h2odevos eots 113011 Bread + Water

H2odevos eots 113011 Bread + Water

St. Andrew’s Day

In Silver Plume, Colorado there is a wonderful bakery. There are five letters printed above the door, BREAD. It’s clear, concise, simple and quite inviting. You can smell the fresh baked bread before you even enter the building. One of my “favorite things” is when we talk about bread at our church sometimes we get the bread machines going in the narthex. As the sermon unfolds people can smell the bread. As they go up for communion, people can smell the bread. When the benediction is said and the sending hymn is sung, people can smell the bread. And then, it’s time to eat the bread!

 

Advent is a time to smell the bread and eat the bread. Just imagine if our places of gathering could be as inviting as bakeries. What if people who sensed their hunger knew, really knew and understood that their desires could and would be satisfied by walking through those doors and encountering the Bread of Life?

I was in London during October. I spent a day going to some of my “favorite places” and seeing some of my “favorite things.”

The baptismal font at St. James Piccadilly has a lovely base which is a tree. It’s maybe even two trees together.  First of all, there is the tree from the Garden of Eden. This tree is the base for the font, which connects us to another tree the family tree of God. Water is definitely one of my “favorite things.”  I am simply amazed that such basic things like bread and water play amazingly key roles in forming faith.

Today, I encourage you to be on the lookout for some of your favorite things that form faith.

Deck the halls,

rtg

h2odevos eots 112911 "Evermore + Evermore"

H2odevos eots 112911 “Evermore + Evermore”

http://www.petermayer.com/events/webster-groves-mo  

There is a Stars and Promises concert tonight in Webster Groves, MO!

Check out the above link for more info.

Listen to a sample of the song.

http://www.petermayer.com/songs/of-the-fathers-love-begotten

Peter takes this old hymn and infuses it with a sense of reverence and joy.

Each time I hear this tune it makes my heart feel hopeful.

Evermore and Evermore

“Of the Father's love begotten

      ere the worlds began to be,

      he is Alpha and Omega,

      he the source, the ending he,

      of the things that are, that have been,

      and that future years shall see,

            evermore and evermore.”

ELW 295

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_the_Father's_Heart_Begotten

We enter this holy time of year mindful of all the lists in our lives:

•          (1)  Advent + Christmas shopping list;
•          (2) List of old or new resolutions regarding a healthier, more Spirit filled lifestyle;
•          (3) A list of those things we have done;
•          (4) A list of those things we have left undone and;
•          (5) A list reminding us to make more lists.

The lists seem to go on “evermore and evermore.”

I find in all of these things a wonderful wireless invention that helps me deal with the cycles and circles of time, specifically the Advent Wreath. It is so basic and elemental.

It doesn’t need batteries or a backup hard drive. All it takes is four candles, some greenery and a little bit of time each day.

My faith-forming parents taught me all about the Advent wreath. As I child it seemed to transport me into another place and time As an adult it does the same thing. I’m so grateful to have this Spiritual gift in my life.

May your home be blessed by the light and warmth of this circle of LIFE.

Evermore and evermore,

rtg

CODE

Here's a draft of our Christmas Ad

"Do you find Christmas Puzzling?"

We'll help you put together the "peace's"

h2odevos eots 112811 "My Favorite Things"

H2odevos eots 112811 My Favorite Things

http://www.petermayer.com/songs/my-favorite-things

 My Favorite Things

I’ve been listening to Peter play “My Favorite Things.” It has become now one of my favorite things. If you’ve been reading and/or listening to h2odevos for some time during Advent you are aware that “eggbeaters” are also some of my favorite things. Over the years I’ve collected quite a few of them. I recently learned that it was Willis Johnson, an African-American who received the first patent for eggbeaters in 1884. I think I am so taken by eggbeaters because they embody the collects for Advent, which all begin with the words, “Stir up, Oh Lord and come.” Even as a little boy sitting around the Advent wreath I was enthralled by the notion that for four weeks of the year we prayed for God to come and “stir it up.” As you know, the other 48 weeks of the year we normally pray for God to make the storms to be still and calm so that we might have “smooth sailing.”

Another one of my favorite things is Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars. I have quite a collection of them, (just about the whole spectrum of liturgical colors). However, I recently met a woman by the name of Jill who is the “Czarina of Converse.” You will see a picture of her closet in this devo.

