Thanksgiving

I am guessing that most Thanksgiving dinners included a time where everyone stated something for which he/she was thankful. It is a good exercise to do. I know many people might be tempted to say, "I am thankful for everything." However, when we stop and think about it, how much are we REALLY thankful? The opposite of being thankful is grumbling and complaining (unfortunately, I am guilty of that). I may say that I am thankful for my job, but how often do I find myself complaining about it? When we recognize and appreciate the seemingly little things (like running water), I believe we will be less apt to complain about other things in our lives. I tend to complain about traffic, but the truth is that I am very fortunate to have a car to drive and that we have paved thoroughfares on which to drive. It seems like it is so easy to grumble and complain, and much more difficult to be truly thankful. Thanksgiving Day should be celebrated everyday to remind us to maintain an "attitude of gratitude."

Fun with Pumpkins

This past weekend I along with 3 other women coordinated a pumpkin cook-off at our congregation. It turned out even better than I was expecting. We had about 30 entries that covered a wide variety of things including, pumpkin pie (of course), pumpkin curry, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin stirfry, pumpkin fruit salad, pumpkin milkshakes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin custard, and pumpkin alfredo, to name a few. The creativity displayed was really remarkable. Everyone who came got to sample the dishes and vote on their favorites in 4 categories. No one went away hungry.

The comment I kept hearing from attendees was, "This was really a lot of fun!" People seemed even a little surprised at how much fun the event was. I don't think it was so much about the food as it was about the excitement generated when people are able to be creative and are able to share their creativity with others. The excitement was definitely contagious. I think I have almost had my fill of pumpkin for a while, but then again...maybe I should make some pumpkin soup.

Pride

Some people say that the hardest words to say are "Will you forgive me?" I agree that those are difficult words, but I think equally difficult to express are these words, "I really need your help." This is not just in the way of "Help me carry this heavy object," but a deeper admission that we need other people around us to support us in all areas of life. The difficulty in both of the above situations is pride, and I am sure we all struggle with this to some degree. I think about the many times that I have been humbled, and what a lasting impression those times of forced humility have had on me. It is a good reminder for me to remember that we cannot be an island. Not only do we need to fully depend on the Lord "when I am weak, He is strong," but we also need to humble ourselves by letting others help us. Think of how humbled the disciples were when Jesus washed their feet.

Light: A particle or a wave?

I am sure much has been said relating light to the nature of God, but I had a new thought yesterday (I am sure others thought of this before). I was thinking about how God is both a God of mercy and a God of justice, and the Scriptures say that Jesus is the lion and the lamb. At initial glance, we think "How could He be both of these seemingly opposing characteristics?" It is something of a mystery to us, but we know it is true. Similarly, we know that light is both a wave and a particle. How can this be? The properties of light baffled physicists for a long time until Einstein came along and showed how light has both aspects. From a physics perspective, particle and wave characteristics are very different. Wave characteristics include refraction, diffraction, interference, reflection, while particle properties are evidenced in different ways through "bits" or "photons" which are sent like impulses as demonstrated in x-rays and other ways . Everything has both a particle nature and a wave nature, and depending on the frequency, one will be more dominant than the other. Each serves a different purpose, and both are necessary. When Yeshua (Jesus) said He is the Light of the world, why should we wonder how he can be both the Lion and the Lamb?