welcome to our world

This is one of my favourite Christmas songs,

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God.

You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting,

Welcome Holy Child.

Welcome Holy Child.

Hope that you don’t mind our manger,

How I wish we would have known.

But long awaited Holy Stranger

Make yourself at home.

Please make yourself at home.

Bring your peace into our violence,

Bid our hungry souls be filled.

Word now breaking Heaven’s silence,

Welcome to our world.

Welcome to our world.

Fragile finger sent to heal us,

Tender brow prepared for thorn,

Tiny heart whose blood will save us,

Unto us is born.

Unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You,

Breathe our air and walk our sod.

Rob our sin and make us holy,

Perfect Son of God.

Perfect Son of God.

Welcome to our world.

by Chris Rice

Despite the snow causing major delays in the arrival of the mail all across the UK my Christmas package arrived today. It was full of wonderful and lovely things including a "Bedtime Hug" from Origins. It is the most wonderful thing ever! A large wrap filled with Lavender, Chamomile, and Rosemary that you warm up in the microwave. I frequently have pain in my shoulders and this is going to be amazing as is it large enough to wrap over my neck and shoulders all at once with soothing heat and it smells A-mazing!!!!

i laughed when i saw him in spite of myself

It was snowing and I was all dressed up in Christmassy clothes and I just couldn't resist! Don't mind the poor webcamera work or how big it makes my nose look!

walking in a winter wonderland

Tonight I got all dressed up in Christmassy colors (that's my new hat, which I made... nbd) and went out to sing in a Christmas choir. It was snowing and lovely. Then, as I walked home in the thickly falling snow, I passed Christmas carollers and was given a present (ok, the present was a tract, but it's big and pretty and fancy) and a mince pie. I sang all the way home (Winter Wonderland with James Taylor and We Wish You a Merry Christmas with Raffi) and was absolutely covered in snow. It was fantastic!!!

Remember, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing LOUD for all to hear!

This is a little ditty I made up last week when I was out in the falling snow for the first time this year:

Snow, SNow, SNOw, SNOW!

Snow on my cheeks and snow on my nose

Snow on my eyelashes, fingers, and toes.

Slipping and sliding around on the ice,

Winter and Christmas are so jolly nice!

Last time I rode the ferry these guys were on board...

And yes, the fact that they made this video and that Mariah Carey Tweeted about it was news on the BBC website...

Christmas party

Today I went to the international student's Christmas party at BMC. I wasn't planning to go, but I received a phone call on Friday afternoon that made me feel like I didn't have that much of a choice. I wouldn't exactly say I'm glad I went. I'm nursing a cold and would have been just as happy to stay home. But it was a nice meal and I met some nice girls and had a lovely chat with the director of the college who is very nice and we got some nice gifts. I did feel it was slightly unfair as most of my prizes came from being in the group which correctly answered the most questions on the Christmas quiz the quickest. I was probably the only person in the room for whom English is not an additional language and who is from a Western country and is getting ready to celebrate my third British Christmas. I may have had just a slightly unfair advantage...Here's what I got after divvying up the spoils with my teammates. A box of Ritz crackers (!), dark chocolate covered ginger, a stuffed penguin which plays a scary version of Jingle Bells, a box of Maltesers, a box of After Eights, a pencil, a notepad, a jumpy frog, and a 2011 calendar from some gentlemen outside of the Baptist Church.

The frog and the purple crown are from my Christmas cracker and so is this joke:

Q. Who invented fireworks?

A. Some bright spark.

Ha, Ha, Ha.

my Christmas journey

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busy, busy, busy

Said in a voice slightly reminiscent of the magician in Frosty the Snowman. (But I've been busy with happy Christmas things, not the opposite. Promise, cross my heart.) I'm out on placement this whole week, no classes at all. When I'm not at placement I've been listening to this and working on this:I can't really let you see, because it's for Christmas... Santa's Little Helper has to at least try to keep a few secrets!

from a Christmas gone by...

Recorded December 2008

happy, happy, happy

So a few things that are gettin' me really excited!

1) I got a free month's trial of LoveFilm, the UK version of Netflix. It comes with two free cinema tickets and £5 worth of points on my Nectar card, which is like a store VIP card. My first movie is the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and it will soon be on it's way!

