because it's never too early for christmas advent


here's a sneak peek into what you'll be getting when the 2010 humc advent devotionals are handed out come, you know, advent. don't you worry, though. i know for a fact the others will be way better than this one.

forgive the capitalization.

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Maybe one day soon

It will all come out
How you dream about each other sometimes
With the memory of
How you once gave up
But you made it through the troubled times -Fountains of Wayne

Living in and on our own “private Idaho” on the corner of Huffman and Gene Reed Roads, it’s easy to feel like HUMC is the only community of faith that has ever suffered or will ever suffer from the emotional and sophomore-ish ups and downs of life.

Surely, other congregations have mastered the calculus of interpersonal relationships while we’ve just discovered that we are behind the curve. “He said, she said” doesn’t exist at “the church across the street”. Otherwise, they would have empty spaces in their parking lot, too. The “University of Jesus” down the road never questions their leaders. They have their ducks in a row, and, therefore, have the capacity to build new buildings that will serve even more members of their community in new and fantastic and interactive ways. “That church that my friend goes to now” hugs and kisses each other all the time. Then, they go and hug homeless people and feed them and, then, they hold hands and sing “Kumbayah” and always go home happy. Right? Right?

Well, of course, none of the above three hypotheticals are totally accurate, but it’s easy to feel that way at Huffman United Methodist Church. The comforting thought is that Huffman United Methodist Church is no different from “the church across the street”, “the University of Jesus” or “that church that my friend goes to now”. If we don’t intentionally and often remember the connectedness that is a life lived in union with The Divine Spark, it’s easy to feel isolated and alone and discouraged, no matter where you hang your hat on Sunday morning.

If Advent means anything to me, it means a fresh and renewed understanding that I am not alone. It means that it is time again to renew the effort “to put on a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”. If not for myself, I effort for my family and my church family and those that I call “brother” and “sister” in Christ.

Feeling alone is a very human and flawed emotion. In Advent, in Christ, it is never “us vs. them” but a global connection that helps us work for a Greater Good.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:20-25