Breaking Apart Isaiah 55

Recently I was sitting with my Bible at Caribou and came across Isaiah 55. I'm sure I've read this before, but today I was struck by the beauty of this chapter. If you are feeling a little down, or even if you're fine and you just want to remember God's love for you, read this chapter.

I had an ah-ha moment reading verses 10-11. It says...

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Now, usually when things are worded like this with a lot of interjections, I lose track of what was said at the beginning of the sentence. Today I was determined to make sense of it, so I reread each phrase separately, thinking of it in terms of the "Word of God" instead of rain or snow. Listen to this, my revised version:

The word of God comes down from heaven and waters the earth.
(It provides the means for growth.)

It makes the earth bud and flourish.
(Not only grow, but flower. The word of God makes things thrive and makes things beautiful.)

It yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.
(It provides seed - the means to continue - as well as nourishment for those who hear it. The word of God is able to be ongoing.)

As I read this, I see how powerful the word of God is. It provides growth, enhances lives, is ongoing, and nourishes.

Verse 11 continues, saying that word goes out from the mouth of God and will not return empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it.

I picture the word of God in the second half of this verse as something invisible, zooming through the air, zipping in between people on a crowded street, flying around corners until it hits its target. It has an intended purpose and won't stop until it gets there.

The Word of God is so powerful and incredibly alive.  I think we forget that sometimes.

Universal Letter Writing Week

Happy Universal Letter Writing Week!  I appreciate that this event is not just a one-day holiday but rather an entire week devoted to sitting down with pen and paper to communicate with the special people in your life.

How will you celebrate this year? 

Here are some ideas of people you could send a letter to during Universal Letter Writing Week:

1.) A college roommate - recall a shared memory
2.) A parent or sibling - tell that person what you appreciate about them
3.) Someone who recently went out of their way to show you kindness
4.) A store where you received excellent customer service
5.) A former teacher of yours - tell them about how they impacted your life
6.) A friend who is struggling - let them know you care
7.) A previous employer where you enjoyed working
8.) A newspaper or magazine - let them know how much you appreciate their publication
9.) Your member of congress - advocate for change (find your representative here)
10.) A pastor - thank them for their service and dedication.  I bet it's not an easy job!
11.) A letter to a nursing home patient.  It doesn't matter if you know them or not, in general mail is appreciated.  You could work together with some children in your life to make cards and drop them off at a nearby nursing home.

What other ideas do you have?

Epiphany...What REALLY Happened?

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

I've never questioned how this all went down until this morning.  I was reading an Epiphany devotional and my mind started to wander.  Did the wise men really just follow the star, go into the house, and give Jesus gifts?  What if it was more like this...

Wise Man 1 (WM1): Are we almost there? I'd really like to stop and use the bathroom before we get there.

WM2: I think we're almost there, the star seems to be slowing down now.

WM3: I'd rather we just go there first and use their bathroom.  I'm anxious to see the new king.

WM1: Fine, let's just go there first.

The star stops moving and they slow to a stop as well.

WM2: (In disbelief) - Could this be it?

WM1: (Stroking his beard) - I don't know, it doesn't seem very extraordinary.  I doubt a king would be here.

WM3: (hands on hips) - The star stopped here, this is obviously it.  Let's go in, c'mon.  We didn't come all this way to stand outside.

WM1: (hand on forehead, runs hand through hair) - I don't know, we're going to look like idiots if we barge into this house and it's not the right one.  What are we going to do?  Say, "Whoops, sorry" and then take our treasures back outside and knock on the neighbor's house?

WM2: (walking around) - It seems that the star's light is more on this house than any others nearby.  I'm sure it's the one.  I'll knock.

Door opens before he can knock.  Teenage girl appears - "I heard some commotion.  Is everything okay?"

WM1: (under his breath to WM3) - I told you this wasn't it.  How are we going to get out of this one?



Isn't that fun to imagine what might have happened?  Did the three wise men know immediately that this was it?  How do you introduce yourself to a complete stranger and explain why you're on their doorstep?  I love thinking about all that is not written in the Bible, and imagining how these interactions went.  All that is written is that they came to the house, saw Jesus and Mary, and then bowed down to worship.  I would have enjoyed being there and seeing that moment unfold in its entirety!

Happy Epiphany!  Today the three kings have come to welcome and worship the King of Heaven and Earth. 

Thank-you Notes

Thank you notes are a magnificent thing. In recent years I find myself writing more and more of them. Hands down, I write the most thank-you notes at Christmas time.

I'm currently up to my elbows in stamps, ink pads, tape, and craft paper making my Christmas thank-you notes for this year. I like making cards with the recipient in mind. I've been casually writing the notes as they are created, and I have to say, writing thank-you notes is one of my favorite things to do.

Writing a thank-you note allows me to think back to the person who did something nice for me, and to relive that moment or experience. When I've been writing to thank the people who have hosted parties or Christmas celebrations, I remember how much fun I had, the conversations, decorations, food, and all the little details. It's like hitting rewind and doing it all over again!

I've noticed that after I finish writing a note, my heart is light and I'm smiling recalling the kindness shown to me. I'm thinking about how I am cared for and loved, and how I love and care for the person who I'm writing to.

It's pretty great.

New Year's Reflection

This past May I was in Hawaii for a combined birthday/anniversary trip. Zac and I were in Hawaii on my actual birthday, and as I prepared for the trip I dreamed about all the cool things I could do to welcome in my 30's. The idea I finally landed on was to wake up before dawn, hike to a mountain peak, and watch the sunrise on my first day of being 30. Doesn't that sound glorious?

It didn't happen. It didn't happen for multiple reasons. The evening before my birthday we took a romantic dinner sailboat tour during which I got seasick. I'll spare the details, but let's just say I was not excited about getting up early the next day to go hiking before dawn. As we were winding up the sailboat tour and I was feeling better, I stood at the back of the boat and watched the sun set.

As the sun set, I reflected on my plans and compared them to how everything actually turned out. Instead of watching the sun rise on my 30th birthday, I was watching the sun set on my last day being 29. I thought about the significance of that and how reflective it was of how I was viewing my 30's. I was looking forward to all that there was to come, but in doing so I was forgetting to look back at the last year and decade of my life and remember all that there had been.

I began thinking about when I was 20 and the big things that happened that year of my life. So much happened during that entire decade! I graduated from college, did a year of volunteer work, met and married my husband, chose a career...the list goes on and on! I was thankful to have the opportunity on the sailboat to stop and reflect on the previous decade. This would have been bypassed had I been only focusing on welcoming in my 30's.

As I welcome the new year, I feel similarly. I spent so much time thinking about who I was going to spend New Year's Eve with, where we would go, what food I would prepare, and what things we would do. I thought about all that 2012 would bring and the wonderful changes that lay ahead for me. It's good and it's fun to think ahead, but it's also important to remember the past.

Today's entry in my Advent devotional, Child of the Light, encouraged reflecting on 2011, so I spent a good chunk of time at a coffee shop this morning thinking back over the year. To help me think about the past year, I used the suggested scripture passage, writing it out line by line and writing a few sentences about each line from my year. Here is the passage I used, from Ecclesiastes 3:

1There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

This was incredibly meaningful for me, and I suggest it for you too. Take some time to think back on the year that was completed. Who were you when it started and who are you now because of the events from the past year? What ways have you grown and what have you learned about yourself?

Happy New Year, and happy old year too. :)