Wednesday Hodgepodge: A Little Holiday Spirit

1. What do you think it means to have the holiday spirit?  Hmm...cue the Jeopardy theme song while I think, will you? I think, as the Grinch finally concluded, that it isn't about presents or decorations or a big meal with all the special extras. It isn't about big, splashy productions, plays, or movies...no matter how magical they seem. It isn't about light displays that are visible from the space station. It's the love and goodwill that takes over at this time of the year and it's all because of one little baby boy, born in a manger, but celebrated by the angels in heaven and kings here on earth. It's because of one little baby who took his first breath...and nothing was ever the same again. 

2. What's one thing you've baked this month? Have you eaten the finished product? How much baking do you do around the holidays? What baked sweet something does your family insist is on the menu during this season of the year? I haven't baked a thing. Yet. That is on the list of things that must begin soon and yes, I will sample the goods. I do like, however, that I've found that when I do the baking it curbs my appetite for the sweets. I don't know why, but it's always been that way. We (my mom and I) usually do a lot of baking, but I don't know just how much will be done this year. One, Mom and I will not be baking together because she and my stepdad are keeping to themselves again since Covid is raging here in in PA. I also don't know how much I will ultimately decide to bake because we are expecting more mandates to come down from the governor today. I am sort of expecting that by the time Christmas gets here we won't be allowed to gather. The one thing the whole family insists on? The little bite sized nut, poppy seed, and apricot rolls Mom and I make. They may be disappointed this year. I've never tackled them on my own. 

3. Your most recent 'half-baked' idea?   Putting up the outside lights. They have been nothing but trouble this year and not all of them are lit up yet. At the rate we are going, Christmas will be here by the time they are all working. It's feeling a bit like Clark Griswold and the lights in Christmas Vacation.

4. Where were you the last time you 'baked' in the sun? The top ten sunniest destinations in the world (most sun from January-December according to this site) are Dubai, Bali Indonesia, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, Barbados, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Antiqua, and the Canary Islands Spain. Have you been to any of the cities listed? Which one on the list appeals to you the most? If the world were not upside down crazy and you could lie on a beach anywhere right now where would you go?   I don't know if it qualifies as actually "baking" but it was in our own backyard. I managed to squeak in a couple of days in the pool this summer (after it was finally installed in August) before the weather turned cool and ended it. Of the places on the list, I'm thinking Spain. I find myself intrigued by it these days.

5. Today I wish I had more _____________________.  Energy. Two and a half weeks until Christmas. There's a lot to do!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Have you ever heard of laminin? It's a structural protein in the human body. It does lots of things, but one of the biggies is that it binds with other molecules. Basically, it's glue. It holds things together. It looks like this:

It's diagramed like this:

It looks like a cross and it's the cellular glue that holds us together. Why is that significant? Because Colossians 1:15-17 says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Christ created all things. He is what holds all of creation together. Coincidence that the glue that holds our cells together looks like a cross? I don't think so. Our God reveals himself in all of creation.