Christmastime is Here

Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth 

-from "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

So, how you are doing this Christmastime? Are you letting the warmth of the season enter your heart?

I will admit that last week I was feeling rather stressed. Between work being so incredibly busy and my rush to get gifts for everyone, wrap them, write Christmas cards, etc... there was little room for any thoughts beyond those things. These are all good things, really, but when they become stressful I need to take a step back and remember that my heart should be full of the spirit of the Christmas, and not other things.

I think I do this every year around this time. I feel the hectic deadline of Christmas and put the stress on myself to be faultless. If I mess something up or forget something, I feel like a failure. Pastor Cory gave a great message with the reminder that Satan likes to whisper lies to us that might contain some truth. If we fail at something, he whispers that we are a failure. No, we are not, but many times we begin to believe in that lie, and we let it rule over us. We might have made a mistake but that doesn't make us failures. I chewed on that the rest of the day because I struggle with trying to be as close to perfect as possible, and I dread any ounce of a mistake. And that makes me more susceptible to Satan's lies and he knows it.

My church's annual Christmas concert is where I usually find myself relaxing each year, and this year was no exception. I always sit in the balcony (this year Colin and Cayla came with me, which was delightful!) and I notice how I feel myself physically sinking into the pew with a relaxed and renewed focus on God's goodness and the joy of the season. Signs of stress and worry leave me as the music starts. All other items on my to do list dissipate into the air filled with glorious orchestral music. There is something about live orchestra music that causes the depths of my soul to emerge and latch onto the harmonious sounds. I lose myself in the music. If we have such beautiful musical arrangements here on earth, I imagine that it is a mere sliver of how heaven's music will sound. A foretaste of what is to come. Christmastime is here.

It's Cold, My Friends

What fortitude the soul contains,
That it can so endure
The accent of a coming foot -
The opening of a door.

- Emily Dickinson

Opening the door to the cold outside. Dressed in boots, scarves, and a coat. Bliss.
Then coming inside from being out where it is downright chilly. Bliss.
For the south, the deep south that is Florida, it is cold! And I am loving it.

Every frosted window pane morning. Even though they aren't frosted, so much as full of cold morning dew.
Every chilly drive to work in the morning.
Every evening holding my cup of tea in my hands to warm them.
Every morning waking up warm under my blankets.
Every relaxing moment curled up with a book on the sofa.
Every time I open my door and feel the chill of the air, a smile does appear on my face.
Every time candles are lit.
Every time a warm meal is ready.

If you do not seem to agree with me, I do apologize, but you aren't going to be able to change my mind. I will continue to dream about Wintry scenes full of spruce trees covered in the lovely white snow and the quiet nature that fills the space around Winter. This feeling is going to last awhile, so get used to it. Winter is a good, old friend.

Let There Be Peace

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
- Charles Dickens

What is peace for each of us? Is it dramatically different dependent on each person? I suspect that while our differing visions of peace may be cast with a variety, the concept is the same.

In our minds we imagine harmony. We see plans and people coalescing into something that moves together without war. What is a good way to get that kind of thing started? By really listening to one another. Not just hearing what someone is saying so that we can respond to it, but really listening and gathering their thoughts. To understand them.

Internally, how do we keep peace? How do we settle the nerves, the worries, and the stress?
No matter how hard we work, there will always be more work to do. No matter how hard we try, we might still fail or mess up.

When our souls are at peace, with all roots intertwined in the Lord and His Word, all of the things fall into place where it needs to, in His time, and we are left without the emotion that sprouts out of worry and negative thoughts. We can be free of the things that weigh us down with dread when our trust is in the right place. The only perfect thing that will never let us down - our heavenly Father.

I am so glad He is in charge and I am not.

As a side note, my friend Elizabeth hand-lettered this message on my chalkboard and it has never looked so lovely. She has a beautiful artistic talent.

Never Lost at Sea

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, they troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee they deepest distress.

- Robert Keene, 18th Century

Being in a place on unrest can make me feel lost at sea. I rack my brain and end up at You. The only real, true source of belonging. 

At times, my soul is so full and spilling over with You I cannot imagine isolation, and yet a few days later something shifts my mind to a place of unrest and I am left without a shore. A victim of the waves and left to fend for myself. How could I seize to see You? You are right there next to me in the boat and You are even leaving gentle reminder notes for me to remember my worth. But sometimes I am too focused to pay attention.

Read those notes. Hear the words. Do not worry. Do not fear. Remember that you are not alone at any point. Take in these thoughts and store them deep in your heart so they take root. Do not let the troubles and frustrations of the day (or days) lead you to feeling stranded or hopeless. None of us are ever left without hope. With You, the light is never dimmed, but I can notice that it is my sight that is darkened. I won't need to search endlessly for a shoreline because I was never lost at sea.

When I am in a place of unrest, help me find You, Lord, and focus on what is rooted deep within me. 

Ice Cream in December

Life, Himself
Love, Himself
He is present in our every moment:
From the moments of emptiness or hurt
to the sweetness of ice cream.

It is interesting to imagine that as I played the game Sequence at 10:30 pm with my family this weekend, the Lord was present. As we laughed and joked the Lord delighted in our family love.

We usually think of God's presence being with us when we go through something difficult, but do we think that He is also with us in the pleasant times? Why wouldn't He want to be next to us as we play games? Or walk with us along our hometown downtown street acting like a tourist and eating a little ice cream cone? Or in my case, some espresso gelato.

