going home

I'm getting everything ready to hit the road early tomorrow morning.  I can't wait for the fun times in the car with a good friend, uninterrupted knitting time, and lots of reading waiting to be done.  Maybe even some goofy Relient K singalongs.  I can't wait to see my family and spend some precious weeks at home with them.  I can't wait to do some photoshoots with my talented sisters and cook lots of new recipes with them.  I can't wait to see old church friends and pick up the threads of good friendships once more.  I can't wait to head back to a place that knows how winter is supposed  to feel [it was 70 degrees in Arkansas today!] and go sledding and for walks in the snow.   I'm going home.

p.s. -- I'm really enjoying the Virtual Advent Wreath over at The Rabbit Room blog -- one of Andrew Peterson's haunts.

christmas

"Every Christmas is still ‘a turning of the page’ until Jesus returns. Every December 25 marks another year that draws us closer to the fulfillment of the ages, that draws us closer to . . . home.

When we realize that Jesus is the answer to our deepest longing, even Christmas longings, each Advent brings us closer to his glorious return to earth. When we see him as he is, King of kings and Lord of lords, that will be ‘Christmas’ indeed!”

- Joni Eareckson Tada, “A Christmas Longing”

glassy

glass snowflake

[Originally uploaded by UNIFORM Studio]

fragile.

frail.

delicate.

growing stronger.

hope.

amazing hope

“Jesus, unlike the founder of any other major faith, holds out hope for ordinary human life. Our future is not an ethereal, impersonal form of consciousness. We will not float through the air, but rather will eat, embrace, sing, laugh, and dance in the kingdom of God, in degrees of power, glory, and joy that we can’t at present imagine.

Jesus will make the world our perfect home again. We will no longer be living ‘east of Eden,’ always wandering and never arriving. We will come, and the father will meet us and embrace us, and we will be brought into the feast.”

-Tim Keller

lately

Maybe it's time for something besides pithy quotes, eh?  [Not that my writing can ever match that of the people I quoted the past few weeks.]  I'm spending a chilly afternoon working on some of the final assignments of the semester.  Part of me wishes like crazy that I'd decided to just graduate and get out of Arkansas once and for all, but there's another small part that looks forward to one last semester with my church community with whom I'm so invested and with treasured friends that I'll miss so much one day.

I had a whirlwind Thanksgiving break this past weekend, driving up to Kansas City, then to Madison, Wisconsin for a few days with my mom's side of the family, and finally driving to Chicago for a night with my dad's side, before flying back down to Arkansas.  With all that car and airport time, I managed to knit a hat and finish the first three books in the Twilight series.  Yes, it's true.  After resisting all summer, thinking the books looked absolutely dumb, I finally caved and bought the first one.  That was Friday morning.  By Friday evening, I was dragging Lindsey out to go see the Twilight movie and making another Barnes & Noble stop to pick up books 2 & 3.  Escapist fluff was just the ticket for my mood.

I'm not much for book reviews, especially with so much school-related writing in the wings, but I enjoyed these reviews of the books from the Christ & Pop Culture website:

‘Twilight’: A Positive or Negative Influence for Teens?

‘New Moon’: Do Vampires Have Souls? And Other Pressing Questions

'Eclipse': No Cheap Grace, No Easy Love

'Breaking Dawn': Do We Want A Happy Ending?

I'm going to take some pictures of the latest completed knitting projects soon, so I can post them here.  I haven't picked up the camera in ages, and that's going to change once this paper is done.  Until then...

lowland

"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that I may know Thee indeed. Begin a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen."

- A.W. Tozer