Lots of Christmas Pictures

Christmas

Click on the picture to see the slide show.

Can you do this?

Michelle attempts The Rectangle.

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas Gift

I got these really cool pictures in magnetic frames for my locker. .

A Star is Born

"The Womanizers"

Can't buy me love!!!

Pretty woman, walking down the street. . .

Come and Behold Him!

Anyone who has ever had a baby knows the world becomes a friendly place when you have a baby in tow. Strangers in the grocery store, the post office, or the mall, who would otherwise walk right past as though you didn’t exist, suddenly have the time to stop and chat. They even do a bit of flirting—making silly faces and funny noises—hoping to get a gurgled chuckle or a toothless smile from the little one perched in the shopping cart.

I wonder if it wasn’t something like that when Joseph and Mary arrived at the temple to dedicate their baby to God. As the young family entered, two senior citizens waiting inside turned their heads. If they were anything like folks in the canned vegetables aisle, their faces brightened and they moved closer, just to catch a glimpse of the baby the youthful mother was carrying. . .

Maybe this Christmas we’ll all stop, if only for a moment, to come and behold the baby, to share the peace of Simeon and enter the joy of Anna. Come, let us celebrate the light that has broken through our darkness.

Read the whole article from Carolyn James' Whitby Forum.

Christmas peeled back

Christmas will come anyway this year, as it always does. From some of the notes Frank and I have received during this difficult time, I’m beginning to think that Christmas is just what grieving people need—not because it distracts us from our pain or provides some jolly (but temporary) antidote for depression. Rather it is because sorrow, as one friend put it, “peels back Christmas to the bare essentials” and intensifies our focus on Jesus and why we needed Him to come. Maybe in our troubles, we have even greater reason to celebrate His coming—for only in Him do we have a solid hope that one day He will wipe away all tears.

from Carolyn James

An Open Letter to the Families of the Climbers

From another blog, there is an open letter to the families of the climbers. Father Jonathan wonders why this story has captured our attention. (I have heard it said that it is the "Baby Jessica" story of our time!) Father Jonathan says,

It’s you, all of you, three families that in tragedy have become one family. Together you have approached this never-ending nightmare with dignity, fortitude and shocking faith. You are an icon of what we would like to be.

After one of the men was found, he continues,

You went to bed last night without knowing which of the three men had died. We can’t really imagine the pain of such a sleepless night, but we can imagine what was on your heart and mind. You were hoping for the best for your own loved one, while also hoping for the best for the other two. And somehow, this hope for the best for all included a humble overture to God’s mysterious ways.

Sad

Kelly James was found in the snow cave, but he was not alive. The search continues for the others, but it doesn't look very hopeful, since no one has heard from them at all. The blog for them continues here.

Pray for the Climbers

I read on The Point that one of the three missing climbers on Mount Hood is Kelly James, the brother of Frank James who is the wife of Carolyn Custis James, who wrote When Life and Beliefs Collide: How Knowing God Makes a Difference. Having read her book and learned so much of her, I feel like she is my friend, and now my friend's brother-in-law is in trouble. Keep the family in your prayers too! Updates available here.

Words words words (I do love words!)

How about this quote from Pablo Naruda? Doesn't it just make you smile?

You can say anything you want, yes sir, but it is the words that sing; they soar and descend. I bow to them, I love them, I cling to them, I run them down, I bite into them, I melt them down.

I love words so much: the unexpected ones; the ones I wait for greedily are stalked until, suddenly, they drop.

Vowels I love: they glitter like colored stones, they leap like silver fish. They are foam, thread, metal, dew.

I run after certain words. They are so beautiful I want to fit them all into my poem. I catch them in mid-flight as they buzz past. I trap them, clean them, peel them.

I set myself in front of a dish: they have a crystalline texture to me: vibrant, ivory, vegetable, oily, like fruit, like algae, like agate, like olive. And then I stir them. I shake them, I drink them, I gulp them down, I garnish them, I let them go.

I leave them in my poem like stalactites, like slivers of polished wood, like coal, pickings from a shipwreck, gifts from the waves. Everything exists in the word.

