Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

OK, maybe there won't be any goose this Christmas (nor has there ever been at any of my Christmases before), but that song could still be accurate nowadays if we switched out some key words. To make it, "Christmas is coming, and we're all getting fat..." At least that's what it feels like to me most of the time! No, I don't think I'm fat, nor am I going to develop an eating disorder in response to the continual feasting that seems to go on in honour of Christmas, starting in November. But I am a little overwhelmed by all of the parties, and the gifts of food that people keep giving our office! Here's just a small sample of what we've had in the past few weeks:

• 2 Christmas parties, each with more food than anyone knew what to do with
• 1 box of Tim Hortons donuts from the State Troopers who use our pool for scuba training
• 1 box of Rushford Bakery donuts
• 30,000 plates of cookies (OK, maybe only 30...but STILL, that's a LOT of cookies!)
• 1 gift box of Hickory Farms cheese, crackers, beef sticks, etc. from the Senior Citizens Exercise Group
• Individual goodie bags, with chocolate-covered pretzel rods and chocolate-covered Rice Krispies treats made by the women's basketball team, for each person in our department. (And guess who gets all the leftovers...ME! The people who are conscientious of healthy eating and all that good stuff pass their treats on to me, because they say, "Here, you're young and thin and your metabolism hasn't slowed down yet, so you can afford to eat these.")
  
• Not to mention all of the snacks, refreshments, cookies, and parties at church!

I wish we could spread it all out over a longer period of time...to give us treats periodically all year round, instead of WAY TOO MANY ALL AT ONCE at Christmas time. Not that I mind food. Oh, no, I LOVE food! And I love baking Christmas cookies to give to people. But sometimes I want to get rid of some of the trappings, because I feel like I'm going to drown in them. Like I want to say, "STOP, STOP! If we took away some of this STUFF, would it still be Christmas? Is it possible that it would be MORE Christmas, because there would be MORE room for Christ?" I guess the biggest problem lies for me in trying to figure out what to take away and what to leave. Because many of the things - or most of them - aren't bad in and of themselves. Baking and giving away the fruits of that baking; shopping and giving away the fruits of that shopping; throwing parties; putting on Christmas plays and musicals; spending time with friends & family...In fact, many of them are good things! But if any of them are not part of enabling Christ's coming into our lives, and thus into this world, as we are His body here on earth today, dare I say that these very things are then hindering His coming into our lives? I'm not suggesting that we all become ascetics for Christmas - I don't really think that would help, it would just give us a whole other set of problems. I simply want Christ to have all the room He needs, to come and dwell among us, and in us, and there grow and transform us and make all things new, and from there pour forth to the ends of the earth. I don't want to stuff myself with all the trimmings only to reach the main course and discover I am already full, and have no room, no appetite left for the Bread of Life.

Jesus, may we give you all the room that You need, that You deserve, that You require, this Christmas!

Can you believe it?

I am having quite a hard time believing that Christmas is 1 week from TODAY!!!!!!!

Right now, all I want to do is sleep all day, to recover from the all-weekend-long-mad-frenzied-final-push for our church's Christmas musical, which we finally performed yesterday. And now it's Monday, and I still feel like I need a weekend...Good thing I have all next week to recover! :)

Only 7 more days left in Advent...And today's Advent thought for the day comes from Evelyn Underhill:

When you don't see any startling marks of your own religious condition or your usefulness to God, think of the baby in the stable and the little Boy in the streets of Nazareth. The very life was there which was to change the whole history of the human race. There was not much to show for it. But there is entire continuity between the stable and the Easter garden and the thread that unites them is the will of God. The childlike simple prayer of Nazareth was the right preparation for the awful privilege of the Cross. Just so the light of the Spirit is to unfold gently and steadily within us, till at last our final stature, all God designed us for, is attained. It is an organic process, a continuous divine action, not a series of jerks...For what does union with God mean? It is not a nice feeling we get in devout moments. That may or may not be a by-product of union - probably not. It can never be its substance. Union with God means every bit of our human nature transfigured in Christ, woven up into His creative life and activity, absorbed into His redeeming purpose, heart, soul, mind, and strength. Each time it happens it means that one of God's creatures has achieved its destiny.

