dpp- 4 december

it has been over a month now, and I'm still amazed, every single time, how many birds there are at that corner...

snowflakes!

Today the high here at the edge of the US/Mexico border is predicted to reach 85. I'm entirely satisfied with "cutting" virtual snowflakes. It's the best part of snow- all the fun, none of the mess!

Create your own snowflake

DPP- 3 december

My midwestern friends are sending me photos of snow... this is as close as I get to Winter Wonderland tonight!

DPP- 2 december

I passed by this little old church half a dozen times before I could finally stop and take a photo. Each time I wondered what it would have been like to worship there back when...

DPP- 1 December

I really didn't think he'd be the first photo, but really... why not? :-)

December Photo Project (DPP) 2011

The December Photo Project is back!

A photo a day for the month of December, graciously sponsored by View from the Prairie Box.

And it's not too late to join in the fun- sign up today!

habit- 29 november

javelina v. ref.
we pick the javelina.

advent

"...if we barrel toward Christmas oblivious to the reality of our lives, bolstered by too much eggnog and running on adrenaline after late night shopping sprees, senses overwhelmed by too much sugar and too many jingle bells, well, then we will never really stop long enough to remember how much we need a Savior."
Amy Butler

And that is why I look to the advent season every single year- that time of waiting, of looking ahead, of waiting with expectation to the Savior long promised. The words of Isaiah 64:4 remind me, "for from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him."

It seems everywhere I turn, there are reminders that this world will never truly satisfy. I am overwhelmed by the marketing and sales of the season, although tempted by the stuff. It seems impossible to be a peacemaker in a world of broken relationships, as someone is inevitably disappointed or plain offended. The lights shine bright, until they break in the closing of the gate. But despite all that, as I was reminded in the teaching from the pulpit this week, "Christ is the one who comes to bring restoration to the broken."

So at the end of the evening in the days leading up to Christmas, after the busyness of basketball games and soccer practice and choir rehearsal and comings and goings, my family gathers around the table and we take time to be still and focus, on the Christ-child who comes. Be sure, that time is never perfect either. Some are ready for bed. Some think the story takes too long. Some want to be somewhere else, doing something else. It is not about the moment, but rather, the promise.

In worship this past Sunday, we watched a young family light the first candle of Advent, and heard the words, "We light a candle to remind us that Jesus is the Light of the world The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

He comes.

(this year, again, my family is reading Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide, a story recommended to us long ago that holds us captive even today, and lighting the candles around the advent wreath.)

(photo: advent beeswax candles by mcandles on etsy)

habit- 28 november

It was all fine until the blue bulb was smashed in the gate... we'll have to try it one more time.

habit- 27 november

so sad to leave; so glad to be home.

habit- 26 november

once inside, I was surprised by the light and the music. I could have sat there for a while... introvert at heart.

habit- 25 november

I took hundreds of pictures, cheered at the Mistletoe Cam, rode death-defying coasters with my formerly veloxrotaphobic son, watched my girls feed the dolphins, and fell into bed exhausted.

habit- 24 november

smitten! we are quite sure that there are no two little boys as wonderful in the entire world...

"Profoundly different"

Some of us–whether we have experienced real unfairness or not–look at all of life through this lens of fairness. We are always assessing what we really deserve. We are always aware of other people’s successes or failures. We are always cognizant of whether we get recognized or ignored. We see the whole world and experience all of life through this lens of fairness—always sizing up, always calculating, always feeling like we are owed something by our friends, by our family, and by God.


But there’s another way to look at the world, another way to experience life, and that’s through the lens of grace. With these glasses on you’ll reckon that most days are a whole lot better than you deserve. And on the really hard days, you’ll fight to believe that God is working even this for good. With the glasses of grace, you’ll smile when other people succeed. Instead of experiencing life as a series of disappointments and occasions where you were not given the treatment you deserve, you’ll experience life as a gift. You’ll see grace all around you. You’ll celebrate the grace you see in someone else or given to someone else. It’s a profoundly different way of viewing the world.
- Kevin DeYoung, The Glasses of Grace, 25 November 2011

(photo credit: Vintage Black Rim Glasses photography print by CaptainCat on etsy)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the way out of misery. I know this by the Word, and by empirical evidence.

All of the commands of Christ are not our burdens but our deliverance. Here are but a few:
•Be thankful (Colossians 3:15).
•Love one another (John 13:34).
•Forgive one another (Colossians 3:13).
•Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16).
•Sow generously (2 Corinthians 9:6).
•Look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4, 21).
•Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1).
•Set your mind on things above and not things of the earth (Colossians 3:2).
•Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

What a strangely wonderful way He has of delivering us from the hopelessness and despair of self-absorption. As we press into doing the commands, to actually “practicing the truth” (1 John 1:6), and as we press into “practicing righteousness” (1 John 3:7, 10), we experience our fears, regrets, and hang-ups falling away. We actually get to know Jesus better when we keep His commands:

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3).

I took my usual walk today, mindful of the holiday, and I thanked God for all kinds of random things, including strong legs to be able to walk and lungs to be able to vocalize his praise.

- Andree Seu, Delivering Us through His Commands, WORLDmag.com, 24 November 2011

Really, I don't think I am patient enough to stay still and type for as long as I could count thanksgivings. But at this moment, I'm thankful to be sitting in a sunny room, surrounded by family, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, with free internet.
And for my God, who is always and forever the same.

Wishing Thanksgiving blessings for all today...

habit- 23 november

i do love a road trip.

habit- 22 november

after a nap, I actually accomplished a list-full of tasks. I think we're ready to go.

habit- 21 november

it was just a little bit disappointing that the customs guy didn't open up the trunk and see them all there and tell us how cute they are...

things that make me say "hmmmmmm"....

Internet nuttiness.

I checked my email "spam" box, for the first time in a long time. There are the ads for Redbox, and Barnes & Noble, and Petsmart, which don't really qualify as "spam" but I'm completely ok that they end up there. There are the money offers, opportunities for me to make extra cash by doing data entry work,  or "earn $$ every single day by just clicking your mouse...," or by putting ads on my blog. No thank you. Sadly, there are the offers to increase the size of certain (ahem...) body parts... NO thank you!!

And then there are the letters from Mrs. Mary Parker, with the title Asahlamaleku. They read something like-
Dear Beloved.

I am Mrs. Mary Parker an aging widow suffering from long time illness.


I have some funds I inherited from my late husband, the sum of 7.5 Million Ponds and I needed a very honest and God fearing person that will use the fund for God's work, I found your email address from the internet and decided to contact you. Please if you would be able to use the funds for the Lord's work, kindly reply me at my email.
Yours in the Lord,
Mrs.Mary Parker

Somehow, I don't think she means it.

habit- 19 november

it always sounds so small- how do I fit "thankful" on one paper leaf?