Live Extravagantly

Merry Christmas!

My hope for all of us on this Christmas Morning is this:  in the way that all of humanity has been given extravagant gifts from God, may we each live out an extravagant life this year!  Not just spending money wildly, because that's not at all the spirit of God's gifts to the world, but finding ways to...

Love Extravagantly

Dream Extravagantly

Be filled with Extravagant Passion

Willing to take Extravagant Risks as led by the Spirit

Be Extravagantly Generous

As God has gone over and above in every way for us, may we live the same way towards others.  And in doing so, give the best gift of all that we can give to those we love and the world around us.

Love you all!

Day 11

I love moments that stand out beyond the ordinary events of the day.  But I find they don't just happen.  Seems like a special moment has to be created, or in some way requires inconvenience, creativity, sacrifice and/ or extra energy. The mornings I have spent sitting in the quiet of the Christmas lights have been special moments.  But I had to leave the comfort of my bed, not to mention lose some sleep, to experience it.

Tonight, after a long day filled with last minute preparations and just activity in general, Charles and I drove to the heart of our town to take a walk in the historic district.  It would have been so much easier to just stay home and be warm.  But we got all bundled up, got in the car and drove to the historic neighborhoods to walk, admire the Christmas decorations and imagine the events taking place inside of the homes that were lit up.

There's not that much that seems significant about this other than that it was a beautiful walk, together, on a very special evening,  A memorable moment, for sure.

Day 10, An Idea for the Christmas Season

In case you're wondering what it is exactly that I'm keeping track of, this is the 10th morning of being up early to sit in quiet and peace by the light of the Christmas tree (and that's the idea, too).  It's my remedy for the craziness of this season.  It's a mini-retreat each morning before the day kicks into full gear.

The other piece is that during my break from teaching at the college, I committed to writing every single day leading up to Christmas.

As a girl, I was in Girl Scouts.  Early in my time as a Girl Scout, each girl was required to create a poster and present it to all of the parents and grandparents who came to watch each girl do the same.  As my turn was approaching, I felt myself starting to panic at the thought of being in front of that room full of people (maybe 30 in all, but it may as well have been 3000).  As I walked to the front with my poster in front of me, I felt my throat tightening up and when I tried to start my speech, I literally could not get a sound out.  I hid my face momentarily behind my poster to try to get a grip.  After a few seconds of literally hiding behind the poster in front of everyone, I lowered it again to give my speech another attempt.  Again, not a single word would come out of my mouth. At this point, I was so embarrassed.  So embarrassed that all I could do was to start laughing!  And laugh I did...hysterically.  I laughed so hard for so long that I finally had to be escorted off of the little stage! It's a wonder I didn't wet my  pants, too!

I've had many embarrassing moments in my life, but that one stands out in my memory as one of the worst.  It's ironic that now a large part of what I do in life involves speaking in front of others!

Anyways, all of that to say that but for a few exceptions, we rarely get "talkers block". (I had it bad that day.)  But  it's  because we talk every day.  Its just what we do.  We do it naturally and without a lot of thought.  Yet, "writer's block" seems to keep millions of people who would like to be writing from writing.

Writing daily is me pushing myself against the natural tendency towards "writer's block".

So how about you... what is something you are deliberately doing every day because it matters to you?

Day 9, Anticipation....

This morning as I sat in quiet by the light of the Christmas tree, I thought about  these words from the Bible:

"For a child is born to us,
      a son is given to us.
   The government will rest on his shoulders.
      And he will be called:
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
              (Isaiah 9)

These words were spoken long before Jesus was actually born.  The people who knew of these words lived in anticipation of the day when this promise would come true.  They lived in the awareness of great things ahead..

Anticipation seems to be one of the major underlying, yet significant themes of scripture.  The Bible is filled with stories of promises spoken, and then folks like you and I waiting and believing for great things to come.

We continue to live in anticipation. Yes, Jesus has come to the world but we anticipate so much more yet.  So much more of what he came to bring... Peace, Joy, Beauty, Restoration, Justice, and more. Even Jesus lived with this reality.  He prayed, "Your (God's) will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  We don't have to simply anticipate great things on the other side of Heaven, but we anticipate great things now on earth.

I want to live with more anticipation.  Anticipation keeps us focused, willing to take risks, believing, hope-filled and faith-full.

May we each, this Christmas season, be filled with an even greater anticipation for all that God wants to do and bring to the world through us.

Day 8

Andre doesn't have early morning practices this week because of finals.  So, this morning when my alarm went off at the 'earlier than I would really  need to get up' time, I had a choice to make.

The thought of staying in my nice warm bed a little longer seemed so appealing.  But then the thought of the sweetness that awaited me by the light of the Christmas tree came to mind.  This was the invitation that I needed to get out of bed.

So glad I did.

Another beautiful morning.

Day 7

The gifts under the tree have taken on a new symbolism this year

Here's how the past 7 mornings have been going:  getting up early, going downstairs, turning the Christmas tree lights on, making coffee, and simply sitting in the quiet by the light of the Christmas tree (while I drink my coffee, of course).

Simply sitting.  

In quiet.

Heart wide open.  

Listening. 

Enjoying. 

Just Being.

It's been fantastic to have space to simply allow thoughts and impressions to swirl through my head and heart.  These moments are giving me a fresh perspective on how important times of quiet and solitude really are.  No screens, no music, no voices, nothing to read.  It's the best.  And to sound completely cliche-ish, "The best things in life are free."

An Idea for the Christmas Season, Day 6

Chicago's Rookery Building, designed by Burnham 

“Dream no small dreams, for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”  This quote is often attributed to Daniel Burnham, the famous Chicago architect. (But may have originally been said by Goethe, a German artist.)


It was this very statement that  inspired and drove some of the greater architectural wonders of Chicago, as well as influenced the development of the modern skyscraper.  As I sat in quiet and solitude by the light of the Christmas tree this morning, I thought more about Burnham's statement.

I try to evaluate statements like Burnham's in light of a Biblical world view.  While I'm sure much could be said, here's the skinny version of 2 thoughts I had:

1)  God's hope for humanity is probably the biggest dream there ever was... its a dream to see everyone who ever lived, and will live, transformed by the reality of God's Love for all people.  That dream has powerfully moved millions to not only experience that Love firsthand, but to wrap their lives around spreading that Love to others through courageous acts of love and sacrifice.

2)    There are alot of stories in the Bible of regular people who did big things that moved others to join in what God was doing.  These folks seemed to be responding to God's initiative.  It was God who set the dream in motion in the first place by placing it in the heart of someone.


How about you?  I bet you have a dream in your heart that seems too big to ever be realized!  Don't hold back or give up on it!  If God gave you the dream, you can be sure he's even more interested than even you are to see it realized!  


So, may we be people who are not only moved by God's big dreams, but ready to respond to His initiative in our lives.