Remember the Saints

A 2011 reflection on this time of year ...

 

"The Americans really know how to decorate for the season. Halloween brought 6 foot spiders on fake webs crawling over windows and smiling, carved pumpkins revealing a sinister light on doorsteps. About 4 blocks down our street is what is now known as the Demon House. Severed heads drip from the drain pipes, an empty coffin gawps a hellish orange glow and devilish faces with pursuing eyes repulse or delight passers - depending on their tendencies. I don't find all that terribly helpful to my spirit, mind or body.

Robert E. Webber in "Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year" suggests that:

'A good antidote to the underworld themes of Halloween is to return to the
real meaning of All Saints' Day - a celebration of the life and witness of God's
people who model a relationship with God for us.' (p175)

I'm inspired to chase after God by those with the determined persistence of Jacob. I'm called to believe in His faithfulness by the existence of the children of Abraham and Sarah. I'm assured of His attention to detail when people testify that like Ruth they 'happen' to find themselves in the kinsman redeemer's field. I delight in His intimacy when people declare, like Zephaniah, that He rejoices over them with singing.

Today I celebrate the saints who still walk the earth and those that are with Jesus. The men and women of faith who've prayed, taught, corrected and wooed me dancing into the family of God. My spirit testifies to the example of you all.

I wonder whose spirit will testify that I modeled for them a relationship with God?

So, on this All Saints Day, celebrate and give thanks for those who have pointed to the Father, been Jesus' hands and feet, and been conduits of the Holy Spirit. And consider why people will celebrate your life and witness"

Sabbath Reflection: September 27th, 2015

I pray you hear God's invitation to you to come sit with Him a while.

The Collect for today:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 124

 ^1-5 If God hadn’t been for us

    —all together now, Israel, sing out!—
If God hadn’t been for us
    when everyone went against us,
We would have been swallowed alive
    by their violent anger,
Swept away by the flood of rage,
    drowned in the torrent;
We would have lost our lives
    in the wild, raging water.

⁶ Oh, blessed be God!
    He didn’t go off and leave us.
He didn’t abandon us defenseless,
    helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.

⁷ We’ve flown free from their fangs,
    free of their traps, free as a bird.
Their grip is broken;
    we’re free as a bird in flight.

⁸ God’s strong name is our help,
    the same God who made heaven and earth.

Full Stop. Period.

In case you hadn't heard, today is National Punctuation Day. What a fantastic idea! Technology has a lot to answer for when it comes to the demise, or at least the careless use of, punctuation. One of my favorite books is a rant at the increasing ignorance of proper punctuation in modern English; a reminder of the difference punctuation makes to the meaning of a word or sentence; and an exhortation to . , : ; " in all the right places. If you've never spent an hour with Lynne Truss you should!

The founders of National Punctuation Day suggest the following ways to celebrate this exacting day:

• Sleep late.
• Take a long shower or bath.
• Go out for coffee and a bagel (or two).
• Read a newspaper and circle all of the punctuation errors you find (or think you find, but aren’t sure) with a red pen.
• Take a leisurely stroll, paying close attention to store signs with incorrectly punctuated words.
• Stop in those stores to correct the owners.
• If the owners are not there, leave notes.
• Visit a bookstore and purchase a copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style.
• Look up all the words you circled.
• Congratulate yourself on becoming a better written communicator.
• Go home.
• Sit down.
• Write an error-free letter to a friend.
• Take a nap. It has been a long day.

Happy correcting, writing and writing correctly!

Sabbath Reflection: September 20th, 2015

I pray you hear God's invitation to you to come sit with Him a while.

The Collect for today:
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 1

1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

2

Their delight is in the law of the LORD, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.

3

They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.

4

It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

5

Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

6

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Symphony

This 2011 post still brings a song to my heart ...

"Last Friday night I attended a concert at the Austrian Embassy with The Beloved's Mum and sister. For an hour the Mendelssohn Piano Trio took us to Spring in Vienna through an outstanding performance of Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert. It was breathtaking. Together the piano, violin and cello conjured every emotion. At times complementing, at times echoing, at times competing with each other; yet always creating beauty.

And then, the Lord spoke.

"Listen to each note. Hear how it is pure and beautiful in its own right. Now hear how it plays with the other notes - each sure of its place on the staff, not needing to be any other note, just itself. That's how I see my children."

"Now see how each note and each bar and each phrase combine. At times these bring joy and lightness, calm and peace; at times pathos and darkness, distress and unease; but always beauty. It is just like the moments and events of your life. Tonight, you don't fear the mix of those emotions, in fact you're delighting in them, experiencing their beauty. How much more beautiful is your life! Fear not daughter for your life is a symphony! "
A symphony has been defined as an 'elaborate instrumental composition in three or more movements, similar in form to a sonata but written for an orchestra and usually of far grander proportions and more varied elements' (dictionary.com). So there it is. My life with all its ups and downs, was, and is, and will be even more breathtaking than anything written by Mendelssohn, Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert.

So, come Great Composer and write your Symphony that is me ...... hold no note back!"

Fetish: Sweet light and smells.

I have many other fetishes in addition to stationery. Scented candles is another. The Beloved has a sensitive nose (!) and so soy or coconut candles are best for him. Which is a bummer because they are so expensive. Sometimes I throw caution and marital concern to the wind and buy heavily scented candles just because I want our home to smell like the season. One of my favorite stores for seasonal lights is Bath & Body Works - there is one in the mall not far from our home but I often order from them online too. The benefit of course of in-store shopping is you get the full sensory experience - it might be a while before we get to smell fragrances online!

Here are some I'll be buying this fall:

Life is short and resistance is futile

It's my birthday today so here is a marriage of two of my passions - neuroscience and chocolate!

In this August's edition of the journal Neuron we learn that:
"Acute Stress Impairs Self-Control in Goal-Directed Choice by Altering Multiple Functional Connections within the Brain’s Decision Circuits" 

Or as Galmour Health put it:
"Resistance Is Futile: Science Explains Why Cookies Are Irresistible When You're Stressed"

Yep if you can't help but eat when you're stressed blame your brain. So let me help you find some relief for your stressed brain:

Double Fudge Banana Muffins 

(From Yammie's Noshery) 

1 egg

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)

1 cup oat flour (or substitute all-purpose flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark, but regular cocoa powder would also work)

Chocolate chips (never optional!)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease muffin tin (the recipe makes 10 regular sized muffins or 5 in a big muffin tin). Whisk together the egg, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and bananas. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the wet. Mix just until combined. Add some chocolate chips if you want. Bake for about 20-25 minutes for regular muffins or 25-30 minutes for big muffins (Cook them until a toothpick came out just a little sticky so they come out "brownie-ish"). Drizzle with melted chocolate if 100 calories isn't enough!