Thinking about “My Favorite Things” leads me to want to talk with you about an attitude of gratitude. We just finished with Thanksgiving Weekend. However, I hope we are not finished with “thanks-giving.”  2,000 years ago, St. Paul sent a text message to the Christians in Corinth, in which he wrote,

^“3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind (I Cor 1:3-5)”

St. Paul was thankful for these folks who had problems and quarrels about a plethora of concerns and issues. And yet, he was grateful for them.

My spiritual director, Father Vince has shared with me the work of a man by the name of  Robert Emmons, in fact, one book in particular, Thanks-How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm

 Robert Emmons

His work led me to the popular work of John Kralik who wrote a “thank you note” each day for a year.

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/26/132263637/perfect-thank-you-notes-heartfelt-and-handwritten

http://www.365thankyounotes.com/

Both men suggest that if one takes time to write down what one is thankful for in life that life itself will become more pleasant and happy. It is such a basic concept, but it really WORKS!

So, today my friends, (I want you to know that I’m thankful for YOU!) and most of all I pray that your Advent journey brings about happiness and joy. So, why not take time right now to make a list of “Your Favorite Things.” And of course, you can amend the title to include people, food, eggbeaters and even cool/stylish tennis shoes.

Deck the halls,

Rtg

h2odevos eots 112711 "Wake-up"

H2odevos eots 112711

First Sunday of Advent

“Wake-up”

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

'Tis the season to be jolly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

http://www.petermayer.com/songs/deck-the-halls

Hi, welcome to h2odevos 2011. This year’s theme is Echoes of the Season.  It is Sunday, November 27^th, the First Sunday of Advent.  Peter Mayer has a lovely rendition of

“Deck the Halls.” It’s an old and familiar song. In some ways I think it is a “wake-up call.”

Now, “wake-up calls” come in a variety of forms and fashions. There is the “old school wake-up call” in the form of a rooster. There is the alarm clock that can be set and reset to go on “snooze.” Traditionally, this First Sunday of Advent is also a “wake-up call.” I have always thought that this season of “Advent is the Cure for Spiritual Tryptophan.”

http://www.howtosayin.com/time+to+wake+up.html

In Mark 13, we hear Jesus say,

^“Therefore, keep awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

The notion of “sleep” is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. One of the major thoughts about “sleep” and consequently about “waking up” is the idea of being ready. If one is asleep, one is not ready. On the other hand, if one is “awake” one is ready, mindful and

“Good to go.”  Advent is a time of being “awake” of readiness, mindfulness and goodness.

Additionally, the invitation to “Deck the Halls” is a call to action and service. As I think about “decking the halls” I am aware of the interior work that needs to be done for this season of preparation and anticipation. I’m thinking about what if anything is cluttering the “halls.”  Do the “halls” need a little bit of fresh paint? Are the “halls” well lit? How about the floor of the “halls?” Do we need to do some dusting or some spiritual vacuuming?

Twenty years ago I saw a movie called “Defending Your Life.”  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101698/
It represents Hollywood’s attempt to figure out what happens after a person dies. In many ways it asks the question “were you ‘awake’ when you were alive? (put in link)

“WAKE-UP” and listen for “echoes of the season.”

Rtg

 DECK THE HALLS

THANK YOU!

It only takes four candles.
You can make your own Advent wreath by taking four candles and setting them up in a circle.
Add some greenery (of the natural or plastic kind) and BEHOLD, you've got yourself an Advent wreath.
Light one candle this first week and then add a candle each week.

Our good friends at Augsburg Fortress have a prayer for this first week:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God,

ruler of the universe.

You call all nations to walk in your light

and to seek your ways of justice and peace,

for the night is past, and the dawn of your coming is near.

Bless us as we light the first candle of this wreath.

Rouse us from sleep,

that we may be ready to greet our Lord when he comes

and welcome him into our hearts and homes,

for he is our light and our salvation.

Blessed be God forever. Amen.

From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2011 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26681.

h2odevos begin tomorrow. SEE YOU THEN!

h2odevos resumes on 11 27 11

H2o Devos will begin on Sunday, November 27th, the First Sunday of Advent. This year's theme is ECHOES of the SEASON. You can "taste and see" some of these marvelous tunes by sampling the cd by that name Just click on the link and head off to Peter's website If you know of others who would like to subscribe to h2odevos, just have them drop an email to h2odevos@earthlink.net Blessings, rtg