Christmas

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Blogger Edition)

night_before_christmas_updated_PIN

‘Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the ‘net
all the bloggers were stirring on their weblog gazettes,
Typing their opinions up without care
telling all readers to stop and beware

Of traditions and beliefs that could lead them astray,
all said, “It is better to do it this way.”
Some said more mangers and no tree at all;
some said no Santa or Elf on the Wall.

The readers were nestled all snug with their phones
while blog posts and rants spelled out the unknowns,
the harm to your psyche, the harm to your kids,
if you continue to believe what those people did.

When in the comments section there arose such a crash
I thought for certain someone’s head had been bashed.
And to their keyboards readers hustled and typed
adding and stirring and upping the hype.

The moon on this night was largely ignored,
for readers’ eyes were fastened to the electronic board,
where to their rectangular eyes would appear
another blog post promulgating fear,

With new and old phrases, so lively and quick,
but with declarations that sounded so slick.
More rapid than eagles the comments they flew,
and I knew in that moment what I had to do.

More kindness! More mercy! Fewer cat fights.
More grace, more calmness, and more of the Light.
Less “we don’t do Santa” and “we don’t do Elf”;
more of the Savior and less of myself.

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So through my pen my thoughts swirled and flew
as I jotted down reasons for thinking anew.

Christmas is Jesus and the gift of Himself
and salvation’s not threatened because of an elf.
And so in the blogosphere I pulled up a post
to calm the frenzy that had frazzled them most.

If you have a tree or five or you don’t,
if you decorate with a Claus or you won’t,
there is Something at Christmas that’s bigger than you:
the Hope that dawned that day is still new.

So readers and bloggers, quiet your heads,
and rest in the truth you have nothing to dread.
Join me in more joyous talk about what’s true
and less writing all the things we don’t do.

And when in the blogs there arises a clatter
pause and ask yourself if the argument matters.
Now to all you I give an encouraging shout,
“Happy Christmas to all!” And it’s time to log out.

night_before_christmas_FB

 

Poetry & Words, Theology

It’s Okay to be Happy with a Calm Life

It's Ok to be Happy with a Calm Life by Julie Kuberski

(Print via Julie Kuberski on Society6)

Are you comparing your life this morning with someone else’s? Perhaps you’re comparing yourself with someone you don’t know, except through perfect(ly edited) peeks (via social media). Maybe you feel discouraged this morning because, compared to all the pins and posts, your life is boring. Flat. Not bursting with adventure.

You’re not jetting off to some corner of the world. You’re not having your coffee in a wood+brick+ceramic cafe in the Pacific Northwest or brunching on a Mediterranean veranda. You’re not doing anything exciting. There’s nothing wrong with your own set of circumstances this morning except for the fact you feel they’re a bit…boring.

Don’t be discouraged.

There are a seasons of whirlwind and seasons of calm; there are people who need 4 hours of a sleep a night and people who need 9, and there are those who are called to be surrounded by others, and those who are called to seasons of repose.

Don’t let comparison steal away your joy.

Don’t be dragged down asking, “Am I doing as much as ___ is able to accomplish in a day?”; but rather, rest in this: “Am I doing what He has called me to do in this moment?”

Be encouraged.

“For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” (I Samuel 30:24)

It’s ok to be happy with a calm life.

Inspiration

INSPIRATION :: Free C.S. Lewis Quote Printables

To celebrate the life of C.S. Lewis — he died on this day in 1963 — here are some free printables for you to enjoy. And take some time today to pull an old Lewis book of the shelf and read a chapter or two, won’t you? I promise it will be good for your soul.

The sweetest thing in all my life // 3 Free C.S. Lewis Quote Printables from Oaxacaborn
“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” -Till We Have Faces
C.S. Lewis “The sweetest thing” free printable – Click here to download.

The scent of a flower - C.S. Lewis // 3 Free C.S. Lewis Quote Printables from Oaxacaborn
“In speaking of this desire for our own faroff country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name. Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter…The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” -The Weight of Glory
C.S. Lewis “The scent of a flower” free printable – Click here to download.

Beginning chapter one of the great story  // 3 Free C.S. Lewis Quote Printables from Oaxacaborn
“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” –The Last Battle
C.S. Lewis “Chapter one” free printable – Click here to download.

Inspiration

INSPIRATION :: Autumn/Winter 2013 TOAST UK Catalogue

The November 2013 edition of the Autumn/Winter Toast UK catalogue (the House + Home and Women’s sections are all merged into one issue now) is stunning for its frozen lakes, tall pines, and slate mountains. These are all aspects of the natural world distinctly lacking in this corner of the world, and I especially miss them as Christmas approaches. Truthfully, I miss the way they look through windowpanes — with me remaining on the warm side — because I do so like to stay toasty. No pun intended. 

November 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall Pines

November 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall Pines

November 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall Pines

November 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall Pines

November 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesNovember 2013 Toast Catalog - Slate Mountains, Frozen Lakes and Tall PinesWant more pretty pictures? You can keep on looking through the TOAST archives, or go directly to a particular season in the list below.

