When Little C accomplishes a task, he does not hesitate to clap his hands and cry out "Yay!!!" Whether it's fitting that wooden puzzle piece into the correct location, or putting all the toys away, or completing the table setting with Oma, his victories get us all excited for him. It's fun to see him so proud of himself. He's his own little cheerleader!
I grew up with the 'don't toot your own horn' philosophy. That's just the way things were. But I now believe it's okay to celebrate successes. No gloating, of course, but what's wrong with being proud of personal accomplishments? Give yourself a high five. If we wait for someone else to, we might be waiting for a long time.
I think it's called self-love and self-care.
Love your neighbour as you love yourself.
Showing posts with label celebrate!. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebrate!. Show all posts
Apr 25, 2019
Feb 13, 2019
Putting It in Writing
I was twelve years old when my youngest sibling was born. I was third oldest, in a family of seven children. My mom was very busy with running a household. I was so thrilled to have another little brother so I basically "adopted" him as my own. I loved that little guy and spent hours and hours carrying him around and feeding him his bottles. As he grew, I played games with him, taught him him and my second youngest brother songs while I played guitar, spent time with him outdoors, and even taught him dance steps to Abba songs (our favorite memory)! This created a special bond which we still have to this day.
When he was about eight years old, I moved out of our family home for good. When he was ten, I moved a good day and some's travel away from home to take on my very first teaching position as a Grade 3 teacher in a small remote village on Vancouver Island. It seemed like a million miles away.
Recently I came across a letter I received during that time. On one side was my dad's handwriting, a letter telling me how proud he was of me. He had suggested my little brother write me on the back of the page. What a memory! I valued those letters so much. I have stored this wrinkled, repeatedly folded and unfolded page in its original envelope in my bedside table drawer for many years--I don't want to risk misplacing it. It is a connection to that special time in my life when I was beginning to venture out into the world as a young adult.
For my brother's birthday this year, I sent him a card with a copy of his letter included in it. We had a great time reminiscing about it.
The art of handwritten communication is worth reviving. Somehow an email doesn't bring the same sense of joy and appreciation as a handwritten card or letter, does it? I hope to do better and send more personal notes and less emails to thank or celebrate those I appreciate.
Do you value handwritten cards and letters?
When he was about eight years old, I moved out of our family home for good. When he was ten, I moved a good day and some's travel away from home to take on my very first teaching position as a Grade 3 teacher in a small remote village on Vancouver Island. It seemed like a million miles away.
Recently I came across a letter I received during that time. On one side was my dad's handwriting, a letter telling me how proud he was of me. He had suggested my little brother write me on the back of the page. What a memory! I valued those letters so much. I have stored this wrinkled, repeatedly folded and unfolded page in its original envelope in my bedside table drawer for many years--I don't want to risk misplacing it. It is a connection to that special time in my life when I was beginning to venture out into the world as a young adult.
For my brother's birthday this year, I sent him a card with a copy of his letter included in it. We had a great time reminiscing about it.
The art of handwritten communication is worth reviving. Somehow an email doesn't bring the same sense of joy and appreciation as a handwritten card or letter, does it? I hope to do better and send more personal notes and less emails to thank or celebrate those I appreciate.
Do you value handwritten cards and letters?
Dec 27, 2018
Yes, there really ARE 12 Days of Christmas
Recently I heard someone mention that the song The 12 Days of Christmas was a crazy song because.. 12 days?? What's with that? Well, there really ARE 12 Days of Christmas in the church calendar year.
Let's back up a bit.
I had never really thought much about the church calendar, besides Easter (sometime in April) and Christmas (December 25), which I've celebrated since I was a little girl, being brought up in the church. But what was the church calendar, anyway? I had never heard of that.
In the last 15 years or so, I had begun to incorporate Lent and Advent 'lite' into our family celebrations. At Christmas time we followed an advent calendar, but I never really connected it with the greater church year. Had I been missing something important all these years? The churches I have attended over the years didn't really follow the church year. One of our former pastors did offer Lent ideas and lit the Advent Candles in the month of December. I'm very grateful for that, and it did help to fan the flame of my interest in the liturgical year.
The book Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year by Kimberlee Conway Ireton has been so helpful in explaining the structure and relevance of the liturgical year. I'd highly recommend this book, but I think you can only find it used or on Kindle.
And those days are the actual 12 Days of Christmas.
And here is a link to a great rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, the song we know and love.
Do you follow the seasons of the church year?
Let's back up a bit.
