Second Sunday of Advent: PEACE

The Second Sunday of Advent
The Path to Christ
The Candle of PEACE

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near ..."
(Matthew 3:2)

Peace ... Repentance ... What in the world do they have to do with one another? More than you might imagine.

When I think of peace, an image often pops into my mind, especially during this time of year. I envision a deep, dark winter’s night, with tiny stars piercing the black expanse. I picture soft, white snow falling silently onto the ground. I hear nothing, that perfect winter-stillness that defies any earthly description. Then the faint notes of one of my favorite Christmas carols begin to swell, “Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright …” To me, that’s the definition – the feeling – of peace.

Some might think of peace in terms of war, the cessation of terrible fighting, of two sides coming together in reconciliation. Peace could be defined as the absence of conflict, of struggle, of hostility. And in today’s culture, with news of the Middle East and terrorism relentlessly pounding our TV’s and computers and radio broadcasts, peace is something that is desperately needed … and seems so desperately elusive.

Yet is this how God defines peace?

Peace – true Peace – is far more than any of these elements. Peace is being in a right relationship with God, walking in His Light on the Path to Christ, so intimately linked that you cannot have one without the other. Everything else is an after-effect of this relationship – the fruit born of this bond.

How do we obtain this Peace? John the Baptist tells us boldly that you cannot have that true Peace without true repentance. And that’s what Advent is all about – as we prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior, this preparation requires repentance, of confessing that Darkness that has tugged on our sleeves, that has drawn us in, that has tried to swallow us up. Last week as we began our Advent journey on this Path to Christ, we took our first steps in the Light of Christ with a tremendous amount of Hope. But those steps can only continue if we repent of our sins.

And in doing so, we will then experience this true Peace that God wants to freely give to us. Our relationship with God will be made right, and from this will come right relationships with one another. Because of the Light of Christ, of this tiny infant who came to earth for us and who promises to come again, we have Hope … and we have Peace!

(Second meditation for church bulletin)

"Oh, the Weather Outside Is ..." not frightful enough

This was the scene that greeted us this morning, after several hours of snow cascading to the ground yesterday afternoon and evening. Yes, hours ... and this is all it amounted to.

At 6:45 a.m. Aidan walked into our room, complaining of a tummy ache. We gave him two Maalox Juniors and sent him back to bed for 15 minutes. First, it was too early to be up, and second -- I pulled another "forgotten fairy" role! Remember the quick-thinking I had to do several months ago, when Aidan's lost tooth still (disappointingly) remained under his pillow in the morning? Well, I had a similar brain-lapse last night, this time affecting our little nod to Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas, whose "day" is today). After doing our annual ritual last night -- reading the abridged story I wrote about Sinterklaas, checking out the corresponding maps (Spain, Holland, etc. -- for Aidan's cartographic benefit), and singing the Sinterklaas song (in Dutch, of course -- yes, it's true!), the kids ran out onto the front porch and put carrots into their wooden shoes. So far, so good ...

... until Aidan woke us up at 6:45 and I realized that I forgot all about it! After shuffling him back to bed, I scrounged around for the small gifts I had purchased last week and made my way out, barefoot, to the freezing front porch. I made the switch and ran back inside, with no one the wiser. Around 7:30, we woke up Grace and completed the Sinterklaas celebration, along with ecstatic screams and hugs of gratitude. Phew.

Shortly thereafter, Grace made her way into the kitchen. I heard a sharp intake of breath and saw her standing by the window, mouth hanging open, staring wide-eyed out into the back yard. "Mommy, look!" she exclaimed. "It's snow!" She turned her gaze back to the window, then frowned.

"But man, it's just not enough!"

More to come, my dear ...

Third Annual Mystery Tree ... Unveiled!

After a bit of a rough start this morning, we were able to maintain our Mystery Tree tradition ... and this afternoon was the great unveiling! Let's take a pictorial stroll through some highlights ...

My lovely front porch turned into Santa's sawdust-strewn workshop. Thankfully my thoughtful Elf cleaned it all up on his own.

Getting closer now ... the tree is up in its stand, but still wrapped. Don has scissors in hand, ready for the first cut ... Think you can guess the outcome?

But first, a little humor ... Sweet Grace got a bit confused with the decorations, thinking she had to wear the tree skirt.

Aidan was all set in the decorations department, selecting his first two choices for hanging.

The Great Unveiling! Not bad, huh? It's soft, nice and full, smells great, and best of all ... it's alive!

Lights first, then the red wooden "berry" beads ... how thankful we were for the patience displayed by these two little elves! Grace found a new friend in the angel, giving it lots of hugs before it went on top of the tree.

Don's personal highlight -- an ornament he made himself a few years ago, out of an antique vacuum tube. This is how audio/techie geeks get into the spirit ...

And ... voila! The Third Annual Mystery Tree is a great success!

