Classes & schedules and ALMOST the end of a semester

Clearly a new den is not terribly exciting in the blogosphere.

We're still excited about it around here. I can't stress the difference of having one room in the house that has enough room in it to actually lie down and do a tile-angel. Amazing. (You never read about THAT in one of those "small spaces" magazines)

Anyway, the term is winding down pretty quickly. Second last chapel today.

Had to figure out Spring/Summer last night...teaching schedule is affected by which course I take, etc. And my oh-so-generous-and-supportive husband looks at the two courses I was deciding between and says, "Take both." This had never crossed my mind. So I looked at it. Taking the first course of the two means I'd have to quit teaching 2 weeks early. (about $500 in lost income) Taking the second means I'm now spending almost double what we planned AND making less money than budgeted.

This is amazing. I believe in education and I think it's a priority in my life - and has been for the last number of years. But this is a whole new level. Having someone else believe in your education - and the kind of belief that puts money where their mouth is...

So I'll get another 5 credits done this summer...that will be 37! 4 or 5 in the fall. Possibly 9 in the Winter (one class and then my 6 or 9 credit Integrated Project) If I'm not careful, I might actually FINISH this degree.

Ok. Happy Tuesday.

home reorganization

Sometimes an idea strikes and suddenly all your non-fiction books are stacked in your living room. (they usually live on shelves in the den)But this means that you can change out the somewhat tall shelf braces for REALLY TALL shelf braces...which makes for a much better use of space.

Then, you can assemble Gordon's new desk and let it sit on a completely different wall. Ooh ahh.

And, if that wasn't enough, you can sit on your balcony and look at your FIRST TULIP of the season!!!

It was a good weekend. And we love our 'new' room!

is it okay for time to fly by even during Lent?

Well, back from my 6th project with the Canadian Chamber Choir and trying to pick highlights as I really could go ON and ON.

Prairie skies. Calgary chinooks. Visits with family and friends. The choir. A sell-out crowd for our final performance.

And now it's back to life and normal schedules and assignments and a condo that seems to breed dust and laundry.

I can't believe it's already the middle of March and am wondering where the time has gone. It's time to get the Good Friday service straightened out and I feel like I haven't even started into Lent yet.

In case any of you are feeling a similar 'lack of Lent' I'll leave you with a section of the Ignatian examen...possibly a very appropriate activity during Lent and certainly a helpful tool any time of year.

For what am I most grateful? Least grateful?
When did I give and receive the most love? The least love?
When did I feel most alive? Most drained of life?
When did I have the greatest sense of belonging? Least sense of belonging?
When was I most free? Least free?
When was I most creative? Least creative?
When did I feel most connected? Least connected?
When did I feel most fully myself? Least myself?
When did I feel most whole? Most fragmented?

v-day

Two years ago today I didn't even know Gordon existed. Wow.

more green...but still awaiting a BLOSSOM...

meanwhile, Gordon brought home an early Valentine's present last night...so I DO have some blossoms in my world...

plus, someone anonymously left beatiful tulips at my desk yesterday...

so there are plenty of flowers!

oh dear...the pressure!

Well, Beth tagged me and now I have to write six weird things about me ... (the challenge is keeping it to six, I suppose)

Here are the rules:
Each player of this game starts with the 'six weird things about me' blog post. People who get tagged need to write their own six weird things post and state the rules clearly. At the end of the post, tag six more people and don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog to tell them they have been tagged and tell them to read your blog.

1. I love Extreme Home Makeover. Cry through each episode. Sometimes even in the previews. No excuses. (this added to my love for Dog the Bounty Hunter)
2. I'm a "rule-follower" except for when I don't feel it's important (which is determined in each situation...by a HIGHLY developed logic). My excuse is usually that I'm following the "spirit of the law" rather than the letter. :)
3. I will only eat small candies two or four at a time. One or three just feels wierd in my mouth. And if they are brightly coloured, I try to put them in colour combinations that are pleasing. (oh dear, I can't believe I'm publishing this)
4. When I wake up in the morning, I want coffee. If I don't, I know I'm sick. When I've been sick, I know I'm on the mend when I start craving coffee again. It's a good sign...
5. Um...let's see. I love organizational systems. Not SO good at keeping them implemented, but love the process of making order from chaos. Am working on the follow-through. But am also working in a place for a "pile" of misc. stuff within my systems so that I can do what comes naturally (that is, PILE) and then go on a major purge of the piles once a week/month. Works better for me. But it's wierd because it can look like things are terribly disorganized even though there is a 'system'...just ask Gordon. :)
6. I take pictures of the plants on our balcony fairly regularly. And then I post them on my blog. Pets, children, makes sense. Plants? I don't know. I think it's my way of encouraging my non-BC residents that at least spring is starting _somewhere_ ... and my way of reminding myself of the progress.

