I realized something while packing for Iowa/Mexico (...oh, you didn't know they were so close to each other? Go take a look at... just kidding, of course. Our official honeymoon is going down after Christmas!)

Anyway, what I realized is how important it is to not only pack the necessities, but also their chargers! What a funny age we live in. So here's my list of what's in my bag and what charges it:

"All Scripture is God-breathed

and is useful

for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training

in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped

for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16-17

"... and the sword of the spirit,

which is the Word of God."

Ephesians 6

"My soul is weary with sorrow,

strengthen me

according to your Word."

Psalm 119:28

I really don't want to write about

post-modernism and how it's

changed our church (that's church

as in all of us.) But, I do want to

say that it's been on my mind.

In our generation, everything is

based on personal experience,

and with good reason, but it's so

self-centered and quite a faulty

method when used alone.

We decide things better in

teams, with a collective

knowledge and history.

At the core of things, it just

saddens me to think that

people can have such different

experiences of church and it

alters their experience of Jesus.

That is all.

Now for a round-up of the third

week in Advent/first few days of

break!

1. Isn't this too pretty? This is the start to a pie/cobbler I made for a party on Friday night. We had a great time at the party but the best part of the evening was truly the ride there and the conversation with our friends who gave us a ride. And as they wouldn't accept gas money, please read #4 to learn what the consequences of their generosity were.

2. For anyone who knows me and how compulsive I am, the sights of our place Saturday would have shocked you. I actually enjoyed tearing the place up. Everything is so well packed into our tiny place that when you really get a few projects going at once, everything else falls out around it. Please observe: laundry drying on the rack and the couch, art station involving a record and a suitcase at the bottom of the picture, guitar on the desk... and oh yeah, we splurged on the electricity because the grey day was really getting me down and Jake remedied that with lights and windows.

3. What a man, truly serving his wife by giving up his time to take part in what she likes to do!

4. Saturday night, a change of plans. Or, as I like to remember, God only has a plan A, and we just didn't know what it was until it happened. You see, on our way to a little gathering, Jake and I found out the dinner was cancelled and we quickly got off the train to decide what to do.

The rest of the details aren't as important as this: we met Jackie. We walked by her at first, arrived at our own cozy destination and immediately turned around to give her the cookies I had in my purse. Jackie reminded me that I am far better off than I even know. Jake and I believe in not only serving people the food they need but also the friendship they need. We listened to Jackie and we did what we thought was best helping her get a room for the night. Talk about plan A, or what some people sometimes call coincidence, the money we saved on gas Friday night was still in our pockets and available for Jackie.

5. And today, in a desperate attempt to make vegan fare for a few friends, I made pancakes from churro mix, water, vanilla, cinnamon and a banana.

Friends, Jesus will be born

in just a few days now, what

are you doing to prepare?

The holidays are...

for listening to Christmas music? No.

for hibernating inside and baking? No.

for giving gifts and being nice? Wrong again.

for spending time with family and loved ones? No.

How odd that every year at this time

people ask the question, "What is the

true meaning of Christmas?"

Let's break it down,

Christ = Jesus!

mas = a church service/feast.

I may be stating the obvious, but it dawned

on me the other day how difficult it must be

for those who celebrate Christmas without

celebrating the birth of Jesus.

No wonder people become so weary and

jaded of the season.

Even Christians tire of the holiday, and I

think it's because we put too much weight

on the accessories of the season (the lights,

the music, the goodwill to all.)

Christmas, after all, is only one day. And

we often try to make it last for a month.

Advent, however, is the ancient season

that truly leads up to Christmas day.

Advent is a time to recognize our dire

need for Jesus to come. We meditate on

the joy that He will come. Then, when

Christmas day arrives, we can welcome

it and be glad because we've longed for

that day for four weeks.

I am learning a lot about advent this

year. I recommend it to everyone.

Now, incase you thought I was a grump

and that I don't like any of those things

that I first listed:

And it just wouldn't be right to end this post without giving credit to Luke, because without his story of Jesus, we wouldn't even have Christmas to begin with. (None of the other authors mentioned how or when Jesus was born.)

"So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:16-20

Thank you, Luke!

Home

Sweet details of home that I always want to remember.

"By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;

through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures."

Proverbs 24

Why I love my co-workers 2nd edition

I don't know how this all started.

Chris posed the challenge: "Name the most majestic fowl."
Lauren: "A pheasant!"
Ciara: "Does a peacock count? ... A peacock!"

Other conversations continue.

Chris shouts: "Everybody says peacock."
Jeff shouts: "Why are you shouting?"

The group bursts into a very lively debate,
everyone trying to have their voices heard.

Audible sentences continue...
Chris: "A crane is a water bird!"
Jeff: "Then what is a duck?"
Lauren continues listing: "...there is the heron, the heron."

Inaudible conversations continue.
Then,
Chris: "I've never had a turducken."
Jeff: "You've never had a turducken?"
Chris: "It sounds European."

Then, the conversation goes where all
conversations go ... to a Google search;
this one is obviously for a turducken.

Someone says: "It's like a Russian doll."

Last summer I was not on this side of things.

