Friday, December 23, 2011

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

Wrapping presents is one of the most enjoyable parts of Christmas for me this year. There's the anticipation of watching a loved one opening each gift, and the fun of making a creative package that reflects a bit of the recipient's personality, as well as my own style. I loved the simplicity of using brown paper for wrapping... not to mention it brings that wonderful Sound of Music tune to mind... ;)

Here are a few of the packages that are now sitting under our tree, waiting to be opened... (my brother and I were experimenting with a homemade light-box tonight - we decided we needed more light... and a better box :P)

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things



Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things



 Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things


Merry Christmas Adam! (Hey, Adam came before Eve, right?) Sorry for my lame humour. :P

Have a blessed Christmas!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Reflections of Reality

A thrill runs through you when, amidst the fog of false illusion, you catch a glimpse of the reflection, clearly outlined in colour against a background of gray. For only a moment it remains visible before the image fades, but this unimaginable reality remains etched upon your soul as if you have suddenly been awoken from a lifetime of death. That single beam of light, caught for a moment, is enough to convey purpose, eternity, reality - where they never before existed.

The star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (Matt 2:9-10)

How could pain or mourning ever shake us again? We have partaken of the water our souls were born thirsting for, and one day we will see the Light our eyes hunger for, for this Light has been born in us. Now that our eyes have once beheld it, we begin to see the Light reflecting on the surface of the lake at sunset. We see it falling dappled on the ground through leafy canopies. It is reflected in the pain-filled eyes of the little boy who speaks of love, of Jesus, while he lies helplessly trapped within a web of IV tubes and monitors. It is in the sublime simplicity of a child's heartfelt prayer. We receive a glimpse of the Light that came, but this is not satisfaction - it is longing, a joyful longing perfected by unassailable hope.

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. (John 8:12)

How dreadful to look once and soon forget, but how marvelous to see and remember - to savor and anticipate the culmination of what is promised us forever. And this brings humility, because we realize that we do not see as He sees. we do not see all things, but God has promised to one day reveal all things to us, for He has given His son - the manifestation of his glory.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:4-5) 

And yet we have been chosen to see Him who is the radiance of His glory, all because He came to us.  How can we understand this, when we have not yet seen Him in the flesh? How can we fathom it? How can we know it to be true?

We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. (1 Cor 2:12)

The unseen has been revealed, because the Spirit of Christ, God himself, lives in us!

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)


This Christmas, in each heart who has been reborn, may every reflection of His glory cause us to long for the day in which we see Him. Jesus, who came to this world as Light wrapped in human flesh, is our salvation and our eternal ambition. No mirror reflects an image unless the light is present. May His Light ever shine within us. Look for Him, and rejoice in Him!

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Cor 13:12)

Friday, December 9, 2011

Encouraging Video - Proverbs 31

Just ran across this today... a bit of encouragement and a challenge for the young men and women of today. Let's think about and pursue what really has value.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Purpose

I've been really wanting to evaluate why I do what I do. Lately, I've been thinking on whether my purpose and meaning are found in the right things. I want each area of my life to honour my King - thought and action, word and deed. I know that there will continually be areas in which the Lord molds and convicts. It certainly brings humility to realize that at no one time in this life will I have it all together or achieve perfection. Truly, I must be realizing that more and more everyday - but the amazing part is that God accepts me, a sinner, because of Jesus' spilled blood.


I've just been asking myself why I blog. Certainly, the answer is complicated. I know there aren't a lot of people reading this, but I want those who do so to be pointed to Christ above anything else. There are a lot of great blogs out there, and it's really easy to compare myself and feel pretty pathetic, or jealous, or just plain boring... :P How horrible that trap can be! Personally, I want my little space on the net to be a place where I can share what I'm thinking about, what God is teaching me, a bit of my everyday life, and hopefully edify those who stop by. Never do I want to be a slave to anything of this world, least of all my blog.

Still, I love to write. While there are things that can't be put into words and some which simply don't need to be, within that jumble of hodge-podge thoughts and emotions, we have a desire for expression. It's difficult to formulate sometimes, but I know how cleansing it can be to write out thoughts and ideas, instead of having them bounce around unnamed in the vapours of cognizance. Even here, however, there is tension between word and intent, thought and action. Sure, expression is all well and good, but there are still the questions of what and why. And the answer should never be "because that's what I think, and that's the way I like it," but seeking what God thinks, and expressing it in a way that glorifies Him. Oh, I certainly have not achieved that, but I want to make it my goal.

Yes, I do believe that is the summary of what I want my life to be - seeking to know my God more, and to glorify Him in all things. And in writing all this out (you should get a prize if you read this far :P) I think it's more solidified in my mind.

And again I am reminded of these wonderful verses in Colossians 1:9b-10:

"We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

That is the prayer I have for my own life, and for all who have been raised to life in Christ. May we walk in a manner worthy of Him, by His grace.