Interlude: New Year, Old Love

About a month ago I told you about the Neal and Leandra Christmas concert I went to. That was such a great night, and one of the best parts was meeting them and their daughter and getting to take a picture!



Leandra was wearing a beautiful jacket with beading and a two piece black velvet number with lace trim! Gorgeous! Their daughter was even wearing a Hanna dress! (where I used to work...in fact, that was one of my favorite holiday dresses!)

Every Christmas I try to get to this concert. It is always so beautiful, and fun too! When I was in about 8th grade, we went to their Christmas concert, and Leandra was wearing a ball-gown skirt. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful. Now, I know this is going to sound silly, but keep in mind that I was at a very awkward age - I think it was the first time that it hit me that just because I was(am) an alto, doesn't mean I have to put on a masculine air. I know, silly, right? But I was going through this phase where I wore a lot of old army gear and I always acted really tough. But Leandra has this really chocolaty alto voice, she often sings lower than Neal in harmonies, and their she was, dressed like a princess!

Well, nothing would do but for me to have a ball gown skirt, too! Of course, I didn't take into account that Leandra has about a foot on me and is a lot *ahem* narrower than I. The skirt looked pretty silly I think, but it didn't really matter. It made me feel pretty.

So, needless to say, I now always wait with bated breath to see what Leandra will wear this year! And she never disappoints!

Sad (Christmas) Day

If you follow MommyKnickers blog (see my blog roll for the link) than you know of the Advent stories she records for me, which she has been, and will be, posting about throughout Advent. Many of my Christmas favorites are sad, and I even added another one to that list just this past weekend.

SONGS: My favorite song (possibly out of all songs, but definitely of Christmas songs) is Neal and Leandra's Mary's Lullaby (sometimes performed by Neal, and then changed to Joseph's Lullaby). It is so beautiful and so sad...Mary is singing and knows Jesus' fate -- "Hush now, don't cry every heart must break sometimes. I'll hold you tight until the world has broken mine." -- I literally just got tears in my eyes typing that.

BOOKS: There are many Christmas/Winter stories that make me cry, some from a kind of empathetic joy, but many from sadness. To name a few...The Little Match Girl, The Clown of God (btw, you should totally go to that link because it links to a Clown Ministry website - my worst hated thing!), and my most recent acquisition, The Birds' Christmas Carol, about a little girl who is born on Christmas (just like me). She brings great happiness to her family and those who know her, but she becomes ill, and, well, it is set in the 1880's and was written at the turn of the 20th century, so I think you can guess what happens there.

But really, the story of little Carol Bird is an allegory for Christ, albeit a bit watered down. At one point Carol's parents decide that she is not entirely of this place, and that, when she has done what God sent her to do, God will take her back. Surprisingly, I didn't cry when I read it. But then, I usually don't cry on Black Friday.

Why not? I cry all the time during Advent and Christmastide. Here's my theory: At Christmas we celebrate a birth. This tiny new, innocent, weak creature comes into our midst wanting to love and be loved. But we know that the world will crush him. The world will break his mother's heart and refuse to learn the things he has to teach us. We cry because we are thinking of that baby and his family and their pain.

But then Lent comes. What can I do to change my habits? What do I need to be forgiven for? And then Jesus breaks the bread and offers the wine...for us. He offers up his body and soul for us that we may live*...and so Lent and Easter become about us. We don't take the time to mourn the death of our teacher.

Imagine this: The Youth Pastor at your church just had a birthday - the church threw him a party where they told him how much they appreciate his work, as well as just liking him as a person. He's gay, which is a.o.k. by your congregation, but apparently not o.k. with the thugs who beat him up one night, leaving him in a bloody heap to die. People from all over have opinions about it, and people from your own community and denomination are saying that maybe God wanted it that way.

The day of his funeral comes and no one shows. The church is empty and cold and he has no mourners...except his mother.

But it wouldn't happen like that, would it? There would be candlelight vigils and benefits to raise money so his partner could pay for the funeral. Hot dishes and pans of bars would find their way to his mother's house with cards of sympathy attached. It would be standing room only at his memorial service, crying - no, sobbing, for this lost blessed soul would abound, and no one would ever forget him, or deny knowing him.

So why don't we treat Jesus this way? Why don't we scream and sob at the injustice of his death?

Anyone who has loved a baby knows that when you hold that sleeping/squirming/squealing thing in you hands...nothing else matters. You would do anything for that baby and your wants and needs are the last thing on your mind.

I plan on trying to think about this more this lent and Easter season, so please check back to see what I come up with!



*Just a side note that I don't actually know if I buy into the whole 'dying to save my sins' stuff...but that's the common theology, so that's what I am going on.

Christmas is Coming...

Here is a picture of the gloves I bought myself yesterday. These are to hold me over until I get the ones I want from L.L. Bean (they are on my wish list for Christmas/Birthday, but if I don't get them then, I will order them after said holidays, especially since I want the hat on my wish list more...*hint*hint*).

I really like these gloves because:
a. They are convertible to mittens so my fingers can keep each other warm!
b. Even the thumbs are convertible! This allows me to pop just a thumb out to play with my iPod at the bus stop, something I couldn't do last winter and so resorted to using my nose!
and...
c. They were cheap! Well, for Target gloves at least - they were $9.99, which is pretty good considering all the features!


Yes, it has become obvious here in the Twin Cities that Christmas is indeed coming, and how! On Sunday as I waited for the bus to take me to church the streets were quiet and the only things rushing were the little snowflakes. I could just imagine them, flying around in a frenzy, singing "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

Later on Sunday I saw an ad for the Macy's Minneapolis 46th Annual Animated Holiday Show and Santa Claus at Macy's SantaLand!, which is of course actually the Dayton's 8th Floor Show, but since the Macy's takeover has been re-named...but don't get me started on that! Still, it is always a wonderful show and this year the story is A Day in the Life of an Elf, so I am sure there will be some spectacular displays. If you have never been, have no fear, it is a tradition for me to go every year, so I will post something really good about it closer to Christmas (I think going before Thanksgiving is a bit much).

Yesterday the snow actually stayed on the ground in the morning! It's funny how gray wet weather makes me gloomy-- unless there is snow involved, and then I get happy and excited!

Three numbers run through my head today:
34
41
42

34 days till MommyKnickers arrives! 41 days till Christmas Eve! 42 days till my birthday!

Of course, one reader in particular should note that it is also only 17 days till the first day of Advent...*hint*hint*nudge*nudge*