Your Preconception and the Christmas Expectation

Have you ever noticed how people see what they expect to see?
It's like if you're looking for it you'll find it, kind of thing. You know how some people get to work in the morning and express just how miserably cold it is, while the next person walks in and says, "Today is the sunniest day we've had this week!"

Perhaps there is more truth in "Seek and you shall find," than we realize.

Recently I've been reading "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. During one particular scene of the the story a local man is dialoguing with another man's Chinese servant, Lee.
Well the servant normally speaks in short broken English, or what they call pidgin. Except for this time. During this conversation Lee suddenly breaks out of the slow and broken English and begins discussing with the other man in a fluent manner. The man then inquires as to why Lee always speaks the way he does since his English is actually so good.
"Lee said, 'I know it's hard to believe, but it has happened so often to me and to my friends that we take it for granted. If I should go up to a lady or a gentleman, for instance, and speak as I am doing now, I wouldn't be understood.'
'Why not?'
'Pidgin they expect, and pidgin they'll listen to. But English from me they don't listen to, and so they don't understand it.'
'Can that be possible? How do I understand you?'
'That's why I'm talking to you. You are one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception. You see what is, where most people see what they expect.'"

We often expect so many different things from Christmas every year, don't we? Lots of family time, presents, sweets, games, movies, new toys... and then perhaps we try to squeeze some of "the real meaning" of the season in on Sundays...

The question is though, what is it that your expecting to experience this season? What do you truly desire to see? What are you searching for? Because I bet, at some point, you'll find yourself in the midst of it.

This Christmas, what, or better yet, who are you expecting? Are you expecting more traffic? More travel? Are you expecting it to be filled with quality or quantity family time? Gifts, food, and so on?

Or this Christmas, are you expecting the Living God? Are you expecting the God who is coming to us in millions of unexpected ways?

Are you expecting the Jesus who would even to us come as a child?

May you this season, seek out, look for, expect the coming of our God... if you will expect with an open and humble heart, you will find Him. In countless ways.
Expect the unexpected this Christmas.

Merry Christmas,
~ Caleb

Culturally Appropriate Giving and Kingdom Living

Recently I was watching a brief segment on one of our few news channels that involved the topic of Who to buy for this Christmas... and What should you buy...

As I began to view this short piece of "news," I realized what was happening here. I was getting the privilege of hearing an "expert" on the issue of Christmas present purchasing!
How enthralling! (to be said in a sarcastic tone)

What struck me is that now we actually have our culture letting us know who its appropriate to give gifts to this season (which apparently involves my babysitter, my mail-carrier, my beautician, my daycare person, and my office assistant) and also what gifts and dollar amounts are socially acceptable... We've really got this down to a science don't we?

So lets take a second and lift the veil to see the issues that are really behind this discussion:

- Christmas has become primarily about consumerism. I'm culturally obligated to give gifts to all these people, and i'm afraid that if I don't they will either be hurt or insulted etc.

- I'm not giving because of some overflowing affection toward these people, i'm giving perhaps then out of guilt, or manipulation, or some other false motive...

Recently, I had someone say to me how they are "so sick of the consumerism of Christmas."

The fact is, we all should be. It should make us sick. It's a sickening thing to think that Americans spend $450,000,000,000 (that's billion) on Christmas every year... and the estimated cost to give clean water to everyone in the world is $20 billion...

It should make us sick to think about children going to bed hungry while other kids are swimming in new toys. Something is disturbingly wrong here.

For too long, the only difference between those who claim to follow Jesus and those who don't during Christmas is that they go to church. This is ridiculous.

Christmas holds so much more hope than this! This season we participate in a story that involves the salvation of the world!

As followers of Jesus we are called to live a life that rescues the world, that brings healing and restoration... not to live in such a way that we consume, take, and fed ourselves with no consideration for our neighbor.

When it came down to it, Jesus gave Himself. This Christmas, lets do the same.

Instead of buying guilty presents this Christmas... or even presents for people you really want to give to. Instead give your time, give yourself. Be creative!

There is great work to be done this season... be part of God's work in the world this Christmas!

-Caleb

Co-Pastor at Kaleo Nashville

Check out this video!

The Truth will set you free

We are getting ready to wrap up our study at Kaleo walking through the chapters of Love Wins. The book has provided a good platform for us as we've journeyed together in this discussion. The best part of the book, naturally, is the end. The Good News is Better Than That. Bell spends the chapter discussing the issue of trust.