Life in Photos, Little Style

LITTLE STYLE :: That time I opened a children’s clothing shop to bring European childhood to the US

Ikea Poang chair in Off white

Tall windows in bedroom, messy bed, trees outside window

Mix and match Ikea bedding in white

She finds her way into our bed every morning, her stuffed “Mister Fox” in one hand and a whole cascade of giggles filling the space around her.

It’s Josiah that carries her into our room, between the pressing down of the glass-and-silver French Press, and the deft opening of the blinds.

And we start every day this way, with laughter that’s a necessary antidote to my morning-challenged self.

God knows exactly what we need.

Every day is full to overflowing with this big personality of hers. It fills the room, it fills my heart, and the soundwaves definitely fill my ears. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around how many times she asked me yesterday, “What’s zis lo name, mummy? What’s zis lo name?” I tell her it’s “mummy”, and…she isn’t buying it.

We work on together, through the day, while Josiah is at work, our days filled with the chores that keep the home humming, errands out into tropical air that confuses our Christmas-leaning brains, and more beads and crayons and alphabets that you could ever imagine.

Yesterday, I added another item to our daily routine, too, with the launch of a brand-new children’s clothing website, LENKA AND THE FAWN. (Eeeee!) I can’t believe that in June, it all began with this simple poll and now, in November, the concept has grown into a real, live, working retail shop.

If you’ve been reading Oaxacaborn for a while, you know my story. You know I was born in Mexico, lived in the former Yugoslavia in Europe and then came to America right before I turned 8. Lenka and the Fawn is an extension of that story.

And if you like, you can read more here.

Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN/NORDIC CHRISTMAS :: Christmas Trees

Happy Friday! Aveline is sitting on my lap, and I’m finishing up my coffee as we listen to music together.  And now let’s peek into a few living rooms in Sweden and Norway, and see what the Christmas trees look like, shall we?

Swedish Christmas Tree on Stairs via tidningenlantliv.se
Swedish Christmas via Lantliv (I love that subtle pattern on the painted wood floors!)

Swedish Christmas via vitaranunkler
Swedish Christmas via Vita Ranunkler

Norwegian Christmas Foto by Kenneth Havgaard via Bo Bedre
Norwegian Christmas; Photograph by Kenneth Havgaard for Bo Bedre

Christmas Tree - Black and White, Nordic - Photographer Nina Holst for Stylizimo Blog
Norwegian Christmas; Photography by Nina Holst for Stylizimo Blog

Have you ever stuck to a simple, more neutral color scheme when decorating for Christmas? It requires so much restraint!


Click here to find out how to contribute to the 3rd Annual Scandinavian / Nordic Christmas Series.

Christmas

CHRISTMAS :: A Use for Trimmed Christmas Tree Branches

Christmas Tree Branches Bouquet in Vase as Tree - What do to with leftover trimmed Christmas tree branches -- via enjoyourhome.blogspot.com

How is it that I have never thought of taking trimmed Christmas tree branches and making another tree? Sheer brilliance from the Polish blog Enjoy Your Home.

(I spy a clever clothespin advent calendar, too, and glass yogurt pots!)

Poetry & Words, Theology

1997-2004 :: On Grief and the Golden Thread

Oaxacaborn - Gabriel B. - On Grief and the Golden Thread
Gabriel B. - On Grief and the Golden Thread
Oaxacaborn blog - Gabriel B. - On Grief and the Golden Thread

God, who are we
to moan and weep
when it is not he
but we
who sleep?

GABRIEL B., NOVEMBER 12, 1997 – JULY 10, 2004

I remember where I was sitting when I heard it was coming, and how I got up out of my chair and ran down the hallway, blind from hot tears, not knowing where I was going, and I remember how the sun burned down when I stood there on the porch, and I looked up, and knew in an instant he was gone. It felt wrong for the sun to be so bright, it felt wrong to be breathing; and later, it felt wrong for berries to be so vividly blue, it felt wrong to taste their broken sweetness, twisted as they were into the batter of the pancakes we ate out back, under the deep-rooted oak.

But color doesn’t fade when grief comes; it is only blurred for a moment because our vision trembles. But it doesn’t fade; it doesn’t rust and it doesn’t crumble, because “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed”.* It shines, and it is brilliant in color, and it is love, and “Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery.”**

My vision trembles from time to time, again, even now over the years; I see the blur in a memory, in notes of a song, or in the way sun shoots down through the woolen clouds even when it’s most dark. I see the blur, and I know it is well with my soul.

Today is different than that day because I’ve learned it’s not wrong for the sun to be so bright, it’s not wrong to revel in the taste of the blueberry or the way the daffodil splits the earth in the spring.

“The living can’t quit living…They can’t because they don’t. The light that shines into darkness and never goes out calls them on into life. It calls them back again into the great room. It calls them into their bodies and into the world, into whatever the world will require. It calls them into work and pleasure, goodness and beauty, and the company of other loved ones.”**

*Hebrews 10:39
**Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter