Old traditions...new meaning

Snow.Rain.Snow
I love snow! I don’t know if it’s cause I’m from the south and we associate snow with normal life standing still, buying all the milk and bread you could possible think of, and camping out in the living room waiting for the power to kick back on or if I just like the white stuff. For you Northerns, we had to wait for the power to come back, not because of our massive snow fall but because instead of snow storms we would get ice storms, but when you’re a kid snow and ice are about the same, they both get you out of school! But needless to say it snowed this past week and I absolutely loved it!
But all things must go away, the rains came and the snow has slowly been disappearing.
Today was just a great day! I love my church and am so proud of what is happening with in this community. God is working and moving and it’s so cool to watch and be a part of. This morning Pearl and I where late to the service (like usual, we’re never early to anything) and had to set in the nosebleed seats. We usually don’t sit up high, but when we do it’s a visual treat. We normally sit closer to the stage, but when you’re up high you are able to see everything, all the screens, lights, staging, and my favorite everyone else. Today as we expressed our love of God through music, one of the songs really hit me. This song is not new and to be honest I’ve been singing it literally most of my life; but as we sang this song I realize that I may never look at it the same again. The song was the Christmas carol “O come let us adore Him.” I’ve always enjoyed this song but I picture it being sing next to a live nativity, or Christmas play, or portrayed by a Norman Rockwell painting. But today as I stood in the nosebleed seats and joined in with another thousand people singing our lungs out, the words took a new meaning. This song is not only about a baby in a manger and some sheep, but it’s about broken people, people who’s lives are full of stories of pain, regret, shame, disappointment, and a list of other adjectives. It’s about families, students, senior citizens, divorced couples, golden couples, engaged couples, singles, and all those in between. It’s about heterosexuals, homosexuals, pro-war and anti-war advocates, it’s about musicians, and those who serve the world by keeping their mouth shut.

It’s a song about all kinds of people, from all kinds of backgrounds getting the fact that the God of the universe loves us so deeply and longs so hard for us to know him and for us to find pleasure in each other. As this sunk in, I stopped singing and just watched, as people from all over the spectrum said yes, let’s come together and adore Him. Let’s adore the one worthy of our affections. It was a cool moment, then I felt something in my pocket, a camera, so I sunk a picture, and went back to adoring.
Last couple of thoughts
We had a wonderful lunch with some dear friends, Clay and Lindsey. They grilled out and I ate up, I have a weakness for grilled meat. We had a ton of fun reconnecting and swapping stories about life but the center of attention was not the four humans in the room but the year old Rottweiler and 4 month old Coonhound (who look like twins)
playing their hearts out.
I think Zuri now has a life long friend, but needless to say shortly after coming home she found a bed and crashed.
Blessings to you and your house, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that you find new meaning in old traditions.

the heart of Christmas

Well, here’s the next set of thoughts and pictures.

I downloaded the pictures from our camera and found two shots form up in the UP that I felt where worth sharing. The first is of Zuri sitting in the snow and the second is of Pearl’s street.




But it’s nice to be home and back in our own world. This past weekend we where able to help a friend who has really helped us in the past, it felt so good to be able to tangibly return through physical labor a little bit of the blessing they have been to us.

The house officially kicked off the holidays this weekend. We picked out a tree,



put up the lights and



had a wonderful dinner together.



Christmas is one of my most favorite times of the year. I love having the world slow down a little, taking the time to look one another in the eye and smile, I love to see neighbors and homes show beauty through their decorations, I love to see families come together, just to name a few.

I guess these are some of the things in life I love the most.

But Christmas as American’s know it is just a system we’ve put into place over time, it’s just another day, with the same amount of hours, seconds, and minutes as every other day of the year, but the amazing piece to the 25th of December is the heart that has been attached to this day. This heart is attacked every year by the materialist pleas of our TV’s, magazines and world, but this heart is not so easily defeated. The Heart of Christmas, the piece that rings true and good even in the darkest of Scrooge’s heart, is the piece I long to hold close. To let this nugget of truth become a part not only of my December 25th rhythms, but apart of the Rhythms I live with day in and day out.

So what is the heart of Christmas for you? What is beautiful and good about this day in your world?

As I answer those questions for me, and as I set the patterns for my life and home, may this heart not only be found on the 25th but everyday till next 25th.

finding my heart...

Over the past few weeks a consistent theme has been coming before my attention.

The theme has been centered around the idea of moving my everyday focus from me and my desires, and my goals, and my wants, and my dreams, and my skills, and my insecurities, and my… and my… and my… (it seems like the list of “my’s” could go on and on) to a focus that rest in God’s character, God’s nature, God’s history, God’s desires, God’s heart, basically moving my focus from my heart to God’s.

From May of 05 to September of 05 I had several major life transitions. Now each of these transitions are natural, needed, and good, but to have them all with in a span of 4 months was
a little hard to take. With in those few fast months I:
- Graduating collage (Praise God that is over!)

- “Lost” 98% of all my friends (I was glad to get rid of couple, but I really do miss Dorm Halo at 3am)

- Getting married (just a minor life change … SARCASM!)

