(It doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Meme Monday,” but since Monday is my day off, and I’ve seen too many good memes recently that I wanted to share, here we are!)

Let’s start with this humorous reminder:

For my fellow “Yes, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie” people:

This lovely bit of advice:

Franken…..WHAT?! (an old favourite of mine):

Every mom gets this one!:

This reminder of why kindness is so necessary at this time of year:

And finally this blessing for your day:

Say what you will about social media – I know it can be an awful place, a time waster, a hinderance to self esteem, and, sadly these days, an amplifier of misinformation. I know all that, and I’ve experienced social media as all of that. But I haven’t given up on it yet.

Why?

Well, because inevitably I come across things that are heartwarming (like the many photos of Christmas trees and other decorations that have been showing up on my feed in recent days); meaningful (like the posts about community projects and church drives to help those in need); and even profound…like this:

I can’t even tell you why this showed up on my feed, or from whom (was it shared by a colleague? A friend? One of those random pages that the FB algorithms decide you’d like? I don’t know! I was smart enough to save it, but not smart enough to notice where it came from!).

But it stopped me in my tracks. This is my prayer for each of us this Christmas. This, I believe, is the way of Jesus. To refrain from taking out our difficult emotions on others, to stay soft enough to allow our hearts to break (especially if a broken heart leads us toward doing what we can to help others), to remember that love is God’s ultimate motivator (the thing that moved God to become one of us in the child born in Bethlehem, and moved that child to become the man who would lay down his life for our sin), to remain kind, always.

We are in the final rush, now. In just a few days the celebration will occur. It may feel overwhelming and like there’s still too much to do, it may be stressful, we could easily find ourselves reduced to the worst of our personality (as stress and pressure often tend to do to people). Today, I encourage you to dwell in kindness and love. We all need it.

This Advent, may you celebrate this season by becoming a little more like the One it’s all about. May you share the gifts Jesus has given us – kindness, tenderheartedness, generosity, forgiveness, and above all: LOVE.

I have a list of Christmas movies that I have to watch every year. I watch “Love, Actually” while decorating the tree. I fit in “Klaus,” “Arthur Christmas,” “Die Hard,” (don’t argue that one with me!) “Noelle,” “The Muppets Christmas Carol,” “Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas,” (it’s not great, but I still love it!) at some point during the run up to Christmas Eve, or in the days after Christmas. I also watch a bunch of dumb, predictable, not overly well-acted romance movies from whatever is available on Netflix, Prime, and Disney+. Oh! And I have to watch “Spirited” on Appletv+ (it’s a musical with Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrel).

Some years I get to watch them all, other years I whittle it down to just a few (often Sunday afternoons are spent half watching/half napping through the ones I’ve seen many times before).

(I have another list of Chirstmas movies that other people love, but I loathe. In the interest of not sowing more division in these very divisive times, I’ll keep that list to myself!)

Often these movies aren’t very spiritual…some of them aren’t even very good. But there is comfort in them. I once heard someone say that old stories are like old friends, you have to check in on them every once in a while to see how they are. I loved that. Many of these movies have been part of Christmas for me for decades. And while they might be far from great theological endeavours, they still remind me that this time of year is special. They remind me of what people often like to call “the magic of Chirstmas.”

Because this season IS special, if we let it be. If we remember what it’s really all about – the hope, peace, joy and love that Jesus ushered into the world with his birth, that he taught throughout his life, for which he laid down his life.

I see that reflected all around me: in the Angel Trees that make sure some kids whose families are struggling to just get by receive something under the tree this year; in the hamper programs that give families a much needed meal and sometimes some little extras; in the drives for food bank donations and warm clothing for those in need.

As the opening monologue from Love Actually states:

“ General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling love, actually … is all around.” 

So, this Advent, may you find love everywhere you look. May you meet up with old friends and new friends. May you find ways to share some of what you have, so that others do not go without. May you find that love actually IS all around…especially at this time of year.

When I was a teenager, my Dad preached a sermon entitled “The stars still show the sign!” He talked about the fact that when he was a kid living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, every year at Christmas he could see the Big Dipper in the sky through the small window in his childhood bedroom. Every year, without fail, when December rolled around and people began to celebrate, that window would frame the part of the sky in which the Big Dipper was visible.

Dad made the point that just as the star showed where the baby was in Bethlehem, the sky that he could see through his window still had a different character when it came time to celebrate Jesus. (Don’t be super impressed with me remember one of Dad’s sermons from my teenage years – one of his elders drew a little sketch of the window frame with the Big Dipper visible through it. He titled it “The stars still show the sign!” and gave it to my folks as a Christmas gift, they displayed that sketch and I looked at it more times than I could count!)

The sky has always been magical to me. I love sunsets and interesting cloud formations. I adore rainbows. As a kid, I’d get to see the Milky Way and the Northern Lights every summer when we vacationed at my grandparents’ cottage north of Thunder Bay. And now that I’m living in the country, away from a lot of light pollution, I get to see some amazing skies. I’ve seen the Milky Way here at the farmhouse. I’ve seen the Northern Lights here, too.

Tonight I glanced out through one of my windows and saw a beautiful moon. I went out into the cold night and took some photos. I sent one to Mom and she told me it’s called “the cold moon” and is the largest moon that we will see this month.

