Baptism, a rite of passage

Another great thought from Henri Nouwen...

Baptism, a Rite of Passage

Baptism is a rite of passage. The Jewish people passed through the Red Sea to the Promised Land in the great exodus. Jesus himself wanted to make this exodus by passing through suffering and death into the house of his heavenly Father. This was his baptism. He asked his disciples and now asks us us: "Can you ... be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?" (Mark 10:38). When the apostle Paul, therefore, speaks about our baptism, he calls it a baptism into Jesus' death (Romans 6:4).

To be baptised means to make the passage with the people of Israel and with Jesus from slavery to freedom and from death to new life. It is a commitment to a life in and through Jesus.

Tolerance

I read this article today.

It would seem, that in France, many muslims are sending their children to the catholic schools rather than the public ones. It seems that they find the catholic schools display far greater religious tolerance than the state run secular schools.

Interesting.

I am

Today I am...

• wearing a medal with St. Claire on a white gold chain around my neck
• wearing "sexy" new boots (can I say sexy in the sentence right after talking about wearing a saint medal??)
• glad it's "casual Friday" and wearing jeans
• getting super excited to see one of my absolute favorite people on the planet in less than 24 hours
• excited to have printed the boarding pass for my flight tomorrow morning, and finally, after quite a few trips by air this year, have a window seat
• sipping water, because I haven't made it to the staff room yet to make tea
• glad that I don't generally wander out to the kitchen in the mornings in my pj's. It seems my roommate's boyfriend flew in a day early to surprise her, and so the alternative sleeping arrangements we'd arranged for the weekend (he's staying with my parents) couldn't quite be put into effect, and he was sitting and chatting in the kitchen with my other two roommates when I emerged (fully dressed for the day)
• wearing a silver ring with a "blue lace agate" stone in it (that I bought a few weeks back at Lake Louise and really love)
• feeling some joy, some peace, lots of excitement, some fear, and some uncertainty
• wishing (just a little) that I wasn't one of those people who has bizarre dreams really often
• remembering the "Fountain Tire" commercial where the guy gets on the plane dressed for Hawaii, and realizes he's on the wrong plane "goin' to Winnipeg" (makes me laugh, since that's where I'm flying to tomorrow morning)
• going to fight with Best Buy about my ipod, and see if I can get them to replace it a week early, since they've provided absolutely terrible customer service, and it's now been seven weeks that it's been gone, and I'd really like to have an ipod for travelling this weekend.
• going to pick up some money my brother owes me, and a suitcase from my parent's house
• mostly smiling
• sporting really nicely done nails, thanks to a very girly evening last night watching the season premiere of grey's anatomy
• having a hard time getting warm
• really grateful for "George" and how much he's shortened my morning commute to work
• starting to get hungry, and thinking it's time to get on with some work that's sitting on my desk!

See you around!

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!