DEAR FTR

Big Sister wanted to "type" today after she played a game on the computer. So I pulled up Word, made the font huge, hit Caps Lock and let her at it.

A minute or so later, I checked in and this is what I found.

GODDEARFTR

She told me she was writing Dear God. She read it back to me "God, dear Father."

Then she asked me how to spell "Jesus" and then "the" and "son."

GODDEARFTR
JESUSTHESON

I kept waiting to see who would be next on this list; would she finish out the Trinity with some reference to the Spirit? Or would she go with her new favorite person in the Bible, Mary?

And furthermore, what what this list? Were these the people to whom she was writing? Or just those who were on her mind at the time? Was she praying? Proselytizing? Pondering?

I'll never know. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Replaced with her usual four-year-old "typing" which looks like this:

GYHUYIOHUIGYGYGHUHUHLKJLAKMSLAKJKKJHJHJHJHJHJEBHVFTGVVGVGJASBKGBWJEGJHJADGJABSDJSBAJSHVAHSVH

But for just a moment, I saw my kid thinking (and writing!) about God.

Pretty cool.

Five Question Friday

After taking a significant sabbatical from all things blogfrog/bloghop related, I've decided to try to rejoin the community of awesome bloggers I found several months ago. I'm still not ready to engage in some of the frustrating and time-consuming exchanges in the forums in which I used to spend lots of my time. But I would like to see what some of the great ladies I "met" have been up to. So today I happened over to Mama M's to check out her Five Question Friday, and play along.


1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?

2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?

5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?


1. I have a few favorite gifts to give this year. One of them is both my favorite AND my least favorite at the same time. I went last night to ToysRUs to buy the crazy Barbie Vet playset. I made the decision because of some good advice and some careful thinking and praying. It will come with a special note from Santa about Christmas, gifts and grace, that's for sure.

My other favorite gift is the one I've made to give to many people on our list. It's the jujube butter we made a few months ago. The fruit grew right in our backyard, the girls and I picked it, and I researched a recipe, peeled and cooked them up, and even processed the jars all by myself (a first for me!) Not only is it a gift from our heart that cost us mostly time and effort, but it tastes pretty yummy, if I do say so myself.

Oh yeah- and my giveaway! Don't forget to enter before Monday!

2. Parties, well, not really any yet, unless you count the girls' preschool class parties. But Christmas events? Too many to count. We've got an interactive dinner theater musical this weekend, starring my hubby and featuring Big Sis as an angel (singing Away in a Manger) in the nativity scene. Then we have a Christmas get-together/prayer experience with our Mom2Mom group, the choir special Sunday night, the kids Christmas program the following Sunday night, a women's ministry tea I won't be able to attend because I'm singing in a wedding, and more. We usually have a ministry staff party and a Sunday School party sometime in December, although I'm not sure when they will fit in!

3. I LOVE Christmas music, and I enjoy every kind from the cheesy to the sacred (if you don't believe me, scroll down to my playlist!) I get chills when I hear a good choir sing Of the Father's Love Begotten acapella this time of year. The same goes for anything from Handel's Messiah. I enjoy singing classic carols and of course, O Holy Night. But I also love the over-the-top Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond Christmas albums! Plus, I'm a fan of the old standards and crooners like Bing and Frank and Ella & Rosemary, so I really enjoy old Christmas recordings too.

4. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Murphy- I remember learning a lot from her, being encouraged in my creativity, and just feeling like she loved me. Looking back now, from an educator's standpoint, I realize that she was a great teacher. She saw something special in each child, and helped us to see those same qualities in each other. She wanted every kid to do well and believed that they could. I used a poem she gave to each of her students at the end of the year with my own students, hoping to convey even a little bit of the love she showed me and everyone in my class.

5. This is a tough one! I've always been one of those people who gets lost in her own world when visiting historic places. There is something fascinating to me about nearly every major era in American history. My favorite places to visit as a kid were Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and Williamsburg. I know it would take me a LOT longer to do laundry or get a meal on the table, but there is something so appealing about the simplicity of the times. Of course, I am still very thankful for modern medicene, being able to vote, many modern conveniences, etc! Maybe I'd just like to visit?

