Crashing California

So, I think I am having the "after Christmas let downs" or something. I was actually pretty happy that Christmas was over. We had a good one. Christmas Eve service @ North O' went well and pretty much without too many hiccups ... I was a lot calmer than last year =) We did a nice dinner at an Italian place Christmas Eve and got home and went to bed, to awake, make some good ol' fashioned bacon and eggs and open gifts from my mom (lots of yummy Canadian goodies) and from each other (mostly clothes) but Jay did get me a fantastic Shoe-organizer -- so he was using his noggan =) We made Christmas dinner for friends who also had no family here for the holidays and ate and had wine and laughs and got to hang out with some very cool people. Then (for me at least) Monday hit. And I am just feeling it. And here now, coming to the end of another year, you wonder, what have we really done, and what's next. I think a lot of our band, and how I thought this year was the year...

Seeming as it's so close to Christmas, and now that Jay and I live so far away, we are forced (when I say we, I mean me) to plan ahead quite a bit. If my gifts of Christmas to my family have any hope of making their way to their tree's before December 25th, I need to mail them far in advance. I'm happy to say I was pretty on the ball this year. I got my mom's gift out last Saturday -- just to give you some perspective, last year I sent her gift in March, not kidding. So I'm feeling pretty good about things. My mom called me on Monday to say that she too, had sent my gift(s) in the mail -- last year, she also sent them in March. So I guess it pays to plan ahead! And it's special because now enters the "great expectation". The longing and looking forward to receiving her presents is magnified because of distance and separation, and though I know they will not be some spectacular expensive "thing", I know they will be filled with care and l...

This blog is going to be about questions. And I'll start with this one: Why do we do such a poor job of representing what "Christian" looks like in this North American world? I feel like here (maybe I speak specifically of Southern California, or maybe the US), the word stands for people who are self-righteousness, judgmental, greedy, moronic and close-minded. It seems it has nothing to do with what it should be. The biblical definition is one of self-less-ness, acceptance, compassion, graciousness, humility, faithfulness and ofcourse love. How is it that we have somehow skewed this SO much that when the world thinks Christian, they see the opposite? When, how and why does this shift take place? And can we shift it back? It makes me frustrated because sometimes I look at "the church" (general term used here) full of "Christians" and I COMPLETELY see what the world sees. And I serve and work in one! It scares me to be quite frank. The responsibil...