Last summer I sounded like every other woman

in our country ... "I can do anything a man can."

Then, as Jake and I really started to talk about

getting married, I figured I needed to study up.

I realized that, yes, a woman can do almost

anything a man can (where nature permits)

but that doesn't prove anything.

Why try to prove your strong femininity in

the arena of men?

My mind changed.

Now, I'm still aware that there are some

exceptions to the rule where a man may

be more gifted in things we would normally

consider to be womanly, or a woman gifted

more in what we'd consider manly things.

But I don't think many of us are that exception.

When you step back from what society

tells you that you should do, or tells you

how you should feel, what do you want?

I'd venture to say more women have a

nurturing side than they let on to, they

have been hiding what makes them uniquely

woman for their whole life (like I did)

in order to prove their strength and ability

... by trying to be more like men.

Let me say again that I am NOT an expert.

I'm sharing what I have learned about

myself, and observed in our culture.

So if this is where we are, and I believe it is,

our gender roles are greatly confused.

And it got this way so easily because, like I said,

a woman really can do just about anything

a man can. The question is, should she?

And why would she want to?

My clearest understanding, and trust

that this will all work out, came when I

fully understood this verse:

"Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord ...

Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church

and gave his life up for her."

Ephesians 5

Everyone (me) gets so hung-up on

the first part of that verse that they (me)

don't even think about the connotations

of the second part.

Husbands are called to lay down their life

for their wives.

That's right, and God said he doesn't even

listen to the prayers of husbands who don't

sacrificially love their wives (1 Peter 3).

I'd also like to make the point that this

is between wives and husbands,
one wife,

one husband.

This verse does NOT say

that all women should listen to all men,

or that men are naturally smarter or

stronger or more able than all women.

No no no no no.

It also does NOT say that a girlfriend

has to submit to her boyfriend.

And it does NOT say that a husband is

the final authority, God is.

Fellow church friends and the police

can also put a husband in his place.

Maybe more women would happily embrace

their strong femininity if more men stepped it

up and took on the roles to love and care for

their wives, like Jesus loved the church.

Now that sounds okay to me.

It may be old-fashioned, but I don't think

that I have to remind anyone about the

current state of marriages and divorces

in our "modern and advanced" country.

I admit that am I always still learning.

But I trust the Bible. I trust that our world

was created with an order, not to hinder us

but to help us flourish.

I'll leave you with this beautiful example of

how I long to let the way I am naturally

made, strong and womanly, to let me be

truly free:

As I sit here in the window of this cottage I can see a sailboat skimming silently along the horizon. It is a beautiful image of freedom. But the freedom of the sailboat to move so swiftly and beautifully is the result of obedience to laws. The builder of the boat had to know the proper ratio of the beam to the keel and mast. The one who sails the boat obeys the rules of sailing. A ship tacking against the wind moves deviously, but when she runs with a strong tide or a following wind she takes to herself the power of tide and wind and they become her own. She is doing the thing she was made for. She is free not by disobeying the rules but by obeying them…

This is the crux of the question of liberty and liberation. Does it mean casting off restrictions? (Could a ship sail without them?) Does it mean doing what we feel like doing and not doing what we don’t? It means discipline. It means doing the thing we were meant for. What is it to which we are called, we women (men) under God?”

-Elisabeth Elliot

You know how much I love water and boats.

Why I love my coworkers

Dana: (eyes turn up and jaw drops gently) "Look! It's the holiday train!"

You'd really have thought there was a UFO out our window by the way everyone ran to look outside.
And there, on the el track 20 feet away from our building, a set of train cars passes decked out with lights and Santas and snowflakes. I think if our gasps weren't so loud, we could've heard carols jingling softly.

Ori: "It's amazing."
Dana: still speechless and gaping.
Ori: "I'd love to ride on the Santa train. I'm into elves and sh*t."
Me: (laughing) "Elves? You think there are elves on that train?"
Ori: "Yeah, like small people just sitting there ... and they'd give me cookies and milk."
Dana: (snaps into reality for a second) "I don't think they are allowed to give away milk on the CTA. I would probably not accept milk from a stranger on the train."

On one of our 13-hour Fridays, this is holiday magic.

the S word

It's fun to dress alike.

Now here's a little glimpse into our newly-wedded minds:

I've learned that while naivete regarding marriage is totally natural and lovely, it's no excuse to deny yourselves the chance to learn and move towards a wise, marital foundation.

Jake has learned that God calls husbands to be leaders and he wants to take more initiative. This also means I need to let go of some control-ouch. We are on the search for practical ways to live in Biblical harmony.

Which brings me to the S word.

Submission.

I've got some creative ideas about how to deal/learn/create in response to this wifely journey.

And I'd like to end on a breathtaking note:

"When Jesus came near the place

where the road goes down the

Mount of Olives,

the whole crowd of disciples

began joyfully to praise God

in loud voices for all the

miracles they had seen:

'Blessed is the King who comes

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven and

glory in the highest.'

Some of the Pharisees [religious leaders]

in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher

rebuke your disciples.'

Jesus replied, 'I tell you,

if they keep quiet, the stones

will cry out."

Luke 19:37-40

wow.