Check out some of the other entries by clicking on the links below. And then head over to Mama M's to get the questions and add a link of your own!

Work in Progress...

If my blog looks funny, it's because I'm working on the layout.

Today I changed it from a two-column to a three-column template. I actually changed html!

But now I have an entire left column that doesn't have anything there. Yet.

I am sure there is a way to adjust the template and stuff and not publish all of the changes until you're completely ready to go. But I don't know that way.

So, for now, bear with me as I (hopefully) get it together in the next few days. It's a work in progress.

You know... like me!

I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes

On this rainy Wednesday, we're staying in. (We actually did go out to the craft store and Lifeway, which ended badly.) So now we're in. The tree is lit, and soft instrumental Christmas music is playing. And Big Sister is playing quietly, pretending she is a part of the nativity.

She made a grand entrance riding on her little hobby horse. But she didn't want it in the pictures. She said the donkey didn't stay in the manger. When I asked where he went, she said they sent him back where he came from. I didn't remember that being in Luke 2.

Earlier she played with this darling nativity set she got from her Nana a few years ago:

But if you look closely, you'll see a few extras...

You see, Mary fell off of her camel. And she cracked her head. And she had to stay at the hospital (aka a Santa hat) while a machine made her better. And Joseph needed help tending to the animals, so he got Happy Meal Mini-skirt London Barbie to help until Mary was back on her feet.

Somehow I'm not sure Mary would have been okay with this scenario.

All this Manger Scene play brings back fond memories from last year, when Big Sis got grown men to wear arm rest covers on their heads to portray Jesus' birth:


As for Little Sister, she's not really into the manger story yet. But she is digging the half-decorated tree.

Unlucky number 14

Today is World AIDS Day.

It's sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Between the day we eat too much in celebration of all that we've been given and the day we spend too much in celebration of One who came to give His life away. Maybe it's a good time- people often think more during the holidays about ways to help the less fortunate. But most of us shop for shoeboxes or angel tree kids or collect canned goods for a local food pantry. How many of us are stopping, today, to think about, pray for, and give to help those affected with HIV/AIDS.

I'll admit, I don't spend enough time talking about the AIDS epidemic. But it is an issue close to my heart, because AIDS and poverty go hand in hand. Our compassion child, Emmanuel, lives in what Compassion deems an "AIDS affected area," in Tanzania. In fact, 67% of the people living with HIV worldwide live in Sub-Saharan Africa. 91% of new children infected reside there. And according to the UNAIDS report by the World Health Organization, more than 14 million children in that region have been orphaned by AIDS.

14 million.

That is the same number we keep hearing in reference to poor children in America. And I am concerned about poor children in America. But imagine if every single one of those impoverished children in America lost their parents. And imagine that all of those parents were taken by one killer- not a mass murderer, not a natural disaster, not a terrorist attack, but a disease. One disease that can be prevented or at least maintained with drug therapy.

I think we'd be talking about it more, don't you?

Now, I've heard other statistics about AIDS lately that are fairly positive. There are countries doing more to provide anti-retroviral drugs to their people. There are education initiatives and organizations like Compassion and Keep A Child Alive that are doing great things for those living with AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. In many instances, numbers of new cases are slowly going down. But not far enough. Not nearly far enough.

Too many people are still dying.

In fact, every 14 seconds another child is orphaned by AIDS.

Do the math. That's roughly 6,000 kids left with no parents every day.

No, you know what? Forget roughly. There are 86,400 seconds in one day. That figures out to be 6,171 new orphans every day. Not a huge difference there, between 6,000 and 6,171. But it is a huge difference to those extra 171 kids.

What can we do? LOTS.

First, pray. Ask your church family to join you in praying for the millions of people dying of and living with AIDS. Pray for children already living in extreme poverty who face losing a parent. Pray for parents who fight to stay alive, knowing there will soon be nothing they can do to protect or provide for their children. Pray for governments to see this as an important issue- one that affects all of us because extreme poverty (and the death it causes) and peace cannot coexist.