An Interesting Study

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with a spear lodged in his chest and tape over his mouth while he is on fire.

No further studies are planned.

Big, Bright Light Show

Half a million lights decorate downtown Rochester for the Big, Bright Light Show. It looks a little like Las Vegas at first - so MANY lights! But I think maybe I kind of like it. It looks so festive!

Upside Down Christmas Tree

The upside down tree allows more room for presents underneath, and you can put it in a small space, say, between a couple of chairs. This might be sort of practical, but I think it's also sort of weird. You can read more about it here and here.

The Hero

Dad was the hero today. He took Lucy and Ethel to be groomed. When he opened the door to the groomers', a gigantic gray poodle like this one came flying out of the door! At the same time, Lucy escaped from her collar and of course, both Ethel and Lucy are going nuts because they are at the groomers' which is exciting, and because a large gray dog they have not yet sniffed is just passing by. Dad grabs Lucy under one arm, and hanging onto Ethel's leash, he leaps for the big dog, catching the leash just before Big Gray escapes to the busy street. Flat on the ground your dad was, but all dogs safely restrained.

Owner of Big Gray was profoundly grateful. She came back when I was picking the dogs up, a little disappointed that her hero was not retrieving Ethel and Lucy. She told the whole story, nearly in tears, over what might have happened. She insisted on giving me a card for Dad with a gift certificate to a restaurant. (Oh, and the dogs look ever so nice as you can see.)

Ho ho ho

Doggie paradise

We got a brand new doggie bed! It's very comfy looking.

Let the people help

Nice to see something nonsensical reversed!

"The chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday nixed plans to bar residents from cooking food in home and church kitchens and donating it to homeless shelters. He blamed overzealous county employees for a policy that made Fairfax the subject of nationwide ridicule. For goodness sake," Chairman Gerald E. Connolly said yesterday, "the tradition of church suppers -- whether for the homeless or for the congregation -- goes back hundreds of years. We're not going to outlaw that in Fairfax County."

Read more about it here.

I am sad!

I'm so sad that the dad was found but not alive! I have been praying for James Kim and his little family the past several days. I confess to checking the news several times a day to see if he'd been found. I'm so sorry for their loss, and hoping and praying that somehow God will bring good out of it.

And now from Holland

Above, Laura plays for Hope College Vespers.
Below are pictures from the Tacky Christmas Sweater Party.

Christmas season in Chicago

At least someone has their tree decorated!

Does this make any sense at all?

Check out this Washington Post article

Under a tough new Fairfax County policy, residents can no longer donate food prepared in their homes or a church kitchen — be it a tuna casserole, sandwiches or even a batch of cookies — unless the kitchen is approved by the county, health officials said yesterday.

They said the crackdown on home-cooked meals is aimed at preventing food poisoning among homeless people.

So small churches without commercial grade kitchens can no longer help. And individuals who want to donate food from their own kitchens, that's out too. Better for the homeless to eat out of dumpsters than risk getting sick from non-approved food. . .

Winter comes to Chicago

Baby animals

I read this interesting article about Naomi, a baby giraffe born recently in the Miami zoo. All part of a very fancy computer "dating service" that plans and tracks zoo animal breeding. Interesting, but mostly I like baby animal pictures. Awwwww!

Australian labradoodles

I was working with a spine rep yesterday, and he was telling us about the Australian Labradoodle he has just ordered from Tasmania, which as you probably know, is actually an island just south of the mainland of Australia. He wouldn't tell us how much it costs to transport the puppy from his Tasmanian home, but he did confess that it was more than the cost of the dog, which he admits was $1600. Now I was wondering, why can't you just get a labradoodle over here? What's the big difference?

Apparently, there IS a big difference! Australian labradoodles have been carefully bred, and the ALA has been hard at work to get them recognized as a distinct breed. It all started with the Australian Guide Dog Association, when a blind woman requested a guide dog that would not cause her allergies to flare. As time went on, there was more breeding and now they are a very popular "designer dog." But the ALA says the Australian Labradoodles are not the same as an American Labradoodle, the Aussies having a distinct program of carefully tracking bloodlines and producing dogs with all the best qualities. And you thought just anyone could put a poodle and a labrador together and come up with a labradoodle!

