A King's Cry

“And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth, and my first sound was a cry, like that of all.  I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.  For no king has had a different beginning of existence;  there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure.  Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.  I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.  Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.  I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light...” 

This passage referencing “swaddling cloths” may be less familiar to you than the one found in Luke.  While you may have envisioned Jesus speaking these words, these are the words of Solomon, the first son of David, found in the Apocrypha (Wisdom of Solomon 7).  And while Solomon was certainly known to be a great king, both wise and humble; his birth was but a glimpse of the birth that would follow.  The son of David. Wise.  Humble.  The Son of God.  My Savior.

There Is Room

On a cold winter night, a young woman, very pregnant, made her way to an inn to ask for a warm place to give birth to her baby, and she was denied.  While all attention is focused on the mother and the baby, I have to consider what was going on in the innkeeper’s mind that evening.  Granted, he did not know that he was dismissing the Savior of the world to a bed intended as a trough for animals; but shouldn’t it have been enough that there was a young woman giving birth to make room for her inside?  And while this treatment seems inexcusable, I recognize that I do the same thing every day.  I dismiss Jesus from my life to make room for all of the less important things.  But in my case, it is worse than the innkeeper, because  I KNOW He is my Savior.  I made this small sign from the leftover wood from the manger I built to remind me, and those who visit me, that there is room, or at least I want for there to be.

Mary Did You Know

I play the trumpet, and that may have something to do with why when I listen to songs now, I am all about the notes,  but I have to really concentrate on the words.  For most songs that I like, I can sing the melody to you, but don’t ask me what the song is about.  I probably don’t know.  I think this is terrible and something that I want to fix.  Most of the time, I just don’t try to comprehend the lyrics, but sometimes, even when I try, I can’t physically understand what the artist is saying.  Every once in a while, the artist makes it a little easier on me.   In keeping with the manger theme from last week, one of my  clients forwarded me a link to this new arrangement of “Mary did you know?”.   In case you are one of the 18+ million people who hasn’t heard this yet,  you should give it a listen.  If you have heard it already, take another listen, and try to picture the angel describing to Mary what she is about to experience.  I hope Christmas comes alive for you this year.

Dimming the lights

As Caroline and I started planning for Christmas this year, we were excited about a couple of things.  First, we have our Christmas cards printed, signed and in the mail.  This is huge for us, as that task is usually hanging over us the week before (and sometimes after) Christmas.  Second, we have a lot of fun opportunities to see family, people from church and people from work at several holiday gatherings during the season.    One of the things that is somewhat of a struggle for me is the decorating.  After we get the tree up, Caroline handles almost everything inside, but the outside is something I usually handle.  Putting the stuff up is tolerable, but taking it down is the worst.  I convinced Caroline that something simpler might be good this year, and she agreed.  I wanted to find a manger to put in front of the house.  The available plastic or aluminum feed troughs at Tractor Supply Co. didn’t seem exactly right, so after a trip to Home Depot for some wood and a new circular saw blade, I was able to come up with the  one pictured.  It ain’t fancy, but from what I hear, neither was the one that Mary laid Jesus in.  Merry Christmas.

Thanks for everything, Part 2

I think you know from past posts that I am very thankful for my family, friends and church.  I also recognized my clients and my partners in this week’s SpotOnTheLake post.    For those of you that take the time to check this blog, I  wanted to tell you about my Client Services Manager, Janet Jeanes.  All of my clients already know how great she is, but those of you that we haven’t helped buy or sell real estate probably don’t know her.  Janet has been working with me for the last 5 years.  She is the heart and soul of my business.  When I show up at closings, my clients says “Oh, I was hoping Janet would be here.”     After my ego recovers, I realize how fortunate I am to have Janet working with me.  She is a licensed agent and is technically competent with everything real estate related.  Many of the things that she does, I know longer know how to do.  But more important to me is the servant attitude that she exhibits with me, our team and our clients.  It is unbelievable.  It is even more unbelievable knowing that for the past year, Janet has actually had two full time jobs.  As well as taking care of the business, she has been taking care of her husband Alan, who has been diagnosed with

PSP ( Progressive Supranuclear Palsy).  PSP is a rare degenerative neurological disorder that has no cure.  Alan is now confined to a bed and has very low ability to communicate.  Caroline and I went to see them last week, and I was comforted to see Janet respond to Alan when he called out, immediately knowing exactly what he needed.  I am so thankful to know Janet and Alan and to have them a part of my life.

Soul Music

As we approach Thanksgiving, I continue to be amazed at how early we see signs of Christmas.  The Halloween jack-o-lanterns are like bright orange gifts under the artificial Christmas trees at Home Depot.  The broadcast Christmas music is right behind with multiple XM stations to choose from including Traditional, Holiday Pop and Christmas Soul.   

Music has always been a big part of my life.  I sang in the children’s choir at First Presbyterian Church in Columbus.  I participated in musical theater at the Springer Opera House, with my role as Winthrop in The Music Man being my largest role.  It was in that show that I was presented with a trumpet that we only pretended to play during performances.  That was enough for me to want to learn to play it “for real” in the sixth grade.  My wife and I were in  school band together, and I have always loved church music – from the traditional hymns to contemporary worship music. 

In trying to connect my soul to music, I couldn’t find a better way to do it than with Morten Lauridsen’s choral arrangement of O Magnum Mysterium performed by the Kings College Choir in the Cambridge Chapel.  The translated Latin is simple and perfect for the season approaching: 

O great mystery and wondrous sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord lying in their Manger!

Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia! 

Please don’t be in a hurry.  Find a time when you can be still for six and a half minutes, then click here. 

For more about how the text and visual art inspired Lauridsen to arrange this composition, read more here.

Soul Provider

Our small group at The Vine is about half way through our study of Soul Keeping by John Ortberg.  I can’t say that I am tracking 100% with the way that the book is organized, but the combination of the book and our talented leader, Dan, has allowed for some great discussion.   This is a lot more interesting to me than sitting around watching everyone nod their head “yes” and repeat what they read in the book.  So while I’m not sure I have come to any revelations about my soul yet, Caroline and I did have the opportunity to attend Buckhead Church with my daughter and son-in-law Sunday evening.  This is one of my favorite things to do, and our decision to drive downtown was blessed by an amazing service.  My soul seemed content.  My soul seemed full.