This time of year is a bit odd. Sometimes it feels like winter and sometimes it feels like summer. Sometimes it is pouring down rain and sometimes I’m unexpectedly sunburnt. Some of the plants around my house are starting to show signs of life and others look like winter destroyed them and there is no hope. Parts of the country are getting incredible unexpected snow fall and others are getting tornados.
Over Christmas we went back to Missouri. It seems like every time we go back to where we came from we are pointing stuff out.
I hope this week has been filled with times of rest and reflection. I hope that you are finding time to celebrate with those you love and remember the Christ child being born. It is always funny how fast the year goes and around October we start to think…
“oh man, it is almost time to file my taxes…”
Did you know winter doesn’t begin on November 1st. Or on Black Friday. Or on December 1st. The first day of winter begins on a day called the winter solstice or midwinter. This date is either December 21st or 22nd. That day, right before Christmas is the day winter technically begins.
This week we began Advent. At our dinner table we light a candle around our homemade advent wreath, read scripture and reflect upon the idea of waiting with expectation in this season.
I recently got contacts for the first time. Don’t worry, I’ve been wearing glasses for over 25 years and decided now is the time to try something new. Truth be told, I didn’t wear my glasses very much when I first got them in the mid 90’s. It was only to be able to see in class or at the movies. I was always able to successfully pass vision tests for license renewals and I could get away with only wearing them every once in awhile. But I distinctly remember the first time wearing them and feeling like it was incredibly disorienting. What was previously out of focus was now oddly clear…but I wasn’t used to it, so it actually felt off or incorrect. Hence why I didn’t wear them very often.