Be st Fri ends

I send you memes and random Bible study questions. / We discuss what that guy's motive for murder could've been on that show and whether they recast the female lead? / You know some of my passwords and I know yours. / You're a soft place to land and wickedly funny. / We talk about those annoying talkative people who don't seem to know that they'd seem smarter if they kept their mouths closed and ugly mismatched outfits and what happened to her face? / I share how much it hurt to lose my dad and how things are really going. / We plan trips and Bible studies and fitness plans and what flavour of ice cream to buy. / You make me delicious food and I contribute important help doing things like cutting avocado. /  We drink copious amounts of tea. / You love mushrooms and I love tomatoes. / You think details and I think big picture. / We talk. About everything.

"I used to think that all this in-between stuff was the intermission, the rest stops along the way...but lately I've come to realize that all of this small stuff is the stuff. This is it, the main event, the blue plate special, a million little drops of love that fill the whole cup."

Lent

It's Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent on the church calendar. I have done various things over the years to mark the season of Lent. It has always involved giving up something whether shopping, wine, or social media. This year, I have decided to do something a little different. Rather than giving up something, I have decided to focus on what I am filling myself up with and choose my "best yes" each day. My best yes on any given day might look different. Today, it looked like going to an Ash Wednesday service where there was beautiful singing, candlelight, ashes, communion and prayer. I was tired after work and considered staying home. But I knew that I would love the church service and it would be worth going. And I was right. 

In considering what my best yes is, I don't mean to selfishly fill myself with all the things that delight me. On Sunday our church is having an AGM. I have never been and I hate (business) meetings, but my best yes involves doing things I know I should do whether I want to or not. Exercise on the elliptical falls into this category and a variety of other things that I will be doing. Looking forward to the next 40 days til Easter...

loves

They say love is a word that is thrown around too casually, that it has lost some of its depth. But you know what? I really do love potato chips and coffee and chocolate. I love my living room and my couch. I love the pink streaks in my hair and my painted nails. I love flowers. I love my church and my class and my community group. I love my dresses and my ballet flats and my new black jacket. I love conversations with my best friend. I love rain and sunshine and cold mornings. I love the twinkle lights in my classroom. I love my new pink blanket and the fake magnolias in the vase. I love music and the preaching of my pastors and the sound of rain. I love tea with milk and sugar. I love sinking into a new book. I love visiting my neighbour. I love recess and coffee with my coworkers. I don't think my love for these things diminishes my love for all the more important people and things in my life. "As a matter of fact, I am entirely certain that the music swells, time stops and lights twinkle for even our most ordinary, fleeting, Monday-kinda loves."