Decorations, Lamps, And A Greek Dinner

Today was really busy.

Shortly after 10am I picked up my friend CM and we went shopping for my New Year's Party tomorrow night. I'd asked her previously if she'd be willing to help with party preparations, and (good for me!!!) she'd said yes.

So we went to the $1 store and bought some decorations, and afterwards we went to a grocery store to get some more items. We figured the rest of the stuff we could get tomorrow morning.

Afterwards, we went to Ikea. We arrived by 1pm, and ate lunch there (and I had a grrrrrrrreat coffee). Then we looked around a little. We both needed some lamps, and I found a nice one for just $20.

The highlight of the day, however, came when I went to Abbotsford in the evening, to AJ&CL's. We met up for a Greek dinner there with AJ&C, JH, and our two guest visitors ML & M?. RS and MB couldn't make it. We had a super good time. Here is a group pic we took:



I got home after 1am. Now, bring on the new year!!!

Devastated

I'm devastated.

I had lunch with AEK today. She does not want to be my friend any longer.

I can't believe it.

I'm A Pro

Today I bought myself a Christmas present. My grandmother - God bless her soul - left some of her savings with her grandchildren before her death, and as a result, I was able to buy myself a wonderful new digital camera.

Over the past few years I've developed an interest in photography. I like carrying my camera around to different places and take pictures. Whether it's shots of God's wonderful creation such as gardens or mountains, or whether it's beautiful churches or gatherings with friends and family, I love taking pictures of meaningful moments.

I want to continue developing this interest; who knows, maybe it's a gift. It's a creative outlet. Maybe I'll take a photography course, and one day in the future I can help others develop this interest too.

So, from the *PowerShot S100:








To the *Pro1:

* Photos taken from the Canon website.

A Rainy Christmas Day

Today was a very rainy day. Except for the emptiness on the streets, it didn't feel like Christmas at all. I didn't go to church in the morning, because I went to the 11pm service last night, and stayed up late afterwards. Actually, CM and RS came over for some port wine and blue cheese, and I'm glad they did, because we had a really special time together.

But I did get to visit with people, and that's something I enjoyed.

Early afternoon I visted my friend ML, who arrived from Japan a week ago. She invited me to a family lunch. It was good to see her family again. Her mother cooked an amazing meal. She also introduced me to her uncle who was visiting from Eritrea. He was an interesting and very educated man, very smart, but he talked way too much. And he had an odd obsession with Apple Computers (for freaks sake people, it's a computer!!!) It seems to me that every family has an "uncle" who talks too much. Regardless, the L's invited me to come to an Ethiopian dinner on the 28th, so I'm very much looking forward to that.

Late afternoon I went to Abbotsford to visit with my relatives. I actually had no desire to go whatsoever. Whenever I visit with relatives I feel like I'm entering a "timezone" or "world" that's totally and utterly different and unlike mine. But anyways, I need to continue to deal with it, and accept them for who they are. I've no right to judge. One thing we did that I loved was sing hymns. At special occasions like Easter and Christmas, we always sing, and I love that. Partly because the hymns we sing are so beautiful and meaningful, but also, because our family has a great tradition of good musicians.

Late in the evening I went to visit JR, who came home from the Philippines for Christmas. She's been a missionary in Cotabato for the past two years. She has another year to go, but one of her financial supporters decided to pay for a trip for her to come home for Christmas. How cool is that! She told me how God's faithfulness has been so amazing during the past two years, and that was really good for me to hear. It's true: it's hard to realize and comprehend God's faithfulness when you're living in a place that has everything, when all your needs are met, and where no threats are evident. But, this security is really false and fleeting. Anyways, it was good to catch up with her. I hope to spend some more time with her before she returns to the Philippines.

All in all, this was a good day. I'm disappointed I didn't go to church in the morning, but spending time with friends and family is also a discipline worth cultivating.

O Holy Night!

O Holy Night!

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees

Oh hear the angel voices!

O night divine

O night when Christ was born!

O night divine

O night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need

To our weakness is no stranger

Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!

Truly he taught us to love one another

His law is love and his gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise his holy name!

Christ is the Lord

O, praise his name forever

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

_____

Original words in French by Placide Chappeau de Roquemaure, 1847. Translated into English by John S. Dwight.

Suckers For Jesus

Tonight was my "Christmas Enchiladas and Sangria" party. I invited 15 of my family-less friends for a Mexican-themed (well, in terms of the food anyways) Chirstmas dinner. Eleven people came, which in my mind is a good turnout.