It reminds me of a line from Andrew Peterson’s song, “Labour of Love”: “But the baby in her womb, he was the maker of the moon, he was the author of the faith that could make the mountains move.” It’s not quite as cool as the stars still showing the signs of the Saviour’s birth. But for me, the sky spoke of God tonight. And that’s always a blessing!

If you’re looking to hear “Labour of Love” check it out here:

This Advent, may you see God in a beautiful sky, a wonderful song, or simply in the face of other people. May you be amazed every time you see God.

“Better late, than never,” the old saying goes. Say what you will, but clichés endure for a reason – often because they capture truth in a short, pithy saying. It’s become fashionable to dismiss cliché’s, but I tend to enjoy them. I don’t always agree with every one out there, but often I find some comfort and wisdom in them.

I’ve been meaning to/thinking about/dreaming of blogging during Advent since it began on December 1. But between the busy-ness of the season and a head cold that has been beating me up for a good 10 days now, my intentions and thoughts and dreams had manifested into exactly zero blog posts.

Until today!

It feels good to back to this practice, even if it’s begun imperfectly and later than I would have liked. If I’ve learned anything in the couple of years since I last posted regularly, it’s that I need to be kind to myself about my imperfections.

I think that’s what I’d like most to convey to you in this post. This season will not be perfect. There will be plans and tasks that you hoped to accomplish, that came to nothing. That’s just reality. We all get derailed from time to time -whether by illness or life circumstances or any number of other things. That’s ok. Keep going, keep trying, keep doing what you are able to, even if it starts imperfectly and later than you wished.

Be kind to yourself.

I promise you, treating yourself with compassion will only increase your ability to be compassionate to others.

This Advent, may your inner voice be the kindest you hear. May you make room for your own imperfections, as well as those of others. May you know that God doesn’t need you to be perfect, others don’t need you to be perfect, they just need you to be YOU.

It’s been a minute since I did a Meme Monday. And since it’s that space between Christmas and New Year’s, it seemed only appropriate that I do it on the wrong day. Let’s get this party started!

Every. Single. Year!!!:

Every one is in on the gig economy:

Doesn’t everyone?:

Well, that got dark, quick!:

Hee hee, I do wish we could know what animals are thinking:

My December (don’t judge!):

Oh the times we live in:

The truth:

Yup:

And a blessing for your day:

It’s Christmas! I’ve been joyfully spending time with family, taking a glorious nap in the afternoon, and devouring Turkey dinner.

Out family scaled back on gifts, and it was still an absolutely wonderful time. Plus, the four of us were together. And safe. And sound.

We missed chosen-family who couldn’t risk the roads, but chatted with them over FaceTime. And they were safe. And sound.

We really couldn’t ask for anything more.

So in the spirit of this blessed day, let me share a couple of songs to bring cheer to your heart

I mean, who doesn’t love the Muppets doing Beethoven?!

This Hillsong selection always makes me happy:

This super-fun mash-up from Straight No Chaser (stick with it, it’s worth it!):

This Christmas, may you know the joy of the baby born in Bethlehem.

It’s beginning to feel like the new tradition for Christmas Eve is being unable to go to church. Service is cancelled at St. Columba, Belleville and tomorrow morning’s service is cancelled at St. Andrew’s, Stirling.

This is not a complaint – too many stories of people getting stuck or in accidents. The good thing about matters of the Spirit: we don’t have to BE together to be TOGETHER.

In my family, we are blessed: Matthew took the train into Belleville before the storm began, I’ve been at Mom and Dad’s since late November when we shut down the farmhouse for the winter, we have power and heat, food and good wine. Really, we have too many blessings to count.

So I don’t mind that it’s another Christmas that is different than we would have liked. I’ve learned in the last few years to let go of what I’d imagined and to be thankful for what is.

And just like the Who’s down in Whoville, I know that Christmas comes anyway. The Saviour is born in us this night. And He will continue in us every time we love God by loving others. Let’s be together in seeking ways to do that, the whole year through.

Merry Christmas, everyone! May you be safe and comfortable. May you know the joy of Christ’s birth. May you be together in faith, even if you must spend time alone this year. May the God who is with us, tend to your heart and soul.

We are in the last week of Advent, just a few days from Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day. I admit after finishing my final assignment for school, I’ve been relaxing, and enjoying time with my parents. I’ve generally been too lazy to blog.

But I came across something too good to NOT blog about. So I wanted to share it with you.

For the last few years the world has seemed like a deep dark place. This helped me to remember that when the dark descends, when it presses in close, that doesn’t mean that grace has departed. It means that Grace is waiting to be reborn.

This Advent, may you know the love that outlives death. May you hold to grace, even when the world is dark. May you be reborn.

Today I’m sharing two songs of the season that I love. The first is Enya’s White is in the Winter Night. While not especially sacred, there is something about this song that always touches me. It seems to capture the excitement and magic of Christmas in a way that I find hard to put into words. I just know I love it and I want to share it with others:

The second is Bethlehem Town by Jars of Clay. I love that it assumes that Mary and Joseph know what will happen to Jesus. I love that it tries to understand their struggle between their faith in God, and their love for the child He entrusted to them. (I’m also referencing it in my sermon tomorrow, so it’s been on my mind!)

May this music bless you as we continue to travel through the Advent Season.