Friday, December 26, 2008

Heading for Montreal

Early tomorrow morning, I'll be getting on a train for Montreal, and I'll be back late Tuesday night. I hope everyone out there had a Merry Christmas; if it wasn't exactly "merry", I hope you at least enjoyed a few peaceful, quiet moments alone with God, in spite of everything else! ;)

Happily, the Christmas season doesn't end on Christmas Day, and we still have several more days to let the real meaning of this time sink in...

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Silent Night, Holy Night

Sungha Jung plays 'Silent Night', arrangement by Ulli Boegershausen.

Monday, December 22, 2008

"Conservative of the Year"

Human Events, a weekly conservative magazine favoured by Ronald Reagan, names The Conservative of The Year (article written by Ann Coulter).

Sunday, December 21, 2008

That was Then, This is Now

Remember this view from my balcony, posted on October 25th?

Here's the same view this morning:




Saturday, December 20, 2008

Catching Up

I'm only now catching up on news and blog posts from the past week, and I came across this piece by the Anchoress on a brave 10 year old named Namrata Nayak. Namrata suffered 40 percent burns during anti-Christian violence in Orissa, India, in August of this year. She remained faithful, hopeful, and prayerful throughout the ordeal, and her burn scars have since disappeared.

Alas, poor Ameneh Bahrami, the victim of a spurned suitor's vengeful actions in 2004 was left disfigured and blinded, in physical and psychological pain. It amazes me that her attacker admits to having thrown sulfuric acid in her face but still claims "I haven't done anything wrong."

Friday, December 19, 2008

Checking In

Today was my last day of work before breaking for the holidays. I feel quite fortunate to have just started a full-time job on December 1st and already be getting two weeks of paid vacation - Thank you, Jesus! The University also closed early today because of a snow storm that came our way.

There are several things on my "To Do" list: Christmas shopping, get a haircut, go to the bank, work on my freelance assignment, help tidy up the apartment (several sub-categories there), get the faucet repaired (unless I can figure out how to do it myself)...

I also want to spend time with my family, visit some friends, and try to maintain my prayer life. Lately, I've been experiencing more peace and joy. This is something I've been praying for, and I'm so grateful this prayer is being answered. I have so much to be thankful for.

I still find myself thinking often about eternity and what it's like to be beyond the reach of sin and temptation. When a very significant loved one dies, it brings home the reality that this life is not forever. I often wonder about my father; I wonder what he's experiencing and doing in the Great Beyond. I say things like "Dad, I hope you're having an awesome time! I hope it's amazing!" I pray that his soul is experiencing ever-increasing amounts of peace and joy. I talk (in my mind) to other friends who have passed on and I say things like "Peter, please say hi to my Dad."

I'd like to find some good books that talk about the concepts of time and eternity, and the relationship between the two.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Shameless Plug

Christmas is coming and, in these challenging economic times, bumper stickers make a nice inexpensive gift! :)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Make each moment count...

This week has been really busy. I haven't had time or energy for blogging after working during the day and then trying to complete my freelance assignment and other things in the evenings.

Still, this heartbreaking story has been on my mind, and I'm asking anyone who reads this to please say a special prayer for Dong Yun Yoon and his family. Michelle Malkin has written about it here and here.



Please send a letter or card to:

Dong Yun Yoon
c/o Rev. Kevin Lee
Korean United Methodist Church
3520 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Friday, December 5, 2008

Answered Prayer

On Tuesday morning I was faced with a challenge that needed to be resolved quickly, and I feared I didn't have a solution. By Wednesday evening, I felt anxious and tired. My spirits were low. I could think of only one person that might be able to provide me with some concrete direction, and I'd already sent her an e-mail on Tuesday but hadn't heard back from her.

I'd been thumbing through all of this month's meditations and scripture readings in my Magnificat. I sensed that God was encouraging me to trust Him; that I should put Him first, do my best, and not worry so much about human opinion or even results. I tried to do this. I prayed, and I asked others to pray too. Although I still felt very low when my head hit the pillow on Wednesday night (around 12:40 a.m.), I made an act of the will to trust Him.

On Thursday morning, I got ready for work and before heading out the door, I decided to check my e-mail. My friend had responded and in her e-mail, she sent me all the information I needed to resolve my problem! I was very relieved and very grateful. A huge weight had been lifted. According to the time-stamp on her mail, she'd written back to me around 1:00 a.m.!

During my subway commute to work, I noticed that the Psalm for Thursday included this verse: "I will give thanks to You for You have answered me and have been my Saviour." (Psalm 118, v. 21) I happily meditated on that verse the rest of the way in...

"...a pantomime horse...

...comprised of three rear ends..."

That's from Mark Steyn's description of recent events in Canadian politics. :) Here's the transcript of Mark's interview on the Hugh Hewitt show (h/t Kathy Shaidle).

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Conservatism 2.0

Watch Michelle Malkin and Joe Hicks on PJTV. I love the internet! :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

This is from the Cherubic Hymn for the Offertory of the Divine Liturgy of St James (4th century AD), and is based on verses from Habakkuk 2:20 - "Let all the earth keep silence before Him."

Here, Cynthia Clawson performs the first and fourth verses. The full lyrics are below the video.

(h/t The Anchoress)

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
in the Body and the Blood
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of Light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
that the powers of hell may vanish
as the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
cherubim with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
"Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!"