(xaris and shalom)

Today was my first day off in a while that there was nothing on my schedule that had  to happen.  Consequently, quite a lot actually HAS happened, mostly from my list of jobs and errands that needed to be dealt with but that didn't have an actual deadline. So here's a snapshot of the random happenings right now. Monumental event:   I got my driver's permit.   (Let's just celebrate and not discuss how I'm about a decade behind the learning curve on that one.)  (Ironic footnote: getting that permit meant that I used the Bloomington bus system for the first time.  That is also worthy of celebration, that I've lived here for over a year and never had to use the buses before...) Thing(s) that I'm looking forward to:  Skyping my friend Emily (aka my China travel buddy) tonight. Watching Star Wars VI with friends tomorrow.  Church on Sunday.  ALL THE THINGS. Other things taken care of today: Grocery shopping.  Emails.  Review of a solar USB charger  (whic

Encouragement. (I would credit this... but I'm not sure the source exists anymore. :-P) That's been showing up recently, in assorted and sometimes very unexpected ways. There was the customer who came in on Saturday afternoon, ordering coffees, and then said, "Maybe I'll get a scone too." "Oh, I've been eyeing them all day!" Gemma said. "They look really great!" I added.  It was true, and the sort of friendly small talk that we try to make with customers. He bought one and promptly cut it into three pieces.  "Here, so you can try it too." Gemma and I were both floored.  This was a serious case of Never Have I Ever.   Never have I ever had a customer so spontaneously offer something to me.  Or, I guess I should say, never HAD I ever... (I was, in fact, so shocked that I totally ruined the espresso shot that I was pulling for one of his drinks and had to restart.  Now there's a barista problem!) Then there

When the news is full of explosions and violence and death, in America and across oceans, it is difficult to know how to respond.  Always, there should be mercy and heartbrokenness for the heartbreak of the world, but without falling into despair. A friend recently shared a line from W. B. Yeats' poem Stolen Child : And I am also thinking about J. R. R. Tolkien's words: This is why I love stories, reading them and writing them and telling them.  Because, to steal a final quote from G. K. Chesterton,  And the best of news is that, despite the thrashing of the dragon that continues in his dying throes, despite the havoc wrecked on the world, the victory has been won and full and final redemption is coming.