Amen and Amen.

If you're bored, or looking to procrastinate,

watch this!

Courtesy of Dr. Swanson, the man of 1001 jokes, stories, and funny video clips, who has the spiritual gift of making sure he shares them with EVERYONE. :) This is the first of what I'm sure will be many more Christmas clips from him this year, in the same pattern as last year.

But the good thing is, it's good for a few laughs, albeit with some rolling of the eyes, and GREAT if you're looking for a way to while away a few minutes of this snowy Friday! (Oh, it's not snowing where you are? Bummer for you...It's falling quite nicely here! Well, I say nicely because it LOOKS nice, from inside a warm building where I sit right now! I won't think it's nice when I drive home in it tonight...Praise the Lord it's Friday and I don't have to drive anywhere until Monday!)

I was absolutely convinced that, at the end, the white reindeer's nose would light up and he would turn out to be Rudolph.

True confessions...

I have discovered this week that I really don't mind getting stuck behind the snow plow. Because then, if I'm late, I can just blame it on the snow plow being slow. But in the meantime it also gives me the perfect excuse to drive slowly without the people behind me getting annoyed at me! :) (I must admit, I am a bit of a granny driver when it comes to snowy roads...One experience of having the snow control my car instead of me, resulting in sliding off the road two years ago, was one too many for me!) So there you have my confession. I heart snow plows. :)

Thanksgiving Weekend Firsts...

1 - Watching a calf being born at Schum-acres farm, to a mother who apparently has done this many times before, because she didn't even seem to be working very hard, and then - Voila' - out pops a calf! And once she gave it a good licking to ensure it was alive and breathing and hers, she promptly set out to run a couple laps around the barn. No problem! :)

2 - Possibly the longest hot-tub soak in Becca Clark history, a good 2 hours or more with a few cool-down breaks in between, in the amazing, huge, and wonderfully massaging hot tub that Rachel's brother won on "The Price is Right!" Ahhh...

3 - Spending Thanksgiving dinner with no blood-relatives! A very foreign concept...Although my sense of "family" has always been fairly flexible, with all our holiday "family gatherings" consisting of my immediate family and the other missionary families, there was still the smaller family within that which was my own kin. And in college, Thanksgiving was spent with my sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins. But this year, I joined the extended family of Ben & Carina for their autumnal feast, and it was a very new experience, let me tell you, flying solo for a major holiday! It was my own choice - I could have gone to my Aunt's house with my sister, but I didn't want to spend that much time in the car, and I knew that I would need some time to just be at home. So, overall, it was great fun, and at the end of it all, as I was leaving, one of them thanked me for being part of their family - for we ARE related, through the blood of Christ.

4 - On Friday, Carina, Rachel, and I helped Ben turn the doe he shot into venison steaks, roasts, and stew meat for the freezer. And then we ate some for dinner!!! Probably the freshest meat I've ever eaten. :) And, boy, was it tasty!

5 - It didn't snow!!! Now, I know that's not a first, because I grew up where Thanksgiving was hot and often accompanied by post-dinner swims in the pool or the ocean. But, ever since I've moved to the land where snow is a reality, I believe this is the first Thanksgiving break I remember where there hasn't been a speck of snow in the air - not even a hint of a flurry. Snow, snow, stay away! At least for a little while longer...

6 - There was no green bean casserole at our Thanksgiving feast!!!!! :( I got to have some left-over green bean casserole from my sister's feast at her in-laws', which was good, but it just isn't the same...The french-fried onions had been incorporated into the rest of it, leaving me without that satisfying crunch. That is the only "first" on this list that I do not wish to repeat...So overall, I'd have to say that I'm pretty thankful for this Thanksgiving! How was YOURS?

