"Smart" or "Chicken"

Well, here I am at my computer on a weekday morning when I normally would be at work.  I'll get to that in a minute. 

But for the moment, I'm just imagining what retirement will be like. Get up.  Brew a cup of coffee that I can sip while catching the morning news.  Check my email. Decide how I want to spend the rest of my day. Oh well, a girl can dream, even if it's not likely to happen for a long time!

The truth is, I'm at home waiting out the icy roads.  We had a couple of inches of snow in my little town yesterday.  And as much as driving in that freaked me out, I was a big girl and drove to work. 

But then we had freezing rain baptize our house last night.  And with temperatures nosediving into the 20s, I decided to take the weatherman's advice and stay put until a little later in the morning.

So here I am, having a leisurely morning before tackling the roads again and heading into the office. And I'm working hard to convince myself that it's because I'm "smart" instead of "chicken" that I'll be making this later commute.  Right.  I'll keep working on that one.

But in the meantime, I've already gotten two loads of laundry done and I'm lovin' that!

Destinations

Do you ever hear a song on the radio that's played over and over again without ever really listening to the lyrics?  And then, for some reason, a part of it registers with you and you realize what it's saying.  That happened to me this Christmas. 

One of the local radio stations was playing the song "Believe" from the Polar Express.  I wasn't really paying much attention, when all of a sudden a line jumped out at me.  It's a simple phrase but I absolutely love it and haven't stopped thinking about it. Are you ready? Here it is:

"Destinations, are where we begin again."

I know! It's deep. It's visionary. It's true!  Life isn't just one long journey.  Instead, it's a series of experiences, destinations, that we inhabit for a specific time and then begin again. 

Think about a time when your life was consumed by a particular experience or person or a series of events.  In those moments, it seemed like that was what your life would always be about. But eventually, life moved you past it.  You reached the destination and then it was time for a new start.

I love the thought that, what we often think of as the end...the arrival...is really just the next beginning. We reach our destination. And then we pack our bags for the next chapter that's waiting to unfold.

Good Tiding of Great Joy!

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2: 10-11.

So many years ago, the angel brought this message of salvation and hope to a group of lowly shepherds. The same message is ours today.  May you know the great joy of these good tidings as we celebrate the birth of Christ today.

The Christmas Message and Facebook

I'm not on Facebook.  Nor do I have a Twitter account. I've never posted anything on YouTube.  In fact, attempting to write a blog continues to  be a technological challenge for me (as you can see by the fact that I couldn't get the video below to fit correctly!).

I have resigned myself to the fact that technology is here to stay and will continue to impact even more areas of our lives.  But the truth is, I will always be riding on the last float in this technological parade, casting a longing glance over my shoulder at how things used to be.

That being said, I was so moved and impressed by this YouTube video that I found posted on Jessica's blog, at Muthering Heights and Other Senseless Sensibility, that I had to share it here. 

While the church continues to debate the topic of how to remain relevant in an ever-changing world, I just want to offer the reminder that no matter how it is presented, whether from an angelic host, writings on a papyrus scroll or posted on Facebook, the message of the gospel is and always will be relevant and it does not change.

The world was in need of a Savior. And God in his boundless love offered his son, Jesus to come into this world as a baby and to die on the cross to save his people from their sins.  That is the unchanging message. 

But there is also an unchanging question. Do you know Him personally as your Savior? If not, now is the time accept God's offer of salvation.  Then after you do, please post it on Facebook.

A Merry Doggy Christimas!

The other night, my son, David, was at home with their Golden Retriever, Cooper, when he captured this peaceful, yet festive picture.   I couldn't resist posting it!  Hope all of you dog lovers enjoy it!



My granddog, Cooper. Photo by David Miles

 

Adventures in My Junk Drawer

It happens every year at this time. I find myself searching for extension cords so I can plug in all of my Christmas decorations. And every year I always come up short. So a few years ago, I went out and bought three or four extension cords to solve this problem.  And that worked for a year or two. 

However, a couple of weeks ago when I was doing my decorating, all of the extension cords had once again gone missing. That's when I found myself dumpster-diving in my junk drawer on the off-chance that there might be just one more cord hiding in there that would allow me to plug in that last string of lights. Sadly, the extension cord never materialized, but let me tell you, that junk drawer is a treasure trove of mostly useless stuff.

As I pawed through the contents, I found a hammer that my dad had given me when I first moved out on my own, along with the cutest little set of three yellow-handled screwdrivers which, along with that hammer,  pretty much made up my first "tool chest." 

There were also three nearly empty rolls of Scotch tape, several "Happy Birthday" streamers that I have hung up and taken down for each of our birthdays since my children were in elementary school...I think I've gotten my money's worth out of them!  I found a package of shoelaces, with one lace missing, three nightlights without any bulbs, a pair of scissors, a timer from a board game, various types of picture hanging hardware, curtain hooks, color coding sticky dots and a ball of string...just to mention a few items.

After digging around in the drawer, it took a bit of rearranging to cram all of that stuff back in there.  And as I shoved the drawer closed, I thought to myself that I really needed to clean that out.  I believe I had that same thought back in 1997 when we moved into the house and I emptied the contents of a box marked "Junk Drawer" into that very drawer.
 
So my question is, does every culture have their own version of the junk drawer?  Or is it just that we, Americans, have so much more useless stuff than everyone else in the world?  I'm pretty sure that the junk drawer was the precursor to the now multi-million dollar industry know as rental storage units. Hey, I wonder if I could find an extension cord in the storage unit...

Merry Christmas Techno Style

I so enjoyed watching this video on my son, David's blog.  So if you want to combine a little holiday cheer with a bit of techno-fun, take a peek and watch this! Merry Christmas!


North Point's iBand from North Point Web on Vimeo.

Comfort and Joy

This past weekend, my daughter, Elizabeth, and I decorated our Christmas tree.  Last year at this time, she was in St. Petersburg, Russia, and my husband and I were facing our first Christmas morning alone.  Needless to say, we survived, but it's wonderful to have her home!

As we decorated the tree, I experienced the familiar nostalgia I feel every year as I carefully removed each ornament from its box.  In my hand, I held not just a colorful ornament, but a precious memory as well. Each glittering jewel tells a different chapter in our lives. I loved the memories that came to life as I looked at them.

Last year, I shared this post about the Christmas angel that sits on the top of our tree.  Our angel tree-topper will always be special to me regardless of how bent her wings become or how wrinkled her halo looks.

I told Elizabeth that when we take down the tree this year, we'll need to pack up the ornaments that belong to her so she will have them next year for her first Christmas as a young bride.  Just as my son, David, did when he got married, she will take the ornaments...and the memories...with her to begin another Christmas tradition in her own home.  And that thought brings me comfort and joy!