Each of us can find each other's light

From my friend Anne Mistretta:

I think if I can focus on these words from this song:

"Each of us can find each other's light"

and make them my attitude for the rest of this Advent season (and beyond) I might be at peace in the craziness that seems to follow (or lead) this time of year.

Love is Christmas

Thank you sweet Michelle for this great "new" song -- crazy this hasn't gone mainstream... LOVE IS CHRISTMAS... love is this song!!!! (Lyrics on the youtube page so watch full screen)

Gaudete Sunday

This third Sunday of Advent takes its common name from the Latin word "Gaudete" which means REJOICE!

The first thing Fr. Buddy told everyone in mass today was to smile. And rejoice. And don't worry that the Saints lost because we still have so much to be joyful for! (He can tie the Saints in sooo easily, this is Louisiana after all and hey, church? Saints???? :)

Anyhow, I'm thinking about my own rejoicing. That's pretty tough to do smack dab in a week of upheaval in which we decided Robby is changing schools in January. Again (third time in 2 1/2 years). In a week where I am feeling the uprooting of such tender shoots of roots so recently laid here in our new place, where I am feeling the isolation of change in tough choices, I started to think about my real roots. About my Mom and sister and brother. About my husband's family. About the very good friends that I have in my life that even though they are no longer down the street, I know should the rains come and the floods wash over me, they are going to be there. And so in my loneliness, I am still rejoicing.

And tonight, lighting the nativity scene on our mantle, I got to laugh along with one of those long-distance, crazy, fun-loving friends. (Someone for whom there will be much rejoicing when she hears she pulled another prank off against me, several dozen now for her, maybe one or two for me.) In the far right reaches of our scene, where the wisemen are slowly making their way from the East toward the star over the manager, there stood a fourth wiseman! And not just your average astronomer or king, but a man of rare, valued talent, a reformed sinner who knows what it is like to have everything and be reduced to nothing and climb out of the fiery pit to have another chance.

Yes, I'm sure by now you've guessed that wiseman (guy?) I'm talking about is Michael Vick, former Atlanta Falcon... his bobble head doll--which makes the rounds from our house to the Xides home and between several other friends depending on the year--showed up on my mantle last week and in my haste of the day to day, I didn't even notice. Tonight, like a smack to my face, there he was, managing to look humble behind the three other kings. I'm still laughing Kendall -- you nut! Now I know that the only reason you wanted to visit me last week was to deliver the bobble. Little did you know you'd be providing the joy this week instead. Well played, my friend....

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. — Philippians 4:4–6; Psalm 85 (84):1

Suspend all expectations

“It is now, at Advent, that I am given the chance to suspend all expectation...and instead to revel in the mystery.”

― Jerusalem Jackson Greer, A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting, and Coming Together

What's it all about???

An awesome email today from my mother-in-law on avoiding that sometimes unavoidable panic mode:
I just wanted to tell you that reading the note in Lucca's Bible started my day off beautifully. I was fretting the business of today -- the sheer busy-ness of today... (The reason I was up at 5:35 a.m. ? PANIC and it's still dark out!)

Too much to do - too little time to do it (all from my volunteering to do yet one more thing!!!). Like offering to decorate the rectory SOMETIME and getting a voice mail yesterday that Father would like it done before Monday since he is hosting a Christmas party for a group of priests on Monday!!! Yikes, I already have a jam packed weekend, complete with two funerals!!!

I read the blog -- I have calmed down -- it's going to get done... An e-mail has gone out to the gals in my Bible study that anyone interested in helping please meet at the rectory on Saturday morning at 11:00. (But now I have to make sure someone will be there to let us in. It's the old horse before the cart syndrome.)

I need to slow down... "Come Holy Spirit..."

I don't have to be at everything, I will miss the funeral Mass tomorrow and go to the viewing tonight. I can decorate my condo and tree sometime next week, I can take Morgan and James shopping next Saturday instead of this Saturday... Laundry, dusting and any household chores can wait for another time! And I shouldn't have to miss the party Saturday night!

Whew, okay Lord... together -- with the help of friends -- we can do this!

Yes, it's all about Jesus -- precious, beloved Jesus!

It feels good to put CHRIST back in CHRISTmas!

God bless, Mom

And a child shall lead us...

I honestly had no idea how I was going to salvage a post from the wreckage of today but God (as always) and my son and my niece provided...

I won't bore you with all the trivial details but the quick laundry list of today: a field trip on which I was an unwelcomed embarrassement to my teenager; a disagreement and subsequent run-in with a teacher that has me deeply vexed; three caterwauling children who, fighting over the front seat, performed a reality TV show (we'll call it "SMACKDOWN!") in the soccer stadium parking lot; a quarrelsome, out-of-sorts trio who had me clutching my head through some tricky traffic all the way home. Etc, etc, etc.