So I guess I'm not really that much of a world traveler

Look at all that white space...I've still got lots of countries to go! Some of you have red on every continent, but I guess that in order to add any countries in them to my map of visited countries, I'll just have to come visit you there! :)

create your own visited country map

Or not...

So, in spite of the good start, we still remain unable to attain the final prize...The Houghton women fell in the quarterfinals, in a tragic 1-0 match, to keep their trend of being unable to move past the quarterfinals in the National Tournament...Alas, maybe next year!

But, in good news, there is part of the soccer world that still smiles on me! For my heart's team, Sao Paulo Futebol Clube, clinched the Brazilian National Championship yesterday, and that makes me very happy. :)

Man, I would have loved to be there...Or maybe I would have died, so maybe I'm glad I wasn't. :)

Yay!!!!!

The fans are used to it by now. The Houghton College Women's Soccer team always does smashingly well during the regular season, soundly trouncing all their opponents and earning a Top-10 National Ranking. And then we get to the National Tournament and we choke, and since all games there are elimination games, we end up coming home early. This year we were ranked #4 going into Nationals, and all us fans were hoping against hope that our girls would go far, but there was still some residual fear as to whether we should book the hotel rooms for the entire time and buy the return tickets for Tuesday after the finals, or whether we should play it safe and plan on a Sunday return, after the quarterfinals. So we gave our team the benefit of the doubt, and based on our #4 ranking are counting on making it at least to the Final Four.

Well, so far it's working! Because we WON our first round game, against the host school, Park University, last night! YAY!!!! :) Sure, we had to go into overtime to win, but we DID, and we out-shot and out-played the other team, we just kept hitting the crossbar with our shots. Our next game is a Quarterfinal match on Saturday at 6:30 pm, against a yet-to-be-determined opponent, and if you're soccer-crazy like me you can follow a real time play-by-play of the game here. Go Houghton girls!!!



(On a completely unrelated note, last night while I was at the grocery store, they were piping Christmas music out over the speakers. And I thought to myself, "What are you thinking? You can't play Christmas music yet! I'm not ready for Christmas music! It's not even Thanksgiving!" Crazy people...)

Dear Cherith,

Thank you for your comment. It was resoundingly true, and in theory I agree with you. But in practice, I guess I sometimes find it easier to be critical than to extend grace to people who are doing things that drive me nuts. And cultural ignorance is one of my biggest pet peeves, along with gender stereotyping. (Hence why most of the stories I tell about my workplace involve those two things...Besides, they make funnier stories...)

At the end of all things, though, the girls and I did laugh about it together when they were here in the office, and there were no hard feelings. And I encouraged her to apply, saying that all my friends who went to Tanzania had a wonderful time there, and I'm sure she will, too! (Where I wish I could go right now, so I could be in the sun, and with Kat & Paul...sigh...)

P.S. - I owe you a REALLY LOOOOOONG e-mail, that is currently sitting in my drafts box...You and Chuck and Coffs Harbour are in my prayers continually. Love you!!!

Geographic specificity, please!

Last week, a girl came into my office asking for information on the Tanzania Mayterm/Summer program that is being held this year (which we affectionately call "Mini-Tanzania"). So I gave her the brochure, and went back to work at my computer, trying really hard not to laugh at their ooh-ing and aah-ing commentary as she and her friend pored over it. But I lost it when the friend said, "Africa is such an awesome country! I loved it when I went, and it would be so great if you got to go see it!"

I proceeded to ask her if she knew that Africa was a continent, not a country. She blushed and kind of stammered her way out of it, and we laughed. So in an attempt to smooth things over and make small talk, I asked her if she had studied in Tanzania and that was why she was recommending the program to her friend. Then she said, "Well, never actually been to Tanzania. But I have been to Africa, on a missions trip to Botswana. I love Africa."

