lilly's pad

receiving the baby king

this year, i've thought a lot about the fact that God chose to come to earth as a baby...an infant who needed care, comfort and lots of attention. jesus came as a baby...not as a self-sufficient adult, not as an angel with supernatural powers, but he arrived as a helpless baby born in a small town to a young mom and an adoptive dad who were still being surprised by the wonder of it all.
at the time of his birth, they didn't even have the gift of family around for support, they were on a pilgrimage in a strange city needing the aid and assistance of people they'd just met. needing the gift of hospitality in a big way.what if we take time to consider jesus as a baby...when you prepare for a baby, you have to get lots of stuff ready. the room, all the diapers. the car seat, all the special gear necessary. Your house changes, you have less space because the baby stuff takes up lots of room. Your focus changes..,whether you are adopting or hatching a baby, you begin to focus your life around this little person.  And once that person arrives on the scene you no longer need a TV because all you want to do is watch what he or she does.

when a baby enters the world, your time is no longer your own. now you have to think about the needs of someone else. you have to consider how what you do will affect the baby...even before a baby is born, the mom must consider what she eats, drinks, or smokes.
What if we see the coming of baby Jesus into our lives like this?

How do you and i make space for baby Jesus in our lives? How do we get ready for his birth in our real world? What stuff do you and i have to get rid of? Do you and i need to add special gear?… What does bringing baby Jesus into your life and my life really look like?

And consider Jesus as a baby who needs our time and attention, .. What are you willing to do to care for him ?
How are you willing to change your life in order to give baby jesus the attention and care he needs?
am i willing to prepare him room in this way?

am i willing ? are you willing to receive the gift of jesus as a baby?  

talk to God about this...

maproom in blogland

steve fuller paid a visit to maproom last night as a part of his church experiment . maproom was week 49 on his 52 week tour of churches/places of worship in the cincinnati area. i haven't met steve personally but i've wanted to invite him to a thinplace gathering ever since i read about his experiment in cin-weekly/metromix.

so thanks steve for joining us and for the great props! check out what steve says and i'll write more about my experience at maproom and post more pics later this week.

tomorrow and wednesday, i'm setting up a similar prayer experience at the presbyterian church of wyoming. that's wyoming, OHIO, my little village of cincinnati.

so if you missed maproom last night and would like to experience multi-sensory worship, come by wyoming presbyterian church and take time to receive the gift of advent.   "RECEIVE the GIFT" will be running wed night through sunday night (closed saturday) this week. call the church for exact times.

advent resources for the season

found a new daily devotion for advent (thanks to my freshman college roommate : ))i rather like the title since i have a prayer experience in SACRED SPACE named the same thing! check out :following the star

also you should check out these two on line sites for weekly and daily advent inspiration:

sacredspace advent (the jesuit prayer site)

and

st. elizabeths

The Gift of Advent…Advent is the season of already, but not yet…we anticipate the birth of Jesus but we must wait….like the children of Israel long ago who had waited hundreds of years for a prophet and longer for Messiah to come we must wait to receive the gift of the baby born in a stable in Bethlehem. It’s also the beginning of the church year, a time of renewal and re-telling the story of Jesus all over again…yet another gift, a gift of a brand new start.
So how can we receive the gift of Advent this December?
How can we take time out to prepare Him room? In our hearts and in our homes and communities?
Here are some ways we can celebrate this gift together…

• First take time to receive Advent, make time to receive these days before Christmas a gift …you might put a gift box or wrapped present in the center of your dining room table or on your coffee table or a small gift box on your desk at work to remind you that these days before Christmas are gift to be enjoyed and treasured. Use that gift as a symbol of this gift of advent and as a representation or your waiting for the gift of Jesus to arrive.

• Set aside a specific time each day to thank God for the gifts God has given you in that day. You could set your phone alarm with a reminder “ today is a gift remember to receive it! “ You can text your friends and family with that message too.

• Each person in the Christmas story received the gift of Jesus in a different way….as a community or family prayer exercise you can write down and/or run off the names of people from the nativity story (everyone from Mary and Joseph, their parents , the shepherds and innkeeper and guests , to the Magi , Zechariah and Elizabeth and even King Herod). Write or copy these names on small pieces of paper and fold them in half. Place these names in a Nativity Scene, or better yet an Empty Stable for a Manger Scene. Ask each person in your group to take a name and carry it with them during this season of Advent, between now and Christmas. Allow God to show them how this person received the gift of Jesus. Ask God to show you how this person changed as a result of this gift, and allow God to open your life/heart to change and growth as you receive the gift of Jesus too.

• You can also pass out Christmas bows to everyone in your group ( the pre-made kind for presents with the sticky square on the bottom.) Ask your family, friends, community to consider the people in their lives who have been gifts to them …this year, and in the course of their journey so far. Ask them to take time to pray for these people and thank God for them. Next think of the people in your life who are the “extra grace required” gifts…those whom you’d like to avoid, the people who drive you crazy or make your life more frustrating…Take time to pray for them too. Ask God to show you how these people are gifts to you. Ask Jesus to help you bring his gift of love to these people in the coming year. You can have them bring these bows “up front” or place them in a manger as giving these people, both the good and the more frustrating to God.

starting over!

starting over ...it's about time to reboot and re-up the blog and advent is the perfect time 
for blogging


Lilly Lewin, curatorThinplace : a pilgrimage of discovery and [email protected]'s pad