Merry Christmas!

I meant to post that wish before the first day of Christmas arrived, but it's now the third day of Christmas, and well, it's just as heartfelt.

I don't like it when people say that Christmas is over after the gifts are opened on Christmas Day or after the turkey's been eaten...so humor me as I let Christmas linger. It's been hard to let go of my other concerns (largely work) and enjoy the days, but I've been trying:)

On Christmas Eve, we attended services at Emmanuel Baptist Church where Amanda danced with the worship dancers. It was a wonderful service aimed at families highlighting the 'real star of Christmas'. After that we had family back to our house, ate appetizers, visited and exchanged some gifts. And for the second year in a row, my sister is in town for Christmas, which is a treat!

Les had to work Christmas day, so I arose with him before six that morning and saw him off. After a quiet breakfast, I read a devotion and snuck downstairs to play some carols quietly on the piano, then I came back up and made a pot of tea and read some Brennan Manning by the Christmas tree lights. Amanda soon arose and opened her stocking. The two us then did our tradition of lighting the advent candles and the Christ candle while singing carols and read our advent stories of His birth.

The rest of the day went by at a much quicker pace with a turkey to prepare and families to host. Les got home from work around 2 p.m. and we had a bit of family time around the tree before both Les' family and my own joined us.

The feast was wonderful, with too much food of course, and a highlight of the turkey platter being toppled right after dinner before dessert was served...so due to broken glass, no turkey leftovers were to had this year, but a fun memory nevertheless.

Pictures were taken, games were played, laughing happened. It was a good day!

The Brophy's

There You Are
written by Carolyn Arends

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough
And I awaited your arrival here from some place very far
As if I couldn't feel your constant touch
Why did I think that you'd send thunder
To wake me from my slumber
When anytime I open up my eyes

Chorus:
There you are - loving me like crazy
There you are - though I am unaware
There you are - when my heart is doubting
Even there you are

I was waiting for a miracle and hoping for a sign
As if each breath I take is not a gift
And I was acting just as if the way you gave your life for mine
Didn't have my foolish heart convinced
What did I think could cause this hunger
Did I ever stop to wonder
Why every time I open my eyes

Repeat chorus

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough

(C) 1997 running arends music/New Spring Publishing, a division of Brentwood Music
Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP)

Well, I had a fabulous weekend and a less than fabulous return to work on Monday.....so I will focus on the weekend right now...

Les and I finished up most of our Christmas shopping on Friday...just a few more gifts to buy...and then he took me out on a date for the evening! We went to Earls for supper where I had my favourite, the bento box and a glass of this yummy gwertraminer. I was on track eating wise until we decided to share gingerbread cake for dessert...oh well, it only happens one time a year, right?! After a wonderful meal, Les took me to see Pride and Prejudice. It was truly wonderful! Of course, they took some liberties in making the film...but how else could they have fit my favourite work of fiction into just two hours?! I think they captured the story and characters well though. Afterward we headed out to Starbucks for coffees...the perfect way to complete a great date I'd say!

Saturday we did some things around the house and got most of our Christmas wrapping done and then we headed to the Saskatoon Inn for my company's Christmas Party. I have to confess that I really am not much for company Christmas parties. I actually find it a lot of work to socialize in that venue. It seems people are focused on image and impressing others and people don't truly mingle beyond their workgroups much. So I find it really hard to relax in such a mix and while I do always enjoy visiting with some people, I'm usually relieved when it is over. The one bright point this year though was seeing my handsome hubby in his new suit:)

On Sunday we did some housework and some running around, and we did manage to fit another trip to Starbucks in before we went to visit the in-laws...gotta like that!

Les had this weekend off and it was just so great to get to do so many things together. I loved it and wish it didn't have to end:)

Seven Things About Various Things I Was Asked to Tell You About

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Have a baby.
2. Paris in the springtime!
3. Honeymoon in Ireland (we're still going, right?!:)
4. Learn to skate.
5. Retire from ever having to do accounting again!
6. Finish what I started on the ministry track.
7. Love my husband and children higher and wider and deeper than I even think is possible.

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Hide my feelings (or at least, I can't do this very well)
2. Ski (I've never learned and Les doesn't want to)
3. Sleep if I haven't brushed my teeth and washed my face before bed
4. Touch my nose with my tongue.
5. Not take things personal

From You've Got Mail:
(Joe Fox) "It wasn't... personal."
(Kathleen Kelly) "What is that supposed to
mean? I am so sick of that. All that means is that it wasn't personal to you.
But it was personal to me. It's *personal* to a lot of people. And what's so
wrong with being personal, anyway?"
(Joe Fox) "Uh, nothing."
(Kathleen Kelly) "Whatever else
anything is, it ought to begin by being
personal."

6. Reach the top shelf in our kitchen cupboards (without a chair).
7. Watch any sort of surgery (I have to turn my face away even when Les is just flipping the channel past 27 some nights!)

