The Best Christmas Ever

Do you remember the movie Home Alone? Well, aside from the screaming boy in the bathroom, my favorite part of that film is when Kevin visits the church where he meets the old man, and the old man tells him about his estranged son. The old man is afraid to try to make amends with his son, afraid that the son will say no and he'll be rejected. And Kevin says that he shouldn't be afraid, and that probably the son is afraid too. At the end of the movie, the old man's son comes home bringing his family home too. And Kevin's family comes home too, after catching a plane from France.

Sorry if I ruined the movie, but this was the gift the Lord brought to the Fowkes family this Christmas. My cousin Sarah, who hasn't been with our family in about 4 years, came for dinner and presents with her boyfriend. It was really nice to have the completing component of our bad bar joke (the 3 girl cousins, Beth, Sarah, and me, are a red head, blond, and brunette respectively). And then, after my Uncle finished reading the Gospel of Matthew which recounts the birth of Jesus, the true meaning of Christmas, my brother from Colorado called. I was able to put him on speaker phone, and the whole family felt together again.

I didn't get many presents wrapped in brown paper (my mom is on this evironmental "no wrapping paper" thing), but I couldn't have asked for anything more. This was the best Christmas ever.

God bless us...everyone :)

Christmas is No Different

Christmas Is No Different

I learned tonight
that Christmas is no different
Perhaps people act nicer;
perhaps.
And yet a teenager is murdered outside his home
somewhere else
a family is broken
somewhere else
bitterness consumes a heart
somewhere else
a cancer patient fights the disease
somewhere else
an addict does not lose the craving
somewhere else
a toddler is still hungry
everywhere else
desperate prayers are repeated
Christmas day is no different

The world does not stop for Christmas
half the world may not even celebrate today
there is no magical clause that says
today we will live in peace
today there will be no cease fire
today bullets will be replaced with snowballs
the day does not become merry or bright
just because the Christmas is white
and snow, if it chooses to fall,
does not erase the tracks of tears
Christmas day is no different

I walked down the street
lined with the light-filled trees
a 2 year old and his father played by the station
that’s what Christmas is
supposed to be
I believed that good tidings and comfort and joy
were held by everyone
just for the day
if only for the day
we sing joy to the world
so the world must be joyful
who are we asking to rest
if the men are not merry or gentle?
I lit the candles for silent night
but that bullet split the silence the night before
and one candle will nevermore be lit
there was no peace on earth
someone did not believe in good will toward men
Christmas day was no different

then
in the pew
with my father beside me
I realized
that while the day itself holds no magic
holding no guarantee of peace
today, we remember the promise
the promise of the past for the future
what we were singing about
what we were learning about
that Jesus was born
the child of the Promise
the God incarnate
the Wonderful Counselor
the Mighty God
the Everlasting Father
the Prince of Peace
and the government will be on his shoulders
it is Christ who promises peace on earth
the wiping away of tears
good will towards men
comfort and joy
it is the King who promises these things
it is not the day
Christmas day is no different

The day is just a day
it may not have even happened today
but we choose today
to take the time to remember
to rejoice
rejoice
that Emmanuel
God with us
will one day return and ransom us
from the gunshots
from the brokeness
from all the days that will be no different
until He comes

The world may not be put on hold for Christmas
but Christ does hold the world
and one day
there will be a silent night

- in memory of Kevin, shot to death outside his home 12-23-2006

Use Wisely

I was reading the parable in which Jesus talks about a master who gives his servants money and then leaves for a time. 2 of the 3 servants invest the money and acquire double what they were given. The other buries it in the ground. The master returns and commends the 2 servants for being wise, and the last for being lazy and foolish. The basic moral I got out of the parable is use wisely what you've been given, and always give what you've earned back to the one who gave it to you in the first place.

Last night I was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. It's a funny story how the whole thing unravelled, but that's not necessary right now. During the induction, the president said that as a member of the society, we are expected to achieve great things. After all, we were invited into the society based on what we have achieved, our dedication to excellence. For using our intellect well. And thus we should continue to use it well.

Be fruitful and multiply.

This is said to be the only commandment mankind has not broken. But I think perhaps it can be applied beyond sex and marriage. Be fruitful with what you have been given. Use it for the encouragement of others, to build the body of Christ, to lead others into the family, to pursue the Kingdom of God. How does one do this with intellect?

Take my intellect and use every power as you choose.

Honestly, I have no idea how to use the brain the Lord gave me. I've focused so much on my voice and using my singing for His glory that I forgot about my brain. I've tried so hard to channel my heart and passion for loving others correctly that I lost sight of how to direct my mental focus and passion for learning. I must continue to remember that Christ is the wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification from God. But what do I do with wisdom regarding science? Count it as nothing? I don't believe that is Biblical, as long as the Lord and His glory remain my drive and top priority.

Have we become lazy with what the Lord has entrusted us? Our intellect, our big hearts, our wisdom (different than knowledge), our passion, our talents? Are we seeking how to be fruitful, or are we burying our gifts and heads in the sand because we're afraid we might use them the wrong way?

Step beyond purgatory. Seek how you can use everything that you've been given for His Kingdom.