My favorite photo (so far) of the season ... how cute are these two?! Grace was definitely feeling the love, kissing every little school-made ornament with Aidan's picture on it, declaring her adoration for her big brother. Hand-holding is about as lovey-dovey as Aidan will get -- and we'll take it! It's been a perfect day ...

A Morning of Surprises, Reunions ... and My Friend Murphy!

Don came through ... after a considerable amount of searching (apparently the pickin's were slim at Home Depot), he found one of the only Frasier Firs still in its wrapping. Just shy of 7 feet tall, he picked it up and zipped home with his find, plunking it on the front porch until it's time to unwrap and decorate it.

The Mystery Tree lives on!

The morning has been a bit of a bust -- while I had a fun time shopping at the Christmas Bazaar, my cell phone went off. "Sue!" said Don's voice on the other end, "I'm here at the party place with the kids ... and there's no party!"

The invitation said today ... but the party is scheduled for next week. Ugh! The kids were exceedingly disappointed, near tears (it's hard to explain these things to little kids sometimes) ... what a mix-up (My Friend Murphy-style, of course)! Don suggested that he take them to Chuck E. Cheese for a little while, to get their minds off of it. I happily agreed, leaving me time to shop child-free and not having to darken the doorway of that loathsome place myself. Whenever I go to these school-sponsored events, I feel like I'm stepping foot into a class reunion. I saw parents of childhood friends; I chatted with classmates I haven't seen since we graduated.

The best reunion of all, however, came about in a funny way. As I lingered around a table filled with homemade jewelry (which were absolutely stunning, by the way), I felt someone hovering behind me. I was so engrossed in mentally rummaging through my closet, however, trying to figure out what a particular necklace would work well with, that I didn't pay attention to who was stalking me. Finally I heard voices behind me -- my mom, and then someone saying, "I thought that was Sue!" Sure enough ... there was one of my childhood best friends, a girl to whom I had been so very, very close from first grade through twelfth, but had lost touch with after we parted ways. After I moved back to NJ a few years ago, I tried to reconnect with her, but both of us were in such terrible personal crises at the time that we just couldn't summon up the energy to open up that part of our lives again. But now, we're both moving on from our particular situations and we made plans to meet for coffee and catch up ... really catch up this time. She's one of those rare individuals where history really does matter and play a role. I have no doubt in my mind that our getting together will be rather like a time-machine, as if the years hadn't passed us by at all. It truly was a gift to see her again.

I'm back now, a few delightful little purchases in my bag (along with still-warm, fresh olie bollen that I just couldn't pass up) ... the house is perfectly still. I think I'll put on some Christmas tunes and wait for the rest of the clan to come home. Later on we'll trim the tree!

And later on I think we'll see some snow ...

"Mystery Tree" Preparations Underway ...

Well, sort of ... Don is at Home Depot now, while I am clearing out (or, rather, was) the corner in our living room of the myriad of things stashed there, including a cradle stuffed with dolls and accessories, a toy stroller, some pillows, you name it. The end table and lamp have to go as well, but I made it halfway into the kitchen with them, waiting for their trip down into the basement.

But aren't traditions just asking to be broken? Or perhaps thwarted just a bit? Yes, our Third Annual Mystery Tree might not be such a mystery after all. I just got a call from Don, who said that every single Balsam Fir that he looked at is near death. With each shake, or mere touch, the needles went cascading to the ground. Wonderful ... now what? He asked permission to spend $10 more on a Frasier Fir that is actually alive. The catch? They're unwrapped. Hence, no mystery. So what shall we do? Stick with our fun tradition and buy a wrapped -- yet dead! -- tree? Or suck it up to a thwarted tradition and go with something that will actually last until Christmas? I'm all for traditions, but I believe I do have my limits. Wasting my money on something already dead is not my idea of fun.

You make the call. And we'll see what Don comes home with ... If nothing else, at least that part will be the mystery this year.

Meanwhile, in a few minutes I'll be heading out the door with my parents to stroll the booths at our school's annual Christmas Bazaar. I can't say I plan on buying anything, besides picking up the hoagies that we had pre-ordered, but it's fun to browse ... without children. Don will be bringing the kids to my nephew's birthday party later this morning, so from 11 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. they will be preoccupied with games, raucous children, and food. This afternoon we will commence the trimming of the Semi-Mystery Tree ... so stay tuned for what I'm sure will be a fairly blog-worthy event!

"Jesus Has Brown Hair," among other things ...

Sometimes I am truly and utterly baffled by what kinds of thoughts float through Grace's head. Seriously ... what comes out of her mouth can run the gamut from hilarious, to mimicry (usually me), to downright confusing ... and this afternoon I had yet another revelation of the latter.

She was sitting at the kitchen table -- wait for it! -- coloring, while I emptied the dishwasher. Christmas music was on, CDs from past Sunday School Christmas programs, and we were both singing along. Every once in a while a certain word or phrase must have piqued her interest, or curiosity, and out spilled the questions.

