CHRISTmas is upon us!!!

WOW - it's Christmas!!!

Okay 2 more days to go, but we are on our way to visit and stay with relatives for a few days, so it's CHRISTMAS for me!!!

I've noticed that there are many people who are not feeling in the "Christmas spirit" to them I say don't worry. Expect nothing (or very little) and then when something great and Christmassy does happen they will feel it.

I've learned ages ago not to put too much pressure on myself and others about having the perfect Christmas - "you know with mistletoe and ho ho ho" (to quote Lucy). If something doesn't work then I remember it for next time. I've also found that joining a Christmas community or having someone to talk to about Christmas really helps. Those people totally understand about not feeling it and feeling it.

Boy, I'm wondering if this is even making any sense. LOL

Remember the real reason for the season (so cliche yet true). Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Technorati Tags:
Christmas, Charlie Brown

Christmas Countdown

Only 4 more days!!!

I've still got so much to do.

• Shopping - almost everyone is taken care of, except for my girls and hubby.
• Wrapping presents - I'm leaving a few for the girls to wrap.
• Laundry
• Cleaning the whole house.
  
• Packing - going to in-laws for Christmas.
  

Or it just seems like there's so much to do.

The kids are out of school for 2 weeks starting Friday!!! I'm really hoping that I'll get at least one day to sleep in over the 2 weeks. I wonder if that will ever happen. ;-)

How's your Christmas preparations coming?

Technorati Tags:
Christmas, shopping

Is There Middle Ground?

Postmodern vs Modern? Does this have to be the case? Is there a middle ground somewhere? Are religious institutions and/or groups having a more difficult time dealing with this cultural shift than the secular aspects of life?

I honestly think that there can be and is a middle ground. There needs to be people and places that are transitional. I find this more coming from people than from institutions. I think that I might be one of those people. Is that arrogant to say? Probably but I know that I can see both points of view and am having postmodern tendencies within my modern mindset.

I volunteer at an elementary school (with children from the ages of 4 to 7) one day a week and it has truly opened my eyes to the postmodern era. They think differently than I did; they are learning some different things than I did - maybe that's not quite entirely true, they are learning the same things but learning them differently. There is no cookie cutter learning; there is some cookie cutter style, mainly because it's just a large group. But the teachers I'm with are using many different methods in teaching the same thing.

Anyway I grew up in a modern society (with twinges of postmodernity). There were black and whites, rights and wrongs, etc. I guess what I'm trying to express is that our way of thinking and looking at the world is changing. Children growing up now-a-days don't see all the black and white issues, they see and relate to each issue individually; each issue has it's own set of variables which is different from another situation, even if it is similar.

Hope my ramblings make sense to someone out there - and if they don't feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to explain them or maybe confuse you even more. ;-)

Technorati Tags:
emerging church, modern, postmodern

Truth

What is it?

I've been struggling with this one a bit. Who defines truth and how can we recognize it? Is truth subjective?

Just thought I'd throw this out for anyone who wants to talk about it with me.

Technorati Tags:
truth

Blog Look Updated

I noticed a friend on another blog updated her look to a more wintery/Christmassy theme, so I thought I'd do the same. I found a public domain picture I liked and then tweaked the colours.

What do you think?

UPDATE: I've updated the look again. I'm going to try to update it for the seasons and special holidays.

Technorati Tags:
blog templates

Megachurches Close on Christmas

I read this and found it a little funny - ironic funny.

I can see the reasoning behind closing them and the reasoning for having Sunday service. I prefer having a service on Christmas Day - whether it's on a Sunday or not. Although I am never around for the service. In my community there are many people from other countries who can not be home with their real families for Christmas. So having a Christmas service, they get the opportunity to spend some time with their church family and still feel the connectedness on Christmas.

What do you think? I'd love to hear some feedback. Thanks

Technorati Tags:
Christmas, church, megachurches, Christian

Christmas - 13 Days Away

I can hardly wait!! I love Christmas!! It's my most favourite time of year.

I found a couple of elf name generators that have given me a bit of a laugh.

The first one is found here. You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page. I'm "Lucky Brandy butter-Gnome".

And the next one is:

Christmas Elf Name My Christmas Elf Name is Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

Gotta love 'em!