The warmth of the December day matched the warmth of my family love this weekend. A special time that we were all together. A sweetness lingered in our time together and it made me think how much God's presence is in our little joys.

These Quiet Moments

Lately, these quiet moments have been difficult to come by. Perhaps it is the season, with all the hustle and bustle, plus the desire to stay organized and on top of everything, when it becomes quite clear that I cannot do that perfectly. It is usually this time of year that I feel behind, always attempting to keep up. Thoughts of getting ahead seems like a dream. But it really is a delightful time of year because it is focused on community, giving, and the light that we have in Jesus.

Lately...
- Coffee and tea have become the indulgences I crave (who am I kidding - this is always true!)
- My stacks of books have been looking more organized- like a tree!
- Trader Joe's has become a favourite grocery spot. Their fruit, chocolate, snacks, food. Delicious all around. When I have the chance to shop there, I stock up!
- Each night, several candles must be lit. The cosy atmosphere is lovely. Tealights, tealights, tealights.
- When I leave work each night, the sky is like a work of art, and different every time.
- Peppermint everything. This is the time of year that peppermint is in everything, and I love it. Tea, candy canes, coffee, chocolate marshmallows, scents. 
- Finding time to journal has been hard, but I am trying to jot things down any time my mind is full of words.
- I wish I had more time to make some items/gifts by hand this year. Each year I try to do a few little handmade items. This year, I seem to be running out of time.
- Despite all the busyness of the season, I have a deep sense of thanks and calm in my heart. I am not anxious or toiling over things. All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well (as Julian of Norwich wrote)

Perq Coffee Bar

Whenever I am in Sarasota, this coffee bar will be frequented by me. Perq Coffee Bar is a place seriously hip and serious about coffee. They serve four different single-origin beans each day, and you chose which one you want in your drink. My Mum and I visited, as I was eager to check it out. The Baristas were very friendly and willing to explain the variety of processing available for brewing and the sizing of them all, and also which beans to select from. 

My Mum went with a flat white mocha. I chose a pour-over brew using the Kilenso bean roasted by Coava. We watched the barista work his coffee making magic and soon sat at our table to enjoy it. I must say it was a truly delicious coffee experience. The atmosphere of the shop is very classy with multi-coloured wood paneling which provides a warmth I really enjoy. The tables had industrial pipes as legs but beautiful soft wood as the table top. It was cosy.

If you need a place to get well crafted coffee, I think you need to try Perq. And bring me along with you, because I already want to get another cup.

Light of the Season

Reaching for the light that is with me everyday,
whether dwelling in darkness or sunshine.
Walking with the light everywhere,
He is with me anywhere.

The season of light has begun. Advent. With preparations underway, we think ahead to what an immense love is going to come, which already came, in the meekest form of a baby. A joyful season, marked with cheerful greetings, eggnog, and songs dedicated to this time. I find myself busy at all times of the day with preparations. At times we think like children. This is the time of year we are most in touch with our child-likeness. We indulge in some candy that reminds us of childhood. We sing songs with children. Sometimes while I am working on something, words will burst in my mind and interrupt me.

I cannot tell what is new and what is old
What is blue and what is mold
For everything that is old may be blue
But it's not the same of something new

Don't mind me and my nonsensical words. It's the child in me. Sometimes when I am around my home decorating or organizing I will suddenly have a few lines of verse create themselves in my mind. No, that is silly. They are not creating themselves, but while my hands attend to adult things like straightening books on the shelves or dusting, my mind goes off and does what it loves to do - create. This season gives inspiration to do a lot of creating. Gifts, decor, stories, cards. Enjoy this season of light.

Traditions

People have many traditions for Thanksgiving. For as long as I have been alive, my family has joined with another family in Venice to celebrate. Over the years the crowd has grown and we normally have around thirty people. This year we missed several family members on my side, and a few other normal attendees, but we still had fun in our traditions.

Before we get to eat, it is a mandatory obligation that we take a huge group photo. It is usually a pretty funny process with jokes and mishaps frequently taking place.  The wind was crazy so we all look horribly windblown, but it is all for fun.

The time lapse is care of Matt, which was fun to show our long table over the course of the meal. After we all stuffed ourselves with the most delicious foods, we always take a walk to the beach for the sunset. It was chilly and windy, so we had to bundle up. But it is always beautiful.

After the walk back to the house from the beach we think about dessert, and all the sweet things we don't have room for in our bellies, but we take big scoops of anyway. Of course, through the entire afternoon and evening there is a lot of talking and catching up with each other, because many of these folks travel from the North and I only see them once a year.

Interwoven in all the feasting and talking with friends, a thankfulness and thoughtfulness lingers in my heart, and the hearts of many others I think, for times like these and the abundance of love there is to share with one another.

Blessed Thanksgiving

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
- Colossians 3:17

May your Thanksgiving be rich in blessings by way of spending time at home with family, talking with them, relaxing around the adorned table, enjoying the harvest of the season, tasty spreads lovingly prepared, long walks to work off the food, sweetness of dessert, as well as time spent in an attitude of thankfulness. Remember also those loved ones who are not with you. Be thankful for the past, and for memories that float to you. Let your life spill over into thanksgiving, and in your heart, know that God is good, without fail.