Seven things that attract me to my spouse:
1. His affection and affirmation.
2. His sense of humor.
3. His creativity.
4. His heart.
5. His shoulders (and all kinds of other parts;)
6. His strength.
7. His touch and his gaze:)

Seven things I say most often:
1. Worst case scenario...(Les says this is how I relieve stress, by planning around it?! eg. 'well, worst case scenario, the meeting will run late, but I'll make sure I'm home by 5.')
2. Good grief (I think I caught this one from my friend, Alana!)
3. Drive safely.
4. Bye (even when just leaving the room for a few minutes)
5. What are you thinking?
6. As if!
7. I don't think so.

Seven books I love:
1. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
2. Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin
4. Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldridge
5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Beyond Ourselves by Catherine Marshall
7. Living the Questions by Carolyn Arends

Seven movies I would watch over and over again:
1. The Mirror Has Two Faces
2. You've Got Mail
3. Pride & Prejudice (BBC Production)
4. While You Were Sleeping
5. Bridget Jones
6. A Beautiful Mind
7. Gidget

Seven people I want to join in too:
Anyone who reads this...and especially anyone I link to on this blog:)

Guess What I Found on the Newstand Tonight?!

Someone I know is now famous!!

Les' Eve

Tomorrow is the birthday of the most handsome, caring, creative, brilliant man I know...the one my heart loves! Happy birthday Les!! I love you more than words can say and am so proud to be your wife:)

Yes, I know, I'm way behind in updating this thing. I know you don't want excuses, but things have been hectic. I only have a minute here, so I'll just update you on the two most notable things on my heart:

Firstly, last week, Les was injured in a bit of a mishap that I don't have time to describe here, but the outcome was a fractured rib, a buckled rib, some nasty bruises and an wound that bled into his abdominal cavity. He's been in quite of a bit of pain ever since, so if you'd pray for my sweet man, I'd so appreciate it. Today he does seem to be feeling some relief - although he still has a ways to go.

Secondly, despite his injuries, Les insisted on taking me to the Brian Doerksen worship concert on the weekend, and it was amazing! I learn a lot worshipping with him:)

"The splendor of a human heart which trusts that it is loved gives God more pleasure than Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, the sight of ten thousand butterflies in flight, or the scent of a million orchids in bloom."
Brennan Manning

English Tea Lyrics
(Paul McCartney)


Would you care to sit with me
For a cup of English tea
Very twee, very me
Any sunny morning

What a pleasure it would be
Chatting so delightfully
Nanny bakes, fairy cakes
Every Sunday morning

Miles of miles of English garden, stretching past the willow tree
Lines of hollyhocks and roses, listen most attentively

Do you know the game crochet
Peradventure we might play
Very gay, hip hooray
Any sunny morning

(solo)

Miles of miles of English garden, stretching past the willow tree
Lines of hollyhocks and roses, listen most attentively

As a rule the church bells chime
When it's almost supper time
Nanny bakes fairy cakes
On a Sunday morning

Brian Doerksen in Concert

Les called me at work today with wonderful news. He has another date planned for November 25th. We just barely finished one date and already there is another one on the horizon?! (I'm liking this!!) Apparently Brian Doerksen is playing Saskatoon on the 25th and Les has gotten us tickets! Brian is a sincere heart, a husband and a father with a heart for The Father. Les had encountered him personally when he lived in B.C., and we both enjoyed worshipping with him last year at Breakforth. He is a talented worship leader and muscian and a tremendous songwriter. I'm SO looking forward to the 25th!

Boy Those Roses Smell Good

I just had the most wonderful evening and day with my handsome husband. It started when I came home from work on Monday to 2 dozen (!!) huge long-stemmed white roses (with just a hint of pink:) along with a love note written en francais from Les!! (remember when he said that if you don't use your French you lose it:)

For our anniversary he had also gotten me a gift certificate for Bev Ashdown's for a pedicure (those are one of the most relaxing experiences I can think of:) and an amazing card:)

Then Les took me to the Granary for supper (as is our tradition:), where we had the most delightful meal (although I'll admit I was over my carb limit...but it was our anniversary after all!) Then we did some walking and browsing and ended our time out with coffee's at the new Starbucks on Broadway.

The whole time I felt like we had this big secret compared to the rest of the world...here it was a weekday and we were out on a date...here it was a weekday and we didn't have to worry about getting to bed on time:) You see, Grandma had Amanda overnight and we both had booked Tuesday off, so we could linger Monday evening and spend Tuesday together.

We had such a good day Tuesday too! We slept late, had eggs for breakfast (in the middle of the week?!) then headed out to some shops we never get to, just to look. We even had another Starbucks...this time trying the Gingerbread lattes (yum)...and then picked up Amanda from school and I made a special dinner at home to celebrate our anniversary as a family.

Last night, I really had a hard time though going to bed. I didn't want it to be over...nor to face the reality of work and its hectic-ness today, but here we are!

Boy those roses smell good! :)

Saying "I Do" Was the Best Thing I Ever Did!

Today is the third anniversary of the day I married Les! And in that three years, my life has seen more changes than I would have ever dreamed, but also, in that three years I have experienced more happiness than I knew possible! My husband is a man of character and committment who does more than his share to take care of his family. My partner is a man of humour and optimism (especially when it comes to me) who holds me up when I can't do it myself. My friend is the only man I could ever share all my secrets and dreams with and know that I am safe. I am so grateful for you, Les. I love you and adore you even more than on that day when we first said 'I do.'!

