Christmas Beauty

Most of you will remember that Christmas fell on a Sunday last year...as it seems to do every seven (or so) years. What a bother! Church on Christmas! Such was the general sentiment of many churches/church-goers. Some even canceled their Sunday services. (see post "Home for Easter")
Josh and I decided that we were going to embrace the Christmas Sunday worship. After-all, generations have been attending church on Christmas. Only recently has the church abandoned that tradition for the more modern ones that fill our houses. To our joy, we found that we truly loved being at church on Christmas morning.
Well, Christmas was back to its usual weekday landing. However, we found that many churches still embrace the tradition of meeting together to celebrate His birth. We were glad. Our yellow-book church search took us to St. Anne's Orthodox church which is just down the road from Josh's parent's home. And this is what we experienced; this was our Christmas Morning:

The boys awoke to find baby Jesus lying in the manger (after the long journey of Mary and Joseph). Jesus was here: The light of the world! They each opened a small gift: Jakey received a globe and Max got a flashlight: The light has come into the world!

Preparations were made to dress, gather our things and eat a light breakfast before we left the house.

We arrived at St. Anne's and entered the building
Up the stairs
through the doors leading to the sanctuary; pause
We see pictures on the walls of the saints
no chairs...just rugs and benches around the outer walls
A couple standing on the Persian rugs...praying
Tables with pictures of the nativity
In the corner, a choir is practicing: children, women, men

A man dressed in an ornate robe introduces himself and explains a little about the service. He is a "reader"

Bells ring and the service begins. We stand, holding the boys, as the service progresses.
A priest comes swinging incense
the choir sings in a chant-like style
the Priest prays for our country, the church, enemies of the faith,
the readers loudly chant portions of Scripture and the choir answers;

And so the service progressed for an hour and a half. It reaches its climax with communion. The little children go forward first. The older children assist the little ones as they stand on their tip-toes to reach the icons. They are lifted up and kiss the pictures before going forward...So sweet.
We were advised before hand that communion is only for their church, but we were encouraged to receive a blessing. We go forward, Max and I first, and then Josh and Jake. The Priest touches Max's head and blesses him...than I; shortly after this, the service is ended. It was beautiful.

After this we got into our car and drove the half-mile to Josh's parent's home to continue our Christmas Morning traditions.

I do not feel that our Christmas morning was ruined; I feel it was enriched. I held the service in my mind all day long, remembering the Lord who's birth we celebrate. I can't say that is always the case as the traditions of gifts and food overwhelm my senses. This day, I kept returning to the service: remembering the story that was read; hearing the sounds of the choir; and feeling the reverence with which they worshiped.

Our theology is not the same; neither is our style of worship. We do not accept many of their traditions or claims; nor would they accept ours. But we were welcomed in by them to join in the celebration of our Lord's birth: a tradition that I pray will continue in our family.

Have you ever wondered how people survived without exercise programs? Gyms? Workout Videos? When the daily chores and household responsibilities took up the entirity of the day, without leaving an extra hour for 'keeping fit?' Before our modern conviniences did away with laborious duties and tiresome chores?
We have so much more time now...time to schedule recreation, excercise, activities, etc. But then our time is gone. Hours no longer drift together in the work of the day, they are carefully, meticulously divided into segments...strict schedules of work and play. We bear the things we are responsible for and enjoy to the fullest-- like holding the breath of a fragrent aroma-- the recreations we choose.
Well, I have thought about it, obviously, and have attmepted to slowly "undivide" my life; especially in the area of excercize. Instead of hunting for a close parking place, we walk further; we bought a non-powered push lawnmower; and, in place of workout videos, I now dance with my two boys for the entirity of a fun cd.
I don't know if I am getting the exact amount of calorie burning or weight resistance training I should. But that has been replaced by one less "segment" of life. I am going to keep attempting to "ungroup" my life...perhaps if I am successful I can feel like one whole person, instead of twenty five different lives crammed into one body.
How would you "ungroup"?

An Odd Recreation

Maybe I'm just dull. I don't know.

Many people consider reading to be a great pleasure; I am one of those. Reading, to me, is more than the making sense of individual characters grouped together. Reading is a process from the moment I am ready to begin a new book to the selection of that book to the first opening...all the way through the long...often tedious...journey in the pages; finally to the last wordings of the final chapter and the placement of the book (which for sometime has decorated my living room shelf) in the honorable stack of "finished" reads.

So let's step back. Perhaps I have just finished a book or perhaps I have taken a sabbatical from my reading to get home things done. Whatever the case, I am now at a place to make that decision to start a new book. Thrilling. But what book will I choose? Here begins one of my favorite steps in the book process.

