grace – Adventure With Brendan

Needing Grace In November

November 30, 2019Brendan Scott

What has made your heart come alive in 2019? My heart matters and this year has been an adventure in trying to find what makes it sing, what makes it come alive. As I have struggled with sleep, I have realized that grace and beauty speak into my heart and I need more.

November is a great month to focus on what this year has brought and set a focus on how the year could end so that the next year can start off right. To make it through the last of November and into December I need my heart to come alive. But life can’t be all adventures. Life is lived in the dailies and doesn’t have to always be fantastic.

2019 has had plenty of fantastic things take place in it, but it has also been a daily grind. If I want my heart to come alive I need to remember to search for beauty when I am stuck at work or when the unexpected comes my way.

I need grace when things don’t go my way. I need grace for when things do go my way.

This year plenty has gone my way. My heart came alive when April and I walked into the home we would buy. God’s hands were all over us being able to buy our home, but as many of you know, owning a home is not easy. Owning a home is a beautiful adventure, but a home needs much from its owner. We’ve already needed to replace all of the windows and gutters. God has provided April and me with a home and I know I cannot take care of it without him. When I feel anxious about all my home needs, He reminds me He is in control and gives me the grace to remember that He will provide, He will protect, and His presence will rule in my house even if I have to spend more money on my home. Right now the oven is hardly working and if April’s baking adventure is ever to take off, we need a better one.

In July we finally went on our honeymoon to Europe. As we boarded our plane, all of me was ready for a holiday.

My spring semester at school was stressful and then because I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to teach summer school. So, I needed to be refilled, but I was nervous about how my sleeping problems would mess with our trip. On the first night in London I was exhausted (I hadn’t slept on the flight over and then it took us five hours to travel from Heathrow Airport to our hotel over in the Docklands). This was an adventure, but even though my eyelids were weighed down I struggled to fall asleep.

I was terrified I would be too tired to do anything and ruin our honeymoon. Before we left for Europe, I didn’t take the time to work on my sleep problems. Now I was sure it was going to ruin the trip. And then in a quiet whispered moment, April reminded me to be gracious to myself. “Jet-lag is a very real,” she said and that I should just give my body grace when I couldn’t fall to sleep because it was just trying to figure out its new rhythm. This saved me and helped make for an incredible month in England, Scotland, Amsterdam, and Ireland. The sunset that night was God reminding me that he would take care of us.

And then we returned to Colorado, I started back up at work, and now we are at the end of November, and I’m thinking about how I need grace for my life. I’ve had quite a few beautiful moments this semester, but some hard ones too.

As November came I didn’t think we would need a new car, but her completely paid off Ford Focus died and we could no longer rely on it to transport her to work and back. We really needed a new car, but buying cars doesn’t make my heart come alive. We bought a Honda C-RV and I love it, but I had not planned on making another big purchase this year (The house, the trip to Europe, and a couple things for the house were all I wanted to buy, but not the car). Buying the car could have stressed me out, its drastically changing our budget, but I am remembering to give myself grace and I am choosing to remember that providing for my wife is truly an awesome adventure. God is in control and even in the daily grind he will provide fantastic elements to my day.

God providing for me is what makes my heart come alive and that is what I need. He knows my heart matters and he will take care of my finances, my house, and my job. With our new car I have the ability to go up into the mountains. With my house I can invite friends over for a movie. And with my job I can share my love of stories. These are all things that make my heart come alive and that is what I really need.

My goal for December 2019 and into 2020 is that I slow down and meet the needs of my heart so that I am able to live a life fully alive, but I know I will mess up and there will be bumps along the way. That’s why I am thankful for grace!

The First Snow

October 5, 2012Brendan Scott

I spent the last two weeks pounding away on my computer. It’s getting a little old and the delete key isn’t working all the time, but for now, it is helping me get through grad school. Funny enough, two weeks ago, when I was celebrating Hobbit Day, I did something very stupid.

Acting on little, to no sleep, I decided to go check out the new iPhone 5, it had just been released that day. As I had expected, the Apple store was packed with people trying to upgrade their phones. I didn’t really want a new phone, just wanted to look at it.

The iPhone 5 is sleek and remarkably light weight. It was very compelling, but what really caught my eye was the new Macbook Pro. My old Macbook only has 80 gigs and the battery has a life of about 30 minutes, though it still works.

Now, let me explain myself a little bit. On Friday September 21st, I was still feeling the after-effects of completing my first masters level class the day before. I’d been up since 5:30, already hard to work on the reading for my next class.

Still, NEVER go shopping when you are super tired. Or you might walk out with a 2,000 dollar computer that you can’t afford. That’s just what I did.

Fortunately Apple has a gracious return policy, which is what I took advantage of after I went to the gym and thought things over.

Now back to the present.