I had never really thought much about the church calendar, besides Easter (sometime in April) and Christmas (December 25), which I've celebrated since I was a little girl, being brought up in the church. But what was the church calendar, anyway? I had never heard of that.
In the last 15 years or so, I had begun to incorporate Lent and Advent 'lite' into our family celebrations. At Christmas time we followed an advent calendar, but I never really connected it with the greater church year. Had I been missing something important all these years? The churches I have attended over the years didn't really follow the church year. One of our former pastors did offer Lent ideas and lit the Advent Candles in the month of December. I'm very grateful for that, and it did help to fan the flame of my interest in the liturgical year.
The cyclical, circular nature of the church year provides us with repeated opportunities to live out various aspects of our faith, to see life through the lens of the Christ-story and to deepen our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The church year has seasons of darkness, of light, of sorrow, of rejoicing, of just getting through. Our lives have such seasons too. By incorporating these experiences, the church year hallows them, reminding us that all time is sacred because God is present in it.
Ireton, Kimberlee Conway. The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year (Kindle Locations 89-92). Mason Lewis Press. Kindle Edition.
The church calendar begins with Advent (which leads up to Christmas), and now we are officially in Epiphany! Epiphany lasts 12 days, from Dec 26 to January 6th.
And those days are the actual 12 Days of Christmas.
And here is a link to a great rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, the song we know and love.
Do you follow the seasons of the church year?
Nov 29, 2015
The Advent--ure begins
Today is the first day of Advent. I purchased a wonderful book last year called Taste & See - Experiencing the Stories of Advent and Christmas by Jan Johnson. She encourages the use of our God given imaginations to place ourselves in the story as we do our daily readings. This book is written for small groups, but easily adaptable to an individual devotional time.
The daily advent opening prayer:
I will release the cares of the day, and open my eyes to the wonder of God,With an attitude of empathy to people of another time, I will open my heart and mind to God. I will prepare to experience God's Word to methrough the presence of the Holy Spirit.If I recall correctly, my plans to read it daily last year didn't exactly materialize. Thankfully, the author wrote these wise words in the introduction, and I took them to heart:
Do the meditations as you can, not as you can't.I figure any advent readings, meditations, and journalling I do this year will be better than not starting at all.
This morning my church was decorated beautifully with lights and greenery and the advent candles were in place. I could feel myself beginning to anticipate Christmas, slowly but surely. I was disappointed that we didn't light the candles or sing even one Christmas-focused song, though. There are so many beautiful renditions of carols these days, both traditional and updated. Hopefully we will be singing those together more than just on one Sunday!
Thankfully, I have a wealth of Christmas CD's (I usually purchase one new album a year), and I will be playing them to my heart's content at home and in the car. Come Dec 1st, that is. That's when my celebrations officially begin--the tree goes up (undecorated for a few days) and the Christmas playlist begins. And on the first Saturday of December, we have our annual family brunch, tree decorating (girls), and outdoor light stringing (guys). I'm looking forward to that, although I will really miss two of my children this year who are too far away to make it. It won't be the same without them. *sniff*
Advent helps to bring me back to reflect on what really matters. Even if it's just a few minutes at a time, it is my way of being sure I do 'listen' to hear what God is saying to me this Advent season.
Hope your season of anticipating Christmas is meaningful to you!
Nov 6, 2015
The Gift I See in You
The gift I see in you is....
your vulnerability, your 'this is who I am' honesty
your faith and positive outlook
your courage and tenacity
your gentle spirit
your infectious smile
your devotion to your faith, no matter what
your sense of humor
your individuality
your deep thoughts
your sensitivity
your care for others who are needy
the way you grab onto life and experience it
your calm and gentle voice
your willingness to try new things
your encouragement, continually
your amazing energy
your quiet disposition which has such a calming effect
the way you give of your time to others
your words of encouragement and honesty
your gentleness and care towards others
your hugs that say "I am so glad to see you"
your wacky sense of humour
your ability to make me laugh
your willingness to engage in difficult conversations
your unconditional acceptance of others
your simple, sweet hospitality
your wisdom and the way you share it in your writing
your friendship and care towards others
your willingness to forgive and continue on
your amazing artistry and your humility combined
your commitment to what's important
your courage to keep going when life is hard and scary
your celebration of the gift of life
how you share what you have with others
your attitude towards learning and growing
your attitude of gratitude
your tender, compassionate heart
your honest words, unfiltered
your tears
your imagination
your willingness to share the gift of who you are
I am thankful for my friends and family! Because of who you are, I have learned more about myself and I am inspired to continue becoming more fully who I was created to be.