Truth is, that we pretty much all have trust issues. One person feels unworthy, the other feels overqualified. Some feel unwanted, and some feel like they are the center of the universe. Some people feel handicapped to help the world. Some people feel like they've single hand-idly saved the world. But to each person, Jesus is there calling us into a better story.

When truth is extravagant, it becomes hard to swallow for most. But there lies the issue, the Truth is extravagant. If it was anything less, it would not be the Truth.

Even though for most, this extravagant truth is a tall order to swallow, deep within our hearts we wish it to be real. We long and yearn for it to be the Truth. Did you know that we are designed for glory? God glorifies us as He has made us in His image, and being so as receivers of glory in the image of God, we also are glory givers. Our only hope of living a life where we find “happiness” and joy, is by living a life for God and receiving glory for Him, and then in turn giving it back to Him in worship.

This is the story of all creation. Even the beauty of the trees reflect the glory of God, the earth declares the work of His hands and gives Him glory. So, how much more as we are human, created in His image, do we carry this beautiful glory and the responsibilities of it?

But to begin to do that, to begin to live in the way we are created to live, we must accept God's story for us. There is no alternative to finding life.

Here is the truth: God created you in His image, God loves you in an unconditional way, there is nothing you can do to make yourself more worthy of His love, there is nothing you can do to make yourself unworthy of His love. The Love simply is. This is the Truth, trust in Him - this is your story.

Maternal Health in Afghanistan

Current World Impact: Maternal Health in Afghanistan

Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies of childbirth-related complications. In fact, tragically, almost half of all deaths of women age 15-49 in Afghanistan result from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths could be prevented with increased access to maternal health services.

World Vision is hard at work in Afghanistan, training midwives and implementing child survival programs In order to reduce maternal, infant, and child mortality rates. They need our help to continue improving the health of women and children in Afghanistan.

Our gift will provide training for midwives, prenatal and ongoing medical care for mothers and children, improved nutrition, immunizations, and other critical interventions for those in need. We can help save the lives of mothers and children in Afghanistan today!

www.worldvision.org

See you Sunday at the Garden!
- Kaleo Nashville

Fall Festival!

This Saturday (October 1st) will be the Woodycrest Fall Festival!

Held at the Woodycrest Community Garden on Hutton Dr. (37210), there will be games for everyone, hay rides, some music by a few neighbors, a moon bounce, homemade chili, and a homemade pie contest! And we'll cap off the evening with some smores around the fire!

So come and hang out with your friends and neighbors this Saturday anytime after 3pm for the Woodycrest Fall Festival!

For more information contact Caleb @ 931-698-6605 or email us @ KaleoNashville@gmail.com

Sponsored by Kaleo Nashville

Love Wins - Life Group Study

This Tuesday (September 20th) Kaleo will be beginning a study on Heaven and Hell.

We will be using the book Love Wins, by author Rob Bell as a platform for this discussion over the next several weeks.

This is not to say Kaleo will be endorsing this book or everything it has to say, but we simply want to walk through these pages, along with Scripture, a look through our Traditions, Experiences and Reason... and find ourselves allowing God to lead us.

This will hopefully be a great study for anyone who is seeking to dialogue and who is open to learn about these issues of our faith!

Kaleo Nashville

Life Group - Tuesdays Evenings @ 7pm

Starts every Tuesday with dinner, so come and join us!

2015 Hutton Dr. Nashville, TN 37210

Creation Care - Learning and Doing - Saturday Sept. 10th

CREATION CARE SEMINAR

This coming weekend at Blakemore Church of the Nazarene (2800 Belcourt Ave. Nashville) there will be a Creation Care Seminare with Dr. Matthew Sleeth.

A decade ago, Matthew Sleeth was an ER doctor living out the American Dream when suddenly he and his wife Nancy were confronted by the powerful truth that the biggest problem facing humanity was environmental degradation. “If we don’t have clean air, clean water, and healthy soil to sustain life on earth, the other problems won’t really matter.” This profound realization spurred Matthew and his whole family to embark on a journey to a more simple and earth-friendly lifestyle. Matthew eventually quit his job, and together with Nancy, began the non-profit Blessed Earth (www.blessedearth.org.) Since then, the Sleeths have travelled the country speaking with churches, educational, media, and environmental groups about the benefits and blessings of caring for our environment. In addition to their speaking, Nancy has authored Go Green, Save Green and Matthew has written Serve God, Save the Planet as well as The Gospel According to the Earth. Their daughter Emma is the author of It’s Easy Being Green.

