The Most Festive Time of the Year

Christmas quietly snuck up on me this year, but last weekend it hit me over the head like a bag full of toys... like a Christmas tree full of ornaments, like a sled flying down a snowy slope... and the festivities have continued in full swing since then. If I wasn't in the holiday spirit before, I am now!

It all started with Megan's Classy Cocktail Christmas Celebration - a great excuse to throw on a red cocktail dress and sip on peppermint martinis...

Followed by seeing The Nutracker with West, Jason and Erin then another cocktail party for a young professional women's group I'm a part of.

The next morning a group of us ran the Holiday Half Marathon in North Portland. People were pretty festive which actually motivated me to run faster - I wasn't about to let a grown man in green tights, a Santa hat and jingle bells on his shoes beat me!

These are the characters that made the run entertaining...

That evening was the Moore's annual Advent Celebration which is always the highlight of the season for me. It's a meaningful gathering of scripture reading, Advent reflections, music and wonderful people.

We had our company Christmas party this past weekend where we all went to "A Very Merry PDX-Mas", a holiday musical, Portland style (featuring songs about a green environmental Christmas, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and The Annoying Drummer Boy who beats on buckets and trash cans... soooo Portland).

This weekend, Megan and I went for a run in one of my favorite neighborhoods to look at all of the festive lights, then watched Elf.  Now all I need is some good family Christmas time in Texas, which comes tomorrow! Merry Christmas, y'all!

The Awe of Christmas

This past Sunday as I was having storytime with my two-year-olds Sunday School class, something occured to me.  We were reading about the birth of Jesus (you know: Mary and Joseph, manger, star, shepherds, wise men, angels) and I realized... this may be the very first time some of these kids have heard the Advent story.  Even if they heard it a year ago when they were one year old, this might be the first time they can somewhat comprehend the story.  I can't remember the first time I heard the Advent story, but I've heard it so many times since then that I've let it lose it's wonder.

So this week in home group, we read the entire Advent scriptures (Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12) and each picked out something in the story that we usually don't pick up on.  We asked questions and wondered about all of the details together.  And the awe and amazement of Advent came back to me.

Some of the parts of the story that we wondered over...

- The fact that Mary and Joseph weren't married. Think of all of the social implications people must have placed on them, the labels Mary would have been given, the courage it took for them to tell their story, the faith they had to have in God and what he promised through the angels.

- The angels appeared to shepherds, some of the most lowly people in that time. He sent angels to make this grand announcement to outcasts.

- Luke 2:19 "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Mary went through a lot. Her fiance almost left her, people probably wanted to stone her, she was traveling on camelback for months during her pregnancy. And then after she gives birth to this baby, people come to worship him.

- What happened to the gold, frankincense and myrrh? Mary and Joseph had nothing and they were living in a stable. These gifts from the magi must have been the biggest blessing for them. Maybe they used these gifts to travel to Egypt and escape Herod.

It's easy to inadvertently read through the Advent story and forget the glory of everything that actually happened.  This year, try reading it through the eyes of a two year old. Or read it from the perspective of Mary or Joseph or the shepherds or magi.

Advent Conspiracy

Several years ago, Imago Dei started a movement called Advent Conspiracy, challenging people to focus on the real reason of Christmas and not get caught up in the stressful consumerism that this season has become. This will really make you think...

Laugh at Yourself

We can all use a good laugh now and again, even if it’s at your own expense.  I’ve found myself laughing at myself a lot lately (meaning that I’ve recently done some pretty stupid things).  But how boring would life be if we took everything seriously and just tried to act like we’re perfect all the time? Here are a few somewhat embarrassing, but pretty hilarious examples:

Two weeks ago I went for a bike ride and had my first biking accident involving a car. Don’t worry, the car didn’t hit me, run over me, or back into me. Because it was parked. That’s right, it was just sitting there and I managed to hit it. Thankfully the car didn’t have any damage, but my forearm got quite a nasty-colored bump. I looked around to make sure no one was pointing and laughing, gave a sigh of relief that no one had seen this catastrophe, then hopped back on my bike and peddled ever to Megan’s house to get an ice bag and share the story.

