Lord, teach me. . . .

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.  –William Arthur Ward We are entering an interesting, sometimes challenging season as followers of the Christ. It probably shouldn’t be as difficult as we make it every year, but the tug of the Lord and the frenzy of the world can point us in starkly different directions if we allow. On one hand, we are beginning our Advent journey, tiptoeing quietly ever closer to the cradle every Sunday, seeking God’s presence in our lives and in our hearts. We light candles. Many of us dedicate ourselves deliberately to a discipline of daily prayer or meditation. Maybe you have an Advent calendar with doors to open or treats to share. Christ our Savior is born! Let heaven and nature sing! And then there’s this other season, the one that begins on Black Friday and continues through Cyber Monday. The markets and malls try to convince us there is a more important kind of saving we all need. BUY! BUY

You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you  the power to change the world. –Andy Andrews It began as a Buddhist philosophy, the idea that something as insignificant as a butterfly’s flutter could have an effect on things halfway around the world. Years of scientific study and research have, indeed, proven the interconnectedness of all things. Like a pebble dropped in a pond, our actions, no matter how small, have a “ripple effect” in the world, often in unexpected ways. Imagine. . . . It has been an emotional, challenging week, as reality came crashing down (again). Innocents died. The world grieves. Politicians posture. Fear lurks. Sometimes it has felt as though darkness has truly won, as if we are alone in the universe. Where is God in the midst of such stuff? I wonder, sometimes, if God is asking the same question of us. Where are his faithful, believing followers? Why aren’t we doing something? Is it because you are

We have met the enemy, and he is us. –Pogo (I am writing a post I really don’t want to write, but am finding I can’t not write.) It’s likely that over the past week or so, you’ve caught wind of the 2015 “War on Christmas” being waged over Starbucks and their seasonal coffee cups. If you’ve been fortunate enough to miss the hubbub, here it is, in a nutshell: In years past, Starbucks has created wintry cups adorned with symbols of the season: snowmen, snowflakes, reindeer. This year, they’ve chosen to issue a plain red cup. No decorations. And this has led some angry, conservative Christians to claim that Starbucks is “declaring war on Christmas.” Seriously? All this over a disposable coffee cup? Who gives a flying . . . reindeer? Here’s what I believe: God did not come in to the world in human form to teach us how to decorate coffee cups. God did not come to model taking offense over how we greet one another, or what kind of music is most God-honoring. No. Jes

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. –Arnold Schwarzenegger Living in Cleveland can be a challenge. Despite the many, many wonderful places and things we have going for us—the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a world-class orchestra and arts district (and Church in the Circle, of course)—sometimes it still feels like we have a big bull’s eye painted on our backs. For instance, it’s been decades since the Cuyahoga River Incident; yet people still get their kicks (and our goat) by bringing up The Day the River Burned. It has also been decades since Cleveland had a sports team “go all the way” to win a championship. Oh, sure, we have come close a few times. But seeing that sea of Royal Blue in celebration in Kansas City reminded us (again): We aren’t there. Yet. Just wait until next year. . . . Sometimes, we just can’t get a break. Thank goodness, in the

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. –Voltaire Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musical genius. He composed his first piece when he was only five years old. At an early age, he was performing confidently before royalty. A true prodigy, music seemed to pour forth from his soul like water from a well. When Mozart died, he had only completed the first movement of his now-famous Requiem . Bits and pieces of nine other movements were found, but Mozart’s final work would never have been completed if not for Franz Süssmayr, an acquaintance of Mozart's. Süssmayr not only completed the nine partial movements Mozart had left behind; he added four more, all in the manner and style of Mozart. Throughout history, great works have been left unfinished. Sometimes they remain incomplete, as in the case of the watercolor portrait of Franklin Roosevelt, begun on April 12, 1945. The president collapsed and died later that day, and the por