I believe the selection of new reading material could be listed among my top recreational activities. I walk into the used book store (hopefully with a coffee from the Starbucks across the street in my hand), glance around at my fellow book store patrons, give a smiling nod to the familiar faces at the counter, and head back to the far wall where the literature section begins.

I am not so ritualistic in where I begin my perusing. Often it is in the "A" section, but just as often I begin somewhere in the middle...perhaps as my attention has been drawn to a nice looking old hardback. None-the-matter, my choice is made not by bee-lining to a particular author but by gliding my eyes past the many authors..waiting for something to catch my eye...something perhaps I have heard of or "always wanted to read".

As the browsing goes, I pass by old favorites...tempted by a "better edition" than I have: wanting to replace my paperback copy of Anna Kerinina for a beautiful hardback. No...I have read that one too many times...so I pass it by. Dickens...sounds good...you can't go wrong with Dickens. But...darn...then don't have a hard back of the one I want. I guess I will have to move on. Dostoevsky is tempting but I have really got to get out of Russian literature. I need to expand. I'll keep that one in mind though...just in case there isn't anything else.

I wander back and forth in no meaningful way until that one book jumps out: the hardback old version of a novel I have wanted to conquer. I take it triumphantly in my hand, unable to contain a smile while I pay.

The Brother's Karamazov

I've heard it referred to from pulpits, mentioned in conversations, and acclaimed by literature critiques. Yet I've never read it. So, I set off to read The Brother's Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Already I am enjoying it even more than I enjoyed Crime and Punishment. For some reason, I just assumed that C & P was his greatest work. Here is a quote from the book:

(A reverenced elder monk is speaking to a "lady of little faith")

"Don't distress yourself about my opinion of you," said the elder. "I quite believe in the sincerity of your suffering."

"Oh, how thankful I am to you! You see, I shut my eyes and ask myself if everyone has faith, where did it come from? And then they do say that it all comes from terror at the menacing phenomena of nature, and that none of it's real. And I say to myself, 'What if I've been believing all my life, and when I come to die there's nothing but the burdocks growing on my grave?' as I read in some author. It's awful! How -- how can I get back my faith? But I only believed when I was a little child, mechanically, without thinking of anything. How, how is one to prove it? have come now to lay my soul before you and to ask you about it. If I let this chance slip, no one all my life will answer me. How can I prove it? How can I convince myself? Oh, how unhappy I am! I stand and look about me and see that scarcely anyone else cares; no one troubles his head about it, and I'm the only one who can't stand it. It's deadly -- deadly!"

"No doubt. But there's no proving it, though you can be convinced of it."

"By the experience of active love. Strive to love your neighbour actively and indefatigably. In as far as you advance in love you will grow surer of the reality of God and of the immortality of your soul. If you attain to perfect self-forgetfulness in the love of your neighbour, then you will believe without doubt, and no doubt can possibly enter your soul. This has been tried. This is certain."

"In active love? There's another question and such a question! You see, I so love humanity that -- would you believe it? -- I often dream of forsaking all that I have, leaving Lise, and becoming a sister of mercy. I close my eyes and think and dream, and at that moment I feel full of strength to overcome all obstacles. No wounds, no festering sores could at that moment frighten me. I would bind them up and wash them with my own hands. I would nurse the afflicted. I would be ready to kiss such wounds."

"It is much, and well that your mind is full of such dreams and not others. Some time, unawares, you may do a good deed in reality."

"Yes. But could I endure such a life for long?" the lady went on fervently, almost frantically. "That's the chief question -- that's my most agonising question. I shut my eyes and ask myself, 'Would you persevere long on that path? And if the patient whose wounds you are washing did not meet you with gratitude, but worried you with his whims, without valuing or remarking your charitable services, began abusing you and rudely commanding you, and complaining to the superior authorities of you (which often happens when people are in great suffering) -- what then? Would you persevere in your love, or not?' And do you know, I came with horror to the conclusion that, if anything could dissipate my love to humanity, it would be ingratitude. In short, I am a hired servant, I expect my payment at once -- that is, praise, and the repayment of love with love. Otherwise I am incapable of loving anyone.'"

She was in a very paroxysm of self-castigation, and, concluding, she looked with defiant resolution at the elder."

This book is full of such quotes; departing from the story line and throwing in ideas, truths, and individules struggles with the human condition and thoughts. A great read and, though I am only on page 62, a must read in my opinion!

A break from blogging

Lately I have been attempting to get a picture of what classical education looks like (which is what we are planning to do with our boys when they reach the school age). Well, let's just say I have my work cut out for me.
However, this has made me desire to educate myself more fully, therefore I will be setting off on a reading journey in an attempt to catch up on different subjects and books that I feel I don't know enough about. After searching online for various reading lists and cultural literacy charts, I have compiled a list of 23 subjects which I hope to cover before the years end.
So...I will be using my blogging time to read read read. Therefore posts will be a little more sporadic. If there is anyone who would like to be updated when I post something new, just e-mail me.
Let my reading journey begin!