Early afternoon I met with my friends RC and CM, and went to Commercial Street to do some last-minute shopping for the party. We went to the $1 store to pick up decorations, and afterwards we dropped in at a few grocery stores to pick up food.

By mid-afternoon we were back at my place, cooking up a storm. On the menu was the following: enchiladas, rice, refried beans, and sangria. For dessert we had several yummy apple-crisps. RC and CM prepared the meal, CM did the decorations, and I made the sangria and did the general clean-up before the party.

CM and RC .. the party-prep team:

The table is set:

Guests arrived around 6:30, and mingled for awhile until dinner time. The food was simply awesome....my gosh, I was so astonished. We had a great time eating and conversing. After the meal we played a gift-exchange game that in my experience has always led to extreme displays of humanity's true colours: pride, selfishness, and arrogance; but in our group it seemed like we were all pacifists, and the game was (dare I say) almost boring! No one wanted to take the other person's present. Everyone was just way too gracious. Then again, it was probably just false piety: deep within we were burning with envy and jealousy.

There's a thief among us:

Finally TS wins the battle:

After the game we brought out the dessert, and had a "toast to Jesus" with sangria, where each of us shared a characteristic of Jesus we admire and seek to imitate : suffering, identifying with the "have-nots", humility, and the incarnation, were some of the traits mentioned that inspired us to following Christ faithfully. It felt strangely foreign to give a "prost", "salud", "cheers" to Jesus.

Then came the funniest part of the evening. CM brought out a bunch of candy-suckers, handed them out to us, and suggested that these suckers remind us that Christmas is about the celebration of God's entry into the world in a tiny little baby Jesus. As His followers, we too must become like little children. Someone else rightly suggested that we become suckers for Jesus. Hahaha, I thought that was rather funny, and well, true. Essentially, we are suckers for Jesus. What I found funny about the whole "sucker" thing was that it's something I would never have come up with. CM has a knack for taking simple (childish?) things and making super profound illustrations with them, all with a great sense of humour. It's a great blend of humour and theology which is something I have much to learn from.

Suckers for Jesus:

Suckers for Jesus (this time without suckers):

Afterwards, in typical Vancouver fashion, the party wound down quickly. It was like everyone had a revelation at the same time: "It's 11 o'clock, better get going home now." I don't get it. Whatever happened to "partying into the wee hours of the night!" If we can't party at Christmas, when can we party?

I was really blessed though, that everyone pitched in to help clean up my place. Wow! By the time everyone went home, my place was completely clean. That was a real blessing.

Thank you Lord, for special friends to spend special times with!

Bless each of them, according to your good and perfect will,

through Christ Our Lord.

Prayer And Fellowship Retreat

Today I spent the entire day at the Westminster Abbey in Mission with my friend JS. We left here at 9:40am, and arrived there by 11 o'clock.

Approaching Westminster Abbey:

After a quick tour of the monastery, we went inside the beautiful church to watch the monks at midday prayers. Prayer time was short, about 10 minutes. Afterwards, we went upstairs to the 4th floor of the visitor's housing unit, where we discovered a beautiful little corner with couches, and a gigantic window with a gorgeous view of the Fraser Valley.

After eating our home-packed lunches, we set to having our own service from the Book of Common Prayer. J knows so much about the Anglican tradition of liturgical worship, so it was beautiful to have a full service, with just the two of us. We began with the Order of Morning Prayer, which included (among other things) the Te Deum Laudamus, the Benedictus, the Apostles' Creed, the Collects for Peace and Grace, and the Prayer of St. Chrysostom. Then we followed it up with the 3 daily Scriptures for today, based on the liturgical church calendar: Psalm 107, Isaiah 55, and Revelation 8. We closed with the Lord's Prayer, and the Grace. It was a wonderfully beautiful time of worship. This book truly is a gem of the church. Its format lends itself to communal worship the way few other books do.

Sanctuary:

Then we caught up on our personal lives. I've been getting to know him this past semester, and he's a tremendous guy. It was good to share with him some of my past history, my roots, and my journey of faith.

Afterwards we did some individual reading, and then we went for a quick walk. Upon our return to our little corner on the 4th floor, we drank mate. J and his wife A have actually been to Paraguay before, so he was delighted to drink this traditional drink.

At 5:30 we went to the evening vesper prayers in the church. This session lasted 40 minutes, and it was beautifully reverent, solemn, quiet, and oh so peaceful. I got goosebumps listening to the angelic tones of the gregorian chants.

