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I was reminded of a poem Advent by the Orthodox poet Scott Cairns. It’s long, but I want to quote it in full:

“Well it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas—everywhere, children eyeing the bright lights and colorful goods, traffic a good deal worse than usual, and most adults in view looking a little puzzled, blinking their eyes against the assault of stammering bulbs and public displays of goodwill. We were all embarrassed, frankly, the haves and the have-nots—all of us aware something had gone far wrong with an entire season, something had eluded us. And, well, it was strenuous, trying to recall what it was that had charmed us so, back when we were much smaller and more oblivious than not concerning the weather, mass marketing, the insufficiently hidden faces behind those while beards and other jolly gear. And there was something else: a general diminishment whose symptoms included the Xs in Xmas, shortened tempers, and the aggressive abandon with which most celebrants seemed to push their shiny cars about. All of this seemed to accumulate like wet snow, or like the fog with which our habitual inversion tried to choke us, or to blank us out altogether, so that, of a given night, all that appeared over the mess we had made of the season was what might be described as a nearly obscured radiance, just visible through the gauze, either the moon disguised by a winter veil, or some lost star—isolated, distant, sadly dismissing of us, and of all our expertly managed scene.”

I love this description of the season—with all its gaudy consumerism, its frantic manufactured desire about gifts and shopping, the shining lights and swirl of mass-produced goodwill. But in all of it, despite it, shot irrevocably through to the heart of it remains the glowing miracle of the divine coming down to this humble earth, of Jesus Christ born in a backwater town to a no-name virgin and her carpenter-husband. It is the mystery that transforms the entire season—Santa Claus and all—into a time of joy, and hope: a reminder that God bends to breathe upon this ragged world, and works in ways we find too wonderful to understand.

Women: can you imagine yourself as Mary with the Christ-child within you, a kicking God swelling your belly? Men: can you imagine an angel telling you that your betrothed will bear a child—not your own—who will save the sins of His people? For all of us: can we imagine the miracle of the Creator of the skies entering time, wrapped in flesh, and touching our world with His light?

In this Advent season, with the end of the semester at hand, presents to buy, and travel plans to organize, I pray we might all take some time and meditate on the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and come to a deeper and more profound understanding of this great God that we serve, and who came to us nearly two thousand years ago in such remarkable and quiet humility.

God bless you all.
Josh

Josh Mackin is a junior English
major at Messiah College in
Pennsylvania. He plans to
snuggle up with hot cocoa and
cider and read a good book this
Christmas and wonder wide-eyed
at the incredible blessings that
are his. He thinks you are cool.

Now don’t get me wrong——although I tend to adopt a more pragmatic view of it, Valentine’’s Day really is one of my favorite holidays. If you’re like me and hold to the philosophy that romance is the most authentic when it is saved for something lasting, Valentine’’s Day is transformed into an incredibly rich celebration. Every year I steal away for a special time with the Author of romance and most ardent Lover of my soul, for what could ever be more authentic, lasting, and utterly thrilling than my God? In the midst of a culture infatuated with relationships, I am reminded once again of what truly will fill me. The love of our Lord is a deep well, deeper than any other source of comfort or identity. I don’t know where life finds you this Valentine’’s Day, but my prayer for you is that somehow you are being drawn into a deeper intimacy with Christ. So enjoy your little candy hearts and remember as you munch that you are VERY loved indeed.

Joyfully His, Susie

Susie is an MK from Ecuador, Russia, and Hungary. She lives in Minnesota and works as a missionary in the Middle East with e3 Partners International. For fun, she loves being in the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with friends.

Hello Brothers and Sisters!

I hope that February finds you comfortably settled into the New Year. I feel like I finally am. As a sophomore, January is typically a hectic time. Classes change, new schedules take over and I find myself in the thick of new events. The excitement of catching up with friends and diving into new classes is exhilarating, but by the end of the month, I’m ready for some routine and stability.

I function really well in routine. For me, it’s not as tiring as new things can be. I’ve got my class schedule down, and I’ve figured out how to squeeze in an extra five minutes of sleep in the morning.

