Advent reading from my new book :)

Wow, what happened to the time?  Look away for a second, and it's Advent! School is out in a few weeks, and then the long trek to California to visit.

Since we are waiting for the birth of the Savior, I thought I'd share a reading from my book "Biblical Portraits", coming soon to a e-reader near you!  This one is called "Advent"

Advent

Reflection on our Lord's coming

We started out together

Walking hand in hand

In love with the Father of Love

Surrounded by all good things

And in perfect peace.

We wanted for nothing,

For everything was provided us

By One who loved us more than we could possibly imagine.

You know how the story goes.

The snake, the fruit, the disobedience,

The betrayal of trust...

Our lives would never be the same,

And our hearts would forever need to be filled

In ways that we could not even begin to imagine.

We tried so many different things,

Countless aids to ease the hurt,

Yet all we did was intensify the pain,

Cause the loneliness to overwhelm us,

So that the darkness seemed to be all-encompassing.

Yet, somehow, we knew that there was an answer

Somewhere

A beacon was shining in the night

Somewhere

A lantern lifted high,

Dispelling the darkness,

Somewhere.

We did not know how

Or even if

We were to search for it.

Maybe it would seek us out

Find us in our grief

Our pain

Our loneliness

The hideous blackness of our being

The opaqueness in which we lived.

And so we wait

Caught in the void between hope and despair

And even without being aware of it,

We pray.

O you who caused the light to shine all around us

Who permitted us to walk hand in hand with you

Who chose us as your children

Who desired our companionship

Who did nothing to lose our love

And everything to merit our respect,

Come unto us

Dwell once again among us.

Cause us to see your light blaring in the darkness

So that we can finally come home.

Loaves and fishes

Another portrait

Loaves and Fishes

Mark 10:13-17; 6:30-44

My name is Daniel.  I am seven years old.  My mother took my brother, Simon, and me to see Jesus.  She took us up to him so that he could give us a blessing.  The other men that were with him got mad at her, and that made me sad.  One man said that the Lord had better things to do than bother with children like me.  But he talked really loud, and Jesus heard him.  He made those men let us see him, and he touched us and prayed for us. Then he said to permit the children to come to him.  He said that we are what his kingdom is made of. He said that everyone has to come to him as a little child, because we are what is kingdom is made of.  I'm not sure what that means, but everyone got really quiet when he said it.

I think that sometimes the men around Jesus don’t listen to what he says.  I think that maybe they don’t really know what he's talking about.  But for me it seems really simple.  I figured it out the last time Simon and I went to see him. It happened like this:

My mama found out that Jesus was coming to our town.  Mama said that he was a very good man, and my brother and I should go see him.  I don’t know why I should go to see someone talk just because he is very good, but mama said that he told good stories and I could go see him instead of doing my chores.  If I have to choose between chores and stories, I choose stories.  Mama made Simon and me a good lunch because we are growing boys, and she told us to behave and listen really hard.

Simon and I went over with lots of other people.  There were so many people there that it was hard to see him, and that was okay with me.  I didn’t understand a lot of what the Jesus said, but the day was very pretty with lots of  fluffy clouds, and Jesus told us lots of stories, and I had a lot of fun.

Well, we stayed and stayed, and it was getting late, and we started to get hungry.  My mom had told Simon and me not to eat if nobody else was eating.  That's called being polite.  But I was getting really hungry and  nobody else was eating.  I didn’t know what to do.

 Jesus' friends came up to him, and it looked like they were mad at each other.  One big man with red hair kept waving his arms up in the air.  His face was all red--he looked really scary.  Jesus said something to him that looked like it made him even madder, but that man and his friends went away from him and looked for food in the crowd.  My brother Simon's bigger than me--he's almost 9--and he told me to keep my mouth shut if they asked us for our food, but Mommy says to always tell the truth.  I told them that we had some bread and fishes.  They kept on asking in the crowd, but nobody else in this whole big group had brought anything! I guess nobody else has a mama who thinks about these things.  His friends went back to him, and they told him that I was the only one who had brought food.