Do you see yourself as a gift?
your vulnerability, your 'this is who I am' honesty
your faith and positive outlook
your courage and tenacity
your gentle spirit
your infectious smile
your devotion to your faith, no matter what
your sense of humor
your individuality
your deep thoughts
your sensitivity
your care for others who are needy
the way you grab onto life and experience it
your calm and gentle voice
your willingness to try new things
your encouragement, continually
your amazing energy
your quiet disposition which has such a calming effect
the way you give of your time to others
your words of encouragement and honesty
your gentleness and care towards others
your hugs that say "I am so glad to see you"
your wacky sense of humour
your ability to make me laugh
your willingness to engage in difficult conversations
your unconditional acceptance of others
your simple, sweet hospitality
your wisdom and the way you share it in your writing
your friendship and care towards others
your willingness to forgive and continue on
your amazing artistry and your humility combined
your commitment to what's important
your courage to keep going when life is hard and scary
your celebration of the gift of life
how you share what you have with others
your attitude towards learning and growing
your attitude of gratitude
your tender, compassionate heart
your honest words, unfiltered
your tears
your imagination
your willingness to share the gift of who you are
I am thankful for my friends and family! Because of who you are, I have learned more about myself and I am inspired to continue becoming more fully who I was created to be.
For we are God's masterpiece (work of art). He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Do you see yourself as a gift?
Nov 5, 2015
For the Win!
Last month I submitted several words on our local library website, describing what my local library means to me. And then promptly forgot about it.
This afternoon, I received a call informing me that I was one of the winners of the Canadian Library Month contest and invited to pick up my prize at the downtown library.
I'll be browsing the aisles of our local Chapters book store soon, with a $25 gift certificate in hand! Should be fun!
This afternoon, I received a call informing me that I was one of the winners of the Canadian Library Month contest and invited to pick up my prize at the downtown library.
I'll be browsing the aisles of our local Chapters book store soon, with a $25 gift certificate in hand! Should be fun!
Jun 1, 2015
Oh Joy!
The day has come and gone. Is it Monday night already?!! I now have another wonderful daughter in law!
In a nutshell, the day was everything I had hoped it would be. Not that there weren't little glitches (there always are), but the joy that was felt, the words of love expressed between my firstborn and his lovely wife, the ceremony, the weather, the venue, the meal,
the laughter, the tears, the in laws, family & friends... well, all of it was spectacular. Simple, lovely, and elegant. |
| the outdoor chapel in the distance, viewed from our balcony |
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| follow the flower petals... |
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| just married!! |
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| the first dance |
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| This picture is blurry but I LOVE it!! pure joy! |
May 29, 2015
May 27, 2015
The calm before the..
..wedding!
My girlfriend asked me the other day if I was feeling overwhelmed or stressed about my son's wedding coming up in 3 (!!!) days. I said not at all. Haha!
Then when I returned home from a day of running around checking this, ordering that, dropping off this, picking up that... I proceeded to unwrap and ingest an ENTIRE chocolate bar (organic, fair trade raisin and almond milk chocolate, if you have to know) in one standing. Not sitting, standing by the counter!
No, I'm not stressed. Not stressed at all! ;)
It's all going to be good, though. In fact, it just might be THE BEST DAY EVER in a long while!
My girlfriend asked me the other day if I was feeling overwhelmed or stressed about my son's wedding coming up in 3 (!!!) days. I said not at all. Haha!
Then when I returned home from a day of running around checking this, ordering that, dropping off this, picking up that... I proceeded to unwrap and ingest an ENTIRE chocolate bar (organic, fair trade raisin and almond milk chocolate, if you have to know) in one standing. Not sitting, standing by the counter!
No, I'm not stressed. Not stressed at all! ;)
It's all going to be good, though. In fact, it just might be THE BEST DAY EVER in a long while!
Feb 26, 2015
Seize the Day
I've got several books on the go right now (as usual) and finished a good one just a few days ago.. Still Life by Christa Parrish. Will have to do a book review soon, but I thought I'd share an excerpt from the book today.
It reminds me to enjoy and live to the fullest even in the mundane and 'in between' days. You know, in the waiting times.. Yes, there are exciting times in life (and I'm happy for people - including me - who get to experience them.. new sights, new friends, new places), but a lot (most!!) of our life is the 'ordinary everyday'. If we don't seize THOSE moments and value them, then we are just existing from one high to the next. Not the best way to go through life, I don't think.