I tag Gordon, Santosh, Audrey, ... oh-oh...I don't think I know six people who blog. Beth would make four, but then she's already done it. Oh well, it fits well with number 2.

You know you haven't posted in awhile when...

...your mom requests updated pics of your plants. :)

So for all of your viewing pleasure and for the satisfaction of your curiosity...here are a couple of pics...I can't make the first one rotate...so you'll have to crane your necks or turn your monitors on their sides. Sorry!


Meanwhile, I am feeling much better. Actually figuring out how this semester's schedule will work, enjoying the Christian Imagination reading list, and feeling like it's a great idea to have part of my homework to be to sit at a piano and just be creative.

Lovely.

The most exciting part of my current life is clearly these plant pots...

Well, well. They're shooting up. (thanks to the greenhouse-like indoor temperatures vs. the frigid outside...and now the clay pot boasts a couple of shoots as well. Spring is here! I noticed a couple of weather-clueless cherry blossom buds yesterday too. Do these plants have no sense? There is SNOW on the ground.

Anyway, I don't mind. And the rains are coming...the temperatures are rising...and everything is poised to BURST into bloom.

I'm okay with that.

Feeling much better. But dreamed last night that I forgot to teach tomorrow. Forgot. How would that happen?

Happy Wednesday!

THREE!!!

Writing exegesis paper. Would rather be drinking tea in bed. Haven't had coffee since Monday. It is the litmus test of each morning...laying in bed and thinking, "Do I feel like coffee?" Alas, for the fifth day in a row the answer is a resounding "No."

And I'm feeling guilty that the third shoot is only because it's SO cold outside that I had to bring all my pots in. Not the mention the wind the other night just about tipped them all over.

Back to 1 Peter...

spring in a flower pot...winter outside

Quite excited about the second one joining the first. And I have the intellectual capacity to watch them for hours. I'm sick. I can't think. And it's winter here. Alberta-style winter. Blue sky, below freezing temperatures. Wierd.

So I'll not try to write anything witty. Not possible today. Sorry.

Merry Christmas

One of the reasons I love living on the West Coast is that on Christmas Day, your bulbs are already starting to peek through...and you know that when Father Christmas comes, spring can't be that far behind. :)


Christmas Eve was nice...very quiet and relaxed. Played Scrabble...and well, you can't win them all, right? But it was VERY close..4 points or so...and we have a week of potential SPEED Scrabble coming up so things are looking up for me.


Went to church and then came home and cracked a bottle of wine, opened presents...lovely.


Now I must pack so that I can be ready for our flight...we have to be at the airport for 6am!!! O my.

1st day off...ahhhh.

Drank coffee in bed and read my book. (another Bujold...I'm on a streak)

Hit Coquitlam Centre just at opening and before it got busy.

Made sugar cookies. (very festive, don't you think?)

Made a yummy dinner...a creamy roasted red pepper pasta with leftover flank steak from Sunday night.

And then, do you know what I did?

In a span of 4 hours, I watched THREE hours of DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER.

It's true.

Oh my. I love that show. But I usually only have access to one or two episodes at a time. Seems rather irresponsible of networks to offer such a BUFFET of guilty pleasures all in one evening.

There, my confession has been made. I feel much better.

Have YOU ever watched Dog?

Advent week 2

I love it when a church feels like a church.

Smells like a church. (incense)

Looks like a church.

We sang at St. James Anglican on Sunday evening for their Advent Carol service which is loosely based on the King's College tradition. And it was LOVELY. Readings from Scripture, but also from Madeleine L'Engle and other authors who have written beautifully about scriptural events.

The choir sings from the loft which I also love. Namely, because we get to look at the beautiful front of the church. With it's candles and beautiful altar and woodwork and...(sigh). Worshipping in a place like that gives me "tradition envy"... you know, where you wish you came from a tradition other than that of boxy 60-70's "all purpose" architecture that has morphed into "community college" styles. (ever noticed that these new huge churches even call their locations "campuses"?)

Okay, enough rant. But really, it was BEAUTIFUL. And the building really makes the human voice RING. Love it.