Creation Care Seminar - Saturday, September 10

9:00am - 10:15--Living the Good Life in Bad Economic Times (Nancy)
10:15 -10:30--Break
10:30 - 11:45--24:6 (Matthew)
11:45 - 12:30--Q&A (Matthew, Nancy and Emma Sleeth)

ALSO...

ENCM EVENT: CLEANUP DAY

Saturday September the 10^th, there is a Main Street to McFerrin cleanup project in East Nashville. Anyone can show up for an hour or two on this day as we make an Impact on the East Nashville community. There will be brand new ENCM t-shirts to identify those serving...

Meet at the East Nashville Cooperative Ministry (807 Main St. Nashville, 37206) at 7:45 am to impact our community. There will be an open house and food at ENCM as-well. If you would like to help by providing snacks, food or drinks for the workers please let say so in your RSVP know.

Please RSVP to alan@encm.org with your availability on the 10^th and to reserve your t-shirt size.

Kaleo Canoe Trip

As the summer days have continued to grow more hot, Kaleo turned to the river for a Sunday. This past Kaleo Holiday, July 31st, we had "church on the river."

Sunday morning we gathered together with sandwiches and swimwear in hand ready to hit the water. We visited Canoe Music City and took eight of their canoes down the Harpeth River!

While Kaleo has had the opportunity to meet in the midst of nature this summer, this experience gave way to a serenity one can only experience out of the city peacefully floating down a beautiful body of water.

And while actually not all of the river may have been "peaceful," it was a gift being able to journey with each other through the rocks, rope swings, and slow moving moments...

This is what church is meant to be about... Finding oneself in the midst of a community, moving forward together, supporting one another, keeping one another afloat.

So, as Kaleo Nashville we are continually seeking God's will and learning what it means to journey together in this convoy known as the church, the body of Christ.

Journey with us as we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness together -
KaleoNashville.com

Kingdom Produce

God is good!

Vegetation is continually growing in the Woodycrest Community Garden, and so are we.
Spring treated Kaleo well as a community and we are enjoying the fruition of Summer!

Recently we sent out our Spring Update - Newsletter, if you have not received one but would like to simply email us at KaleoNashville@gmail.com

We have been continuing to meet in the garden on Sundays and it has been a huge blessing to have this space we call our sanctuary. There is something old and sacred about meeting outdoors with nature that helps connect us with our Lord!

Not only has the garden been a platform for community to meet, but also by way of giving out vegetation to our neighbors it has served as a platform for acts of love. We plant, weed, water, eat, and share with one another.

We ask for your continually prayers as our small community is growing and others are finding their place with us and so finding themselves in a community where we together seek the face of God!

With Love,

- Caleb
Co-Pastor

KaleoNashville.com

We can rescue a girl from indentured servitude.

In the Dang District in western Nepal, many indigenous families from the Tharu ethnic group subsist as farm laborers. Unable to make ends meet, they have been forced into a desperate trade – selling their daughters to work far from home as bonded servants in private homes or as dishwashers in tea houses. Some of these children are as young as six.

Alone and far from home, these "indentured daughters" have no knowledge of the ways of city people or of other cultures, and most speak only the local dialect. Their living conditions are entirely at the discretion of their employers. The bonded girls seldom attend school and have no prospects for a decent future. Some are ultimately forced into prostitution. A donation of $100 will rescue a girl from indentured servitude, let her come home to live with her family, and provide her family with a baby goat or piglet as compensation for the lost wages. She is then free to go to school, and she may be the first member of her family to get an education.

Nepal Youth Foundation

2nd Garden Day... heres your chance!

This coming Sunday (May 22nd) Kaleo Nashville will be having our regular gathering at 11am in the Woodycrest Community Garden... and later that day Kaleo will be hosting a second garden planting time beginning at 5pm!

So get your overalls on and come out to lend a hand in planting some corn, melons, beans, cucumbers, spices, and more! Also for you manly men we'll be spreading mulch and building raised beds!

Or if you are just wanting to come for moral support you can do that as-well! Immediately following the planting and building there will be a cookout for all you hungry people.

Garden Work Day #2!
Woodycrest Community Garden

(near 2015 Hutton Dr. 37210)

Sunday, May 22nd, 5:00pm

Sundays at the Garden!

