Life Continues. Can we now get back to Advent?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled life...Original Painting by R. Pitts

It is interesting how humanity tends to throw all of their energy and faith into a civilization long removed from this side of eternity or a weathered elder who remains in blessed (and infamous) memory, that they can neither touch nor see but scoff at a people who celebrate the Creator who breathed ruach into our very beings who we can not see but reverberates throughout all, walking and struggling with us.

Advent is one of my favorite times of the year; "Unexpected and Mysterious" repeatedly loops in the background of my days as "O Come O Come Emmanuel". Each morning even as the sky flutters closer in brilliant hues of blue, center stage and the earthen goddesses pull fragile shawls of crystal even closer, my vision still reveres in awe. Even as snowstorms race across the horizons, I await this with great joy each and every year.

This Advent season has dawned upon us and yet my spirit was irritated. Another Friday has come upon us, but thanks to all this fatality freak out that has poison a multitude of people  our senses have been jarred with all of this end of the world language.

It's Friday. We're still here. Enough already.

Instead of lamenting that this is the end of the world, perhaps we should greet the horizon that slowly curls into our existence with new understanding. "As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience." This should be a new beginning for all of us; for a small town in Newton, Connecticut the world did indeed end an entire week ago. We should strive and struggle as this year bows from the stage and one awaits in the wings, that as people of Faith, that as children of the Creator we love our neighbor and the stranger just as we love ourselves. Let this be a end to pain, suffering, negativity and a beginning to who God has called us to be.

Besides, the world couldn't end today. I'm preaching on Epiphany. Woot!

Lape Bondye, God's Peace. 

A'boot' Happiness

At approximately 6:49pm, Monday, December 10, 2012, I completed my first semester with a simple mouse click on the "send" button, and with that last paper submitted, I was uber excited to explore Chicago a bit more.  Today the spirit of exploration guided two of my classmates and me to the Christkindlmarket (a Christmas market) in Daley Plaza.  We spent the morning roaming around different holiday stands, searching for potential presents, and tasting a variety of holiday treats.  'Twas a perfectly lovely experience, especially with a boot of hot drink in my hand.  That's right, a boot!  

Celebrating at the end of our first semester.

I had no idea, but using a boot-shaped drinking vessel is apparently a well-known tradition(?).  Still, for this girl--who lives under a rock--the boot mug was one of the highlights of the market!  Turns out that this tradition began (or so my research says) when a Persian general swore to his troops that if they were successful in battle, he would drink out of his boot to honor them.  Cleverly, the general had a glass-maker create a boot-like drinking glass so that when the general was required to fulfill his vow, he didn't have to taste his own toe-jam.  To this day, people still celebrate victory by drinking out of these boot-shaped glasses.  Awesome.  Although I had no clue of its significance when I was taking sips from my Christkindlmarket boot, I will gladly claim my victory drink retroactively: first semester of seminary is in the books--celebration!  

Having enjoyed the crisp afternoon laughing with friends, listening to Christmas music, and drinking out of a boot, I believe today was a fantastic way to meander my way into winter break.  Here's to Chicago, to fall semester, and to the expectation of many joys ahead. I raise my boot to you all!