2) When I was doing my Christmas shopping yesterday I discovered that Boots carries Vitamin Water, one of my favourite things! I also discovered that a YogaBerry lookalike is coming to Belfast soon!

3) A lady in my knitting group gave everyone coupons for a free Graze Box. Which is basically a box of healthy snacks that are delivered to your door. I've just ordered my free box to be delivered the day before I head to Scotland for Christmas. That way I can have it and a Vitamin Water on my bus journey. Isn't that just perfect?!

4) Tonight I'm heading to the first practice of the Christmas Choir at church. It's been years since I've been in a choir, and a Christmas choir is even better! I'm so excited!!!

5) When I switched over to my new computer I didn't put all my music on it. It was all stored on my external hard drive so I decided to only put on what I listen to most. (I have an exorbitant amount of music.) Well, this was a great plan until my old computer managed to corrupt the files on my hard drive so that they are no longer accessible. I thought I had lost all my music. Well, last night I discovered it in the trash of my new computer. Because it took me a while to figure out the correct/fast way to transfer the files I had a copy of my entire library in my trash. All that music, including my Christmas music, and children's music and my audio books, found again! It was a Christmas miracle!!!

a happy Christmas package!

My mom informed me on Monday that she had sent my Christmas package and that it would be arriving by Saturday. I woke up today thinking this is the first day I could reasonably expect it to come. But I was trying to talk myself out of expecting it as, let's face it, most packages arrive later than you think/hope they will. But then, around 1:30, there was a knock at the door and what to my wondering ears did appear, but the sound of Sam talking to the postman!

So here is the contents of my happy Christmas box! I didn't know what to expect because I didn't ask for anything and the only clue I had was that my mom double checked what size I wear. There was a lovely top from my favorite store, which is on the right. A lovely cardigan which is just like (and in fact may be the very) one that my sister has which I've raved over in pictures on facebook, which is on the left. A bag of candy (!), iTunes gift cards (already spent on a little more Ray LaMontagne and Great Lake Swimmers for my life, which can only be a good thing!), a ginger-ale bottle full of messages and drawings from my sister, and all the lovely wrapping completes the picture. Happy me! (And apparently there's a little bit more waiting to be a welcome home present when I get back to Charlotte in January.)

love this!

a Christmas treatsie

As post modern Christians we have a lot of discussions about how to engage with our culture. I think one of the prime examples of how to do this successfully is found in our modern-day holidays. Especially Christmas. The ancient church usually gets a really bad rap for incorporating pagan festivals into the Christianity that they preached. It’s all too easy to pull up fundamentalist rants about how Christmas trees are pagan objects and how, by bringing them into our homes, we are worshipping nature and not Jesus. But lets have a closer look at this…

Festivals of light are celebrated in various cultures all around the world, especially in Europe. The theme of rebirth is one that seems to run throughout these Midwinter celebrations. We are reminded at the darkest and coldest time of the year that light and warmth will return. The days have reached their shortest and now begin to grow long again. The phrase used in Finland to recognize this is “talven selka taittuu,” meaning, “the back of winter is broken.” I can’t really think of a better way to engage with that aspect of ancient culture than to proclaim to them that,

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” ~Isaiah 9:2

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” ~ Jesus in John 12:46

I feel that feasts and festivals, holy days (the original form of holiday), are a very important part of life. The Lord instituted a number of days of remembrance and days of celebration for ancient Israel. It is only natural, and I think right, that as Christianity grew and spread we gained our own. If, as a part of the gospel spreading to new peoples and cultures, their native celebrations were adapted to reflect the truth of Christ, I see no difference between that and what modern missionaries do when they look for a “hook” in an un-reached people group’s culture which allows in roads for the gospel.

I am an unabashed and unashamed fan of Christmas. I believe in celebrating the moment when the Peace of God broke into our human violence. When his Joy broke into our despair. When his Love conquered our hate. When his Light shattered our darkness.

And so, may your days all be merry… and may they be bright,

With the Christ who's in Christmas as your guiding light.

i never really thought it was such a bad little tree

Straw ornaments from Ikea: 2.50

Christmas tree, lights, and pine cones: found around the house

Tree Skirt: re-purposed pillow cases

A pretty little Christmas Tree: priceless

the first gift of christmas

Today I received my first gift this Christmas.

