Setting Goals

The time of year is fast approaching when about 45% of Americans suddenly find the resolve to lose weight (I give it two weeks max). To others, it is simply known as New Year's Day. While it never has been about losing weight, I too have made resolutions and found myself midway through January trying to recall what they were and why I thought they were a good idea in the first place. However, in the course of living 2010 I have had some very real success in achieving goals I set in the latter part of the year. I owe a lot of that success to a very close friend of mine, and he too has had success with his goals which I would like to think has something to do with our conversations. Recently, he submitted to me some new goals for 2011, and I was inspired to do likewise. At present, I have only a couple, but I still have three days to make more decisions. Here is what I have come up with:

I am going to read The Chronicles of Narnia. For the first time, ever. I know, I know, I know...how could I have lived this long and never read them? I'm not too sure, but that streak ends here. To add some balance to my reading list, I am going to read a book I have been wanting to read in between each Narnia book. For example, after The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I am going to read In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson, and then read Prince Caspian. I'm excited.

Also, I received a very intriguing book for my birthday called Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. To be perfectly honest, my prayer life is atrocious. It is nearly an offense to even use the term "prayer life." One major goal for 2011 is to fix that, or, ask God to help me fix that. Common Prayer is a devotional as well as a collection of prayers an liturgy. I intend to read it daily and seek maturity in faith and as a believer through daily prayer and meditation.

Merry Christmas to everyone; I hope it was beautiful. Say farewell to 2010 responsibly and in style, and I'll see you on the other side.

Wisdom

During the sermon this morning, I read Proverbs 12. Understand that I heard most of the sermon on Genesis 17 (one of my favorite parts in the life of Abraham), but I did have some supplemental material that drew my interest. Why chapter twelve? Well, I had a teacher in high school who used to start off our class reading the chapter of Proverbs that corresponded to the day of the month. He suggested that as a great way to learn them and internalize the wisdom they contained, especially since the number of chapters nicely fit in with our monthly calendar system. So the urge to do just that welled up in me during the service.

As I read each couplet, I tried to take my time "chewing" on it and let it's wisdom flavor dance on the taste buds of my brain. Themes of wisdom, prudence, the righteous vs. the wicked, and language showed up the most. While I read about the just plans of the righteous juxtaposed with wicked advice (v. 5), or the righteous caring for the needs of their animals (v. 10), or fools being quick to show their displeasure at a comment (v. 16), something occurred to me for what I believe to be the very first time. I came to the realization that wisdom has less to do with the mind than one might expect. We are quick to associate wisdom with brain-knowledge, yet it is the heart where wisdom gets its depth. The author doesn't suggest that the wise are such because of their GPA or logical reasoning abilities. Instead, there is considerable evidence that wisdom is cultivated by a compassionate heart. I might go so far as to say that wisdom is the product of a healthy mature balance of head-knowledge and heart-knowledge. The verse that drove that point home for me was v. 18:

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords

but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

How could words bring healing? Only by the resonance of compassion and love within the heart, that makes its way to the throat, where it is packaged in perfect language that rolls off the tongue as Truth.

Being wise is not just discernment or critical thinking. Wisdom is not data and factoids. It is brokenness and healing. It is head and heart. It is the surrender of our own frail frameworks for the eternal sound strength of the Word.

Christmas for a Cause, pt. 2

The Christmas for a Cause event was a great success last night. There were a lot of great musicians and singers, as well as a couple of highly inspirational speakers. The one and only Trevor did a great job putting things together and showing off his fancy lights. Here are a couple pics:

My friend Brandon and his wife Leslie doing a beautiful version of "What Child is This?"

The awesomeness that is Trevor:

And me with the sweet Christmas decorations:

My previous post explained the background to the song and gave you the lyrics, and so now you can hear it since it has already had its world premiere. But last night wasn't just about singing and being with friends. Christmas for a Cause is really a great organization and because of everyone who came last night, they are helping to make sure that kids in Watauga county have food to eat. I hope this song helps you remember what Christmas is all about, and that you could consider how you could serve or give to your communities to help someone's Christmas be as joyful as yours.

Special thanks to M. Rhoades for pointing me towards SoundCloud. You rock.

Emmanuel by Michael Kuehn

Christmas for a Cause

Tonight is going to be awesome. Of course, every time I go up to Boone it is an absolutely amazing time, but I have an extra good feeling about tonight. I'll be sharing the stage with some super talented people in an effort to raise money for Christmas for a Cause, a wonderful organization that has helped thousands and thousands of people. So tonight we will gather and sing Christmas songs, have coffee and hot chocolate, and share the joy of the season as a community. As part of this, I was asked to write an original Christmas song. While at first everything I wrote came out cheesy, the writing process ultimately took me on a journey to discover what about Christmas really captures my heart and soul. Here is a little background on the song's inspiration and the lyrics.

At the bookstore where I work, we have little circular signs that sit atop the typical genre signs (the ones that tell you "Fiction" or "Psychology"). On the circles there is a snowflake design and a single word that is intended to make you think of Christmas. The words are things such as "Joy" and "Inspire" and "Give." While at work one day, it occurred to me that for a large percentage of the population, those words are nothing more than abstract ideas. They are linked to an emotional response, and somehow that is synonymous with the Spirit of Christmas. But those words mean so much more. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our King; the Incarnation. God is love. God is joy. God is inspiration. God is peace. God is giving. The list goes on and on. With the birth of Jesus, God incarnate, these abstract ideas became incarnate as well. Jesus is the perfect embodiment of all the sentiments we hear this time of year. When that concept clicked with me, I knew that was what my song had to be about. The verses deal with the struggle we have as modern Americans to keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas despite all the hoopla and media. The chorus reflects the reality of the Incarnation, both God and His attributes. Then there is a single line repeated several times that reminds us of one of my favorite names for God: Emmanuel, meaning "God is with us." The child, our Savior, has come to dwell with us, to "tabernacle" with us. Let us rejoice. Here are the lyrics for my first ever attempt at a Christmas song, "Emmanuel."

The sights and the sounds

The lights and the crowds

It must be Christmas again

All this good cheer

Talk of a new year

What is this Christmas again?

It's more than just gifts, it's the gift of a King

The Savior was born and changed everything

Joy has a face now

And mercy a name

There's love in His lungs

And grace in His veins

Lift up your voices on this Christmas morn

For unto us a child is born

It's easy to let

Yourself just forget

Why this is Christmas at all

The Lord has come

In the flesh, as a Son

From the throne to a cattle stall

It's more than good cheer, it's all of our praise

Our Redeemer has come to love, to free, to save

Joy has a face now

And mercy a name

There's love in His lungs

And grace in His veins

Lift up your voices on this Christmas morn

For unto us a child is born

Emmanuel, God with us

Emmanuel, God with us

Joy has a face now

And mercy a name

There's love in His lungs

And grace in His veins

Lift up your voices on this Christmas morn

For unto us a child is born