Yesterday, my friend Whitney and I were discussing how annoying it is to wear contacts (we have really deep, meaningful conversations).  She mentioned how awful it would be to lose a contact while camping. And I said, “Yeah, or to lose a contact in the snow when you’re snowboarding.” She replied, “Oh my goodness, is that how you broke your wrist snowboarding? Because you couldn’t see?” I thought of using that as an excuse, but instead just admitted, “Nope. I just busted it for no real reason.” And then laughed at what a lousy snowboarder I am.

For some reason the heater at my house is not working, so last night I decided to go out in the garage and fix it myself.  I turned the red nob to OFF which blew the little flame out and then I couldn’t get it back on.  My friends Conner and Mat came over to hang out and I automatically told them about the broken heater and took them out to the garage to show them what I’d done. Well, apparently I turned the water heater off instead of the actual electric heater (the first embarrassment that we had a good laugh over). So Conner lit the water heater again. I said, “Thanks, Conner. I’ll think of you when I’m taking a hot shower tomorrow morning.” I obviously hadn’t thought that through before verbalizing it. We all laughed for a solid minute over that one.

This week, my boss told me about an intriguing movie (or was it a documentary?) titled “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”. So I pulled up the Multnomah County Library website and logged in to put the movie on hold. Our intern, who was looking over my shoulder, stared at me and said, “Do you have your library account number memorized?” (She might have coughed “nerd” after that.) “Duh, 33326372.” And then I admitted that I memorized it to the tune of Bethoveen’s 5^th and that I sing that in my head as I type in the numbers.

Today, our receptionist Sarah kindly brought me sparking water from Trader Joe’s. I took the 42oz bottle up to my desk, sat down and twisted the top off. The sparkling water quickly bubbled up and sprayed out of the bottle as if it were a high-powered water hose. When I finally got it to stop spraying, I stood up and walked downstairs to display my soaking wet outfit to Sarah, who must have shaken the bottle before handing it over. She laughed at me and I said, “That’s ok; I can take it. I laugh at myself all the time.” Which is what inspired this blog post.

Wow, this post is getting long. My middle name is definitely not Grace – I’m clumsier than I realized.  All this to say, when you feel like things aren’t going right or like you’re a complete idiot, don’t put yourself down… just laugh at yourself.

Other People Are Catching On
My friend Brad (or let’s call him “Bob” for confidentiality) admitted to us last night that he went for a massage this week with a “naturalistic”, very Portland masseuse who ended up putting heals on him and clicking his feet together. Apparently this super odd practice healed his back, but not many guys would admit that they 1) got a massage and 2) wore heels in the process.  But it makes for an amazing story that we all enjoyed and got a big kick out of.

Speaking of Brad, I mean Bob… he introduced me to a new band that I absolutely love and has become one of my new favs.  We went to the Blind Pilot concert at the Crystal Ballroom last week.  I’ve been listening to their albums “We Are The Tide” and “3 Rounds & A Sound” nonstop since then.  Check them out!

My favs: Half Moon, Get It Out, The Bitter End, 3 Rounds and a Sound, New York,  Keep You Right, The Story I Heard

Thanksgiving 2011

I spent a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving in Portland this year with a great group of friends.  Drew's mom and nephew were in town from South Carolina and definitely brought the Southern cooking with them.  In fact it was a Southern Thanksgiving all around since everyone in attendance was from either South Carolina, Georgia or Texas.  We even fried a turkey (just like my Uncle Rufus used to do) and had sides of mashed potatoes and mac and cheese (both which are considered vegetables in the South), collard greens, biscuits and dressin' (not "stuffing").

I think I'll let the delicious pictures speak for themselves...

 

Josh (aka Turkey Doctor) carving the fried turkey

 

a nice presentation of the platter of turkey, Doc!

 

getting all of the extra meat off of this bird...

my mama taught me how to dismantle a turkey!

 

that's right, even Drewsky did a little cooking

(not without a beer in hand, though)

 

the most amazing spread of deviled eggs

Naylan and I are planning to open a deviled egg/cakeball cart

speaking of cakeballs... pumpkin cakeballs!

