“Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:16)

Northside Church completed a Habitat for Humanity house last winter. Hundreds of volunteers worked together to make the dream come true. The ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 26^th celebrated a new home for Miss Belinda.

I hauled supplies, cut lumber, hammered nails, attached siding, and installed blinds. Three of us made an easy-to-assemble shed look hard. We blamed it on the hieroglyphic directions but installing the floor upside down didn’t help!

The men and women on the worksite ranged from teenagers to septuagenarians. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents served side-by-side. No doubt the groups could have argued every side of any political or societal issue.

AND . . . we built a home together in eight weeks!

People assume church harmony means mutual agreement. Experience teaches us otherwise. Those seeking a church where everyone agrees will be disappointed. Whenever two or more gather in Jesus’ name, the Lord promised to be present because he realized how much conflict would occur!

Our heavenly Father adopts us into God’s household without the option of selecting our siblings. We crowd into the station wagon for a long road trip with the Lord’s admonition, “Now, you kids get along!” The Holy Spirit calls us to live in peace with one another.

The church is not a human institution but a supernatural creation. Losing sight of this fundamental truth causes us to focus on our differences rather than our commonalities. What binds us together surpasses whatever might pull us apart.

AND . . . we built a home together in eight weeks.

Northside Church begins its next Habitat Build this Saturday, January 28! Visit https://www.northsideumc.org/habitat for details.

I wear a titanium Seiko wristwatch. The watch cannot display emails, send texts, measure heartrate, track fitness, map routes, or track sleep. The timepiece simply keeps time. It’s an analog oddity in a digital world.

The battery died last fall with the hour and minute hands frozen at 7:10. (I would add AM or PM but see the analog note above.) I continued to wear the watch in hopes of visiting a jeweler, but two weeks passed before I finally got the battery replaced. The experience taught me several lessons.

We are creatures of habit. I knew the watch didn’t work, but I glanced at it reflexively throughout the day. What other subconscious routines and practices rule our lives?

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I entertained myself by checking the time in the morning and evening at 7:10. The experience reassured me that the watch wasn’t broken, just inaccurate sporadically! I think of friends (certainly not me!) who are occasionally in error but never in doubt.

It’s perfectly acceptable for a technological device to perform one function well. I already spend too much time on my personal computer and cell phone. I don’t need a wrist manacle that displays emails, sends texts, measures heartrate, tracks fitness, maps routes, or tracks sleep. I just need it to keep time accurately.

The new battery should power my Seiko for several years. We look forward to a good time together in our analog world.

A group of older men stare daily through my office doorway. The wall across the hall features the portraits of my predecessors. Ten photographs depict the previous pastors appointed to Northside Church. The portraits of the nine men (Bill Floyd served twice) testify to the congregation’s rich pastoral heritage.

 Seven of the nine clergy have died, going from the church militant to the church triumphant. The two surviving pastors retired years ago but continue to serve in various ways. My antecedents’ example inspires me to honor a legacy of leadership in this congregation and community.

The pictures promote a spirit of humility in my soul. I am but the latest in a line of clergy to serve Northside Church. One day my photograph will hang on the wall, too. I will stare across the hallway at my successors.

The Lord calls us to serve faithfully in our appointed place and time. We remember the past and anticipate the future, but we serve God here and now. Our work is for the moment, which will quickly pass; but we trust that our words and deeds carry eternal import.

A group of older men stare daily through my office doorway. One day I hope to earn the right to join them. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-1)

My grandmother’s home possessed a magical appeal during the holidays. A live fir adorned the living room with antique ornaments and glittering tinsel. Strings of bubble lights draped the tree, granting an illusion of liquified fire flickering within glowing candles.

The bubble lights possessed a dark side. The candles grew hot to the touch, threatening to turn dry limbs into flashfire tinder. Shattered globes inflicted razor-sharp cuts. The ornaments contained methylene chloride, a toxic liquid if ingested, inhaled, or touched. The lights diminished in popularity during the 1970s, replaced by safer “fairy bulbs.”

