Roses

I never liked flowers until recently, but in the last while they've begun to speak to parts of my soul that I never expected. I've flowers - mostly roses - in my bedroom constantly for nearly two months now, and don't see an end to that plan in sight.

My roommate loves the color red, and she took a few photos of some of the current roses in my bedroom tonight. (I have to admit that this is one of my favorite bouquets yet!). I loved the way her photos turned out, and thought I'd share with all of you.

Thursday

It's Thursday night. Which means the week is almost over. I'm glad for that.

Tonight I have plans to rest and relax. I'm going to decadent girly things like painting my nails for the wedding I'm attending this weekend, giving myself a foot bath, eating chocolate and popcorn (not together), and watching the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

I'm missing my best friend. We normally watch Grey's together.

But I'm excited for the weekend, and the chance to see several dear friends while I'm in Winnipeg attending the wedding. I'm looking forward to hugs from some of those who know me best.

One more day of work, and it's a Friday - casual day. I LOVE wearing jeans to work, have I mentioned that in the last week or so? Then an evening of packing, and an early flight on Saturday morning. Here's to a fun weekend coming soon!

Thinking about race...

I have to admit that I usually give very little thought to matters of race. I'm not sure I'm giving it a lot of thought now, but two things have made me pause today.

The first was a phone call I answered at work this afternoon.

I gave the client the name of the agent he was trying to locate, and, upon hearing the obviously east indian name, the client inquired "is he a white fella?" when I answered in the negative, the client went on to reply, "oh dear. Does he know anything?" I'll be the first to admit that the particular colleague in question is not one of my favorite people, and is rather unbearable when it comes to inter-office communication, however, he always handles his clients quite professionally, and I quickly assured the client that this was the case, before putting him through.

I've worked in various service industries for a lot of years, and I can definitely say that I've never had a phone call quite like that before.

The second is this article on the God's Politics blog. It would seem that Barack Obama was hung in effigy on a university campus this week. A rather disturbing thought as well.

Thoughts on Baptism and Eucharist - Henri Nouwen

A few more great thoughts from Henri Nouwen that are catching at me at the moment...

Baptism and Eucharist

Sacraments are very specific events in which God touches us through creation and transforms us into living Christs. The two main sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. In baptism water is the way to transformation. In the Eucharist it is bread and wine. The most ordinary things in life - water, bread, and wine - become the sacred way by which God comes to us.

These sacraments are actual events. Water, bread, and wine are not simple reminders of God's love; they bring God to us. In baptism we are set free from the slavery of sin and dressed with Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ himself becomes our food and drink.

Baptism: Becoming Children of the Light

When Jesus appears for the last time to his disciples, he sends them out into the world saying: "Go, ... make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus offers us baptism as the way to enter into communion with God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and to live our lives as God's beloved children. Through baptism we say no to the world. We declare that we no longer want to remain children of the darkness but want to become children of the light, God's children. We do not want to escape the world, but we want to live in it without belonging to it. That is what baptism enables us to do.

Pakistan in the News

My best friend M. is currently in Pakistan. She'll be there until May or so, working in a small mission hospital.

Needless to say, I'm following the news from Pakistan more closely these days.

And today, on a day when I'm eagerly anticipating an event we've traditionally shared, I'm thinking about her and praying for her.

And for Pakistan. The latest story to catch my attention can be found here.