 

drunk cranberries... just substitute Grand Marnier for water

 

the whole group at the Thanksgiving table:

Naylan and his girlfriend Trisha, Sheila, Drew, Kate, 6-yr-old Grayson, me, Josh

Christmas Tree Lighting

On Friday, we kicked off the Christmas season with the lighting of the Christmas tree at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland.

 

bundled up for the tree lighting

 

and then we topped the night off at Rogue Brewery where Kate and I met (and harassed) a local celeb and got his autograph... in sharpie on our forearms (ask me about the story later)

So Portland

This past Saturday, Megan and I explored our amazing city of Portland on foot.  All too often we take the simple pleasures of our city for granted and don’t get out and enjoy the local (and sometimes “touristy”) things in our own backyard.

We started at the Imago Dei DIY Fair (in conjunction with Advent Conspiracy) where we picked up great ideas for crafty projects such as homemade burlap wreaths, vanilla extract, wine cork boards, and compost bins (so Portland!).

Then we walked across the Burnside Bridge and wandered around the Portland Saturday Market where you can find Portland craziness in all its fullness: people on stilts, henna tattoo artists, Bible-beating evangelists standing on soapboxes (literally), bearded guys banging on plastic buckets (so Portland!).

We walked on over to the US Outdoor Store to find some warm running pants and rain gear so that we can stay active and hopefully avoid SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) over the next 7 months of dreary Portland late fall/winter/spring/early “summer” (Portland… why?!).

Next we hit up Powells where I picked up books on American slavery, the life of James Franco, and a teen fiction series on the post-apocalyptic world.  I hunkered down in a corner of the connected coffee shop and flipped through the books while often getting distracted by the eclectic group filling up on their daily soy latte and vegan tart (so Portland!).

We strolled along in a drizzly rain (ugh, Portland!) to the Stumptown Coffee in the Ace Hotel.  We ordered $4 8-oz lattes (really, Portland?!) and sat in the cozy hotel lobby and read an article about Occupy Portland in the Portland Mercury. It was entertaining and completely annoying at the same time.

After that we headed over to the Central Library, which I’ve never been to but wanted to visit for quite some time.  It is a gorgeous historic building in the heart of downtown.  We walked up the marble stairs to the third floor which has a room dedicated to sheet music (so Portland) and another where you can browse through CDs.  I filled my bag up with Coldplay and John Mayer piano books and Lifehouse and Matt Maher CDs. (Public libraries are an amazing resource, and totally not dorky. If you don’t already have a library card, you should get one.)

All this walking made us hungry, so we stopped in Henry’s Tavern for an early happy hour burger and Rogue beer (so Portland – or rather Newport).  And then continued on to REI to continue our search for running gear (gear is the epitome of Portland).

After a long, yet very relaxing and enjoyable day in downtown Portland, we crossed over the bridge back into Southeast, our true stomping ground.  Thanks, Megan, for such a fun day gallivanting around Portland with me. To all of my friends out there, I hope you take every opportunity you have to “tour” your own city and enjoy all that it has to offer.

Portlanders Love…

- being crafty
- bridges
- going against the grain
- coffee, the stronger the better
- anything organic, vegan, and gluten-free
- camping out in city parks in the name of economic equality
- checking out free music (bc we're all "musicians" and in bands)
- beer, the hoppier the better
- gear, and lots of it
- everything local

Wrestling With God

We just finished a series at Imago about the life of Jacob.  The story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22-32) has become one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  Here you have Jacob, a deceitful man who has lived a less than exemplary life, go through a life-changing experience in one intense night with God, his creator.  Jacob is fearful of soon meeting his brother Esau who understandably hates him and wants to kill him.  One night when Jacob is alone, God wrestles with him until daybreak, breaking his hip and renaming him "Israel".  In his own weakness and incapability to control the mess he has made, Jacob encounters God in a violent way, but comes out a completely different man.  Wounded yet healed.