A few of my ordinary, but still sweet moments, today:
People make grand pleas for 'carpe diem' and often that is just a code word for backpacking across Europe or learning to skydive or buying the expensive car you always dreamed of. Is being alive not enough? Is it not "still life" if you're making fried eggs for your kids' breakfast? .. How do we perceive all these in between moments when we're alive but engaged in something we esteem so little?
It reminds me to enjoy and live to the fullest even in the mundane and 'in between' days. You know, in the waiting times.. Yes, there are exciting times in life (and I'm happy for people - including me - who get to experience them.. new sights, new friends, new places), but a lot (most!!) of our life is the 'ordinary everyday'. If we don't seize THOSE moments and value them, then we are just existing from one high to the next. Not the best way to go through life, I don't think.
A few of my ordinary, but still sweet moments, today:
- free McDonald's coffee promotion taken advantage of! (twice) Dark roast..good coffee! 100% Arabica, don't you know! ;)
- listening to a 5 year old during Story & Crafts class tell me about what happened at his home yesterday (which wasn't funny and obviously affected him) He ended it with "but Jesus is on OUR team!!"
- shopping to my heart's content, the only customer in a women's clothing store. No pressure. I don't really enjoy shopping, so this was a bonus!
- enjoying after dinner wine & conversation with my hubby -- home alone and relaxing after a busy day out.
- hearing via Messenger from my daughter who IS having quite the experience in Venezuela right now... knowing she is excited for her next adventure (a 6 day trek in the mountains somewhere in V!!)
How about you... how did you seize the day today?
Dec 24, 2014
I wish you a Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Been listening to some favorite Christmas albums on and off this week. I give myself 25 days to freely listen to as much and as varied Christmas music as I want to. Then, it's back to regular listening for me (which is also varied!).
Today, it's Downhere's album, as well as Jars of Clay. I never tire of their Christmas albums.
Speaking of Christmas celebrations, I have been reading an excellent book (so far) called small talk - learning from my children about what matters most by amy julia becker. The excerpt on celebration -secular vs sacred - and whether there really needs to be a division when it comes to celebrating Jesus coming to the world was thought provoking. Observing her little girl caused the author to change her attitude about 'the right way' to celebrate.
So, I hope that however your party looks this year - quiet and reflective or boisterous and full of laughter - or both! - that you are once again in awe that God would come down to us in the form of a human baby to walk with His creation - His masterpiece - for over 30 years. Every once in a while, I am awestruck again by that LOVE. Wow.
It didn't have to be that way. He could have just come down as an adult and saved us. It seems we often skim over that.. and go straight from Jesus' birth to the cross. But those 33 years of being human like us, being limited, interacting with people from all walks and circumstances, must have been important in God's plan. Jesus is God in the flesh.. He is how we learn about what God is really like. I still have so much to learn!
Been listening to some favorite Christmas albums on and off this week. I give myself 25 days to freely listen to as much and as varied Christmas music as I want to. Then, it's back to regular listening for me (which is also varied!).
Today, it's Downhere's album, as well as Jars of Clay. I never tire of their Christmas albums.
Speaking of Christmas celebrations, I have been reading an excellent book (so far) called small talk - learning from my children about what matters most by amy julia becker. The excerpt on celebration -secular vs sacred - and whether there really needs to be a division when it comes to celebrating Jesus coming to the world was thought provoking. Observing her little girl caused the author to change her attitude about 'the right way' to celebrate.
"Until Penny [her little girl] comes home singing "Jingle Bell Rock" with all her heart. And I realize there is no dividing line for her. Shaking those sleigh bells and belting out those lyrics are part of the celebration. After all, without Jesus' birth, there would be no reason to throw a party. It strikes me again that the whole point of Christmas, theologically speaking, is that the abstract became physical, the conceptual became concrete. For my children, for myself, it's important to celebrate Christmas, not only through words and hymns and spiritual practices, but through the embodiment of celebration and delight, through cookie swaps and presents around the tree and wreaths on the door. And yes, through "Jingle Bell Rock"."
So, I hope that however your party looks this year - quiet and reflective or boisterous and full of laughter - or both! - that you are once again in awe that God would come down to us in the form of a human baby to walk with His creation - His masterpiece - for over 30 years. Every once in a while, I am awestruck again by that LOVE. Wow.
It didn't have to be that way. He could have just come down as an adult and saved us. It seems we often skim over that.. and go straight from Jesus' birth to the cross. But those 33 years of being human like us, being limited, interacting with people from all walks and circumstances, must have been important in God's plan. Jesus is God in the flesh.. He is how we learn about what God is really like. I still have so much to learn!
Merry Christmas to all my friends out there in Blogland!
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