Christian Science Criticizes Christian Mission Trips

The Christian Science Monitor came out with an article which criticizes an extremely popular Christian ministry: the short term mission trip. Before you automatically raise your swords to fight this attack, perhaps it would be beneficial to first turn your ears to outside criticism in the hopes of finding some truth.

Four years ago, I boarded a plane en-route to Budapest Hungary for what would be the single most life-changing trip of my life. No...it wasn't a two-week mission trip with a group of peers. I left America with my new husband and four boxes between the two of us. We left not knowing how long we would stay or when we would return for visits. At the time I wasn't aware that I would return to visit in 6 months or that we would return for good only one year later. In my mind, we were moving to Hungary indefinitely.

Needless to say, I can identify with the criticisms of the typical short term mission trip. I witnessed firsthand and heard numerous stories of disasters (from the missionaries perspective) during foreign mission trips. Whether it was the loud, obnoxious groups wandering around the city, or the cultural blunders due to a lack of training and understanding, or simply the appearance of the groups housing themselves in the nicest hotels: I wondered whether these groups were doing enough good to cover up the bitter taste they often left in the mouths of the nationals and missionaries they came to serve.

From the side of those who go on the trips, there can also be less-than-ideal effects. David Livermore, a scholar at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and author of the book, "Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence" had this to say:

"We justify our efforts by saying [youth] will come back and make a difference in their own communities, but the research has demonstrated it's not happening...Kids are going down and 'loving on' Mexican kids for a week and then coming home and being the same racist white kids they were toward their Latino classmates before they went on the trip."

As of now, many trips offer (especially to teens) interaction with other peers, a chance to see the world, plus the many sight-seeing, restaurant dining, free-time activities which are planned. To top it off, they are given an opportunity for a rush of an emotional high by "doing some good." Sounds like the next t.v. reality-show to me! One reason for this, I believe, is a mentality that spreads throughout many areas of Christianity these days: it's all about the numbers. From Mega churches to crusades to mass alter calls: the numbers impress. We long to see revival and revival is visibly seen through the masses. So what do we do? We alter what we believe is best to accommodate for those on the fringes in an attempt to pull them in. What travel seeking Christian wouldn't want an opportunity to stay in nice hotels, tour other countries, travel with friends...all while "serving?" The pastor is then able to plug into his message that "we had the biggest number of mission trips sent out ever!"

Meanwhile, the long-term missionary is left exhausted from all his preparations for the team, behind on the normal work of his ministry, and in the end, glad to see the team go. Also, the nationals who were to be blessed with the presence of Americans are left behind with little or no connection to a local church or a local face. Their experience turns into only a memory as contacts are lost and they are forgotten.

So, is it a lost cause? Should the church abolish short-term trips to foreign mission fields? I don't think so. I believe these quick trips have great potential benefits for the foreigner, long-term missionary and the short-termers themselves. However, I do believe that most of these trips need to change.

During my stay in Hungary, our church underwent major changes regarding how short-term mission trips should be run. Instead of mass-evangelism and street witnessing, they switched their focus to the foreign missionary on the field: strengthening them by serving in whatever way they needed. For us, they helped put on a refugee retreat, stayed with me during my last days of pregnancy, went with my husband to his ministries, and helped in whatever other ways they could find. My in-laws just returned from Brazil where they went to work on a missionary's apartment which was absolutely filthy from the previous tenants. Others went in smaller teams to orphanages, slums, and the local church.

The difference is this: the church realized that a mission trip should be taken with a servant's attitude. They now send teams out, not with an over-booked schedule of street witnessing but with the simple question of "how can we serve you?" It is this phrase which will structure a successful short term mission trip; for who better knows the needs of the people than those who live among them? This frees up the missionary to take a look at the things on his heart for the people and it gives the team the freedom to experience true service, humility and love.

Related Tags: Short-term mission trips, Missionarys, Hungary, Budapest, Christian Science Monitor

Why doubt?

ot only did God justify us, glorify us, and imprint on us his Son's image: he even gave up his Son for us. So Paul continues: How could he who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all fail to bestow on us every other gift as well? After giving up his own Son, refusing to spare him, how could he possibly abandon us? Think of God's great goodness in not withholding even his own Son but giving him up for all, for the mean and ungrateful, for enemies and blasphemers! How then could he fail to bestow on us every other gift as well? It is as though he said: God gave his own Son, and not only gave him but delivered him up to death. Why doubt any more about other things when you have received the Master? Why be incredulous concerning chattels when you have the Lord?

-John Chrysostom

Related Tags: St. Chrysostom, Church Father, Quotes, Doubt, Saint