I spent all day yesterday typing away on my old computer, being very careful not to make any mistakes, as the delete key is being very tricky. Kind of funny that I was able to delete my big mistake when I bought a new computer, but my old computer wont let me delete the wrong words I type. Anyway, around 4:00 pm yesterday, I turned in my second big paper, which interestingly enough focused on the importance of sleep and how it correlates to learning.

I should have talked about sleep and how it can stop you from buying expensive Apple products. But that wouldn’t have been scholarly, just realistic.

If you can’t tell I’ve learned I need more sleep! So I decided to take this morning off, which was very nice. When I woke up around 9 am, I was surprised. A fresh coat of snow on the ground.

I love snow, especially the kind that only sticks on the grass. So in celebration of the first snow I am going to share the pictures of my yard with a fresh dusting on it.

I think it’s awesome that it snowed today. It reminded me that sometimes we make mistakes, but we can’t do anything bad enough that God will not take it back. He covers over our sin and makes our lives as white as the fresh snow on my lawn this morning.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the first snow in Denver. And remember, it’s not bad to sleep in every once and a while.

Finding Grace On I-25 Just North Of The Pecos Wilderness

August 15, 2012Brendan Scott

Last week I hiked up into the heart of the Pecos Wilderness with my dad and some old friends. It had been over a decade since I’d truly backpacked, not counting my winter hunting trips. It was great to set up the tent, cast the rod and catch some fish, and to renew old friendships.

So I don’t wander off in this blog, like my dad and I did on our trek up to Stewart Lake, I’m going to graciously trek right to the point. Though fishing was great, hiking was breathtaking, and reforming friendships over conversations about faith and serving in our own community was refreshing, what really hit me was the weather.

Yep, I’m going to talk about the weather. Okay, I promise that my next blog will hike back into the realm of backpacking and what a joy it is to wander, especially when wandering into challenging conversations of faith and community.

I want to talk about weather, because I want to talk about grace. Have you ever noticed how we can’t really control the weather? It either rains or it doesn’t, especially when you’re out in the wild. Grace often works the same way. You either receive it or you don’t. It’s never something you deserve.

As my dad and I hiked up the sun slowly baked us. It was hot, and it stayed hot all week long. The last time we’d been up in the Pecos Wilderness it had rained non stop. I remember it being so wet we had a river in our tent. Not this time.

It was weird that it didn’t rain. I really didn’t mind the lack of rain, but it just felt weird.

As we hiked 9 miles down out of the wild it was so hot my feet started to burn. I had to walk on my toes so my heals wouldn’t blister up.

What little water I had left at the end of the trail I dumped on my head just to cool off. It felt amazing. A little water can really be gracious on a hot day.

The water dripped off my bare head and shoulders onto the dry ground, evaporating immediately.

It wasn’t until we drove out of Las Vegas, NM that we felt the first drop of rain. Or at least the Nisan Titan felt the rain. The rain clouds looked like hands dragging their long fingers along the dry mesa tops as if they were scraping for last crumbs.

It was gorgeous. But inside the cab I still felt parched. We’d brought along two Dublin Dr Peppers for a celebratory drink at the end of the hike, but, as they’d been sitting in the hot truck all week, we were forced to wait until they could be cooled down with ice. As we sep north on I-25 I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I popped open our two Dublin Dr Peppers. They were ice cold. As I swigged down the real sugar drink, I knew I’d just broken my sugar fast, but after the dry hike it was worth it. Mine tasted phenomenal. Probably as good as rain does after a long dry summer.

As we drove through Pueblo, Colorado the rain was coming down in sheets. I was thankful we hadn’t faced this type of rain on our trip, ’cause now I was safe inside the cab of the truck with the AC blasting and no need for rain to cool me down.

Inside the cab we were listening to U2’s album All That You Can’t Leave Behind and as the rain died down the album came to a close. Bono was singing about Grace.

Grace, she takes the blame. She covers the shame. Removes the blame. It could be her name.

It hit me, not like the soft rain we’d driven through in New Mexico, but like the drowning rain in Pueblo, we need grace just as we needed water on our hot hike. I had to press repeat on my iPod so I could listen to it again. It made me think, am I showing grace to the people around me or am I like the hot dusty trail I hiked on?

Am I a thirst quenching Dr Pepper or am I a hot pair of boots rubbing blisters?

Bono says, “Grace finds beauty in everything. Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.”

Harry Potter and Tebowing at the Climax

December 5, 2011December 16, 2011Brendan Scott

I love going to the movies. I was that kid who stood in line to see all of the “Star Wars” movies when they were re-released back in the 90’s and when “The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring” came out ten years ago, I was the first person in line, not just for tickets, but to enter the theater. And when theaters started releasing movies at midnight, I’m there at 10 pm. Don’t even get me started on how early I had to get to the theater for “The Return of The King;” it was crazy.

