So this is Christmas...in Myanmar

Stay tuned: So much more to come...

Surely

The Light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness has not overcome It, 

for this we surely know: 

"Waiting is not wasting when we are waiting on the Lord."

[~L. Giglio]

Quality Time at Christmastide

Christmas at the Cottage VI

I feel strongly that when one lives in a cottage at Christmas, 

one should host a cocktail party, following these guidelines:

Don your best dress.

Light every candle you can find.

Strategically place treats.

Establish a drink center,

complete with drink mixer

and delicious possibilities.

Invite dear ones,

and prepare them gifts.

Prepare to sing the songs of the season as well.

And, when all is said and done,

have yourself a merry little Christmas, indeed.

Christmas at the Cottage V

It's time for Christmas Cassoulet...

Christmas at the Cottage IV

Preparations, under way...

Christmas at the Cottage III

In this Advent season, 

where question rocks the world in its cradle

 and expectant waiting sits
peacefully unexplained in the Deep Anchor of my soul,

I listen and I wonder and I hold on to Hope;

Emmanuel shall come oh Israel, He shall indeed come.

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, 

it sings because it has a song.

~Maya Angelou

[You tune my heart, to sing.]

Christmas at the Cottage II

Christmas Cottage Tea & Cookies!

Christmas at the Cottage!

Here is Good:

[The friends hand me the box, say: read the tag.]

Placing icicle ornaments on the Christmas tree reminds us that the Evergreen Tree does not fall under winter's spell. 

It remains green and strong under the snow and ice, 

with a promise that spring will come again.

[Sometimes words don't need to change our minds--as much as they just need to change our hearts. 

Change not the way we think--but the way we love.

When grace walks in--that doesn't mean that Truth needs to walk out. It can mean that they both sit down and listen and learn and linger long enough to love no matter what.]

~Ann Voskamp

Here is Good:

"Well, I love you!" said the princess, as if she'd just found out.

"And, we are playing with the sand."

Here is Good:

Here is Good:

To celebrate a birthday boy,

as daddies.

Here is Good:

IKEA! [Quality time]

Here is Good:

Thanksgiving Quality Time

Here is Good:

If you're not from New Jersey,

you will never understand.

Here is Good:

When friends know you better than you know yourself, 

and bring you gifts that show it.

Here is Good:

That moment when:

you're standing in Panera
chatting with some people you've just run into
(while you wait for a dear old friend),
and look up to see an impossibly tiny slip of a girl
(who cannot be more than 2 years old)
running straight across the room toward you,
with clear intent:

to wrap herself around your legs,
to crane her neck,
to look straight up into your far-away face,
with big, brown, delighted eyes.

thrilled, she is, to see you.

and --as you wrap your arm around her
and lean straight down with your own delighted eyes,
and speak a joyful hello--
you think to yourself:

I have never seen this child in my life.

...

but then you see her mother across the way,
and you realize:

this child knows you
--and has run over to greet you,
and is so delighted to see you--
because you lead worship at her church
(a couple of times a month).

and she has noticed.

Here is Good:

 Under the auspices of these creative greats,

a day to write [a writing day!].

Intersections

This past week,

 our little (big) town intersected 

with a woman well-known and much-admired,

 Margaret Atwood.

After an afternoon of interviewing at our local radio, 

after being tucked into a table for dinner at our local(ly) fine(est) bistro, she and I waited backstage at our local and loved theater
for the big moment, the whole reason she was here:

To receive Penn State's

Institute for the Arts and Humanities 

(crafted by local artists) 

Medal for Distinguished Achievement. 

[Caption reads, "That would make a good murder weapon!"]

And then she commanded the stage,

 and read to the gathered crowd from her most recent work, 

Stone Mattress.

 Made of a wry mischievous eye, she enjoyed herself,

 and allowed us to enjoy her as well.

The evening closed with a private reception,

 where persons dear to the IAH 

were given the opportunity to learn from her,

 to share with her,

 to laugh with her.

 Our lives, for just a brief moment, intersected with hers.

Then we intersected the cake

(made, of course, by our local cake-maker with local ingredients),

 and were glad that she enjoyed it enough to make it known, 

before it was time to bring the evening to an end.

And though my interactions with her were mostly made 

of flashes such as "Do you need anything?" 

and "Your book is in the green room"

and "Are you ready to go?",

here is where I am left:  

For an overall total of 24 hours, this woman's life met with the life of our Penn State little (big) community. We will never fully know her;
she will never fully know us.  But for a moment, we intersected.

And that brief merging helps us in some odd way,
it gives us a joint of strength, at the moment of perpendicular crossing.  

Somehow, it keeps us walking the path we're walking, 

as she moves on along her own.

This brief moment, Distinguished from my everyday,
helps me to see with new eyes that all of life is made of Intersection,
whether good or bad, strong or weak.
And it leaves me with the question,
 "What kind of intersections do I leave in my wake?"

Perhaps herein lies the real Achievement.

"I'm a monster," said the shadow of the Marquess suddenly. 
"Everyone says so."
The Minotaur glanced up at her.
"So are we all, dear," said the Minotaur kindly.
"The thing to decide is what kind of monster to be.
The kind who builds towns or the kind who breaks them."
~C. M. Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There


[Photo Credits: Madison Mock, IAH Grad Assistant of Awesome]