Technorati Tags:
Christmas, elves

An Advent Devotion - 4

SCRIPTURE:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. ~ Isaiah 11:1-4

REFLECTION:
It is sometimes very difficult to not judge or be critical of others. We are all tempted to judge people by their outward appearances. Society rates people by what type or style of clothing they wear, if they have the newest and best things, how much money they make, the colour of their skin, their weight. The Christmas season tends to over emphasize outward appearance - who gets the most and most expensive presents. By judging only on the way people look, we miss out on the opportunity to get to know the person behind the mask; we miss out on developing relationships. This year let us take some time to really get to know someone before we judge them.

PRAYER:
Lord, Help us to be forgiving and generous to others. Help us not to judge, but to extend your grace. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make a Jesse Tree.
The Jesse Tree is much like an Advent Calendar. It follows Jesus' ancestors throughout the Bible. Each day you place a decoration on the Jesse Tree and read the Bible verse describing what the decoration represents.
Here are a few links:
http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html
http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/jesse_tree%2000.htm
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19971201/FRIDGE/FRIDGE1.HTM

SONG: Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
Theodore Baker
© Public Domain

Lo how a rose e'er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung,
Of Jesse's lineage coming,
As saints of old have sung.
It came a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright,
She bore to us a Saviour,
When half spent was the night.

This flower so small and tender
With fragrance fills the air,
His brightness ends the darkness
That kept the earth in fear.
True God, and yet true man,
He came to save His people
From earth's dark night of sin.

STORY/POEM: Christmas Trees (A Christmas Circular Letter) by Robert Frost
QUOTE: "From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another, the warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other." ~ -Emily Matthews

Technorati Tags:
Advent, Christmas

An Advent Devotion - 3

SCRIPTURE:
"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" ~ Matthew 2:5-6

REFLECTION:
The Lord is coming. Prepare the way of the Lord. We prepare for many big events in our lives. Weddings, births, funerals, moving day, our careers, etc. all involve some sort of preparation. Why do we prepare? If we don't prepare we could run into many problems. We prepare because we want the day to go smoothly; we prepare because we want to fully enjoy and appreciate the occassion. Just as we prepare for these major events in our lives, so we should prepare for Christmas. As we begin our prepartion for the birth of God's Son - Jesus, ask yourself how you can prepare to celebrate the Christ child: in your life, in your home, in your community.

PRAYER:
Loving God, we ask you to be with us in a special way during this time of preparation. Help us to prepare our hearts, as well as, our homes, gifts, and decorations for Your coming. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make and/or Send Christmas Cards.
Share the blessings of the season with others.

SONG:
Of The Father's Love Begotten
Aurelius C. Prudentius, John M. Neale, Henry W. Baker
© Public Domain

Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the world began to be;
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He.
Of the things that are that have been
And that future years shall see;
Ever more and ever more!

O, ye heights of heaven adore Him,
Angel hosts; His praises sing;
Pow'rs, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King;
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Ev'ry voice in concert ring;
Ever more and ever more!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee;
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion
And eternal victory;
Ever more and ever more! Amen.

STORY/POEM:
The Wind in the Willows (Chapter 5 - Dulce Domum) by Kenneth Grahame

QUOTE:
"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." ~ W. C. Jones

Technorati Tags:
Advent, Christmas

An Advent Devotion - 2

SCRIPTURE:
"Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." ~ Matthew 25:13

REFLECTION:
Keep watch! God tells us to keep watch and wait because we do not know when he will be coming. Wow! That requires us to stretch ourselves; it means we didn't plan it; it's not in our schedule book, it's uncertain. It requires patience too and we all know that waiting isn't always an easy thing to do. In our world of fast food, instant communication, high speed, palm pilots, and over-activity, our attitude is changing -- we want it, we want now, and we want to schedule it into our lives. Gone are the days of patiently waiting for something. Standing in the check out line at the grocery store for more than a couple of minutes can fray our nerves. Not knowing is not always a bad thing. There's a thrill in the unexpected. It's like a wrapped present - there's an excitment of not knowing what to expect. Let's take some time to slow down. Look around and admire God's creation. Let's try to bring back some of the awe and mystery. Let's spend some time on the lookout for God -- keep watch!

