, how you perceive God is seeing and hearing you as well as what He may be offering you. It’s really an amazing, beautiful, and helpful practice for nourishing your spirit and your soul as we talked about yesterday.

This is simply one way to become keenly aware of, intensely focus upon, and deeply embed the core truth of the universe that we are fully seen, known, accepted, and loved by our Creator–who is unconditional love, whose mercy endures forever, and who forgives us all our sins, because right relationship is more important to God than our most deplorable acts and thoughts.

OK, here is the file (it would be a little much to put right here):

thought-rhyming

So we’ve been talking about the energy we run on day to day–how we are made to run on the fuel of God Himself. Yesterday we threw out the question “How do we drink from the Well of Living Water which is Jesus?”

First off, I’d like to put forth two sentences that have been very helpful and shaping in my journey:

A soul is healthy to the extent that it maintains a strong connection and receptivity to God.

and

The strength of a relationship is determined by the quality and frequency of your interactions.

OK.

Where I see the most neglect in the spiritual life these days is a lack of authentic prayer.

How do we drink from the Well of Living Water? Authentic, focused time with God.

There are public practices of worship and teaching, as well as interpersonal practices of spiritual friendship or partnership. Very important. But where I see the most lack is personal connection to God individually.

We drink via directed, focused attention. To simply take a minimum amount of, say, seven minutes a day to direct your attention to nothing but God alone, shutting out all else (difficult at first but gets easier over time) to connect with and receive from God.

How could this look?

Perhaps just a check-in or run-through of your day with God, taking time to notice He was there every minute.

Maybe going through all you are grateful for from the previous day in a personal dialogue with God, not merely writing down what you’re thankful for as we have advocated here in the past. That is good for you, but it is conversing with Jesus that maintains that connection with Him.

It could be reading just one verse of Scripture in the morning for those seven plus minutes, and then chewing on it all day with God. Or maybe even just one word from one verse in order to open yourself up to what God may be saying to you through it.

To just sit in silence with God “unagenda-ed” and undefended, in order to receive what you most need–Himself.

Even science is showing that we are losing our ability to focus on one thing for an extended period of time, and we are paying dearly for it–losing sense of who we are, and of who God is.

How we drink from the well and maintain the health of our soul is directed, focused attention upon God in a posture of receptivity. This may or may not include words.

To put it succinctly:

Prayer.

Authentic prayer of the heart.