The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 10

THAT SMALL VOICE

I'm driving down an interstate highway and "hear" a prompting to change lanes. It comes out of nowhere and I decide that is crazy. The next instant a rock cracks my windshield.

I'm in the grocery store and walk by an ingredient not remotely on my list. I think, "I should get that." Then I think, "That's crazy--I don't need it." A few hours later, an unexpected turn of events shows me I did need that.

I am convinced that God has a small VOICE that wants to loudly engage with our hearts to show His love, His care for even the smallest details of our lives. Is He practical? I think YES as He tried to save my windshield and an extra trip to the store.

But He doesn't stop with practical. Much more incredible is the VOICE as it urges me to engage with someone else. Call, write, stop by, offer, listen--the VOICE often starts with action words for me, so that His love will get conveyed by my actions.

There is nothing in this world more precious to me than that VOICE. When I cultivate my heart daily to stay poised to hear it, I know His purpose is to fill my life with meaning and purpose in my relationships. And the most amazing part? Intimacy with God deepens as I listen and engage. The gift of listening I want to most give myself is that of hearing the small VOICE.

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 9

LISTENING TO MARY

In the still of the moment, Mary, a virgin in her young to mid-teens, is told by an angel that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her heart leaps. She says, "May it be as you say."

Inspiration at its height. Joy soaring. God knows me. God has a job for me.

Then next steps set in.

"Mom, I'm pregnant by God's Spirit. An angel told me."

Silence. Deafening. Disbelief. Disapproval?

"Joseph, I'm pregnant but not by another man."

Silence. Deafening. Disbelief. Divorce?

Pondering the job God may have for you is not for the fainthearted. Next steps may be disapproval, persecution, outright bullying, even rejection.

Listening to Mary is hearing her choice to receive...and trust the outcome.

Is this a gift you could give yourself?

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 8

OCCUPY HEART STREET

We are seeing these days that new phenomenon called Occupy Wall Street. It is a protest movement of our time and history will one day review its impact.

We don't have to look far to find the phenomenon called Occupy Heart Street. We awaken every morning living in that camp, our minds wrapped around whatever pursuit rules our heart.

What DOES occupy your heart at this time of year? Interestingly, that is what you are listening to today: the pursuit of your heart, or said another way, that on which you spend the energy of your thinking.

Is it spent on shopping?

Is it spent on your to-worry-about list?

Is it spent on love, the generous what-can-I-do-for-others-without-expecting-anything-in-return kind of love?

What occupies your heart street?

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 7

Today we are listening to Pride, the cousin of Arrogant. Pride sneaks up on us when we are not looking and wraps itself around our good intent, redirecting us into the path of Foolish.

Highway Pride: we are cruising along near the speed limit when someone lingers beside us and slightly moves ahead. What are we to do--let him/her BEAT us? Unchecked Highway Pride births road rage.

I'm Right Pride: we are wronged by someone close to us--I mean, officially wronged--and Forgiveness keeps knocking gently at the door. We choose, instead, to DIG in our heels and hold our position. Unchecked I'm Right Pride births hostility.

I'm Better Pride: we look around at someone less fortunate, less capable, less put-together and smugly thank God that we are not that person. Compassion and Interaction call us out but we are too BUSY BEING better. Unchecked I'm Better Pride births...more pride.

Jesus, on the other hand, let others BEAT Him, let thorns DIG into His head, and died at the hands of those BUSY BEING better. His driving force? LOVE. Unchecked Love births...the radiant life He has for us if we trade in Pride for Love.

A definite decision that feeds our strength...

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 6

Listen to the melting of your heart. It happens in those moments--too rarely, I suspect--when you let your guard down, you weep, you find inspiration, you glimpse hope.

You leave this scene somehow re-energized to face the mundane, the fear, the cynicism that lace your everyday world. Is it important to keep your heart melted? I tell this true story to say a resounding YES:

As a principal, I copyrighted a discipline system called REWARD PLUS and peddled this system as a vendor at a middle school conference in Portland, OR. An assistant principal from a tough CA school walked right up to my booth and asked pointblank, "What do you do with outlaw children?" Without any forethought, I said, "Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you."

Now where that promise came from may never be known, but that night I remember thinking, "Okay Lord, I need some help here. What DO you do with outlaw children?" Thankfully, and just as mysteriously, came an answer: Melt their hearts.

We all have outlaw hearts. It is more natural to be selfish than selfless. It is easier to talk (about ourselves) than quietly listen. Greater is the temptation to indulge carelessly than to impose self-restraint. So maybe the gift to ourselves is to ponder what melts our hearts and go there...often. The outlaw inside us is tamed each time and we feed that strength so vital to a better life.

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 5

By midnight tonight, there will be a new video on the shelf. It will feature YOU as director and YOU as the main actor. Director You will instruct Actor You in the action of the video. It will be ASSAULT or ASSIST. It will go something like this:

ASSAULT Mode: Eat whatever you want. After all, it is Christmas. January is coming, like it always does, and you can worry about your body then. What's a few extra pounds, anyway? How much damage can be done in the space of a few weeks? Besides, won't you insult your co-worker, mother-in-law, neighbor if you turn down their holiday cooking? Aren't you obligated to eat more this time of year?

ASSIST Mode: Pace yourself. Think of extra calories like a finite amount of spending money--don't spend it all in one place. Decide in advance how many days this week you will have a Christmas treat and then only eat one item instead of six (!) on the days you indulge. Decide it is better, at the end of the day, to pat yourself on the back for controlled eating rather than beat yourself up for making Baker Betty feel validated at the expense of your body. Watch others watch you in self-control assist mode and be inspired to move in your direction.

May one of your best Christmas gifts to yourself be the discovery, energy and joy wrapped up in listening to Director You lead you in ASSIST mode for this Advent season.

The Advent Calendar of Listening--Day 4

The Listening of the LIGHTS

On this second Sunday of Advent, we can remember that Jesus says in John 8 that He is the world's light. Everywhere we go at this time of year, we see lights strung across trees, porches, bridges, and wreaths. Lights inspire a lift of mood, a nostalgia, a hope, perhaps because we are somehow wired to connect light with Jesus.

So what might He like us to do with our light--the light that is the beauty of our one-of-a-kind self, designed to fill a space in this life that no one else can fill. Where should we spend the energy of our heart-light?

Jesus says in Matthew 5:9--You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

When you see a string of lights today, imagine they are a group of people to whom you are somehow connected. You + God's prompting may inspire the other "lights" to cooperate rather than compete or fight. Your heart-light--who you uniquely are--may be just the light that completes the connection so that all may glow. Listen for the LIGHT...be that light.