I wondered where the silver lining was? (But was heartened to know that I knew there was one!)

I managed to wrangle all to bed and spent a little extra reading time with the two youngest trying to calm and reconnect. When I walked in to my middlest's room I was surprised (and yet not, the silver lining was due after all) to find him reading his favorite bible. It is a very special book to him. My niece gave it to him for Christmas after her mission trip to Africa and before her mission trip to Thailand. Just the simple cover alone, soft leather-sheen embossed with a deep brown crown of thorns, is enough to put it all in perspective. But it was Abigail's words on the sweet letter she wrote him with the gift that brought me right back to center. And God's words, which Lucca and I shared, have me fortified for another day ahead.

Abigail, thank you again for sharing your faith with Lucca. I hope you don't mind that I am sharing some of what you wrote him with others here so that they in turn might be encouraged to turn to God's word in need!

Dear Lucca, I know you like reading so I bought you a very important and special book. It has stories about battles, princesses, espionage, friendship, betrayal and forgiveness. Most importantly, it is a love letter. This is the most life-changing book you can read. It is so controversial that it is illegal in dozens of countries so know that you are privileged to be able to freely own and read this book. It is my favorite book. It is one of those books that needs to be re-read over and over. Read it daily. Memorize it. The message that it brings is what life is all about! That message is that Jesus came so that the world might be saved. Look for the story of the cross, starting in Genesis. Remember the cross so that we can learn it is always all about Jesus. Love, Abigail

A little long, a lot worth it

My Dad always loved the flashmob videos and would often say he hoped to see one live in his lifetime. How glad are we that we staged a flashmob of carols and dancing in the middle of Christmas dinner two years ago -- to his great delight? He would have loved this one too! (Thank you to my mother-in-law for sharing and God Bless our military.)

Make straight the path....

Did I tell you my college roommate is a photo phenom? This picture, "Sunset Silhouette," is another spectacular shot from Nebraska. Typing this up as I'm enjoying a pretty nice sunset live out my back window! Pretty doggone amazing gift we get twice a day from God, eh? I don't think any other blather from me is necessary... enjoy the beautiful view....

Advent reconciliation

Our priest at church yesterday, Fr. Buddy, drew an amazing parallel between the following verse and Nelson Mandela...

[Matthew 3: 1-12] John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

This is one of my favorite descriptive verses -- can't you just see sand for miles and miles, with a terribly crooked footpath rutted deep by nomad travelers and camels? But to the point... one of the most important parts of waiting for Christmas is preparing our hearts for its coming. And sometimes an unclean heart needs to seek forgiveness. Or accept forgiveness from another. What an appropriate gesture for the season, the gift of forgiving.

And what an incredible example we have in Mandela when it comes to the ultimate sacrifice in forgiving transgressions. But there is a dark side to this tale. Fr. Buddy reiterated what I am ashamed to say I am just learning through news coverage of Nelson Mandela's death. Mandela did not always seek the straight path. Before prison, though he tried for years, he had given up on nonviolent attempts to stop apartheid and was involved in various sabotage plots, hoping to limit deaths but disrupt the racist government. He was jailed 27 years for his revolutionary schemes.

While the struggles continued after he left jail, what is most important is that he forgave. And that South African leaders stepped aside to allow him to lead and decided to work in conjunction with him, thus beginning one of the most tremendous rightings of wrongs in all of history.

I am trying to picture 27 long, mostly unnecessary years in prison and whether or not I would be conciliatory mood upon my departure. Exactly the kind of stretch, the sort of sacrifice, the making straight the paths that Matthew is instructing us to do this Lenten season.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Autumn on the bayou

Fall is my absolute favorite season. Last year, for our first fall in Louisiana, I was woefully unprepared for how little color they get around these parts. Not a whole lot of deciduous trees in the swamp.... The season came across as rather crispy brown and I felt myself grow a little moldy around the edges as well. This year I was ready for it. And have been wonderously rewarded with the subtle beauty that only comes from a wet climate. In addition, all the celestial bodies and weather patterns that need to align for the leaves to change have obviously come together to bring me some yellows and even those beloved reds this year, too.

And finally, with this awesome live oak in my front yard, I don't need to look for my colorful leaves. Georgia friends and lucky mountain dwellers, enjoy the vivid show for me, but this year I'm okay. I have greenery to keep me company and surround our home the whole year through.



Tree view from the kitchen table -- great for digestion!