Architecture:

Throughout the day we discussed various topics: the purpose of theology (LOVE GOD MORE!!), traveling, Eucharistic theology, Charismatics, California, family histories, Anabaptists, Vancouver-rain, monks, Orthodoxy, and of course, mate.

We arrived at home at 7pm.

The Next 11 Days

Here are my plans between today and January 1st:

12.22.05
* Visit Westminster Abbey in Mission with JS: pray, meditate, fellowship, read, listen to the monks pray
* Rearrange bedroom
* Download pictures to computer

12.23.05
* Massive clean up of Cub's place
* Shopping for Cub's Christmas Enchilada & Sangria Dinner™
* Cub's Christmas Enchilada & Sangria Dinner™

12.24.05
* Order tickets for the World Cup
* Christmas shopping
* File paperwork
* Holy Communion

12.25.05
* Holy Communion
* Christmas with relatives in Abbotsford (Lord have Mercy!)
* Download loads of pictures

12.26.05
* Boxing Day Sale: Buy Digital Camera on sale
* Buy white turtleneck
* Research flight tickets to Los Angeles (January), and Germany (May, June)

12.27.05
* Meet with AEK
* Take inventory of personal library
* Read Imitation of Christ, History of the Church of England

12.28.05
* Read: Imitation of Christ, History of the Church of England
* Pay bills, taxes, parking fines
* File paperwork

12.29.05
* Read: Imitation of Christ, History of the Church of England
* File paperwork

12.30.05
* Get-together with 'the gang': RS, JH, MB, AJ&CL. Guest visitor: ML
* Shopping for Cub's New Years Party

12.31.05
* Another cleanup session of Cub's place
* Shopping for New Years Party
* Cub's massive New Years Party

1.01.05
* Sleep
* New Year's Day Service

Other things that I will surely do: chat online with FL, take loads of pictures (especially after I buy the new camera), visit with ML who is visiting from Tokyo, watch Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, drink mate and coffee, and make time to visit with other friends

Calhoun's

Today was a really good day, because I finally got to speak with AEK. We met at Calhoun's for coffee. It was so good to see her. I've really missed her. It was the first time I'd seen her since September 13th.

We spent 3 hours together catching up. We talked mostly about our last semester, and the challenges and difficulties we both encountered. Then we began talking about our past, and it didn't take long before we were both crying. The fact that this took place in a bakery/cafe with other people around didn't bother us at all. I like it when I'm so caught up in something that the rest of the world becomes meaninglessly peripheral.

We both explained ourselves, our actions, and our frames of mind. I told her that my goal in meeting her was one thing: to reconcile and begin a new friendship. Getting to know each other afresh could be very meaningful for both of us, perhaps in a way that's even more profound than our relationship ever was. I've not shut the door on a future relationship with her. In fact, seeing her today made me realize how much I appreciate and miss her.

At the same time, it's still very evident that she's a broken person. I really messed her up. She doesn't trust me, and why would she, sometimes I don't even trust myself!! She said she'd think about our conversation before responding. We agreed to meet again next Tuesday, the day after Boxing Day.

Lord, have mercy on AEK and heal her.

Bless her and keep her in your comforting care.

Have mercy on me too, oh God.

Show me what I ought to do, and help me to do it.

Through Jesus Christ, let it be so.

The God We Hardly Knew

No one can celebrate
a genuine Christmas
without being truly poor.
The self-sufficient, the proud,
those who, because they have
everything, look down on others,
those who have no need
even of God - for them there
will be no Christmas.
Only the poor, the hungry,
those who need someone
to come on their behalf,
will have that someone.
That someone is God.
Emmanuel. God-with-us.
Without poverty of spirit
there can be no abundance of God.

_____

A suitable poem for the 4th Sunday of Advent, by Oscar Romero. Come Lord Jesus, Come!!!

Three Weeks Without A Shave

I've been receiving different reactions and feedback to my beard. Women compliment me, saying it "looks good on me." Guys, on the other hand, tell me I look like an Amish Mennonite. I wish I knew who was telling the truth!

Well, whatever. Three weeks without a shave. Actually, that's not entirely true. Earlier this week I had to "fix" up my beard a little, because it was starting to look a little unkempt.

The itchiness is also over. Well praise be!!! On the other hand, I find myself playing with my beard a lot, rubbing my fingers through it. Not sure why. I'm sure psychologists could analyze my behaviour and attribute it to all kinds of reasons. Having said that, I'm glad I don't know any psychologists, actually, because I really don't want to deal with their nonsense.