Hmmm...so YOU went on a missions trip to Botswana, and therefore you love the whole continent of Africa, and therefore based on this your friend is going to love studing in Tanzania...

My heart aches...

Because, having listened in and spied on part of Jars of Clay's sound check, and getting a brief taste of some of that delectable music, alas, I will not be able to partake of the concertous feast they will put on later tonight, to the delight of many ears and the nourishment of many souls.

For I showed up to buy my tickets on the day they sold out. Perhaps next time, my friends! For now, I must be content with the memory of a few guitar strains and vocal harmonizations, and a passing glimpse of the band members through the window in the door next to the chapel stage...Ah, how it hurts to be so close, and yet so far...

I'm a hopeless cause...

I just deleted 515 e-mails from my inbox. It felt so good!

That is, until I realized that, even after all that, there are still 791 items in said inbox...

Combatting the accumulation of random, assorted, unnecessary things is ever an uphill battle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATRINA JOY!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to a beautiful and phenomenal friend of mine, who happens to be on the other side of the world as she turns 24 on this November 7th!

Katrina, I shall eat stuffed mushrooms in your honour today. :)

Love you!!!

Oh, the days of muddy fun...

Look like fun? Well, it does to me! :) This is a picture of my brother Ben's soccer team after their game yesterday. In a mud pit. (Can you tell which one is him???)

Unfortunately, they lost, to our long-time rival E.A.C...But doesn't part of you just want to slide through the mud? Or sling it at someone? Or push someone down in it? Yeah, I know, I'm nuts. At times like these I sure miss playing soccer...But I love the fact that, due to the spectacular internet, I can track their scores and pictures during this week's tournament, even though it's in a whole different hemisphere. Love you, bro!

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Well, at least that's a little bit how I feel. Like Chicken Little.

It's actually solid, white, cold, flaky precipitation that's falling. From the sky. And I, like Chicken Little, want to run away screaming for everyone to go and hide.

I will grow used to the snow in a few weeks, and, yes, even love it, but it will take an adjustment period...Goodbye, green grass, for now. See you in March!

'Tis the season

To be jolly? Well, yes, jolliness is always welcome. But I was thinking something more along the lines of 'Tis the season for diamond rings, fa la la la la, la la la la...

In the past 2 weeks, 3 couples that I know have gotten engaged! I had no idea October was such a popular proposal time! Congratulations to Laura Mann and Dan Kilpatrick, and also to the lovely Amy Nordaas and Sam Divinagracia! It seems like just yesterday I found out that they were dating (although it's really been much longer than yesterday...), and now they're gonna get married...Crazy!

The third couple, and the most shocking of all, is my high school Brazilian Geography teacher, Prof. Silvano, who has been teaching at PACA for what seems like forever, and for all intents and purposes seemed to be a confirmed bachelor. But apparently that has all changed! The weekly school newsletter cites, "Prof. Silvano Kubo officially (and publicly!!) proposed to his girlfriend, Luciene, in between the boys’ and girls’ basketball games, down on his knees in the middle of the court with a bouquet of red roses." Double crazy!

And tomorrow I'm heading out to Boston for Jenn Krueger's wedding on Saturday. Triple crazy!


Hey, all you single people out there, let's have a party in celebration of singleness. :)

I'm all for adoption, but...

As much as I think that adopting kids is a wonderful, beautiful, and very necessary thing, I'm not really sure it's for everyone. Especially when you're talking about cross-cultural and cross-racial adoption.

For example, I was browsing through the BBC news website, and found a very interesting article, reporting that Madonna and Guy Ritchie have started the adoption process for a 1-year-old boy from Malawi named David. Wha...? It's pretty confusing, because Malawi has bans on adoption by foreigners, and David is actually living with his father, not in an orphanage (although his mother did die from complications from his birth). So if you feel that strongly about adopting a child from a developing country, why this particular one, from this particular country? I'm so confused...

