...love wins

Ahh, another beautiful spring day in mid-winter! I love Texas. I always claim I would love to live up north, but really, being north and shoveling snow (necessity) or south and raking pine needles (just makes your yard look better-optional).

It is funny, as I have spent time thinking through why we do church, I have also been trying to observe the many people doing Christmas. I wonder if people really know what it is all about or if they do know, do they take the time to stop and just reflect on that.

Not that traditions are necessary for my faith but they help some things resonate better for me. I would like to observe advent in 2007. I came across the tradition of advent this December but I look forward to doing it with more awareness next year. I had heard of it and I also knew about advent calendars but I never took the time to actually read about it. The celebration of our coming Christ is great and I would like for my family to begin to celebrate that in a more tangible and experiential way.

As for giving gifts, my wife and I did things a little different this year. We gave some of our gift money to Living-Water, adopt-a-family at church, and then the rest to family and friends. I have found that no matter what, I will struggle with the self-sacrifice of me. I feel like we did good, but how good did we really do? What is really good and WISE when it comes to self-sacrificing your time and money for others?

I found myself feeling guilty that I did not give enough to the needy and that I did not give enough to my unneedy family. Why?!?! I even had this feeling at my own home like, "where are my presents?"...when I knew I had none there. While visiting family and exchanging gifts my thoughts where whispering, "when do I get my present?" Why?!?! We are innately prideful and selfish! All people are! We must constantly fight it off with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and flesh are constantly at battle...constantly! Next year (the whole year) I would like to challenge myself and family to give more of ourselves to others.

Don't get me wrong, I love gifts, and most that I got this year will aid me in my quest for more knowledge about God, Christianity, history, leadership, love, etc. But I would love to be a part of something that just gives abundantly. I know to give abundantly you must receive abundantly too. So I hope and pray that my family and I can be a part of something that receives with joy and gives with joy in order to make love win. That's what I want more then all...for love to win.
By the way...I just listened to "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. Great book. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it as well as discussing topics with my wife, who is listening to it now. Quick point from the book: Rob talks about how we always say "God showed up" at some particular time but really "we showed up" - God is ALWAYS there.

I hope that our church shows up to meet God this January. I am challenging the church to commit to meeting on Sundays and mid-week to pray with each other about the future of CrossCreek. I will soon be posting my 3 part series - Prayer reloaded (the challenge, why pray with the church?, and fasting) - on www.crosscreekchurch.net and will do my best to post it here as well.
-JW Shaw