Anyways, I think I'll shave after Christmas. That way I can say I didn't shave for a month, and have memories of a bearded Christmas.

Another Semester Bites The Dust

My semester is finally done. I wrote my final History exam earlier this afternoon. I did well (thanks to the help of our TA) in studying Luther and Calvin, because the essay question I picked was "Compare and contrast Martin Luther and John Calvin in terms of their lives, their theologies, and their impact on the Reformation." A good and interesting topic.

Now I can relax. Finally. I'm tired, and need a break.

Checkmarks And Stars

Wow, sometimes I'm impressed with myself. Better stop there, before I'm accused of being proud.

I finished two projects today:
√ - My 10 week Bible Study on Colossians is done. Ready for hand-in. I'm pretty happy with it. And I must say I learned a lot about St. Paul, and the letter to the church at Colossae!

√ - My book report is done too. Just finished it 10 minutes ago. I speed-read (is that a word?) through 150 pages in less then two hours. For me, a slow-poke reader, that's pretty good.

OK .. now all that's left is my final exam in history, which covers the Middle Ages to the Reformation. I'm going to prepare myself by focusing essentially on the following two themes, and then hope and pray that they will be on the exam. ;)

Here are the topics:
* - Monastic Renewals during the Middle Ages: What were the conditions under which monastic renewals occurred? How were they a pre-cursor to Martin Luther? Compare several of the renewal movements: Cluny, Citeaux, Franciscan, Dominican.

* - Martin Luther: Did he destroy the church? Reluctant Reformer? Compare and contrast with Calvin, Erasmus, Zwingli, or Simons.

Maybe I'm A Scholar After All

No .. not because of any intellectual fortitude that has suddenly come upon me, but because of:

a) the beard that's gradually filling out my lower face; and
b) my formal attire today in class.

Two buddies of mine were teasing me in class today, saying "Cub, you look like a scholar. You're wearing dress pants, a turtleneck, and you're growing a beard."

I wish I'd have known earlier that being a scholar's all about "looks." Had I known this I'd have looked scholarly a long time ago. It would probably have helped out on my grades!

Throwing The Net Into The Sea: A Prayer

Long before your earthly arrival, Lord Jesus, the Psalmist said the following: “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. May our God come, and not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!

He concluded with these words from you, oh God: “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
_____

Heavenly Father, Precious Son, and Holy Spirit: We worship you. We adore you. We praise your Holy Name; for your name is above all names, there is none like you. You are righteous. You are Good. You are the God of our salvation. We thank you for that.

We thank you that through the sacrifice of your dear Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, our sins, and our rebellion, are wiped clean. Thank you that you cleanse us, you restore us, you heal us, and you guide us to a new life: a life centred on you.

Purify us oh God, and continue to draw near to us. Mould us to the image of your Son Jesus. Holy Spirit, we welcome you to work in our lives. We welcome you to tear down walls of pride, greed, envy, and hatred, and please replace them with generosity, kindness, joy, and love. Open our hearts to receive your love. Open our eyes, so that we may see you. Open our ears, so that we may embrace your word. Restore unto us the joy of your salvation!

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

We pray for your church, Lord Jesus. As your bride, we pray that the church would love the world the way you loved the world, and that she would be a reminder to all, that we have not been abandoned on the wastelands of history, but that you are always awaiting us with open arms. May your church reach out in humility, truth, and love.

Protect your church, Lord Jesus. Keep her eyes focused on you, amidst so much temptation to follow the pursuits of this world. For the Anglican Church of Canada, grant repentance and a turning around in faithful obedience to you. Forgive our divisive ways, and unite us as one in your truth, so that the world may believe that you were sent by the Father. May we preach the gospel of your kingdom, for you lived, died, and rose again; and may this lead to repentance, forgiveness, and the restoration of many people.

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

On this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we eagerly await the celebration of your birthday, Lord Jesus. We are counting down the days to that special, blessed day, when you left your dwelling with the Father, and became one of us. Lord, we are so grateful to you. We anticipate the time on Christmas Day when together with all the stars and all the galaxies we will rejoice, and with the angels we shall sing for joy, for salvation has come, hope has arrived, deliverance is here!

In the meantime, grant us strength, energy, and much peace of heart and mind. Give rest to those that are hard at work in the church, marketplace or school; embrace the lonely with your love, and touch the sick with your healing. Continually remind us of the true meaning of Christmas, dear Jesus.