The other thing I love about St. James is that it is right smack dab in the middle of the downtown eastside. There are always people sleeping on its steps. (okay, I don't love that they're out on the steps, but I love that the church is right there!) And I think I also have a special love for it, knowing that my friend Donna's amazing piece about Communion takes place as she makes her way from her community house on the other side of the park to St. James.

I know that we can worship anywhere...but I sure hope that the new heaven and new earth include some of history's greatest church architects.

advent week 1

To read one of the funnier accounts of an Advent experience from the planning end...I can SO relate except for the kids part, but then sometimes I think I'm enough chaos all on my own. Go read this Advent misadventure

More another time, but let me just say for now that if you can get your hands on Peter LaGrand, Ben Keyes & Jill Zimmerman's new advent/christmas/epiphany album, YOU SHOULD. Oh my. I love these people. And they can sing/play/arrange.

SO good.

dialogue

Following up on a previous post about Ted Haggard, Mark Driscoll etc.

Apparently things had heated up - to the point that there was a protest planned for Mars Hill Church tomorrow. Here is
one report

and another from two very different sides of the conversation.

secret to a happy marriage

Marriage. In two days, we will have been married for an entire 11 months.

The secret?

Don't walk to the skytrain station together.

Most of the time we don't have to worry too much, as I'm usually not ready by the time he's leaving. But from now on, even if I'm ready, I think I will find one more thing to do.

You see, I'm a bit of a morning person - meaning I wake up happy most of the time. And then I'm also verbal. (shocking, I know) And Gordon is lovely 98% of the time, but he has this little part of his personality that he refers to as "surly"...this part is closest to the surface for the first 2 1/2 hours he is awake in any day. Mix surly introvert with random and distracted verbal extrovert and shake it up for 5 blocks and WHAMO! you have marital distress.

But allow these individuals their own pace, path and personal space and all shall be well.

This morning, we temporarily forgot this little bit of wisdom. It's okay. We've had a little laugh at ourselves and solemnly promised to make our own ways to the skytrain from now on. (Whew, that was close!)

Your happy marriage secrets?

the snow in Vancouver 'never' sticks...

There is snow on our barbecue. Crazy.



This is Crowley Drive.


And this is the North Shore.


UBC has no power so they're closed ... so I guess I'll work from home and do as much of the exegesis homework as I can without access to the library. And as for the rest of the day? Who knows.

oh the weather outside is frightful...

Did I bring on the weather by putting up our tree yesterday? (see the 3ft. tree in the corner?)



Had Cheryl over for dinner and went to a movie. When we got back, this is what it looked like...



And this morning...



So I think we're just going to stay in today...

how much is a blog worth?

I have no idea how this works but found it on maggi dawn's blog and couldn't resist...

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

Tuesday mornings...adventures in discernment

So I have my coffee and a bowl of cereal. Have read through any new posts on my blogroll. Woke up dreaming about the final song for this morning's chapel.

Tuesday mornings are usually mostly filled with thinking about what is to come later in the day.

Will everyone show up who is supposed to DO something?
Will everyone DO what they're supposed to do? Or something sensitively 'other'?

It leads me to ask questions about the nature of listening to the Spirit.

How much of what some people call "the Spirit" is just somebody's common sense?
How much of what some people call "common sense" is really the Spirit?
How does one know whether it is the Spirit in the long beforehand planning or the last minute changes? Or both? (Now I know that there are those who lean towards "anything spontaneous is inherently more Spirit-led than something planned" but I can't stomach it as it seems to put the Spirit in a jacket until the moment something is happening...wierd.)
When one is actually in the midst of something (ie leading a service), how do they know when to stay with the plan and when to veer off into something new?

I had the privilege of working with a group of people for a couple of years who liked to think about, talk about, and DO all of the above. The only "answer" we could ever seem to come up with was a word that isn't nearly as concrete as would be helpful: DISCERNMENT.

Hm. And now, I'm off to try it out. Happy Tuesday!

haggard and driscoll and other 'heroes'

Here is an open letter from a co-pastor of a Vineyard Church in north Seattle...Scot McKnight comments on the letter on his blog too...

Meanwhile, there is a lot of talk about Haggard, fundamentalism, traditional/complementarian/egalitarian...

For your perusal... the Scroll is the blog of the Christians for Biblical Equality. There's a lot of good stuff there.

I promise to link some more "fun reading" sometime soon. :)

Meanwhile, happy reading...