Kaleo Nashville is in transition with warmer weather! Beginning Sunday May 8th Kaleo Nashville will be gathering every Sunday at the Woodycrest Community Garden! (while nice weather permits :)

Come hang out with us at the Community Garden on Hutton Dr. (near 2015 Hutton dr. 37210) at 11am for a worship / devotional time, and lunch at noon, followed by a time of impacting our local community through acts of service!

If you would like to gather with us for worship at 11am, or come for lunch at 12, or just serve with us at around 12:30, everyone is more than welcome to jump in!

Kaleo's Summer Sundays in the Garden
- Every Sunday beginning at 11am at the Woodycrest Community Garden

-- Doubt Night --

Doubt Night is an evening hosted by Kaleo Nashville for anyone to come and share their thoughts and doubts about certain issues that may normally be "taboo" or not socially accepted or addressed.

This will be done anonymously and addressed by a panel made up of a few different pastors of local churches and professors.

The goal isn't to come and 'get answers', but to first understand that it is okay to have doubts. Doubting is part of being human and we all have them. For too long, unfortunately, the church hasn't been the safest place to voice these kinds of thoughts. This is something that should change.

As Kaleo we hope that this Doubt Night is simply the beginning of many discussions to come as we are all journeying through life together.

Doubt Night

Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 6:30pm

Coleman Community Center

384 Thompson Ln. 37211

For the Green-Thumb in you...

Saturday, April 16th from 8:00am until...

Come out to the WoodyCrest Community Garden site (Across the street from 2015 Hutton Dr. 37210) to get your hands a little dirty! We'll be planting most of the Spring vegetables, working on a compost, and will be doing a few other projects there that day. So we could use your thumbs no matter what color that happen to be...

Hope to see you there!

We Cry

This week as we enter the discussion of the Psalmist's Cry in our small groups we keep in heart, mind, and prayer all the hurt and pain currently taking place in Japan.

So we cry.

LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.

May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

But I cry to you for help, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.

All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.

- Psalm 88

( Do something through WorldVision.org )

Who is this about anyways?

At one point some of the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven... Then Jesus tells them that we must welcome little children as if we were welcoming God and that the least will be the greatest. (See Luke 9:46-48)

I love the phrase, "It's not about you." It's so simple, yet deeply prophetic in the culture we live in today. Our world is constantly creating, moving, and implementing more ways to revolve the universe around us. To have everything point back to us and say, "Yes, it is about you."

The moment we begin asking Jesus questions like "who is the greatest?" ..

We have already missed it. The kingdom of heaven is always about Jesus! And Jesus is always about the Father. And the Father is always about His children. And well, those who are really His children, are always about Him.

It seems like we often get so lost in asking questions about Why this happens... Why that happens... Who will be the greatest... Who will be where... Why is there so much hurt...

But it's not about us. It's all about Him.

So, can we know these things? Yes there are things God does reveal to us and teach us... But even if He doesn't, it's okay ... Because it's not about us.

That's the best part about Impact... you go somewhere, you clean, fix, and do things that are absolutely not about you but about God and about others. We worship God when we can get our minds off of ourselves and onto Him and His purposes in the world. Whether that's mopping a floor or whether thats feeding a starving child in His name.

It's not about you.

ENCM Event!

Snow: God's little reminder...

So Punxsutawny Phil, the master forecaster told us that we're supposed to have an early Spring this year, and i'm super pumped about it because it has been a cold winter in Nashville. Even this very evening we are expected to recieve 1 to 5 inches of snow across middle Tennessee. Whether that happens or not... we shall see :) In any case, I'm hoping this will be one of the last humps to get over for this Winter.

It literally is funny though to see how everyone reacts to the snow. I'm not sure whether it’s just the people I seem to come into contact with on a regular basis, or everyone... But everywhere I go I hear about how all Nashvillians can't drive in this weather and how everyone else is freaking out. The other day it literally made me laugh as I over heard this particular lady who was recently from way down somewhere in South America expressing how all the drivers in Nashville can't handle the snow... (just think about it :)

In our mind we are always the "good ones" ... it's never us, it's never our faults, because we can handle the weather... We aren't' like the people who raid Kroger’s right before it snows... "it's those darn Nashvillians... ya know, the ones who can't drive in the snow!"