We pray especially for your healing grace upon AL, K, and D and his family. Protect PC in Korea, and provide him with Christian fellowship. And we pray for the salvation of PVT, GO, and KJ. In your mercy, continue to reveal your purpose for their lives.

Finally, we quietly bring before you our individual concerns or lovedones you’ve placed on our hearts.

Lord, in your Mercy, hear our prayer!

All this we pray with thanksgiving, joy, and peace in our hearts;
In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

____

Evening Service Prayer at St. John's Anglican Church, based on Matthew 13:47-52, and Psalm 50: 1-6, 22-23.

Two Weeks Without A Shave

Exactly two weeks ago was the last time I shaved. Wow .. what freedom, not to shave every 2nd day.

This is the longest time I've ever gone without shaving, since my teens. I feel like congratulating myself, patting myself on the back. Why I'm not sure, but somehow I feel I've accomplished something.

Oh the little things that amuse me.....

Currently Listening - December '05

Artist: Ralph Vauhan Williams (1872-1958)
Album Title: Mass in G Minor (with the Westminster Cathedral Choir). CD includes Judith Bingham's Mass (with the Westminster Cathedral Choir and organist Robert Quinney). Master of Music is Martin Baker.
Producer: Hyperion Records
Release: 2005.

An Encounter At The Stairwell

It's 9:37am. I'm walking up the stairs in a hurry, on my way to class. I see someone else coming down. I look up, and realize it's her. No one else is around.

We make eye contact. At first we both look away in a mixture of surprise and uneasiness, but then we look at each other again. This time we both smile. But we continue our journeys, passing by each other without saying anything.

Then in the matter of a split second, I decide to break the silence. I have something to say.

Cub: "A, do you have a moment?"
AEK: "Ok."

I run back down the stairs. There's still no one else around. We're alone in the stairwell.

Cub: "Can we talk briefly?"
AEK: "OK." She smiles.
Cub: "My heart's burdened." My voice cracks. I fight back emotion, even tears.
AEK: "Yeah, I was going to call you."

Silence and nervousness, for about 5 seconds.

Cub: "When could we talk? Do you want to wait until next weekend, after all our assignments, exams, and papers are done?"
AEK: "Yeah. Sometime over Christmas."
Cub: "Ok. Have a good day."
AEK: "You too."

We both continue on our ways. I arrive in class, in a bit of a frenzy. For about 15 minutes, my eyes must have been glazed: trying to make sense of the brief encounter.

She looked good. She looked beautiful.

History!

My history paper's done, finally!!! I handed it in this morning.

It was actually a bit of an ordeal to get it all done. My original idea was to write about how the central aspects of Christian worship - Holy Communion and Preaching - changed from the Early Church to the Reformation.

I went to see my professor about it, and her respone was luke-warm. I really like her - she's very kind, humble and gentle, yet brilliantly smart - yet somehow her response deflated me. She suggested I take my research in a different direction. She didn't want me to just drop down facts on a paper. She didn't want a survey of Christian history. She wanted me to make a statement, a thesis.

So I did a ton of extra research, based on her suggestions. Yet, I didn't want to give up on all my ideas either, so I ended up blending both, and I'm not sure that was such a good idea.

In the end, a paper that was supposed to be 3,000 words turned out to be close to 6,000!! I edited it 3 times, and deleted over 1,000 words. My final copy had 4,100 words, still much over the accepted limit. But I decided to hand it in anyways. Editing is such hard work, and I'd already spent so much time on it, that cutting out even more felt like cutting out the very core of me, since I'd put so much work into it.

Anyways, it's done. My history paper's history.

Long Ago, Prophets Knew Christ Would Come

1.
Long ago, prophets knew
Christ would come, born a Jew,
Come to make all things anew;
Bear his People's burden,
Freely love and pardon.

Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
Sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing!
When he comes, when he comes,
Who will make him welcome?

2.
God in time, God in man,
This is God's timeless plan:
he will come, as a man,
Born himself of woman,
God divinely human.

3.
Mary, hail! Though afraid,
She believed, She obeyed.
In her womb God is laid:
Till the Time expected,
Nurtured and protected.

4.
Journey ends! Where afar
Bethlehem shines, like a star,
Stable door stands ajar.
Unborn Son of Mary,
Saviour, do not tarry!

Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring!
Sing, choir, sing, sing, sing!
Jesus comes, Jesus comes,
We will make him welcome!

-----

Words by Fred Pratt-Green.