Archives: Uncategorized

Pause

Which is your favorite month of the year? Of course, January is everyone’s best-loved month, right?

Okay, probably not.

Ten or 15 years ago January was last on my list. Back then I didn’t like cold weather, and January just seemed like a bleak, blustery, colorless month that had to be endured. I wondered if a person could get in on the bears’ hibernation deal.

What changed? Maybe it was when I got married in a January wedding. Suddenly there was a permanent bright spot on the calendar that time every year. Also around that time I launched into my transition from a hot-weather loving/cold-weather shunning girl into quite the opposite.

Whatever the reason, I now really like the first month o’ the year. While not my absolute favorite, it does have its charms. Yes, after Christmas and New Year’s, life resumes with the hustle and bustle of daily routines. …But overall, there seems to be a quiet simplicity that hushes the land. A brisk stillness that can be seen in bare tree branches and blankets of snow. It’s as if nature has paused for a moment.

It’s a welcome chance for me to pause as well, reminiscing with a smile about the holidays, being grateful for countless blessings, and feeling hopeful about the time ahead. Maybe that’s also why I’m drinking hot chocolate more often–it’s a chance to warm up and take a moment to stop and just think…often a rarity in our busy days.

(At least that’s the reason I tell myself as I take another sip.) =)

A spot of poetry

I’ve been reluctant to create a new post, mostly because I’ve loved pulling up the blog and seeing David’s cozy picture of our den (sigh) at the top of the page. I love his photography. You can see some more of in tucked in the archives of this site. If you go there, you might also want to read his latest blog entry. It’s very touching. Okay, plug is over. –But the race is on: the Christmastime flavor poll has heated up, with pumpkin spice and eggnog neck and neck. Poor tabasco.

Let’s have a little poetry. Before I inflict my latest scribbles on you, though, I’d like to pay tribute to one of my favorite wordsmiths. …A giant of a man immortalized in the classic movie, “The Princess Bride.” Yes, I’m talking about Fezzik, the great rhymer. Let’s listen in…

Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss… I think he like to scream at *us*.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no *harm*.
Fezzik: He’s really very short on *charm*.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?

Genius. I’d hate to go up against Fezzik in a Rhyme-Off. Do any of you have the gift for rhyme? Anyway, that movie always brings a grin to my face, and I’d thought you’d like a smile, too.

Okay, (big, sudden transition)…here’s some other stuff I wrote tonight:

Eyes search, looking into inky blankness
Peering for Something
–sensing nothing.
Only consuming chill and cavernous echoes provide company.

Yet in time the day comes and gently washes away the opaqueness,
Revealing it all – much closer than life – it startles,
Filling the horizon and sky
reclining regally on a throne of ancient rock,
yet also
seeming to
Lean in over all below–watching, and
Watching over.
It displays the sifting of snow like powdery hair that was
Always pale with wisdom, soft hairs without number.

Gossamer crown of cloud in place, it
Whispers
(to those who take notice)
that it will be unmoved from this throne,
Even as darkness returns for a moment.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Is your Christmas season already hectic and hurried? In the midst of it of all, I hope there’s a place in your home or your memories that is restful and comforting. Here’s mine: this is a picture that David took in our house last Christmas. I love our little Christmas tree forest and our fireplace. The sight of the trees and the sound of the crackling fire never fail to relax me.

I wish I had some impressively deep insights for you in this post. Instead, I offer simply a prayer that you can carve out a time and place to rest in the warmth of Christmas and its true meaning.

Yee haw!

My inner Texan has been unleashed! I’ve been enjoying a “girls weekend” in Texas with three very good friends and the kind husband of one who tolerates all of us invading their house. I’m so thankful to God for these weekends with them, although I do miss my sweet husband very much.

…But even though I love my New Mexico home, it does this Texas girl’s heart good to see the Lone Star flag flying lots of places. My only disappointment has been the absence of the famous Cinnamon Roll cappuccino at the Chevron in Colorado City. (sigh–What happened, Chevron? It was just there a year ago!)

So life is pretty good when you get to have new adventures with wonderful friends and your biggest worry at the moment is where to get a tasty caffeine fix. These are times to treasure.

John McClane and Snow Days

It’s Tuesday already? Wow, time flies, doesn’t it? I hope your week has started off well.

You may be keeping tabs on the latest poll about Christmas specials. Apparently a few have strong feelings about this issue. …And despite some thoughts to the contrary (ahem), “Die Hard” is not a Christmas movie, no matter how hard (ha ha) you men campaign! There, I’ve said it. Will you ladies back me up?

Goodness, how do I transition from that topic to this post’s main topic? I’m not sure there is an effective way, so I’ll just jump into it. Did you get snow this last week where you live? Much of the region here saw snow–anywhere from two to 12+ inches. Ahhh….a white Thanksgiving. I’ll take it! Thanksgiving Day we were able to gaze out of large windows as big, fluffy flakes drifted down and enrobed everything.

Our dog, Daisy, preferred to run around in it instead of just watching. She bounded around the white yard, would slow some, then abruptly bury her long nose about two inches down in the snow. Doing this always seemed to start a launch sequence: with a miniature mountain on her nose, she would suddenly take off like a NASCAR driver, racing furiously in circles against invisible canine competitors. When she came inside, the yard looked like a snowy version of crop circles.

…But before she was unleashed on the untouched snow, everything looked perfect. Have you ever noticed that snow tends to beautify and highlight things around you that you normally don’t see? Everything is different in white. Here’s an example: on the property of where I worked my previous job, an ordinary evergreen tree stood near the road. I passed it hundreds of times as I hurried back and forth from work assignments, but I hardly ever really looked at it. Because of my haste it might as well have been invisible, despite the fact that I love to look at trees.

But then a couple of times a year something magical would happen… A dusting of snow would grace the land, and that tree suddenly became breathtaking. I marveled at its beauty, driving a little more slowly just to drink it in a few seconds longer. Each individual, delicate branch was showcased because of the dazzling white. I wondered at not noticing the tree more often, and I smiled at the sight.

That reminds me of the wonder of how God transforms our lives. On our own we may be ordinary like that tree. Seemingly nothing special. We can choose to start a relationship with Him, though, and He transforms us — instantly and literally. Our loving Father showers on us the costly, whiter-than-snow gift of His righteousness and love. We are now different. And like the tree, who we really are becomes undeniably evident. We are who He created us to be all along… for the purpose of showcasing His glory.

And He smiles at the sight.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!