Advent Peace???

I can now say with (almost) certainty- “I’ll be home for Christmas!” both Kuiper Christmas and actual Christmas, barring any unforeseen circumstances of course. It will involve lots of driving, and hoping for good weather but I will be there. Hurray!

I have been really worried about the long drive by myself, especially if the weather turns nasty- I have to drive through several snowbelt regions. To top it all off I had some recent issues with my car that had me rather anxious. But the weather report looks clear enough and my car was given a clean bill of health so now I am looking forward to good food, good fun and family!

 Christmas is always an interesting time of year; so full of magic, and wonder, and excitement, and also so stressful in many ways. As people gather with their families to celebrate there is also the rush of shopping, and stress of preparing meals, and interesting family dynamics that emerge amongst family members that haven’t seen each other in awhile.

In my advent posts I haven’t been so good at following the traditional advent format (Peace, Hope, Joy, Love) but this post is about advent peace. Peace is sometimes hard to find at Christmas. Stores are busier, we are busier, and it is all too easy to forget about Peace. I frequently remember as a child my mother declaring that the only Christmas present she wanted was for us children to just get along for once. We hear about peace in Christmas songs, and read about peace in stories and on Christmas cards. But something about that version of peace is too syrupy sweet and unrealistic. It sounds nice in stories but in reality I think it might be a bit fake.

  

I remember one year I spent a lot of time and effort to cultivate that Christmas card-type “peace” in my family. I thought it meant evenings spent around a beautifully decorated tree, or advent wreath, singing songs, reading stories etc. My intentions were noble but the reality was much less idyllic. Siblings were grouchy, Christmas tree lights got tangled, and eyes strained trying to read stories by candlelight. The result brought a whole new meaning to when Jesus said he came, “ to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law…” (Matthew 10:35)

There is no magical formula for Christmas peace. But I have a feeling it might involve a bit of smiling through family photo shoots and settling for Chinese food instead of turkey. Today I bring you the song “Just for Now” by Imogen Heap. I love the way she captures both sides of the holiday experience. Enjoy!

Since Advent is also the time of anxious waiting for the (second) coming of Christ we can also anticipate the Peace that will come. For anyone who has read Revelations it is clear that kind of peace wouldn’t fit on a Christmas card either- plagues, wars, bloodshed, tears and violence abound but at the end there is a city, and a river and a tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and there will no longer be any curse, and the Spirit and the Bride say “Come!”

Thanksgiving Pt. 3

Finally the final post in the thanksgiving series. I know Thanksgiving (the Canadian one at least) has come and gone but hey- perhaps this will be a good reminder to be thankful all year round. And for all the Americans hopefully it will serve as a nice prequel to your own Thanksgiving celebrations.
 

I had a tough second year of university. Organic Chemistry can be a very humbling experience. That, combined with some other issues in my life, made it a very stressful year. It was all too easy to get sucked into a dark black hole of morose complaining and depression.

However I had a fantastic roommate. When our chaplain mentioned a story about an old Jewish man who daily made a practice of praying 100 thanksgivings, my roommate suggested we do this as well. We actually never made it to 100 a day. We started with 5 each and worked our way up to 20 each. It was a little difficult and some days I definitely didn’t feel like doing it. However my magnificent roommie always reminded and encouraged me and together we found the practice encouraging and uplifting. We recited our thankfulnesses twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and found that we were happier on those days since the whole day we were looking for things to remember to be thankful for that night. I definitely think that is a lesson to remember and taking time to give thanks, be it scheduled or spontaneous, should be an important part of everyone’s life. So in honour of my fantastic roommie from second year and for the Thanksgiving holiday, here is a list of thankfulnesses I came up with.

1. Thankful for laughter and for good times with family

2. Thankful for good weather

3. Thankful for beautiful scenery- may I remind you that I spent most of Thanksgiving Day at Point Farms Provincial Park beach with my family.

4. Thankful for good food- yummy turkey, and stuffing, and gravy, and pumpkin pie!!!

5. Thankful for a marvelous trip to Sault Ste. Marie where I was able to reconnect with friends

6. Thankful for the fantastic things happening in my friends lives- weddings, birthdays, new relationships, new jobs, exciting opportunities, and more

7. Thankful for music- the kind I make and the kind I enjoy

8. Thankful for a supportive, loving family and a wonderful home

9. Thankful for good health and strength and the ability to do things like kayak, roll around in the sand and play Frisbee

10.Thankful for all the people that have touched my life- I may be terrible at keeping in touch but that doesn't mean I don't frequently think of them and how incredibly blessed I am to have known them.

Thanksgiving Pt. 1

Hello all! For my non-Canadian friends I need to tell you that this past weekend was Canadian thanksgiving. A wonderful holiday when we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. I am a very blessed person and I had a fantastic thanksgiving so I will split my thanksgiving blog posts up into several chunks. Hurray!

Mom and I take some time to get closer.... in the kayak. And yes she is texting!

Americans celebrate thanksgiving too but Canadians like to get a headstart. That and if we waited to celebrate until the Americans did most of us would be knee deep in snow, having long forgotten the harvest. As it was, in my area, many farmers were in the midst of harvesting. The gorgeous weather combined with forecasters calling for rain soon, probably saw many farmers eating their thanksgiving turkey in the form of a sandwich on the combine. My non-cash-cropping family however was able to fully enjoy the beautiful weather and we took to the beach for some kayaking, sandcastle making, Frisbee throwing, and all around fun. I can't remember a thanksgiving where we were able to run around on the beach in our swimsuits and shorts before but we definitely did this year.

Dad and I on the lake

My older sister and brother got up to some shenanigans as you can see in the video I posted. My brother was at it too but he made me promise to not post a video of him so you'll have to take my word for it.

The weather was beautiful and the lake was very calm. Dad and I got in a good paddle and I finally got a good pic of me kayaking!

All in all it was a lovely day!

Finally a good pic of me kayaking! Isn't the water gorgeous!