Archive for December, 2007

Learn New Vocabulary and Give Rice to the Hungry

December 29th, 2007

Today I came across a site that I thought was pretty cool – www.freerice.com – basically it’s a vocabulary game that you can play to improve your vocabulary and knowledge of the English language – they give you an English word and four options as to what it means and you pick which definition is right. The cool part though, is that for every word that you get right the site donates 20 grains of rice to starving people around the world!

They do this in partnership with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) who distributes the rice. The money for the rice comes from advertisements on the site which are all done very tastefully. I thought it was a really cool and fun way to learn new vocab and help people in need at no cost to you. I encourage you to check it out. Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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O Lord, Come unto us…

December 24th, 2007

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory over the grave.

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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Christmas = Family Drama

December 22nd, 2007

I love my family. They each are so unique and have so much to offer the world and enrich my life so much. I love laughing and talking with my family and hearing what they have to say. I am realizing more and more that although we are all SO very different each member of my family has their own strengths and gifts and beauty and I love that.

Your family is always there for you, your family rallies around you when you need them, they support you….and sometimes they force you to come face to face with your sin and call you out on it. They know you better than most people and they see you not only at your best but also at your worst. Hopefully they love you through it all. Sometimes they also hurt you more than other people…because they can, because you care more deeply about them and about your relationship with them then you do with other people.

I think all the best and the worst about being family comes out at Christmas.

I bet that first Christmas had a little bit of that family drama too. Someone pointed out to me recently that Joseph must have had other family members going up to Bethlehem as well…and none of them offered him and his new wife (“illegitimately” pregnant as she was) a place to stay. I had never thought of it that way before. It wasn’t just that the inns had no room… his own family had no room. Talk about family drama. But, in the end a stranger stepped up and gave the young couple a place to stay.

I can imagine that Mary and Joseph had a bit of their own family drama as well…it’s not hard to believe that they might have fought a little, being tired and in labor and not being able to find a place to stay, but I can imagine that in the end they rallied together to share in the miraculous birth of their baby.

I think for most people being with family on Christmas comes with its ups and its downs. Interestingly, the ups with family are better than ups could be with any other group of people and the downs with family are probably worse than they would be with most people. Family just has that way of making you feel happier and more comfortable than anyone else could and also hurting you more than others could.

But, Christ’s coming to the world has a profound influence on all of our family standings…we at last get the opportunity to become children of God. We become part of God’s family…the church. And like our own families the church can sometimes hurt us and call us out on our sin, but it can also rally around us and support us and give us the strength we need to face our struggles and the love we need to overcome them.

May this Christmas be filled with the good side of family for all of you, with the type of family drama that brings healing and health and not the type that tears down and harms. And may this Christmas be filled with the church being the good side of family for you as well – showing love and support and care. May we act as sister, brother, mother, and father to those around us who need our familial love this Christmas.

Rejoicing in the season -
Beth Stedman

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Why I Love Liturgical Prayer Books

December 21st, 2007

Yesterday my husband and I bought a copy of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Last night as we looked through it and skimmed the pages I felt so inspired and excited – it was like a breath of fresh air. I know there are those out there that would probably think that my equating a liturgical style of worship to a breath of fresh air is an oxymoron. But, that’s how it felt to me.

I never went to a liturgical church growing up – my parents were almost always went non-denominational churches. Liturgical worship was never a part of my childhood or young adult years so it never had a chance to get old or dry. There is something about structured liturgical prayer that really speaks to me. Often I want to pray but don’t have the words to pray, so having someone give me the words is helpful. I like the idea of praying what others throughout the world are praying and what others throughout history have prayed. I love that idea of continuity and familiarity and regularity and ritual – especially since sometimes my life feels so filled with discontinuity and change and irregularity and nothing seems familiar or habitual.

Anyway, Bryan and I are going to start doing daily prayers from the book of common prayer on the weekends and start doing the daily readings from the lectionary and I’m excited about it so I just thought I would share my excitement with all of you.

Rejoicing in the season –
Beth Stedman

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Peace on Earth??

December 17th, 2007

I have been reading the Johannine synchroblog this advent. There have been some very interesting and challenging posts but one that I had missed last Sunday and discovered today really stood out. I think it is definitely worth reading and sharing here:

Blessed are the Shalom Makers

In light of the article I have a question, for both me and anyone else who feels lead to think about and answer it…

What are some specific ways that we can be shalom makers, peace bringers, in the world around us? How can I be a shalom maker in my world? How can you be a shalom maker in your world? It is clear in this world that there is often a lack of peace, a lack of justice, a lack of light. What can we do to change that?

A friend of mine wrote me an email yesterday and I thought I would pass it on to you as a possible way that you could participate in spreading peace and justice…

“While I lived in Honduras I had two wonderful professors who had chosen to live in the slums and fight for justice for the people there. Kurt and Joann helped started “Association for a More Just Society” (ASJ) because after 15 years of humanitarian work in Honduras they were convinced that what needed targeting were the BIG processes in place that kept people oppressed. A year ago one of ASJ lawyers received death threats and was then murdered in daylight by 3 hitmen as he was on his way to court to represent employees of a security company that had violated labor rights for years. ASJ is asking for as many people as possible to write to Honduran officials, US embassy in Honduras, and others to plead for justice to be done on behalf of Dionisio the lawyer.

I thought that as friends and as a way to celebrate Christmas together we could write to the following people as a way to work for justice.

Here you can write to your Senator

Here to write to Honduran officials in Honduras

For those that are cynical (like me) and need more information than most normal people do here is the website for ASJ to read more about what they do.”

If you feel like joining in with this call to protect the oppressed and call for justice it takes only a minute (I just did it, there is a sample letter in there all you have to do is add your name and push send).

Wishing you all a Christmas season filled with bringing peace and justice to a world that can be dark and oppressive –

Beth Stedman

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