Advent is a season of joy.  The theme of joy is found in many of our Advent and Christmas hymns:  "Joy to the world the lord is come...."  "Good Christian friends rejoice..."  "Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant."  The list goes on and on.  On the third Sunday of Advent we light the candle of Joy on our Advent wreath.  In some ways there is an expectation that even those who are "down in the dumps" will have their hearts filled with joy during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.  But even though this is a season of  joy, for many this is also a season that is filled with sorrow and grief...

The season of Advent began November 28th.  As a part of our Advent tradition we light a candle each week on the Advent wreath symbolizing the qualities of:  hope, love, joy, and peace.  On Christmas Eve we will light the white center candle - a symbol of the presence of Christ who is the "light of the world."  As we continue through the season of Advent I've been struck by the fact that perhaps there has never been a time when the qualities these candles represent are more needed in our world and in our personal lives as well...

It's the time of year when spiders build large webs around our home (which is semi located in the country).  One of these webs recently took shape near our front walk way; it was attached between a tree in our yard and our front lamp post.  A rather large spider was busy at work and paused only for a moment to make sure we weren't going to bother him.  (Or her, I really couldn't get close enough to tell).  I teased our adult daughter, who is quite small in frame, telling her not to get too close.  I warned that given her weight and size, if she got tangled in that web the spider might just have her trapped!  She laughed but seemed to heed my warning and kept a safe distance.  But as I thought about our "jesting" with each other I realized that it is usually not "the web of another" that entangles us but rather the webs that we ourself spin through our lies, deceit, and sin....

We almost had a calamity the other day as we prepared to launch our church's Pumpkin Patch.  The pumpkins were originally scheduled to arrive on Friday afternoon.  This time was scheduled so that our Scouts, youth group members, and school sports participants could be present to help us unload the truck.  Each year it is a blessing to have so many young people doing the "heavy lifting" as 900 pumpkins are moved from the back of a truck to the appropriate pallet's in our Pumpkin Patch.  But, this year our truck could not make it at the scheduled time.  Instead, it arrived on a Tuesday morning at 9:30 (while school is in session).  Further, our church was experiencing email difficulties and we had difficulty communicating about the immediate need for workers.  For a while I thought there may be only 4 of us who would be working all morning and afternoon trying to get our Patch set up.  But then a miracle happened., the Faithful showed up...

My wife and I had a wonderful time, recently, visiting in the home of some of our church members, Jake and Dorotha.  It was a day of joy as Jake was celebrating his 97th birth day!  Jake and Dorotha are both restricted in their activities now, due to challenges with their health, but just two years ago Jake was still mowing (on a riding mower) our church lawn on a weekly basis.  Dorotha too, until just before the covid pandemic, was a regular participant in our services of worship, United Methodist Women, and our Wednesday night fellowship.  Throughout the years both have served the church, community, and our nation in many, many ways.  Truly they are a part of what we know as, The Great Generation...

The Prayer Garden at my church looks beautiful right now.  That has not always been the case; even a month ago it was more of an eye-sore than a source of inspiration.  But several members of the church decided it was time to give our Prayer Garden a little "tender love and care" and they did just that.  The transformation has been amazing and now it is truly a place of beauty.  People are visiting it once again; it is again a place for meditation and prayer.  Once again it has become a place of blessing for many....

We had a two-fold vacation experience this year:  We spent the first part of our vacation in Taos, New Mexico and the second part in Red River.  Though only 45 minutes apart, they are two very different places.  Red River is filled with campers, hikers, and fishermen; Taos is more of an artistic community with painters, sculptors, and musicians.  One of my daughter's hopes this year was that she would get to play her guitar in some public "street" forum and possibly receive donations for her efforts.  Money aside, she really just wanted the experience of being a "street musician."  Her opportunity came while in Taos though in a way we had not expected...

Years ago the Beatles wrote a song titled, "In My Life."  In the opening verse they sing:  "There are places I remember; all my life though some have changed.  Some forever, not for better; some have gone but some remain.  All these places had their moments; with lovers and friends I still can recall.  Some are dead and some are living; in my life I've loved them all."  This is, I believe, one of the Beatles most beautiful and meaningful songs.  It reminds me that there are places and people in my life which I remember and treasure as well.

It has been 17 years since we have been to Red River, New Mexico.  We used to go and camp their regularly when our children were small.  But as the children became adults, our camping days came to an end and we began vacationing in Winter Park, Colorado.  This year, however, along with daughter Beth, we took a week of our vacation and stayed in Taos and Red River.  High on our list for the week was a return visit to our favorite camping ground which is about 10 miles outside of Red River and is called Columbine.  It is semi-primitive camping, but the setting is beautiful and the hiking trail is just the right skill level for us.  We couldn't wait to start up the trail.  Little did we know the memories that would surface or the emotions we would experience as we approached the first bridge...

I am blessed!  I had such a wonderful Father.  He was always there for me; always cheered for me; was ready to listen to me and advise me.  I knew he loved me and though he has been gone, for 20 years now, I still miss him.  As we celebrate Father's Day I now feel honored to be the father for two adult children:  Beth and John.  Both turned out to be wonderful adults who are responsible, creative, talented, fun to be with, and (most important) truly love the Lord.  I wish I could say that this was all a result of my wonderful efforts, but the truth is, as a busy pastor and family therapist I was distracted too much of the time.  Fortunately, I have a wife who carried much of the parenting burden and I now benefit, in wonderful ways, from her dedication and effort.  But the blessing of being a father, and the opportunity to be a support, encourager, and role model is not over.  As long as I am alive there is always the possibility for me to influence the next generation in a positive way...

When you live in Oklahoma you get used to facing "storm season."  The last part of April through June is when we are  usually "on watch" for stormy weather.  But storms can occur, in various forms, almost any time of the year.  Sometimes they are wind and hail storms; sometimes they are snow and sleet storms; sometimes they are "storms" of heat and drought.  Whatever the form, they are a force to be dealt with and they remind us that in terms of life, storms come in many ways...