I think the reason I love going to the movies is because I love good stories. The atmosphere in a crowded theater on opening night is exhilarating. When “The Sixth Sense” came the theater was packed. With every twist and turn each of my friends began tucked their legs up on their seats. We shared in the fear. We pulled for Bruce Willis’s character to reconnect with his wife and for Haley Joel Osment’s character to receive the help he needed. As the movie built toward its climax the hairs on my legs stood up and all I wanted to do was hug my knees like everyone else, but fear froze me. The crowd made the climax of the movie completely captivating, but the well told story made the change the characters experienced even more meaningful and worth the level of fear I had to experience.

Good stories are filled with meaning. Movie writer and teacher Robert McKee says, “If I could send a telegram to the film producers of the world, it would be these three words: ‘Meaning Produces Emotion’ Not money; not sex; not special effects; not movie stars; not lush photography.” Meaning is what a good story is all about and the climax of a good movie will be filled with meaning. McKee states that “The Climax of the last act is your great imaginative leap. Without it, you have no story. Until you have it, your characters wait like suffering patients praying for a cure.”

When I’m in a packed theater, I’m suffering along with the main character for that positive or negative turn to occur in the movie. I want Frodo to make it to Mount Doom and drop the ring into the fires of Mordor. I want Harry Potter to live or die, maybe both, and so I wait for that turning moment, that meaningful climax. As an audience, we share the ups and downs of the characters story. Without the ups and downs that lead to the climax, the climax would be meaningless.

There are people out there that flip to the end of a book before they start just so they can see if it is a good ending or not. They pick up “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” and flip to Harry’s battle with Voldamort. They want to get the stories payoff without reading the entire book or, even worse, the other six books in the series. By skipping to the end of the book they miss the reason why Harry had to do what he does. But just like sharing a story with someone adds to the story’s meaning, the work it takes for character, as well as the reader, to make it to the climax is what makes it meaningful.

The people who want to skip to the climax of a book are the same people who sat down and watched the last episode of Lost with out watching the previous five seasons. They didn’t want to see the story develop, to see the characters grow and change. They wanted all of the payoff without watching for six seasons. These are the same people who on December 5th want to fast forward to Christmas Day. They want the meaning without any of the work.

More on Christmas in a moment. Let’s not rush to the climax because right now we’re at the rising action of our story. Sunday December 4th The Neighborhood Church celebrated the second Sunday of the Advent season by sharing a sit down meal during the worship service. People met together, ate, and shared stories about Christmas’ past. It was very meaningful. The only problem was the service didn’t finish until 12 pm. An hour into the Denver Broncos game against the Vikings. Co-blogger and Co-pastor of the Neighborhood Church, Mike Klassen comforted the congregation by reminding us all that “Tebow Time” (A term here meaning going beast mode and winning against all odds) isn’t until the fourth quarter anyway. So if we missed the first half it would be just fine.

I tevoed Tebow anyway. As I pressed play on the DVR, I knew I wanted to share a meaningful story with my fellow Bronco fans who’d gathered around the TV with me. We knew we could just fast forward to the end. But we wanted to experience the entire story. If we had just skipped to the end, the win wouldn’t have been as meaningful. The time we shared together watching the Broncos game was splattered with theological discussions. Why is Tebow so loud about his faith? Incomplete pass! What if Tebow messes up (On the field and in his faith)? Fumble, no way the ground can’t cause a fumble! What is perseverance of the Saints (No, I’m not talking about football here)? I can’t believe it, the Broncos Win!

And as Tebow rallied the Broncos from an 8 point deficit late in the fourth quarter we were discussing how God’s Grace works in our lives. Life is like a good movie with many turns. In “The Return of the King,” Frodo loses hope. He turns away from his mission and decides he will keep the ring, but Grace steps in (In the form of Sam) and saves him. Grace does what Frodo cannot do, destroy the ring and bring him back to the Shire. Grace creates the meaningful change in Frodo’s life. If Tebow fails on the field or in life, Grace will be there for him too. Grace is there for all of us, offering a chance to make a meaningful change in our lives. A chance to Tebow (Go beast mode/let God takeover), which brings us back to Christmas.

Christmas is not about what you get or even about what you give. It is about experiencing the season with the people you love. It is about sharing special moments with those around you. Most of all it’s about God sending the Incarnation of Grace down to the world as the baby Christ. If we fast forwarded to Christmas Day it would be like reading the last page of a book, only watching the Broncos during the fourth quarter, and fast forwarding all our favorite movies to the climax: empty and meaningless. So slow down and know that no matter how long it seems until Christmas, that God is working in your life. Christmas is more than just the climax of Christmas day. It is about the Grace we have been given and the work it does in our life. Let Grace make a meaningful change in your life this season.

I am an avid Bronco fan and movie enthusiast who believes in Tebowing every night because the best way to live a meaningful story is to stay connected to the author.