- Moved across the country (18 hrs from Pearl’s family and 12 from mine)

- Started my first full time job (What am I doing again?)

- Learned a different culture (it may be the same country but where’s the sweet tea?)


These transitions where pretty major for me, but if you where to see me around work or the house you would have thought I was handling all of this change with ease (at least I think that’s what you’d see). But what was happening on my inside was a major identity crisis. The question of “who the heck am I” was screaming loud and clear. “Am I a college student? Or this weird thing called “an adult”?” “Do I still have ANY friends? Where did they all go?” “I now get to sleep with my girlfriend and not feel guilty after making out, but am I a good husband?” “Am I a bad son for leaving my family? Can I live with the guilt of not being near my elderly grandpa?” “Am I good at what I do for a living? What is it that I actually do again? Do I really want to do this? Forever?” “Just how different are the North and South? I’m fully southern, so do I look stupid when in public up here?”

These questions where the daily questions running through my mind; I’ve seen these guys hundreds of times, from hundreds of different angles, with hundreds of different faces. These questions are good and we all need to address them (they may look different but you get the point), but I fell in a trap of living in them.

So back to the theme that has been consistently whispering in my ear as of late, a whisper that is saying “Matt, you’re ok, you’re where I want you, you’re doing what I designed you for, quit fighting where you’re at, you are where you are because I’ve put you there, do something, don’t miss where I’ve got you, don’t stress so much about tomorrow or next year or next century that you miss your purpose for today, find my heart, find my character, don’t worry about how you will express it just find it, you have nothing to say unless you’ve got a hold of my heart, in finding my heart you’ll find yours.”

That’s it! The original identity questions are still in the back of my mind, I’ve found peace for the moment, but to find peace for life, to find direction of what I was originally designed for, I must know my designer, His intentions, His heart.

So what’s my focus, hopefully a little less of me and a little more of Him. A little less focused on my heart, and a little more searching for His, a little less worrying about my name and a little more of making more of his.

Jesus is record in John 5:30 to say “My judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”

May I put this is my own words?

“I know my life is lived right when I focus on the will of the one who made me and not my own”

God, move my focus from me to you, my searching’s from my heart to yours. May I find your heart, and in the process discover my own.

Road trippin' for Turkey day!

Pearl and I have a unique honor in our marriage. Our families live literally on the opposite ends of the country. My folks live the in south, Northeast Georgia to be exact, and Pearl’s family lives north of 40% of Canada’s population in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

This years Thanksgiving was to be spent in the UP. Our plan was to leave Lancaster by 4:30 am on Wednesday, but as the alarm screamed in our ears we decided a couple of hours of extra sleep would be worth the delayed arrival. So our 4am departure plans quickly turned into an 8am departure. We had smooth travels till a little ways into Ohio where we hit the biggest rain cloud known to man, mixed with half the north traveling to family, which collided to make the perfect conditions for accidents, traffic, more accidents, and simply a ton of delays. We battled the crazy rain until about half why through the lower part of Michigan, where it braked (we thought we had made it), then it turned to snow (AKA “death to good traveling conditions”). As the weather worsened, our spirits and desire for “adventure” left.

Memories of last year’s “flying-off-the-road-adventure” during a similar snowstorm on our way north had left us pretty skittish this year. We battled until about 45 minutes south of the Mackinaw Bridge and found a motel. Our location of refuge was “Timberly Motel”. If we were in a third world country this would have been luxury, but in the states it was a little sub-par. Let’s just say it’s been a while since my motel room came equipped with it’s on ashtray, pubic hairs around the bathroom, and plenty of parking spaces in the empty parking lot except for my car and 2 others. I shouldn’t knock the place too bad, it was much nicer than an icy grave, or being flipped in a ditch.

It snowed about 4-5 inches during the night and left a beautiful sight for us in the morning. Zuri (our 12 week old coonhound) loved the snow and would often only stand on three legs to keep at least one foot out of the cold.

Zuri was great to travel with, we made her a bed in the back of the car and that is where she stayed for 98% of the trip. I’ve never seen her sleep so much.

Once on the road again Pearl and I quickly discovered a beautiful sight; the sight that all travels love and pray for. A sight the stirs feelings of warmed and coziness, of being known (even through you’ve never been to this actual place) and of knowing, a place where Pearl and I officially declared our love through engagement. Yes, I’m talking about the beautiful place known as Starbucks. It’s like family hugs all mixed in a cup, which is especially nice after hauling snow and ice off your car.

After picking up “the bucks” we had smooth travels. We arrived in the Keweenaw around 4:30pm. The past few hours have been delightful. To be with family, share stories, be able to help with small projects, share Thanksgiving dinner, and to simply be together.

Well, it’s now night, I’m the last one up, and I should get to bed (cause we’re going black Friday shopping tomorrow! Yeah!)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all

PS – I’m incredibly blessed beyond what my words can express. To have such amazing friends, family and faith community decorating the days of my life leave me being truly grateful and thankful.

Blessings to all