Friday, December 26, 2008

Some final Christmas cheer



Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

I am in an Advent state of mind. I'm in a season of waiting, a season of longing, a season of wondering when Jesus will show up. One of my most loved Christmas songs has always been "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and I have been resonating with it these past weeks.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

I feel alone as I mourn my old faith - a faith that was more certain, more well-defined, more at home in the church. I feel captive to my uncertainty as I wait on my new faith to take shape and grow roots. I have been waiting for Jesus and looking for him, fearing that he might never appear in the ways he used to.

At the entrance to my work, there is an agency sign sheltered by a tall peaked wooden structure. To decorate for Christmas, a large star was placed on top of the shelter, making it reminiscent of a manger. Over the past month, I have been mindful of this symbol every morning when I drive into work - pointing me to where Jesus can be found. The God of the broken-hearted is with the struggling kids I work with. When I join with them, I find Jesus.

In places and situations that cause me to wonder where God is, I am privileged to be able to make him apparent as I bring my own compassion, humour and help. I've found that God feels nearer when I am thankful. I have many things to be thankful for.

My hope for myself and for you is that this will be a season in which we can hold the tension between longing and expectant rejoicing. A season in which we can hope for something greater, take delight in the good in our lives, and bring blessing to the lives of others.

re⋅joice

1. to be glad; take delight (often fol. by in): to rejoice in another's
happiness.
2. to make joyful; gladden: a song to rejoice the heart.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Fifiths and Fourths

I've been tagged by Avey to put up the fifth photo in my fifth folder. Here it is:















This photo was taken on my 26th birthday. Kyle and I were attending the wedding reception of one of my co-workers. It was the most expensive event I have ever attended. The wedding was held on four different levels of an art gallery. We started at the top level with drinks and hors d'oeuvres, third for dinner, and second for cappuccino and chocolate fountain. It was one of those events where I'm unsure as to which fork I should use at what time. Thankfully, the people we sat with were funny and laid back Newfies. When served a lime sorbet to cleanse our palates between courses, Newfie Man complained that his ice cream was just a "limey ice ball".

Just for fun, here is the fourth photo in our fourth folder. It's pretty out of focus:














This was taken two Christmases ago in Florida. There was a lizard hiding behind the washing machine in our condo. Kent's girlfriend and I chased it out, trapped it in an ice bucket and put it outside. This photo was taken as we were trying to build a sort of gateway to force him into the bucket. I loved him.

If they'll play along, I'm tagging my sisters Amisha and Heather.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

For those hard to reach places

After a long hiatus in blogging I often feel like I need something spectacular to share. I don't have any crazy adventures to write of but I did recently receive a very quirky gift.

When I was in England, my friend told me about pope-soap-on-a-rope. From the moment I learned of the product, I wished for one. A couple of weeks ago, Karen and Greg left their dog Lhotse (or as Kyle calls her, Bleeder) with us again for a weekend. When they returned from Seattle, they brought me this hand-shaped soap-on-a-rope.























Awesome.

 
Background by Jennifer Furlotte / Pixels and IceCream