When people see me and Simon, they always say that they are proud of us for sharing.  My brother gets all puffy and says that it's what our daddy would do.  I don't know why he says that, since he told me not to tell them that we had food.  My mommy always says to tell the truth, so I will. I didn’t want to give them my food, because I was very hungry.  But the man who came to me and asked me for my food--he told me that his name was Andrew--said I could come with him and give my basket to Jesus myself.  I did, and Jesus took it and smiled at me! When he did that, I remembered my mama and how she smiled at me whenever she asked me to do something hard.  Her smile told me she loved me, and Jesus had that same smile!  So I knew that Jesus loved me and didn’t want me to be hungry.  Jesus took the food out of my basket and he said a prayer, then he divided it up into different baskets and gave them to his friends.  He kept my mama's basket himself.

People tell me that this next part didn’t happen.  They say that people just started bringing out their own food when Jesus' friends tried to give my food to them, but that's not true—nobody else in the whole crowd had any food!  I know because I didn’t see any more food, and I was at Jesus’ side when he gave it to his friends to pass out.  Like I said, Jesus kept some food in Mama's basket, and when I told him that it was my mama's special basket and I'd get in trouble if he lost it, he let me walk with him, so I saw what I saw.  His friends went out into the group and shared it, and so did he.  There were so many people there that my legs got really tired of walking! Everybody got some food, and every time that Jesus put his hand in my basket, there were more fishes and more bread!  (I even got to help him take some out of the basket to give to those people!)  It didn’t look to me that there would be enough for everybody, but after the meal, his helpers filled their baskets and ate from the food that was left over.  He gave me back my mommy's basket and then picked me up and carried me back to Simon.  I felt really good when he did that--almost like Jesus was my daddy.  My daddy died when I was little, but when my uncles used to hold me, I'd pretend they were Daddy.  Jesus felt like that, only so much better.  When Jesus held me, it felt like a mountain of love was holding me. I know it sounds funny, but that's how it felt.

"Let the children come to me.  Unless you act like a child, you can't enter the Kingdom of God."  I don't really know what that means, but the words keep running around in my brain.  I wish my Daddy was here--he would help me understand.  But I do know that there's a difference between kids like me and Jesus' friends.  I listened to him and did what he asked.  I felt bad when his friends fought with him.  I would never fight with Jesus.  If he told me to do something, I would do it.  I hope that his friends learn how to be like children.  Maybe then they will be happy. And I hope that when I grow up, I still stay a child, because I want to enter the kingdom of heaven, too!  Maybe some day Jesus can even tell me how!

One more day

He wakes up, turns over and looks at me.
I pretend to still be sleeping,
Although the child within me is fully awake.

I feel the warmth of his gaze,
and I know that he is still tormented,
Oh Joseph.

I didn't start this,
You know that.
This is not the life I would have chosen.

Here we are,
On the road to Bethlehem,
Two travelers--nearly three.

One more day, my husband,
And we will be there.
I pray our child will wait.

Joseph, please know
I didn't ask for this.
But having been given the opportunity--

How could I decline it?

It is written, Joseph, remember?
"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
And shall call his name Emmanuel

God with us."

I want you to understand that I'm thankful.
I know that you are a just and good man,
And I realize that you could have put me away

Or worse.

But you chose to bear this burden with me,
And I respect and admire you for that.
But it's so hard.

Joseph, I barely know you.
You are my husband,
But you are not the father of my child.

Can you accept him as your Son?
Will you love him as a father should?
Will you teach him what a man must know?

And Joseph, can you accept me?
Will you see me as your wife,
Though not in the way you might have wished?

Oh well.
I must open my eyes and start the day.
I put on a smile and meet your eyes.

"Good morning Husband.
Yes, it's almost over.
One more day to Bethlehem."