Did I miss something? When did the Material Girl become a humanitarian?

I'm all for adoption, but...

As much as I think that adopting kids is a wonderful, beautiful, and very necessary thing, I'm not really sure it's for everyone. Especially when you're talking about cross-cultural and cross-racial adoption. Because

For example, I was browsing through the BBC news website, and found a very interesting article, reporting that Madonna and Guy Ritchie have started the adoption process for a 1-year-old boy from Malawi named David. Wha...? It's pretty confusing, because Malawi has bans on adoption by foreigners, and David is actually living with his father, not in an orphanage (although his mother did die from complications from his birth). So if you feel that strongly about adopting a child from a developing country, why this particular one, from this particular country? I'm so confused...

Did I miss something? When did the Material Girl become a humanitarian?

Boy, am I glad I don't live in Buffalo today!

They got their first snow of the season last night - and it wasn't just flurries, either! It was a full dumping of lake-effect snow, about 2 feet by this morning. AAAAAH!!!!!!! I'm not ready for this!

Good thing we get to keep our beautiful autumn for a little while longer down here...All of the snow stayed up North, and we woke up to a beautiful, sunny, autumn day. A bit colder than usual, but still beautiful enough for that hike I've been meaning to take but haven't gotten around to yet. (Anyone want to join me???)

What can I give?

Do you ever feel like what you have to offer isn't what anyone else needs? Because sometimes I do. I struggle with feeling like what I have to offer to the world, the people I love, and even to God, is so small in comparison to what I would like to give. Well, back in college, the beautiful Tegan introduced me to Calvin Miller's poetic allegories of Scripture, and I recently acquired my own copy of A Requiem for Love, his retelling of creation. And I wept as these words, from a dialogue between the newly created Adam (here called Regis) and his Maker, spoke so beautifully to that struggle within me, the longing to have a good gift to give back to the One who has given us so much:

The new man listened, overcome by Presence.
To be given all the world at once,
Stopped his tongue
And left his wit too dead for words.
Overwhelmed, he broke the awesome quiet.
"Father, I receive Your gift of being, but
You have made me too rich
To name my wealth
And yet too poor
To give You anything of meaning.
I love with only giftless love."

"Regis, there is no such thing as 'giftless' love.
The very words accuse each other.
My gift to you is love, but
Worship is Your gift to Me.
And, Oh, most glorious it is!
Worship always calls Me 'Father' and
Makes us both rich with a common joy.
Worship Me, for only this great gift
Can set you free from the killing love of self,
And prick your fear with valiant courage
To fly in hope through moments of despair.
Worship will remind you
That no man knows completeness in himself.
Worship will teach you to speak your name,
When you've forgotten who you are.
Worship is duty and privilege,
Debt and grand inheritance at once.
Worship, therefore, at those midnights
When the stars hide.
Worship in the storms till love
Makes thunder whimper and grow quiet
And listen to your whispered hymns.
Worship and be free!"

I get goosebumps and chills and tears in my eyes just thinking about it...What a wondrous God we serve, and love, and worship, who has given us the very gifts that we have to offer Him, and yetstill delights both in receiving them and in giving them back to us! That we can worship only because Yahweh has given us the breath and the words with which we praise Him, and made possible the way by which we come, by His own grace, blood, and Holy Spirit, is truly a gift beyond measure...It is so mind-boggling that the Giver of all good things, in order to receive gifts from us, has actually made us givers of good gifts, as well! I love the lines, "there is no such things as giftless love./The very words accuse each other" - that it is in its very nature of the gift to pass through our hands, our mouths, our hearts, and return to Him, and without the giving and then receiving of those gifts, they would somehow cease be worship. I think what is truly miraculous is that the gift can become richer along the way, and "makes us both rich with a common joy!" What a "debt and grand inheritance at once..."