Playing Peekaboo

One of Rusty's favorite spots in our backyard is this little clump of grasses. He frequently carries one of his favorite balls out through the patio door and hides it in this spot. Then he acts like he forgot where he put it and starts frantically leaping and pawing at the grasses to retrieve it. When he gets bored with that game, he hunkers down in the matted down grass and plays peekaboo with me as he did this afternoon when it was sunny and warm out and he lured me away from my books and outside to play.

Two Recent Projects

Time to Clean Up?

Believe it or not, this is the current state of the top of my studio table and, yes, I was working on a project when I took this photo. Rusty is undaunted by my messes. He takes a flying leap into the center of the table and turns in circles until he plops down on top of the current layer of objects. Comfort doesn't seem to be an issue for him. He just wants to be right under my nose while I am working. But, seriously, this mess has GOT to be dealt with. I'm down to about a 5" x 7" workspace. Creating is just so much more fun than tidying up afterwards!

Third Sunday of Advent - JOY

Voice 1 - We have now reached the third week of Advent, when we light the JOY candle, which is pink. It is also called the ANGEL candle.

Voice 2 - We find angels everywhere we turn in the Christmas story:

An angel appears to Zechariah, the priest, to foretell the birth of his son, John, who will prepare people for the coming of the Messiah.

An angel tells Mary that she will bear the Messiah.

An angel reassures Joseph, warns the wise men, and urges the Holy Family to flee from Bethlehem.

Voice 3 - Most dramatically, when the angel appeared to the shepherds and proclaimed, “I bring you tidings of great joy,” he was backed up by a whole army of angels. No wonder the shepherds were terrified!

Voice 4 - What was this JOY? It was the presence of God among us, God in the person of the newborn baby who would grow up to be our savior.

Voice 1 - When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. When Mary drew near, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy when he recognized that Jesus was in his presence. Do our hearts leap for joy when we sense God’s presence in our lives?

Voice 2 - As we light the JOY candle, we want the words of the psalmist to be true for us as well. It is written: “You will fill me with joy in your presence.”

(Light candles one, two, and three –the pink candle)

Voice 3 - How do we experience this joy in our lives? Jesus gives us a clue in John’s gospel when he says: “If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Voice 4 - Let us pray: Jesus, you are searching your followers for awakened souls who thrill to the joy of your presence. You provide the joy; our part is to glorify you by living close to you. May we be living tidings of great joy to those around us this Advent season, as we share the presence of Christ through our words and our actions. Amen

Second Sunday of Advent - FAITH

Voice 1 - Our second Advent candle is the FAITH candle. It is also called the Bethlehem candle, as it recalls God’s appointed place in which the promised Messiah would be born. God’s plan is unfolding as Mary and Joseph leave their home in Nazareth and make the long journey to Bethlehem.

Voice 2 - Our circle of light will grow brighter as we remember the words spoken about Bethlehem by the prophet Micah, 700 years before Jesus’ birth:
“Out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from old, from ancient days.”

Voice 3 – Mary and Joseph made the long, arduous journey to Bethlehem, because they were descendants of King David, whose hometown was Bethlehem. They were required to go there in person to be counted for the census. In God’s amazing providence, the end of Mary’s pregnancy coincided with the timing of the census. And so the prophecy was fulfilled that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Voice 4 – Believing that Jesus is the promised Messiah is the basis of our faith, and this is the truth: “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Voice 1 –The Messiah himself descended from a long line of heroes of faith:
By faith Noah built an ark in the dessert where it had never rained, and
his family was saved from the flood.
By faith Abraham left his country, home, and family to follow God to a
new homeland.
By faith Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt to the shores of the
Promised Land.

Voice 2 – Hundreds of years later, by faith, a young peasant girl named Mary believed the angel who told her: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” She was willing to suffer public humiliation, because she believed that “nothing is impossible with God.”

Voice 3 - As we light this Advent candle, let us remember the heroes of faith who have gone before us. May we also be heroes of faith, lighting the path for those who will come after us, so the Good News will be lived and proclaimed until Jesus comes again in glory.

(Light purple candles 1 and 2.)

Voice 4 – We have lit this candle to remind us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
LET US PRAY: Jesus, you are the author and perfecter of our faith. Shine your light into our hearts to illuminate the truth that is more real than anything we can see, or hear, or taste, or touch, or smell. Give us the heart to be faithful followers of the One who is always faithful. Amen.

Fresh squeezed lemonade in November

This morning while I was writing, I glanced out my bedroom window. There was our huge Meyer lemon tree, laden with yellow lemons in front of a cobalt blue sky. It nearly took my breath away. Alyssa came in and, looking out the window, said, "Oh, we need to make lemonade!" She (and Rusty) slipped out through the patio door in our bedroom. A few minutes later she came back in with about a dozen lemons gathered into her shirt. Here's our recipe for lemonade: Squeeze enough lemons to get 2 cups of juice. Put in a pitcher with 1 cup of sugar and 6 cups of water. Stir, chill and ENJOY. There is just something about fresh squeezed lemonade in November that seems WRONG somehow. However, if we don't pick them, they will end up floating in the pool, which would be infinitely worse. My grandmother taught me to squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice cube trays. When frozen, it can be stored in ziploc bags to be thawed later in a pitcher to make lemonade. I went out and purchased an ice cube tray - so I'm prepared!

First Sunday of Advent: Hope

The first Sunday of Advent is in a week - November 30th. I was asked to write the liturgy for the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath. Here is what I wrote about HOPE. This is the short version - I had to cut it down by about half. As always, I was way too wordy. Imagine that!:

First Sunday of Advent: HOPE

Voice 1 - On this first Sunday of Advent we remember the hope that we have in Jesus.

Voice 2 - Hope is a deep, unquenchable current flowing down through the centuries and into the days of our lives. It flows from its source – Jesus – who was before all time, is now, and will be forever the same. All things were made by him and for him, and in him all things hold together.

Voice 3 - This hope is what enables us to plant our feet on the floor each morning. It is the song that we follow through the long dark night.; the porch light that beckons our footsteps homeward through the forest. It is the light that shimmers just out of sight at the periphery of our vision. Its sweet fragrance seeps in under the tightly locked doors of our hearts.

Voice 4 - If we hope in ourselves, our failures discourage us. If we hope in others, they may unwittingly or intentionally fail us. Material things may all too easily be lost, stolen or destroyed. Our jobs may end or change in spite of our best efforts. Our financial investments may diminish when markets fall.

Voice 1 - Our hope in Jesus, however, does not disappoint. In the days of the kings of Israel, the prophets foretold the coming of a king greater than David, who would reign forever in righteousness and peace. In the time of the exile, the prophets foretold the coming of a deliverer who would save his people from their sins – the Messiah. The words of the prophets were cherished with hope through 400 years of silence. The heartbeat of hope in the promised Messiah pulsed on until it took up residence in the breast of a baby asleep in a manger in Bethlehem.

Voice 2 - And so we light this candle in remembrance of Jesus’ first coming as a baby to redeem us. But the story doesn’t end there, for he also promised to return as the King of Kings.

(Light the candle)

Voice 3 - During these shortest days of the year, as darkness falls and shadows lengthen, we have lit this candle of hope as a reminder that we are watching and waiting this Advent season for Jesus’ return. With the psalmist we cry, “Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord.” And with the prophet Micah we declare: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior.”

Voice 4 - LET US PRAY: God of all hope – thank you for awakening hope through the words of your prophets, for faithfully fulfilling our hope by sending the baby who came to save us, and for allowing the hope to live on as we await his return this Advent. Amen.