Recently I had someone cut in front of my vehicle on my way to work. I'm not sure if the person saw me or not, or if he just thought he was going fast enough to make it... even though he didn't. I slammed into his driver's side door making a pretty good dent in both our vehicles.. Then before I could think clearly enough to write down his tag numbers... he drove off.

At first I was like, "you've got to be kidding me!" I waited in vain thinking "surely he is just going to make a block and come back." Never came back...

What that person's actual situation was, I don't know. There are plenty of reasons why he would just drive off. The fact is he hit me and ran. He didn’t want to face the consequences, whatever those were for him. You don’t often run when it’s not your fault. People don’t often say “I’m guilty.” Or “Yeah, I’m a horrible driver in this kind of weather!” Or “Yeah I freak out a little when it’s going to snow, I bought five loafs of bread!” We never want to be the one the finger is pointed at… no matter how big or small the issue is.

Just a few days ago I was talking with a friend who was telling me how he was always available if I needed him for anything. He went on to tell me how he is pretty much always working and moving and how his work is pretty much his second marriage.

I believe this is one of the saddest things to witness. We live in a culture that promotes and pushes 24/7 efficiency. So much so that we praise the person who never stops and then we end up feeling guilty ourselves when we do finally sit and do nothing. But then on days like today its great! Everyone starts flaking out of work early in “caution” of the inch of inclement weather we are supposed to get. “It’s a safety issue!” That means we get to take a rest, guilt free! Bring on the snow!

Perhaps in all this then God gives us the gift of this white powder to remind us of how dirty we can get sometimes… to remind us that He is the only one who makes us clean, pure, and white. And to remind us of a season that screams at us to “Stop and Rest.” Stop; look in the mirror; and remember who you are. Remember the God who loves you… even amidst all your false efforts to be “good” without Him.

And so if Punxsutawny Phil is right…

May you take advantage of these last few moments of this gift of Winter you have.

- Caleb

Its Snowing, And You Better Hope You're Not Alone

What is it about snow that we love? We will sit as one and admire it. We appreciate it for some odd reason and the hope that it brings. It is cold and wet, things we do not typically like. But for most of us, it means anticipation of snow days and different schedules. It is the talk of snow that really causes a buzz. "Did you hear it was suppose to snow even more?" we exclaim. We look forward to playing in snow, staying inside away from the snow, sledding and having snow-ball fights.

There must be something in us that sees snow as something different than just cold rain. The insecurity that snow causes about driving conditions and scheduled meetings just rings though us. We, well at least I, hope secretly and earnestly that everything will be cancelled for "safety's sake".

Two things, frozen rain, and snow; they are the same and yet so different; which reminds me of something that happened the other day. At work, a man became upset and started to yell through a crowd of 200 people at a woman he was angry at. All you could hear above the crowd was, "I'm gonna find you! And you better hope you're not alone!" Later that day, I was doing some data entry while listening to Pandora, when a song by Jack Johnson came on. I am not sure what the rest of the lyrics were; but one caught me. In a soothing, comforting tone he hummed, "you better hope you're not alone." I don't know the rest of the song, but I had a very distinct feeling that Jack was saying something completely different than the angry man.

Back to what I was saying about snow though. Could it be that we revel in snow so much because it is a heavenly force that interrupts us and reminds us that there is something bigger than us in the world? Could it be that we are reminded that something greater is happening? Could it be God uses snow every once in a while to enact sabbath in an overworked city? Could it be that we are anticipating not just rest and fun, but ultimately, the good news of the kingdom?

Do you know any angry men? You know the kind that are actually upset when it snows because it ruins their schedule? The ones that see it as cold rain and a pain.

Later, at the elevator, I stepped in. Number two was already lit and a commonly wearied man stood across from me. As the elevator started to move we sighed in unison. Though we were different in every way, in age, gender, race, and status. We were one in that moment. I just know we both had the same feeling that somethings are wrong with the world, somethings we can change, and somethings we just got to do. Thank goodness it was snowing.

-Emily Haynes

Scholastica gets a loan!

Loan in Kenya has been 100% funded The $250.00 loan request in Kenya has been 100% funded for Scholastica Mueni Mackenzie This loan will be used for the purpose of: To buy bags of cabagges, kales and tomatoes Over the 9 months of this loan, Kiva's Field Partner in Kenya, Kenya Agency for Development of Enterprise and Technology (KADET), a partner of World Vision International, will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website: http://www.kiva.org/lend/258248

Kaleo Time Changes for 2011!