PRAYER:
Loving God, we ask you to teach us patience in the waiting. Help us to savour every moment. Please bring back into our lives the awe and mystery of who You are. Thank you for doing the unexpected. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Organize Your Christmas Decorations.
As you get out your Christmas decorations this year, take an inventory of them. Try to organize them - make a list of all the items you have and purge the decorations beyond repair. That way when the sales start you will know what you need and where they will fit.

SONG:
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Charles Wesley, Rowland H. Prichard
© Public Domain

Come Thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a Child and yet a King;
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit,
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

STORY/POEM:
Little Women (Chapter 2 - A Merry Christmas) by Louisa May Alcott

QUOTE:
"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." ~ Agnes M. Pharo

Technorati Tags:
Advent, Christmas

An Advent Devotion - 1

SCRIPTURE:
"Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." ~ Romans 8:24-25

REFLECTION:
God gives us so many things; he asks in return that we believe, that we have hope and faith in him. We have not seen God. We have not seen Jesus. Yet we are asked to believe in what we haven't seen. Even more, we are asked to wait in patience. All this is the very nature of hope and belief. The Advent season is a time of waiting and hoping. We remember that Jesus was born to save us and to give us hope.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, Thank You for the hope You offer us and for love that holds us so close to You. Help us to care for others the way You care for us. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make your own Advent Wreath.
Your advent wreath could look traditional (circle of evergreen) or perhaps candles lined up, really whatever works best for you.
You will need 5 candles (4 tapers and one pillar). The colors of the candles vary, usually 3 purple or 3 blue candles (the colours of royalty) and one pink or rose coloured candle. The pink candle is lighted on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (or can be lit on the Sunday just before Christmas Day). If you cannot find the colour candles you want, you could use all the same colour candles. The 5th Candle is in the middle of the wreath, usually a large white pillar candle. This candle represents Jesus Christ and is called the Christ Candle. It is usually lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
The 4 taper candles can represent many different themes - Hope, Peace, Love, Joy are the traditional ones.

SONG:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Dimitry Bortniansky
© Public Domain

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!

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,
Free Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.

O come, Thou Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.

O come, Thou Key of David come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill all the world with heaven's peace.

STORY/POEM: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

QUOTE: "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." ~ -Hamilton Wright Mabi

Technorati Tags:
Advent, Christmas

Christmas is Coming

My girls had their Christmas party with their school friends on Saturday. We had 9 children in the house. It was great and everyone had a wonderful time. The kids were so good. I just love hosting children's parties, especially Christmas ones!!!

Sunday, we put up the tree, prelit one. I was so worried that it wouldn't work. We bought it in October from Wal-mart and we never tested it. I think I got to hang about 5 decorations - the girls did the rest and the tree looks spectacular!!! I'll add a pic when hubby downloads them off the camera. Hopefully soon.

This year is our first year doing an Advent Wreath. I've always wanted to do one. The girls like lighting the candles, but I have to do something to make it a little more exciting for them and me.

I've started creating Advent Activities too. So I'll add those here too.

Technorati Tags:
Christmas, Advent, party, Flickr

PCC Prayer & Praise Night

Last night was the Pregnancy Care Centre's Evening of Prayer & Praise. It was really awesome there were around 40 people there, give or take. We heard some updates about the Centre and had a great singing time and then I really felt the prayer time was the best. We prayed about the abortion issue, clients, the staff, and the volunteers.

Usually when I pray in a group, I feel all nervous and am thinking about what I'm going to say while others are praying. Not last night. I felt totally comfortable and the words really did seem to come easily. I felt the presense of the Holy Spirit. It was just such an awesome time.

Technorati Tags:
pregnancy, abortion, prayer

Good Day but Yucky

I started volunteering at my kids' school today. I had so much fun. The kids were awesome. For the morning I'm with my daughter's kindergarten class and for the afternoon I'm with a Grade 1 class. Most of the kids know who I am because I walk my children to school and they see me every morning. Also my girls are friends with them. Anyway that was the good part of my day.

Now for the bad - I feel crappy. I've had a sore throat for a couple of days (I took medicine before I left for school today). And now my head aches - an awful ache. I called hubby and asked him to bring home KFC for supper tonight because I just don't feel like cooking.

And because I feel so yucky I don't feel like writing much either, but I had to mention my wonderful day at school.