Routine, however, is not healthy in every aspect of life. In fact, staleness, a lazy comfort and a false sense of stability can set in to areas that should never become routine—most notably my spiritual life. This is one area that I strive to keep ever fresh and changing.

Recently, I have made the mistake of gauging my spiritual life by the regularity of my routine: the number of times that I read my Bible in a week, how often I prayed or the frequency of church activities that I have attended. And if I’ve been deliberate and planned well, these often fit neatly into my new February schedule.

Now, all of these things are good. But the integrity of my relationship with the Lord is not ruled by the statistics of how many times I’ve had a quiet time in a week. (Frequency certainly benefits it, but the number in itself is not the measure!) In fact, although I have done many “spiritual activities” with good motives, I’ve become convicted recently that my actions can be like the Pharisee in Matthew 23:25. I’m dedicated to great activities, but the truth of the matter is, my dedication and growth on the inside is lacking. The outside of my cup is clean, but the inside is still dirty. My spiritual life is not measured in numbers, my growth is most important–how much I am becoming like Jesus. I need to be living a changing life, not a routine life. There is a common Christian phrase about having a “changed life,” but I think there is more to it than that. It is not a one-time deal with a series of monotonous actions following. This February, I am learning the importance of living a life that is changing to be more like Jesus every day.

So in the midst of February activities—routines in school, at church and in our spiritual lives, we need to forget about the numbers and focus instead on how Christ is transforming our hearts. Are we living a changing life? This February don’t let your relationship with Jesus become a routine. He desires way more for you than that!

Alisa is a nursing major at the University of Florida. Her dream is to travel the world doing medical missions.

Mid-semester? Third quarter? Just starting second semester? No matter what category you fall into right now you are probably wishing that you could blink and that your workload would just be over now. At least I do. I am starting the second semester of my junior year and am a little over- whelmed already with what has to be done within a matter of a few months.

It amazes me to look back and see how much I have gone through in my academic career and how God has gotten me this far. I think about the number of different kinds of schools I went through and different systems I have learnt. From Egyptian school, public American school, private American school, Home-school, and now Christian College and yet God has gotten me through every step of the way.

Each January, our school has a three and a half week period of time where we can concentrate on class or take that time and go on missions trips that our school participates in. I have two roommates and I have been with them since my freshmen year here at Taylor and they both went on trips over this J-term month.
One of them had only been out of the country once in her life and the other had never been out of

the country, so I knew this would be a life-changing experience for them. They have been the two people I have shared my life with the most over the past two and a half years and they have lis- tened and sat through my stories, but I knew that they could and would never understand or completely be interested. Therefore one of my biggest prayers was that they would be able

to feel and experience a little more of what my life was like growing up. And God did just that! When they got back to campus, the three of us went to our closest local café (aka Starbucks!) and they shared for 3 hours their two different trips. It was amazing to listen to and, in the end, they both shared about how much they didn’t understand what a missionary family was really like and for the first time they have more of an under- standing of me and my life.

I never would have even imagined this happening with them. Maybe you feel like you will never get to that point with your friends for whatever reason, but God does have a way of working those things out. Most of my friends still don’t understand and I know that even my roommates won’t totally either, but I do know that God has a way bringing those blessings into your life. It took me two and a half years to see that and I pray for the same for you guys.

My roommates and I were challenged by two things in our conversation. One is the fact that when we go on missions trips, we see God at work in our lives and the lives of others so clearly (the high). But the low comes when we get back here and we don’t notice God at work so evidently and so we hit “the low”. But in fact God is working just as much here as He is “on the field”, just in different ways. God wants to be as evident in our lives at our colleges just as much on the missions’ field through our studies and interaction, and in our jobs. God is at work and we must be careful not to miss him in the busyness of our schedules, especially as things start to pile up. That pile will be a lot easier if we let Him walk us through it!

The other thing that challenged us is the factor of love and what it means to love like God loves us. We can’t even fathom how much God loves us because it is so great! Just picture the people

you love in your life the most and times it by billions and you got it! YEAH! It is HUGE! So I encourage you in the next month to explore what it means to

really love people. I would love to hear from you if you get any insight that you would like to share too because God wants to use us to encour- age one another.

Lots of kisses to you all and have a fantastic end of winter! Lord willing!

Carly Timbie

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