Scream, Eat, Create - Celebrating the New Year
What does screaming, eating Turducken, and decorating a Christmas tree have in common? They are all acts of celebration! For Thanksgiving, my big crazy family would get together to eat our mom’s turducken (chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey with layers of shrimp, sausage, and bacon stuffings in between); that weekend, we would decorate the Christmas tree. When I was in college at Michigan State, we would open our windows precisely at midnight every night during finals week and scream our lungs out to celebrate the finals we had taken that day. Celebration takes many forms; what does celebration look like for you and your family?
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun writes in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, “Whether solemn or exhilarating, formal or spontaneous, celebration can enlarge our capacity to enjoy and serve God.” Several examples of celebration in scripture take place before, during, or after great hardship. Celebration does not discount or dismiss our challenges or disappointments. Instead, it’s a powerful spiritual discipline that helps us embody that God is deeply good and worth celebrating despite adversity or struggle. Maybe you’ve had an incredible semester, aced all your classes, and your NCF group has flourished. Or maybe you’re ending one semester and starting another feeling discouraged and disappointed. Either way, make time to celebrate anything and everything you can. Make it a game to see how much you can find to celebrate this year out of a desire to “enlarge your capacity to enjoy God.” Scriptures that highlight celebration: Exodus 15:1-21, Phillipians 4:4-7, Genesis 2:1-3, Acts 16, and many Psalms.
Scream: You can do this by yourself or with a group. In your car, on a parking garage roof, or outside. “WE DID IT!” or just “AHHHHH” will do. Release all the stress, hard work, and in some cases, disappointment or fear, and embrace the relief and pride of your efforts and gratitude toward God.
Eat: Make or buy a delicious meal or dessert for your next group meeting. Savor each bite as you share what you’re celebrating. For virtual groups, have the same dessert on the same day and share your celebrations in a group chat.
Create: Bring paper and colored pencils to your next NCF meeting, and draw and share something you’re celebrating from last year.
- Lara Kaiser NCF Student Ministry Associate Director
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Hi, I’m Lara (pronounced the same as Lärabar). I grew up in Michigan, graduated from Michigan State University in 2012, and was on staff with InterVarsity in metro Detroit for the last ten years. I now live in Jacksonville, Florida, with my husband and two cats. Coaching ministry leaders is my FAVORITE! Over the last ten years, I’ve enjoyed coaching students and faculty on groups for community colleges, Black students, Asian American students, International students, arts, and of course, nursing students! I joined NCF because I love how determined nurses/nursing students are to journey with Jesus in caring holistically for others. As a coach, I lead with prayer ministry, scripture, training on concrete skills, and leadership identity formation. Outside work, you can find me rock climbing, curled up on the couch with my cats and a good book or crochet project, soaking up the sunshine by the pool, playing volleyball with my husband, or having coffee or boba with a friend. I also love psychology and personality types (I’m an INTP and enneagram 5w4!), and I LOVE getting to know people. I can’t wait to meet you 🙂