A beautiful locket with an excerpt from the poem "Footprints" on the back.

It's a rather poignant gift, although I'm not sure the giver knows how poignant.

I have been wrestling with issues of trust lately. Things haven't played out as I hoped they would during my time here and so I've been a bit disheartened the last few weeks. To combat this I have been reminding myself of the promises the Lord has made me and reminding him of them as well.

During our gathering on Sunday evening we talked about God as Father. We took time to lay our burdens and cares at his feet, reiterating our faith that he is big enough to carry them. As we did this and as we watched Rob Bell's video Rain I was actually thinking about the poem Footprints. It's a classic Christian, slightly cheesy poem. But it conveys a brilliant and life changing truth. We don't always understand the way the Father is at work in our lives. We don't always understand why things don't work out the way we want them to. But we can rest assured that he is at work and that he is working out (and redeeming if necessary) all things for our good.

So a very big Thank You to Jim and Eileen for this meaningful and beautiful Christmas gift.

red ribbon foxes

There’s snow on your collar

And boy, there’s snow on the bench.

There’s snow on the sleeping grain

And the crooked fence.

And if you’ve been cryin’

With my hand on my chest

I swear, I’ll never tell.

The town is a glow with lights,

A caroler sings.

Your sister won’t sleep tonight

For the morning creeps.

That old happy Christmas

You came here to find it,

I did as well.

For joy doesn’t come in boxes,

Nor peace in a heavy watch.

Those red ribbon foxes are not so easy caught,

But the search it never stops.

The son of a holy man

You dream of the saints,

So thin with your poet hands

And your eyes aflame.

And I’d like to kiss you,

Full on the mouth,

I don’t care if you tell.

For love doesn’t come in boxes,

Nor truth in a crowded shop.

Those red ribbon foxes are not so easy caught,

But the search it never stops.

For faith doesn’t come in boxes,

Nor God in a silver cross.

Those red ribbon foxes are not so easy caught.

But the search goes on and on,

The search, it never stops.

~ A Fine Frenzy

heading north

I've been the last one in the Transit house for about 21 hours now. It's been a little strange. But it was a nice evening. I did a little writing a little reading and a lot of watching Gilmore Girls! I ate dinner by candle light and enjoyed Italian cookies, chocolates, wine, and lady grey tea. It was a lovely time.

Now, the house will be empty (for a few hours until Adri and her family get back from Wales) I am leaving to spend some time in London with my sister Emily and then taking a bus to Scotland for Christmas with my Kirstin and her family.

It all seems a bit idyllic...

in heavenly peace

I've been thinking about peace this last wee while. So many Christmas songs are full of poetic lines expressing the beauty of the moment the Prince of Peace entered the chaos that is our world:

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Peace on earth, good will toward men

Now the reality of these songs sometimes seems a bit dodgy; we know Jesus wasn't really born in the middle of a snowstorm and the night was most likely full of noise. But I think there's something very important about the reality behind the imagery.

God had become man. The all-encompassing one had stepped into the finite product of his own creative word. And so whether or not the earth really did stand still in awe and recognition of that moment, whether or not Mary cried out with the pain of her labour, whether or not baby Jesus cried when the lowing cattle woke him up, the deep, dear silence of God Almighty broke into the piercing, anguished clatter of our world and everything changed in an instant.

Jesus, please come and be born in me today. Bring your peace into my hurriedness. Bring your stillness into my noise. Bring your calm into my anxiousness. Teach me how to rest in your heavenly peace...

excitement

Tomorrow is our Christmas party!

Yeah!

a shepherd's prayer

I've had a hard time "getting in the Christmas spirit" this year. Being in another country where things are celebrated in different ways is a big part of that. For some reason holidays seem to be really dependent on nostalgia. At least for me.

But I was thinking about this song from my childhood. A rather cheesy 80s Christmas song called "A Shepherd's Prayer." It's the story of a shepherd from some one's nativity set crying out because he has been placed too far away from Jesus.

"Move me closer. Move me closer. Move me closer to the child. Let me see him. Let me hold his hand. Move me closer to the child."

I was just thinking, isn't this what Christmas is about? Remembering that Jesus came close to us? Remembering that we need to come close to him? Remembering that we need to bring him close to those around us?

And so I'll echo the prayer: "Move me closer..."