Lost in the river bottom

Maybe you're thinking I got lost over the Christmas holiday after our wild night of light gawking in Austin. I promise, I'm still existing on the face of this earth. It is so easy to get lost at the farm. We spent our days around Christmas at my sisters and then the day after Christmas came to Blackacre to spend a week sleeping in the cabin, taking walks to the Guadelupe and doing projects with my mom and dad. I've decided that my biggest achievement of 2007 is burning out a huge tree stump. Dad knew I would love that job so he saved it for me. Let's not talk about what that might say about me :)
I know I always write the same things about the farm but it's always true...I truly get my 'fix' in being in this place. The sounds, the sights and the answers I seem to find here. I know it's because all the other junk is out of my way and I can clearly hear what God has to say to me.
Anyway, I hope you all had a meaningful Christmas and that 2008 is full of growth, peace and love.

Christmas Lights of Austin

Well, here we all are...Mom's copying down a recipe, Rebekah's replying to email, Dad is watching a football game, Alvaro is napping (shocker!) and I'm wanting to ice the cutout cookies but everyone is busy and I have to wait for them because they want to help. Isn't that always the way with me? I'm ready to get stuff done RIGHT NOW, always on a schedule to get the next thing done...why can't I just be relaxed and not care if there are a couple of minutes of down time?

In a previous post I said that we were going to see the 37 1/2 street lights and so we did last night. The temperature plunged to 40 or so with a wind that wouldn't let my dad keep his cap on. We decided to walk the street rather than drive it so that we could take advantage of the offers from the homeowners who offered us to come into the back yard and get some hot chocolate...I do love this town! The first house had a 10 foot dinosaur made of chicken wire and foil with a strobe light in it's mouth. The back yard was complete with two toilets with yellow lights in the bowl. Almost every resident of the street had some amazing, truly tacky and sometimes even tasteless display. Lights, beer cans as ornaments, a garland made of Jack Daniels bottles, a sock monkey nativity (wow!) and even a dead marlin over some guys front door that had CDs for scales. ah...Austin. I guess my favorite was this cycle covered in lights. The wheels even turned. All the time we were walking, people talked to each other even though we didn't know each other. People let strangers help their kids over strands of lights in order to get a picture. I had one of those most embarrassing moments when in my excitement over people just loving people, I walked up to someone's house and almost walked in when my sister asked a guy on the porch if everyone is invited in he said, "no sorry, this is a private party". ooops :) We all had a good laugh and there was no harm done. I just kept walking with my free chi tea to see what political statement in lights I might see next.

Citizen Cabal

Last Thursday (and apparently ever since seeing as I'm still thinking about it hard enough to blog about it), the Cabal family had a HUGE reason to celebrate. Alvaro went to his scheduled United States citizenship exam and passed with a grade of 100%. He and I were under the impression that we would have to wait until March for the next swearing in ceremony. But lo and behold, he was told there would be a ceremony that afternoon and would he like to attend. So he calls me to see if I can leave work at 1:30 to go with him. His concern was that we have a list of about 25 people who have been telling us for two years that a big highlight in their life would be if they could attend Alvaro's citizenship ceremony. But since most of Alvaro's family are still in Colombia, we decided to attend the ceremony immediately so he could leave the country with his US passport if he needed to make an emergency trip to Colombia.

I figured it would be like running cattle through a line to get your certificate and then while everyone's children were running around Alvaro would say his oath of citizenship and then we'd all herd out. But boy was I wrong! It was an hour long ceremony in which I exhausted at least 6 tissues. A lady sitting in front of us, probably in her 80s, was so touched by the experience that I decided to shed a few tears of joy for her too.

Alvaro has been waiting to realize this dream since he was a young boy. He told his parents early on that he would be a United States citizen and he hasn't stopped his patient waiting through all the fingerprinting, documents and interviews since that time. Congratulations to my sweet husband and his love for both cultures making him who he is. We are richer because of our adoption of each other's countries and cultures.

Go tinkle - get a sticker

This morning I had a play date with two of my favorite little boys. A good friend had me over for coffee, reading and playing time with her twin boys. We had lots of fun singing, playing trains, wrestling, laughing and just being silly which is their specialty. They are amazing and I just love them to death! Just before I left for the church I announced that I had to go to the bathroom first. As I closed the door (and locked it cuz I knew I would have visitors if I didn't) I heard them running through the house yelling, "Mommy, mommy, Miss Rachel needs a sticker!!!!" Apparently at their house going to the bathroom all by yourself means you get a sticker. Actually I got two stickers - one from each cutie pie.

When I'm visiting with these two boys, I cannot get over the wonder in which they see everything. Everything seems to be analyzed as they go through the day. A comment is made about everything that happens. Seems to me that most children I encounter aren't impressed with much. They have so many toys that beep and buzz that nothing is 'amazing' to them anymore. It's as refreshing as a glass of lemonade in Houston in August to see two children so enthralled with everything around them.

