merry christmas to all, and to all a good night

there is something about Christmas that we miss. i woke up today with such a joy. my last day of work for the year. having my brother home. excited to share in the gift-giving, thinking about the presents i'd wrapped up for people i love to open on Christmas day, piled up under my very cool tree with very cool decorations {pictured above -- i couldn't resist}. and just really remembering what this is all about. the real reason why we celebrate. i mean i don't feel like we celebrate properly. we eat. we laugh. we share in family time. but i just don't feel like we really party it up like we should, celebrating the birthday of a saviour. a king. a redeemer.

i love the song hark the herald angels sing, particularly these lines:

mild he lays his glory by. born that man no more may die. born to raise the sons of earth. born to give them second birth. hark! the herald angels sing "glory to the newborn king!"

whoever you are, wherever you are, i pray that you feel the LOVE that was big enough to be born small enough to save our world.

that's all
x

love’s confusing joy

i’ve come across some really rad quotes by the poet rumi, who lived in 13th-century persia, known as the poet of love. i first heard a quote by him in a movie {not that academic, i know} that went something like this “all we really want is love’s confusing joy”. he’s pretty legit. and i discovered that mr david crowder also takes inspiration from his works, you may recognise these words…

dance, when you’re broken open.
dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
dance in the middle of the fighting.
dance in your blood.
dance, when you’re perfectly free.

or maybe this…

that which GOD said to the rose,
and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty,
he said to my heart,
and made it a hundred times more beautiful.
what was whispered to the rose
to break it open
last night
was whispered to my heart.

but i especially liked this:

love is reckless; not reason.
reason seeks a profit.
having died of self-interest,
love risks everything and asks for nothing.

x

quotable quote

"africa can stun you in an instant. it can throw floods and drought and disease at you, sometimes all at the same time. in the next moment, it will tease you with its magnificent beauty, so even if you don't forget, you can find a way to forgive. ultimately, it keeps you coming back for more."

{jacqueline novogratz, the blue sweater}

easy. like sunday morning.

my favourite day of the week is sunday. i love waking up early and not having anything planned. at first, living by myself was disquieting. i really struggled to get used to how quiet everything was, especially in the mornings. i was used to the noise of others: voices, dogs, showers, the radio, the telephone ringing. but now it's really rad. i like the quietness. and i find i enjoy the really simple things like great coffee and danish biscuits in bed on a sunday morning. watching movies on my mac. only getting out of my pjs at 3pm :)