Several years ago, a coworker found a novelty bubble light online. It plugged into an outlet and bubbled after a few minutes. I expressed my admiration of the ornament, and my personal Christmas light appeared at the church a few days later.

The ornament holds a year-round place of honor in my office. It highlights a collection of manger scenes that surround it. It bubbles constantly during the holidays, but I randomly turn it on throughout the year.

The bubble light invokes the Christmas spirit in my soul. It reminds me of an innocent age when I thought my grandmother’s home bordered the North Pole. The mélange of holiday memories makes me smile as I recall absent family.

I pray that you experience the holidays as Holy Days during this season of childlike wonder. If you need some help, then drop by the church and bask in the nostalgic glow of my bubble light.

My childhood, holiday traditions included watching three MUST-SEE specials on primetime TV: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They aired only once during December, and I carefully noted the dates and times.

IM always HO, the mid-1960s represented the Golden Age of Christmas TV specials. Computer-generated images cannot compete with traditional animation or stop-motion photography.

But.

The Grand Miss Haisley has introduced me to a new generation of holiday specials. Note I said “holiday” and not “Christmas.” Even Charles Schulz would not get away with reciting Luke’s Christmas story on prime-time TV today. Nevertheless, I actually like some of the newer shows.

Our granddaughter and I agree that Olaf’s Frozen Adventure tops the list. The cast of Frozen reunited for the holiday adventure. Olaf the Snowman discovers various families’ traditions associated with Christmas, Hanukah, and the Winter Solstice. The show culminates with a Disney-they-lived-happily-ever-after ending.

The animated special emphases the importance of traditions. Rituals shape identity, meaning, and purpose. They inform who we are in relationship with others. Seemingly insignificant customs contain great import. The rites often begin with little intention but become part of a family’s legacy.

Parents and grandparents recognize they are making memories with their children and grandchildren. Investments of time result in priceless returns. Some day our children will share family traditions with their children in turn.

The Bible implores parents to raise up children in the way they should go. Therefore, I have introduced Haisley to some old friends, including Charlie Brown, Rudolph, and Cindy Lou Who.  I have met Olaf, Anna, and Elsa through her in turn.  

This Christmas keep some traditions and make some memories. They last a lifetime and beyond.  

I am republishing this blog from last year. It reminds me to enjoy the Holy Day Season before it slips away.

A Hallmark display at a local store caught my eye. The sign above the holiday greeting cards declared, “Christmas is December 25^th.” Huh. Good to know!

Many bemoan how the holidays arrive earlier each year. Retailers anxious for Christmas sales begin Black Friday sales on July 4^th. Costco erected a winter wonderland of snowmen and penguins in September. XM Radio premiered their holiday stations on November 1.

And Hobby Lobby . . . well, the home goods store celebrates three seasons: Last Christmas, This Christmas, and Next Christmas.

I’ve always resisted the Hallowthankmas holiday madness, choosing to observe the day after Thanksgiving as my personal advent of the holidays. However, I’ve experienced a Dicken’s-like change of heart.

December days rush by so quickly with over-committed calendars and hectic schedules. December 26^th always dawns with an awareness that I never accomplished everything hoped for or planned during the holiday rush.

Therefore, this year I’m celebrating an early Christmas.

I’m decking the halls, listening to Christmas music, and singing “The Twelve,” well, I draw the line at singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Seven Nativity Scenes adorn my office. A candle ornament plugged into an outlet bubbles merrily away. I’ve been sipping egg nog since mid-November. If I had some chestnuts, they would be roasting on an open fire. 

Oh, I fight the occasional urge to say, “Bah, humbug.” I’m a recovering Scrooge with occasional lapses. However, life’s too short to miss the advent of the Holy Day Season.

Christmas is December 25^th this year. But why wait? Start celebrating an early Christmas today!