I've been thinking a lot about "wrestling with God" and what that looks like in my life. As a Christian, I proclaim that I have a personal relationship with God. But I've come to question if I really know God. Personally. I think I know the God of this religion I'm following. I know that he loves me and is always there. I know that he is good. I know I like talking to him.  And I can almost always feel his presence. But do I really know God? And what does a personal relationship look like? One of the most important things in a deep intimate relationship with someone is the ability and willingness to challenge each other. To be open and honest. To state the difficult truths. To hear the difficult truths. To figure things out together, even if that means getting a little dirty. I'm pretty good at being open and honest with God. I can tell him exactly what I think. I tell him when I don't like something, when I'm frustrated with him, when I want things changed. But then I often walk away and don't listen to his response.

Wrestling takes two people. Each person is trying to gain a superior position over the other.  But we know that God is omnipotent and if we enter into wrestling with him, we're definitely not going to win.  So just entering the wrestling match is a big first step. Wrestling takes energy. And it could be embarrassing when I end up in a headlock. It requires us to lay down our control (which we don't really have anyway) and actually want to figure things out with God and let him change us in the process.

But wrestling isn't fighting.  We're not throwing punches in a violent way, hoping to knock our opponent out.  And when we wrestle with God, he's not judging us and he's not pushing us away.  He's actually coming closer to us.  He's touching us and transforming us.  We might get hurt in the process.  There might be some scars, or a broken hip in Jacob's case.  But a couple broken bones is sometimes what it takes to be changed.  And a limp reminds us that God cared enough to change us.

Wrestling with God, especially at night when it's dark and we can't really see what's going on, can be scary and confusing.  I've come to find that usually when I'm in opposition to God, it's because I can't see the whole picture.  I don't really know what's best for me.  Or I can't see how what I do in my life might be affecting others.  But God can see the whole picture and he does know what's best.  And in seeing all of this, he chooses to come down and wrestle with me and help me understand.  I'm grateful for a God who is willing to wrestle with me.

Jacob's story challenges me to encounter God in a way that doesn't really seem pleasant and easy. We can't be afraid to step into the ring and wrestle with God. How else will we be changed?

Lago di Merlo

Last week, I gained a new appreciation for wine.  Oregon's Willamette Valley is up there with Napa when it come to excellent wines. And my job, surprisingly enough, is teaching me to be a wine connoisseur.  So I'm gradually learning to appreciate the quality and taste of wine.  But last week I learned to appreciate the complex process of making a good wine.

A certain winemaker in Portland has become a strong supporter of MTI and for the past several years has hosted a vineyard harvest party at his vineyard, Lago di Merlo, as a fundraising event for us.  The harvest party took place two weekends ago, but the grapes were not quite ready to harvest on that Saturday.  Grapes should be at at least level 19 on the Brix scale (which measures the sugar content of the grapes) in order to be ready for harvesting.  Due to an oddly cool summer, these grapes were only at a level 17.  So instead of harvesting grapes, the guests enjoyed a day in the sun playing bocce ball and feasting on fresh roasted pork and fine wine.

Apparently last week was the final harvest week for vineyards all across Oregon before the cold winter weather moved in.  It was "all hands on deck" at the Merlo vineyard on Wednesday, so I took the morning off work and volunteered to pick grapes.  I put on my rubber boots, bought a new pair of gardening gloves, borrow a pair gardening clippers, grabbed a bucket and started harvesting grapes! It was actually a beautiful day outside and picking grapes was so quite enjoyable "work"!  It was a real community event.  Eighty-seven-year-old Harry Merlo himself (yes his last name is Merlo and he is a winemaker - fate) was out there in the vineyard clipping grapes alongside a dozen migrant workers, the neighbor from across the fence, a group of interns from the World Forestry Center, some of the Merlo wine salesmen, and a few MTI volunteers who had been at the party a few days before.

All I did was spend a few hours clipping bunches of grapes off of the vines, but my little hands were a small part of the big process of turning those grapes into wine.  And I can hardly wait to someday drink a glass of that what is sure to be a fine 2011 Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

the very fresh roasted pig at the harvest party

Wednesday morning grape picking

vines heavy with juicy Sauvignon Blanc grapes

Elvis, one of the World Forestry interns

who has since called me everyday to "greet me" and say "hello"

me and winemaker Harry with a bin full of harvested grapes