Banished words

Not only do we have the word of the year, we also have a Banished Word List. Yep, every year on New Year's Day, Lake Superior State University releases the annual "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." Among the words for 2006 were the following:

hunker down

person of interest

breaking news

97% fat free

dawg

It's not too late to submit your suggestions for the Banished Word List for 2007!

Word of the Year

The New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year is (drum roll, please) "carbon neutral."

Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in “green” technologies such as solar and wind power.

Comments from WorldViews:

I know I have never used the word "carbon neutral." And I cannot recall ever hearing an actual human being using it in conversation. It sounds like the editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have been watching Al Gore movies and are trying to do their bit for global warming. Linguistics and dictionaries are supposed to be descriptive, scholars keep telling us, rather than prescriptive, but here we are again with lexicographers instructing us as to what is proper.

My favorite runners-up were dwarf planet and elbow bump.

Baby elephants

These are pictures of baby elephants in the womb, at 4 months and at 12 months. They have been photographed throughout the 22 month pregnancy (wow! We humans should stop complaining!) It's all the subject of a new National Geographic special, Animals in the Womb. Read more about it here.

Turkey is scared, then spared

Though the President traditionally pardons a turkey on Thanksgiving,this year's turkey got chased around by the First Dog beforehand!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Father's God to Thee,
author of Liberty,
we thank you for fathers and founding fathers and father figures,
for the Internet if we can figure it out and interactive TV if we can manage it,
for sundaes and Saturdays and TGIF,
for DNA and AZT and CD-ROM,
for a port in the storm and a bridge over trouble,
for cocoa after caroling and dawn after dark,
for healing after hurt and rest after work,
and blessed promise of life after life forevermore.

(from Chicago Tribune columnist, Joan Beck, her 1994 column, quoted here, or a longer version here.

Father and son

Read this little story of a father and son. There seem to be many writers in the family, and this one has discovered that blogging is more fun than commenting!

ouch

Borrowed from The Point.

What's the difference between Christians and canoes?

Canoes tip.

Read more.

Just

Anyone out there who likes grammar, do you get annoyed when people pray using the word "just" over and over and over? This article has some good thoughts.

If frogs had wings. . .

If frogs had wings

they wouldn't bump their rumps

every time they jump!

Touchstone Tip for Living Well

This is intended to bring a smile to your face.

Today’s Touchstone Tip for Living Well, on pet care.

Our dog, a half-Beagle half-who knows mix (we think Golden Retriever) found looking pathetic at the Humane Society nine years ago, has a habit of slurping your hand as he walks by. He is an amiable dog who seems to think he is offering a sign of affection. I'm sure he'd be pleased if you licked his paw in return.
As he eats deer poop from the woods beside our house and otherwise puts his mouth in places I’d rather he didn’t, being slurped is an experience to be avoided. I’ve learned over the years that he gets a particular expression on his face just before slurping, and seeing him ambling closer with that look on his face, one can avoid being slurped. He’s a reasonably intelligent dog, and I’ve taken to ordering him not to lick, as well as pulling my hands up out of reach, because he is not a particularly obedient dog.

Now for today’s tip: If you have a dog like this, do not, when talking on the telephone to a solemn and dignified older person you do not know personally but with whom you have an amicable professional friendship, say to the dog, out of habit, in a loud, imperative, and indeed threatening voice, without removing the telephone's mouthpiece from its usual position near your mouth, “Lick me, you die!”

You may be surprised at how difficult this is to explain.

While I'm at it, another tip: if late one night you decide to go for a walk, and on the way down your front steps (we have ten of them) decide that it would be fun and a bit of a challenge not only to go down them two at a time but to jump up as high as you can each time, restrain yourself if you are also holding a leash at the end of which is a strong and very excited fifty-pound dog. For a split second you will have the feeling of flying, which is lovely, except that it's immediately succeeded by the feeling of crashing and the overwhelming feeling of stupidity.

Scheffer Pre-Thanksgiving

Michelle & Bryan have a pre-Thanksgiving feast with the others who have apartments in the same house. Looks like a rousing success.