Overheard coming out of my daughter's mouth...



You hope that your children internalize the things you try to teach them...but you don't know for sure...until, that is, you overhear them say something like this:

"I just don't get why (name witheld to protect a friend) didn't study for her test?! When I have a test coming up it just doesn't feel right to be watching TV or playing if I haven't studied."

Not bad for 10:)

Encounter

Encounter was very good tonight. I think I finally let God begin to break through what I've been carrying as we sang 'Blessed be the name'. In the message, the image of hands really spoke to me...

It Depends on Whose Hands It Is In

A violin in my hands will make a screechy
noise
But a violin in a musician's hands will play
a masterpiece.
It all depends whose hands it's
in.

A basketball in my hands is worth about
$29.95
A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is
worth about $33 million
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6
A baseball in Mark Mcquire’s hands is
worth $19 million
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A tennis racket
is useless in my hands
A tennis racket in Pete Sampras’ hands is a Wimbledon
Championship
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A rod in my hands
will keep away a wild animal
A rod in Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A sling shot in my hands is a
kid’s toy
A sling shot in David’s hand is a mighty weapon…
It all
depends whose hands it’s in

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands
is a couple of fish sandwiches…
Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God’s
hands will feed thousands
It all depends whose hands it’s in

Some mud and some spit in my hands makes a
mud-pie
But some mud and spit in Jesus' hands
restores sight to the blind
It all depends whose hand it's
in

Nails in my hands might produce a
birdhouse
Nails in Jesus’s hands will produce salvation for the entire world
It all depends whose hands it’s in

I have no idea who first penned this. I first heard it tonight from an African-American preacher in a film clip. It appears that he added several examples that weren't in the original version I found as I googled it just now, so I added those in from my memory of his words. The message I heard tonight was to put everything in His hands so that we can take our empty hands and lift them up to him and point to His power and His goodness. It's all better in His hands. The only hand we can give Him is ours pointing to Him.

The Truth IN Love

Oy, what a day, what a week I've been having?! So I just pressed pause for a moment and got myself a Starbucks and did a little catching up in the blog world. ...And I came upon this post of what it means to speak 'the truth in love'. Now, I don't know the writer, but she is on several of the blogrolls of people I do know, and what she wrote really resounds with me on this matter...here's an excert:

"Many times when a person evokes or employs "truth in love," the emphasis is placed more on the truth aspect of the message than the love. But that's not how the sentence itself is structured -- truth is in love, inside of it. Love is what is encompassing it, surrounding it -- which should effect how this truth is delivered.

Which leads me to my problem. Whenever I see an
injustice in the world, I want to remedy it ... but remedying it doesn't mean emphasizing what I see as the truth at the expense of love.

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm big on accountability. There are few things I despise
less than someone who's a hypocrite -- saying one thing, while intending (or doing) another. My drive for accountability needs to be balanced with a drive
for showing love -- or compassion (not pity) -- for whoever my opponent is. This is huge!

Both of these elements -- accountability and compassion -- have to be a part of my approach. Without accountability, my compassion could easily
slip into condoning of actions and a general sense of apathy to what is right and wrong. Yet without compassion, my drive for accountability (and justice) is
useless, because it gets me nowhere"
From grrrlmeetsworld.com

Now there's some truth IN love!

Sherri Needs...

As I was checking out some other blogs today, Christy had posted this little exercise. I found some of her results funny, so I tried it myself. Here are the instructions: "Go to Google and in quotation marks put your name and needs. Example if your name is Fred put "Fred needs" and press enter. Then share the 5 funniest hits."

I'm sharing the top hits in the order they came up...it's eerie how google knew the kind of week I've been having?!

• Sherri needs prayers
• Sherri needs a break
• Sherri needs to learn that they are not "wrong" and there are a multitude of ways of reading it
• Sherri needs support now
• Sherri needs to duck out
• Sherri needs a year off also
• Sherri needs to explore technology
• Sherri needs to sneak out too
• Sherri needs her bandmates
• Sherri needs to forget the world
• Sherri needs to talk
• Sherri needs to stay in the corner before she gets hurt

...and my personal favourite...

• Sherri needs much Marketing at this point anyway.

Work continues to be full of pressure and stress these days...your prayers are so appreciated!

For a break, I took a couple of quizzes about career and personality while I ate my lunch...

...and how I became a CA, still remains a mystery to me?!

Your Career Type: Social

You are helpful, friendly, and trustworthy. Your talents lie in teaching, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems. You would make an excellent: Counselor - Dental Hygienist - Librarian Nurse - Parole Officer - Personal Trainer Physical Therapist - Social Worker - Teacher The worst career options for your are realistic careers, like truck driver or farmer.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

What? ...no accountant on that list?! Shocking!! (I remember one personality quiz I took a while back that actually suggested that the last thing I should be is an accountant or finance manager! ...things that make you go, hmmm!)

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person. You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The'>http://www.blogthings.com/threequestionpersonalitytest/">The Three Question Personality Test