Spirituality is ... Rest

Oh I been getting heavy into my reading
Oh I been listening to my favorite song
Well I could never keep down a force-feeding too long
Eat up whatever I want whenever I want

Well you're gonna meet the wall
When you think you've heard it all
And then you got nowhere left to go
Then you're gonna know

Where not to look for freedom
When you're inside your prison
And you're the only warden...
Tell me where to look for freedom
"Where Not To Look For Freedom" by the Belle Brigade

I picked today to write this note because it is my favorite day of Advent - the Day of Joy.  And it is a joy to me and hopefully a joy to you when I tell you the reason for this note after such a long silence is to share two good things.

1.  I have been resting
2.  I am starting anew (not again, but anew) on January 1

The inside view from an amateur rester:

Resting did not come easily to me, so fortunately it came naturally - without my consent.  I decided in June to take a 2 or 3 week break and come back after July 4th. But when I got ready to write, I found I had nothing to say. (Those of you who know me well understand what a shocking and odd thing that would be). So I decided to take a little more break time. I thought of scriptures, themes, ideas...but still - none of it made it to the screen.  July ended and August began. I decided to start back when school started.

"I'll call it a summer vacation," I told myself.  September became October and I realized I was nowhere near ready to return.  I started justifying to myself:

• Work is really busy
• I'm doing a webcomic, starting another web outreach in Jan and writing a lot.
• I'm co-teaching a bible study requiring tons of prep time
• I'm writing Bible Curriculum
• I'm learning - It's not just like I'm sitting around.

Finally when I ran out of excuses - I asked God - "What am I doing with this blog? Am I quitting?" and Wise God said, "No, dear. You're resting."  October and November have been much easier on my psyche.

I've been studying, and playing games. I've enjoyed reading other awesome blogs, and times when I didn't read a darn thing.  I've been at the gym, comic conventions, watching netflix documentaries, and staring off into space.  I have not been productive in the slightest in regard to this blog. It's been lovely.

Why wait for our "eternal rest" -- when I can start now?

 But for everything there is a time - and a season -- and the time for rest came to a natural end at the gym a week ago when a thousand Shepnerd writing ideas all flooded my head at once. I asked God, "What am I doing with the blog? Am I starting back?" and Wise God said, "No, dear. You're starting anew." It hit me - "starting" and "back" don't really go together half as well as "starting" and "new".

That's what rest does. It helps make us new.  That's what Christmas does - The Christ child appears in our churches and in our hearts - a baby again. The newborn baby Jesus doesn't come "back" every year. He comes anew.  Forget New Year's Eve -- Christmas is the day we can begin. Praise be to God.

So - Jan 1 - Notes from the Shepnerd will begin with its first new post and be updated on Sundays as per usual. However, I have such a flood of ideas - I would like some help in decision making.  It is great for me as a writer to know what you - the readers - want/like/think/imagine from this blog.  So, I did what any good ShepNERD would do -- I made a 5 question Survey Monkey survey.  Input appreciated, and thankfully received.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VS9KKMW

 

 5 questions, anonymous, no one will see the answers but me (and God). Please take a minute (unless you are resting) and give me your thoughts.

And have joy -- not just today - but all days. 

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 Of the greatness of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
   and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Some Early Christmas Wisdom

Happy Thanksgiving, all. It should not surprise you than on this great holiday I'm playing on the computer and adding to my blog. Nerds just celebrate thankfullness differently. (Later, I'll watch some Star Wars. I'm thankful for light sabers too). Speaking of nerdom - A friend has directed me toward "facebook" - which I have to admit is a lot more fun than I had suspected it would be. How could a nerd like me not have known that??? If you're a facebook person, or decide to join the fun - be sure to stop by my page and say Hi.

The pic on the blog is my house - which I decorated for our first Virginia Christmas (we are very excited by the whole thing). If you are wondering: "How did a geek like Kellie Rupard-Schorr hang lights on her roof all by herself when everyone knows she is the clumsiest nerd alive?" - I'll have to tell you about the "magic pole" (otherwise known as a "shingle hanger" )that allowed me to do the whole thing without getting on a ladder (or falling off one).

Now to the wisdom: My friend Debra sent me an email forward written by Ben Stein about the issue of the word "Christmas" - and our yearly fight over stores saying Holidays instead of Christmas and outlawing nativity scenes in town squares. I verified it through snopes.com (nerd note: always check stories on a verifier - don't just believe it because its on the web!) and printed the actual part said by Stein. It think it is good wisdom as we prepare for Christ's birth celebration.

____________________

From the CBS Morning Show, December 2005 by Ben Stein (in regard to the media hype surrounding Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson)

My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.

I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

Time is Coming: The Path of Hope

First Sunday of Advent

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The prophet Jeremiah was delivering his message from prison. How did he get there? He told King Zedekiah that because of Judah’s idol worshipping, sinful ways they would be carried off as slaves, the land would be taken, and all they had would be lost. Imagine a guest preacher coming here today telling you that because America has lost its focus, become materialistic, given up on the right to freedom of speech and because of that God was going to give Osama Ben Laden the power to conquer our country, make us slaves and we would never be America again. You’d be a little ticked off. You might not even invite him to stay for snackies! If you were a King, you might put him in jail.

One of the reasons most people don’t read the whole book of Jeremiah is because he was so gloomy. While sitting in prison he comes up with something we need to hear on a day like today – a message of hope. Jeremiah is telling us things that give us hope in this holiday season and hope in our lives.

The Day Will Come – Jeremiah advises them the day will come when it will all change. When God is no longer willing to allow the slavery to continue and will bring God’s people back to their focus. The day will come for us when we lose the greed and oppression of this world. Its going to happen, Jeremiah says. It’s going to happen here too. We can continue to walk forward in confidence and surety. The day will come for our hope, and our future. The day will come for our healing, our relationships, our jobs, and our journey to move forward. The day will come when we will go to heaven, and the day will come when we will bring heaven to earth.

It Will Be Different – “I will create a branch from the line of David in those days”, God says through the gloomy profit. It’s not going to be one of the old branches. It’s not going to be the same leaves from the same tree. Its going to be a whole new branch, grafted in. God is going to change this Christmas for you. God is going to change your life for you. We all have our holiday routines and rituals – but not this year. This year we are doing something new. This year we are going forward in hope to see Christ’s birth through new eyes and ideas. This isn’t Christmas like Grandma used to make. This will be Christmas like God makes it.

It will be God – “A new name will be given”, Jeremiah continues. And what is the catchy new name of this project to save the people, and return them to the focus of their faith and life? The Lord Is Righteous. I have to admit, it’s not very catchy. I would have preferred something more marketable – like “Jehovah Jamboree” – but God’s not about marketing, or getting “buy-in”. God’s interested in coming to earth as a child who grows up to be a rabbi, dies to be a savior, and returns in spirit to be the bridge of connection. This Christmas will have a new name, and it will be God’s name, God’s time, God’s plan. God has enough space for candy canes, silver bells and Best Buy sales – but those will never take the place of the manger. This year, commit yourselves to remembering your focus, renewing your first love and name this season by a new name.