I think of all the children I know and the joy they are in our lives. We should all spend time with children to remind ourselves of the wonder we may have lost in our daily lives. We should all make mental comments about what we experience.

Advent Calendar - Part II

In a recent post I talked about my sister Rebekah and I taking turns each day in pining the ornaments to the advent calendar. I can't believe I have a picture of it but here it is. Mom made it in the '70s along with the three kings wall hangings. Weren't all Christmas decorations made of felt in the 1970s?

As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day inch ever closer, I'm getting more and more excited for the celebrations, times of worship, times of quiet reflection along with the laughter that being with family brings.

I also think about a girl I met about 6 months ago. She is an Iraqi veteran. She is a young girl who since her return to the US, she has lived in shelters due to the red tape and snail like process of getting her disability checks. She told me yesterday that the greatest gift she could have received is the the new apartment she moved into on Friday and the approval of the GI Bill which has allowed her to enroll in college. She begins classes in January. She doesn't have family support but our church staff was able to find a fun family for her to spend Christmas with this year. In your bedtime prayers tonight, please thank God for the love shown my new friend as she continues her path back to a life that every human being deserves. One with purpose, food to eat, clothes to wear and the ability to listen to where God wants us to point the frontside of our body and proceed.

A Worship Experience

24 hours ago I was sitting in our sanctuary looking at the scene you see in this photo. It was a service of nine lessons and carols led by our ministers, the chancel choir and orchestra. Christmas lights, traditional chrismons on the trees, poinsettias, people of all ages worshiping around me....these are the moments of Christmas that give me an environment for worship, meditation, prayer and thankfulness. This morning it's about the work: tallying up the total worship attendants from yesterday (1,183), preparring for the baptism coming up next Sunday and corresponding with those who visited with us here at the church yesterday. But ahhhhh...yesterday...that is where my heart needs to stay all week. As those around me run, scream and claw their way through Macy's, I will strive to keep my heart and eyes on the Child and all that He teaches us no matter where we are.

What in the Hee Haw...two blog entrees in one day?!?!?

Okay, so my sister says, "What in the Hee Haw" which makes me giggle every time. I've been thinking about my sister a lot lately. Probably because for the first time she gets to host our family for Christmas in Austin! Mom, Dad, Alvaro and I will arrive four days before Christmas and we get to have the grand tour of Austin at Christmas...the lights at the capital, the one street with all the really gaudy but wonderful decorations and lights, the warmth of her cottage style house and her cooking. The night before Thanksgiving, Alvaro and I went to pick her up on the way to Blackacre. We decided to spend the night and in the morning she made me this oatmeal that should be entered in the dang State Fair. That was some life changing oatmeal! I think it made me more spiritual.

This is the first year that we, as a family, won't spend Christmas in the home where we grew up. Mom and Dad have moved to their new property near the farm and tradition is changing. Do those two words go together? Tradition and Changing? As I get older and our lives change and progress, I'm learning that our real tradition all along has been 'being together'...not where we are but who we love, who we cherish and what our attitudes are. I have always characterized myself as being adverse to change...my German head is really hard! But in the small changes that have happened in the last ten years or so, I'm now assured that I'm not as adverse as I thought. And this is a HUGE revelation to me. Does this mean I could be growing? Am I becomeing more flexible? Horrors!!!! I think I am. What a wonderful thing! All that meditation (not medication), all that prayer...it's working by golly! Maybe I'll get freaky and suggest a new side dish for Christmas dinner!!! Okay, let's not get crazy!

I'm having fun keeping up with my favorite blogs (please click on them to the right) and listening to what others are saying about Christmas traditions. Comment on what yours are. Since I'm in the growing mood, I may adopt yours.

It's just not Christmas without the gifts!!!

Gimme, gimme, gimme...buy buy buy...charge charge charge! Wow, I'm overwhelmed with the insistance to obtain, purchase, GET!

In looking at the Christmas story in an attempt to get the dirt and sludge off modern day Christmas, I started look at the gifts listed in scripture. The first gift was of Spirit: uncondintional Love. The next gift came from a teenager named Mary. Her Christmas present was selflessness, the complete surrender of ego and will needed to bring Heaven down to earth. The gifts of her fiance, Joseph, were trust and faith. The Child brought forgiveness. Wholeness. Second chances. The angels' gifts were tidings of comfort, joy, and peace, the reassurance that there was nothing to fear. The shepherd boy's gift was generosity: his favorite lamb for the baby's birthday present. The innkeeper's wife's gifts were compassion and charity: a warm, dry, safe place for the homeless family to stay, her best throw to wrap the new mother and little one, a meal for Joseph, the donkey's fresh hay. All these gifts were wrapped in miracles. Oh what gifts. Gifts that transform the regular into the miraculous. Nothing from the mall can compare.