Technorati Tags:
volunteering, school, illness

Halloween

Why do we "celebrate" Halloween? What's the point?

I've been rethinking my views on this. I don't "celebrate" it. My kids don't go trick or treating and we don't hand out candy. My famiy knows about Halloween and participates in activities in school (the school does not celebrate Halloween either - they have a weird and wacky day the Friday before).

Halloween scares me but not in the occultic sense. There is just too much pressure for the kids to have an awesome costume and to get as much candy as you can. It just seems way too greedy for me. Then at school the kids have to compare and rate how much candy they got (I also don't like this about Christmas either). How much candy is really good for you?

I'm also not too keen on young children being exposed to all the gore. I mean we have restrictions on movies, TV shows, video games, etc. but it's okay to display it on Halloween. I know my daughters don't like it and it bothers them.

I just don't get what the big deal is. Why can't we have fun parties - perhaps instead of calling them Halloween they can be about Autumn, Fall Festivals, Harvest time (maybe an extention of Thanksgiving?).

Anyway enough with my ranting. Just had to share some of my thoughts.

Technorati Tags:
Halloween

Church invitation t-shirt

Our church invitation t-shirt
Originally uploaded by Insane Zamboni.

I thought this was really funny.

I might have changed the "We Suck" part to something a little nicer, like "Confused? We are too." Then it would also tie in with the bottom statement.

Such a cool shirt!!!
Technorati Tags:
church, Flickr

Discussing Faith

Ever have one of those days - when you have a lot to do but really don't want to do anything?

I have laundry that needs washing, minutes that need typing, a PCC year-end card that needs re-working, and lunch to make. But what am I doing spending it online because I don't want to much of anything. I woke up this morning, with a bit of a sore throat and an overall yucky feeling.

Anyway, I wanted to get some of my thoughts down about the conversation hubby and I had the other day before I forget all about it.

I wanted to pick his brain a bit about what he thought of how Christianity is changing or not changing and if any of these things were bad or good. I don't think we narrowed down anything that was negative about change or no change in the church. We both see the need to reach out to others where they are at. Here's a brief summary of what I thought we talked about - although we have talked more since so it may be a combination of those talks too.

Right now I think (can't speak for hubby, he can do that) there are many (but not most) people (Christian and non-Christian) who are finding the "modern" way of doing church lacking. Most people are still content at the way things are and that is great. But I want to know how to reach the ones who find it lacking because quite frankly sometimes I find things in the church rather boring or old or not really where I'm at (hard to explain the feeling actually).

I want to see Jesus as more relevant in my life. I want to be a closer and understand better. I want to have some more experience. Does this make senes? Let's just say I'm one of the "confused" on the T-shirt (see post above).

Well will have to post more later.

Technorati Tags:
Christianity, faith

Great Weekend

I had a great weekend. Grandparents babysat the kids and hubby and I went out. We had thought about going to a movie but didn't like any of the choices. So we went to dinner, then window shopping in the mall, and then to Starbucks for "fancy" coffee. We were able to sit and chat - something that is hard to do with 2 young kids always around.

We talked about all sorts of things. We talked about our love of our children. How much potential we see in them, how much the same they are yet so different. We were able to have a great discussion about faith and how our lives reflect our beliefs.

I'll post more about the last discussion later when I have more time. I just thought I should try to keep up posting.

Technorati Tags:
family, Starbucks

Been A While

Well, it's been a while since I started this blog. I just want to make sure that I don't forget.

A lot has happened since June. My mom's cancer returned and she is terminal. She's almost done her chemo treatments. (She decided to be part of a study group which is experimenting with a new combination of medicines.)

Both my girls are in school now. The youngest in JK Tuesdays & Thursdays and some Fridays. I've been given some time on my own and have totally filled it. I'm going to be volunteering one day at the school.

I've had the opportunity to read the rest of Brian McLaren's New Kind of Christian trilogy. I read the first book last year and went to a seminar with Brian as the main speaker. I've just finished the second and third book this week. I couldn't put them down. They've started me on a spiritual journey that I'm sure will change my life and how I view my faith.

Anyway, I better get going and make supper. Maybe I'll be able to write more later.

Technorati Tags:
cancer, Brian McLaren, christian, books

My First Post

Just testing this out to see how it all looks and how it works.