On the Incarnation

At Christmas, God became incarnate, taking on human flesh. At each of the major feasts of the Church (Easter, Christmas, and others..), I realize how little I really understand about what God has done. Here is an interesting lecture that I recently listened to from Ancient Faith Radio about the incarnation.

To Listen, go here, and listen to the podcast entitled "The Skinny."

Pictues and Update soon to come

I will be posting pictures from our home Christmas decorations and the KPMG Christmas party which was last night. We have been very busy with little time to post. Only 4 days until vacations though!!!

More Christmas Thoughts

Shopping: This should be done on the internet.
1. Stores are very crowded
2. Malls are full of many other temptations (Mrs. Fields, Cinnabon) which may smell yummy, but are bad for you
3. Parking?
4. Amazon has free shipping and an outlet to get bargains. Also, it is much easier to find what you are looking for- just type it in.

I have been busy with Christmas preparations this week. A little bit of shopping (see reflections above after being at the mall twice) We now have a sweet little ceramic tree up and a bunch of presents wrapped. The tree is actually from my great-grandparents. I used to put it together with my Nana when I was a little kid. It is white and has a light bulb inside. There are little holes to put colored lights in which glow when you turn it on. I will try to get a picture of it soon.

Also, Nathan and I are both preparing for our Christmas Eve service where we will sing selections from the Nine Lessons and Carols service, and a latin piece called O Magnum Mysterium. The Carols service will be new for us this year and it should be quite beautiful.

For the Beautiful Bride to Be

Congratulations to Beth and Yannis on their upcoming nuptials!
Yesterday I had the priviledge of helping throw a bridal shower for Elisabeth Hupp. For those of you who were there, you may remember that she was the maid of honor in ny Wedding two-and-a-half years ago (wow, it has been a while! :) ). We had a lovely afternon complete with high tea, lots of family and friends, and lots of presents! You can see a picture of some of the (mostly) homemade goodies above.

It is such a beautiful thing to see such a loving and good relationship, like the one that Beth and Yannis have. It is encouraging for those already married, and brings hope to those who have not yet come to that point in life. In honor of Beth and Yannis, I will post the Orthodox prayer for married couples:

"O merciful God, we beseech thee ever to remind us that the married state is holy, and that we must keep it so; grant us thy grace, that we may continue in faithfulness and love; increase in us the spirit of mutual understanding and trust, that no quarrel or strife may come between us; grant us thy blessings, that we may ever stand before our fellows and in thy sight as an ideal family; and finally, by thy mercy, accout us worthy of everlasting life: for thou art our sanctification, and to thee we ascribe glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

May God gant you many years!

At long last...

A GOOD night's sleep!

On Friday, we got our mattress topper in the mail. Nathan opened the package and was a bit skeptical at first. The memory foam looked like it had remembered that it was had been packaged in a tight little box for some time and it took awhile for it to regain its proper shape.

Anyways, we have had it for two nights now, and each night has been very restful (I had previously been waking up 3-4 times a night to shift position or some other reason). So it is a recommendation for anyone who wants to save a worn out old mattress.

Christmas Considerations

I love giving gifts for Christmas. To my family and friends, to Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army, people at work, etc... Sometimes, I can spend a lot of money doing this, so it is important to keep in mind that Christmas is not all about the gifts. It is partly about gifts. First, Jesus became incarnate, which was the greatest gift. Secondly, we are called to give to others, especially those less fortunate. (in the Orthodox Church, almsgiving is a large part of our observance of Advent). That being said, it is important to think about the gifts that we give.

With Nathan's family, we have decided to try and spend no more than $20 a person on our gifts. Often, this has made us either find deals or make homemade gifts. We have to tell the story of how we got our gift too, when the gift is opened. This should be a lot of fun!

Here is a great article by Frederica Matthewes-Green, where she reviews a documentary on one man's crusade to stop all of the consumerism in Christmas. (But not to stop giving alogether). His group is called the "Stop Shoppers."

Here are some excerpts if you do not want to read everything:

"The Stop Shoppers readily admit that changing our lives is complicated, and when asked to suggest alternatives the tough “political” stance (blessedly) vanishes. They agree that it’s not feasible to literally “stop shopping.” They say they’re asking people to think about their shopping habits and make some different choices: a choir member says, “Explore the options, that’s all we ask.” Rev. Billy admits, “We’re trying to slow down our own shopping,” and there’s a funny scene where choir members, browsing in a truck stop while the buses refuel, are tempted to buy cheap souvenirs of the trip. "

"Rev. Billy does have some concrete suggestions: he recommends that at Christmas we “Spend half as much, give twice as much” by making gifts of time and attention, or of something homemade. “We will take the real life that we have within us, that originality that we’ve got, that has nothing to do with products!”

This is coming in the mail soon!

This year for the day after Thanksgiving sales, I did a bit of online shopping. I think that I could get used to it. 50-70% savings without standing in long lines, and free shipping!

One of the things that I found was a memory foam mattress topper from Amazon.com, and it should be here any day. It is two inches thickWe have been sleeping on a very old mattress for a while and have been thinking of buying a new one. I bought this on the recommendation of Bethany Jean, and if it works, I will let you know. It is a much cheaper option!