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Our bedroom’s smoke detector began chirping in the middle of the night. The device insisted the backup battery needed replacement NOW. I covered my head with a pillow, but the eardrum-piercing shriek pierced the down filling.

I grumbled out of the bed and stumbled into the garage. Banging shins and walls with a stepladder, I placed it under the offending detector. A glance revealed that the twelve-foot tall ceiling measured six feet higher than the ladder.

Male bravado overcame common sense. I perched on the penultimate rung and stretched to reach the ceiling. The ladder swayed like a sapling in the wind. My fingers brushed the plastic shell, and I twisted the cover. The entire assembly tumbled out of the drywall, dangling on electrical wires.

The next step in my brilliant plan involved balancing on top of the ladder while inserting a battery into the detector. My longsuffering wife mentioned my advanced age and diminished sense. She expressed a strong aversion to calling 911 in the middle of the night.

Abandoning my machismo midway between floor and ceiling, I reluctantly descended the ladder. My antics somehow jostled the dangling smoke detector into temporary silence, which I assured my spouse was the master plan all along.

Mischief managed, crisis averted, and manhood restored.

The church’s building director brought a 10-foot tall stepladder to the parsonage the following morning. I supervised from floor level as he replaced the battery. Informed knowhow and proper equipment quickly completed the project, but I assured myself that the scene didn’t provide the death-defying entertainment of my previous night’s escapades.

Follow me for more home maintenance tips!

A church leader introduced me to the Franklin Covey Day-Timer in the 1990s. The paper-based planning system appealed to my sense of discipline and order. The daily planner incorporates prioritized tasks, daily notes, monthly calendars, personalized sections, and address books. The leather binder contains a significant portion of my world!

My work with large staffs eventually caused me to adopt an Outlook calendar. It syncs with my phone to constantly update my schedule. The share feature enables people to coordinate meetings and to send reminders.

Time management experts encourage the use of a single calendar. Despite technological advances, I remain an analog native in a digital world. I enjoy opening the leather binder and viewing an entire month. The two-page daily calendar provides space for daily tasks and notes. Checking “Done” on the “To Do” list grants an endorphin high!  

Last month I received the 2023 refill pack, which includes a two-page, monthly calendar for the coming year. The white pages gleamed without mar or mark. I envisioned a world with no obligations, responsibilities, or appointments. Then reality reasserted itself.

Next year’s calendar already bears the marks of pencil, pen, and marker. Sometimes it feels overwhelming; but I realize what ties us down also frees us up for God’s work.

A critic gave this review to a mediocre play, “A great way to kill time for those wishing it dead!”

We receive each day as a gift from God’s gracious hand. Therefore, seize the day and redeem the time. We don’t have a second to waste.  

Paul encouraged the church in Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” The verse has inspired my devotional life in 2022.  

“Rejoice in hope.” Paul reveals a vital connection between the attributes of joy and hope. Christians rejoice in the present because of our hope for the future. The Holy Spirit exhorts my soul with a two-word refrain, “Choose joy!” Christians possess an eternal perspective that enables us to claim Frederick Buechner’s reminder, “Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.”

“Be patient in tribulation.” A meme on a clergy site declared, ‘Being a pastor is easy. It’s like riding a bike. Except the bike is on fire. You are on fire. And the committee for fire suppression needs a quorum!” Everyone faces troubles and trials. Patience recognizes that this too shall pass.  In the interim, we listen for God’s voice in the midst of the storm and in the aftermath of the stillness.

“Be constant in prayer.” Constancy means spending specific times and all times in God’s presence. Devotional discipline sets aside daily times and places for divine appointments. However, sanctified spirits experience the Holy Spirit’s presence in every time and place.

Join me in committing Romans 12:12 to memory. Recite the verse as a devotional aid. Repeat the words as a breath prayer. Claim the passage every moment of the day and night.  

Joy. Hope. Patience. Tribulation. Constancy. Prayer. Here, we find God, and God finds us.

Rejoice!