Second, don't take my word for it. Read up on the UN's research about the epidemic. Check out these AIDS in Africa FAQs from AVERT. Read this World Aids Day reflection by Leigh Blake, the founder of Keep A Child Alive. Find your own sources, if you must. Just be educated!

Third, give. Sponsor a Compassion child from an AIDS affected area. You'll get the opportunity to contribute a little extra each month ($7) to provide education and treatment for children and parents through the Compassion project. Or simply make a contribution to the Compassion Aids Initative. Or give to Keep a Child Alive to further their similar work for education and drug therapy. You can even give them your frequent flier miles!

Fourth, talk about it. Since 14 seems to be significant number, I'll challenge each of you to share this information with at least 14 people today. Send an e-mail. (This AIDS Orphan timer by Compassion won't load as a widget on my blog, but you can send it as an e-mail.) Put a statistic as your Facebook status. Blog about it yourself. Let your representatives in government know that this is an important issue. Keep this issue fresh on people's minds and agendas- not just today, on World AIDS day, but all year.

Because we might only set aside one day to pause & remember. But tomorrow, 6,171 more children will become orphans. And the next day. And the next day. And the day after that.

But maybe not.

It's up to us.

The world in silent stillness lay...

It's quiet in my house right now, which is unusual because it is 2:30 in the afternoon. Both girls are napping at the same time, a rare treat these days. I've cleaned up the kitchen, done a load of laundry and fussed with a few Christmas decorations. But I've also tried to enjoy the silence. And listen.

A wise friend posted this Eugene Peterson quote on his facebook page:

"I don't see any way out of it: if we are going to live appropriately in the creation, we must keep the Sabbath. We must stop running around long enough to see what God has done and what God is doing. We must shut up long enough to see what God has said and is saying. All our ancestors agree that without silence and stillness there is no spirituality, no God-attentive, God-responsive life."

I needed this today. I've needed it for a while. I love advent for the quiet mystery of it all. Or what is supposed to be quiet mystery. But as I've tried to prepare my heart for the coming of the King this Christmas season, I've been having a hard time even preparing for the preparation. I've literally been looking at my calendar, trying to find a chunk of time to sit and ponder the wonder of the Word made flesh. I'll admit, I felt discouraged with the lack of true "silence & stillness" this advent seems to be offering. Lots of meetings, musicals, choir concerts, a wedding in which I am singing, even a few well-intended church activities designed to help us ponder the season. But silence? I'm trying to pencil it in between seeing Santa and baking cookies.

Thankfully, our God provides. In this case, the provision was an empty afternoon and two sleepy girls. And inspiration from another who desires to seek Christ in the silence this season. In fact, after I read that quote, I found something else. Another friend posted this link to "Following the Star." I clicked over for the beautiful Christmas music, but was delighted to find an advent devotion.

Today's topic? Silence. It seems to be more desired than one would first think.

With all the "holiday hustle & bustle," all of the bargains of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, all of the television specials, parties, concerts, well-meaning events, etc. we're desperately trying to "make the season bright." We're expecting so much of ourselves, and so much of Christmas. So much that we can only be disappointed, either when it isn't just like a greeting card, or when it is and then it is over for another year.

What if what we're looking for is really the silence? The stillness? The sense of God's presence that doesn't command our attention like the rest of the distractions of the season, but rather waits on us to sit. To listen.

And what if all that we do to fill the void is actually making it deeper? What if everything we do to ease the ache is actually making it more painful?

And what if we prepare our homes and our gifts for holiday celebrations, but not our hearts for the Foundation of all celebration, at Christmas and always?

What if we anticipate Christmas without taking the time to wait in expectation on the Christ child?

I am thankful for a few moments to reflect (ironically on the need to reflect) and listen to the voice. It has been too long. I couldn't sit still for more than just a little while. The Voice was harder to hear than it used to be.

But God met me here.

In the silence.

Song for Sunday: Advent Begins

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Here is a hauntingly beautiful version of this song by Enya. I wanted to put it on my playlist but it wasn't available.