"Mommy, why did Jesus come to earth?"

Oh boy ... start me off with a doozy, why dontcha ...

I did my best to explain the reason for Christmas. I've never been all that clever in bringing something so huge down to a four-year-old's perspective, but I thought I was doing an OK job. I finished up with something like, "... and because of that, some day we will all live with Him in heaven."

To my utter surprise, she looked me square in the face and rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother," she exclaimed, pure drama intact. "Yeah, when I'm DEAD!"

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A short while later, with Grace still coloring and I having moved on to "Ruth Anne's pork chops" for dinner, she started talking up a storm, although I couldn't quite figure out the drift of her monologue. At first I thought she was talking to the little pictures she was coloring, until I realized she was talking to me.

"Jesus is very important," she said, so confident and teacher-like. "And he is very strong ... (cute little muscle-motion here) ... and ... and ..." Pause, thinking ... "and he has something else."

"What?" I asked, curious where she was going with this.

"Something ... you know."

"What kind of something?" I queried.

Pause, thinking hard. "Well, he has a really good brain. And he has brown hair."

Silence. Back to coloring. Apparently this has been weighing on her mind. So glad we cleared up those specifics.

Burned Out Lights and 65 Degrees

OK -- New Jersey weather is officially insane.

Most people took advantage of the 60-degree temperatures during the week before and during Thanksgiving to get their outdoor decorations up and running (if not earlier), but not me. I refuse to do that before my turkey is digested ... then I'll head outside. But of course, as soon as I opened the porch door to begin my task, the thermometer dropped about 20 degrees. Figures.

My Friend Murphy has a festive spirit, giggling away as I dragged out tangled lights and crinkled bows. But those lights ... what an annually frustrating task. I decided not to put them all up this year, keeping it more on the simple side of illumination -- but that didn't stop Murphy from making a hash of my efforts. I had three areas lit with tiny white lights -- the bush down by the driveway, around the porch door, and running straight across the front of the house, all connecting in one spot. My problem was trying to figure out where to run the extension cord. We have an ancient, original-to-the-house light above our porch door, so I unscrewed the light bulb and replaced it with an adapter. This was not an easy task, for I am deathly afraid of heights -- and the angle at which I had to lean, plus standing on a chair positioned at the top step, sent my knees to shaking and my heart to pounding. As much as I love the finished look, I loathe the process (at least the high parts, that is). Holding my breath and not looking down, I plugged in the extension cord and flicked on the switch ... nothing. How Chevy Chase of it ... I unplugged it and noticed that the connection was very fragile. I wiggled things around, and voila! Lights on! Oh, wait ... sort of ... two of the three were glowing brightly, but the garland around the door remained dark. Ugh. Somehow, over the course of 24 hours, that particular string decided to breathe its last. Unplug everything, take down that particular string, find a new one (that works!) ... You get the idea. On and on this little dance went ...

It still wasn't working right. The new string is temperamental, with half of it deciding to shut off every once in a while, until a good whack brings them back on. I know I don't want to stand outside on constant whack-watch throughout the season, but I didn't have the energy to take that string down and replace it with yet another one. Plus, that light bulb adapter just isn't working right, so my dad is going to try to find another alternative. Ugh, ugh, ugh ...

In brighter -- or rather, warmer -- news, I chuckle at the thought that we have yet to turn on our heat! Despite the fact that, for some reason, today is going to reach almost 70 (there's just something wrong with that), it had been quite chilly last week -- but no heat was needed. The reason why, however, is a bit unusual ...

When Don started his new job this summer, part of the requirement insisted that he install his company's equipment in our house, in part to just "play around with it" so he can learn the system and be better able to understand how to address his clients' issues. However, the living situations of his clients are ... well ... shall we say, his clients don't live in small apartments. They have gigantic mega-homes with plenty of room to store all of the equipment needed. This equipment is powered by Mac computers, and computers generate heat (not to mention the gobbling up of electricity). But since it was a job requirement, we couldn't refuse this installation -- even though we certainly didn't "need" it. Despite the fact that Don has a lot of fun playing around with it (and so do the kids), there have been two side effects to this situation: our electric bill went up considerably (ick) and the heat that pours out of our entertainment cabinet is unprecedented. This was a major problem in the summer, with the air conditioner participating in a death match with the new system (and, unfortunately, losing), but now, in an ironic turn of events, we are discovering a pleasant surprise from this arrangement. This same heat that was uncomfortable in the summer is now a welcomed friend in the winter. Our apartment is being heated by our entertainment system! How strange is that?! I'm curious what our bill is going to say, since gas prices tend to rise during the winter months and electricity goes down. I'm just happy that we haven't had to turn on the heat yet -- I love beating out these odds!

My windows are now open, the warm-ish breeze is airing out my house, and I'm walking around comfortably in bare feet. In December. My goal today is to work on our Christmas cards ... kind of hard to get into the mood when the birds are chirping outside ...