Unconditional Love. Selflessness. Trust. Faith. Forgiveness. Wholeness. Second Chances. Comfort. Joy. Peace. Reassurance. Rejoicing. Generosity. Compassion. Charity. Wonder. Acceptance. Courage. How many times in our lives to do we yearn for these gifts? The funny part is we keep looking for these gifts from people. Focus your search for these gifts in another direction this Advent season. The Christ Child brings it to you now. Be humbled and be loved.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without these gifts.

A Recipe from Rachel

Here is what I'm hoping to make today... Cider Beetles

what you'll need:

6 oranges

2 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar

12 1 & 1/2 inch cinnamon sticks

12 small whole nutmegs

24 large whole allspice

96 whole cloves

1. Slice oranges in half and scoop out pulp without breaking the orange rind. Reserve pulp for another use.

2. Place orange halves cut side up (like a bowl) on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 250F for 2 hours until dry and hard. Let Cool. (hint: put a wad of foil about the size of the orange in the bowl to help it keep its shape)

3. Pack brown sugar firmly into each orange half mounding slightly

4. Arrange spices in the brown sugar to resemble beetles: use a cinnamon stick as the body, a nutmeg as the head, 2 allspice for the eyes and 6-8 cloves for the legs/feet.

5. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refridgerator.

Directions for use: Unwrap the beetle and drop into 1 and 1/2 quarts sugar free apple juice or cider. Simmer 30 minutes. Strain whole spices and orange rind from cider to serve. If you're Lutheran or United Methodist and not on church property, you can add 1/2 cup of brandy ha!

Chapel of the Abiding Presence

As a student at Texas Lutheran College (now University...sorry I can't say it...doesn't sound right) we had the opportunity to attend chapel at 10:30 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As a theology major, I was kind of expected to be there...and I was, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was a 25 minute service with scripture, song and a meditation by the campus pastor. The pipe organ was played by a rotation of sacred music majors. Then we would all pour out into the gathering area just outside the front door of the chapel and eat doughnuts and drink coffee till we finally didn't want any lunch. Some of us had class right after chapel and stuffed pastries into our backpacks and filled our mamoth refillable coffee cups from the Sack and Save before running off to Greek or Philosophy in Literature or Business or Ethics or Homiletics. It was interesting. It wasn't just the theology majors in chapel...most of my friends were Biology or Chemistry majors...and there we all were, worshipping together. Ah...college. The best place I can think to receive that really rude awakening that everyone isn't just like you. Believe me, I was shocked...actually more pleasantly surprised. I don't know if that was glimpse of what I might be doing later but as I look back, I accidentally had people coming with me to chapel. People who told me later that they never would have believed that given a choice between a quick toes up or chapel they would have chosen chapel.

Ah...Evangelism. Another great equalizer :)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

As a child during the season of Advent, we always had an Advent wreath with the pink and purple candles with the white candle in the middle which was lit on Christmas Eve. Each Sunday night, we'd read a passage from the Nativity Story and follow the prayer in the family Advent workbook. We also had an Advent calendar with a big green Christmas tree that was made of felt with little pockets complete with numbers on each pocket counting down the days to Christmas. Inside each pocket was a felt ornament with lots of sequins and a piece of candy. My sister and I never cared much about which candy we got. The bigger deal was doing the math to figure out who would get to put the last ornament on the tree...THE STAR!!!

As an adult, I find that I have much more of a sense of wonder during this time of the church year. The absolute miracle of the birth of a child. God sending God's son to live His life for the benefit of the world. That this Jesus displays a love the likes of which this world had never seen or will see again. This is what we celebrate with our decorations, our gifts, our worship. We celebrated the first Sunday in Advent yesterday. The trees are up, the greenery is hung and the first candle of the Advent wreath was lit and celebrated. The journey begins as we work to understand this love Christ has for us. Embrace this love, let it envelop you then let those around experience it through you.

O Tannenbaum

Today is the day. Advent and the preparation for the coming of the Christ child begin today in the Cabal household. The proof is at the tip of my third finger where the end a needle has pressed hundreds of times. The popcorn is strung, the boxes of decorations are open and beconing and I'm ready to start. All the symbols are in front of me and so I begin.

Historically, we protestants have prided ourselves in being free of the need for the symbols of the church and our faith...not needing statues, rosaries and other 'ritual' things in order to connect with our God. I say to you that we should be prideful no more. As I work today to transform our home it is solely for the purpose of creating the environment we need to keep our minds focused on preparation and anticipation. I know in my heart that the stresses and distractions in my life will stifle my focus during Advent and that each morning when I wake up, I will walk through the living room and see the Advent wreath and be reminded to pray that my heart will be open to the love of the coming Christ.