You know, I used to think I was too busy to put up Christmas lights.

I could carve out the time to decorate inside the house, because it was

a group activity. But any festive expressions pursued alone were out.

The past couple of years, I've felt free to engage in "frivolous" behaviors,

and I find that I'm able to also accomplish more of the meaningful stuff of life

along the way. It hasn't robbed me or the people I love of anything,

and I believe it has rather contributed to our experience of pleasure in life.

I suspect that this is a result of the fact that God created us to be fully human,

and good things happen when we embrace all the elements of our humanity.

I love, love, love to bake. Today I whipped up seven

batches of cookie dough, to be rolled, baked, and decorated

at a later date. It was cloudy all day and rained at the end.

Perfectly wintery and wonderful!

Every December, my church practices what we call "fallow month". The idea is based on the Jewish law in Leviticus 25 where God told people to grow crops for 6 years and leave the land fallow on the 7th year. He would provide so richly during the 6th year that there would be plenty to eat for the time of rest. Also, poor people and wild animals could glean from the land that was untended.

This concept is used in farming even today -- usually farmers leave one section of their land unplanted and grow on the other areas, rotating the fallow ground over the years. This allows the land to remain fertile and resist disease.

We noticed that people tend to become very busy in December, yet this is a time for Advent -- awaiting the coming of Christ. And a time for enjoying family and friends rather than being overwhelmed by multiple events that are supposed to be festive but end up being distracting and stressful. So all the major meetings and groups close before December, and we prepare for Christmas by contemplating Advent together and not having a bunch of stuff going on. People are encouraged to make some changes in the way they live so that they can slow down, spend time with loved ones, show compassion to others, and worship God.

Eric and I are looking to spend some extra time with our parents & siblings this month. We're pulling way back on Christmas shopping & gift giving this year, replacing some of it with thoughtful letter writing. And on my blog, I'm planning to post fallow month updates and take a break from painting (although I may gradually wrap up the Seattle series). So here's to a restful month of looking forward to Christmas and to the return of Jesus, who will come again!

... speaking of which, when Eric and I go on vacation, we check out as many interesting churches (preferably recently 'planted' ones) as possible. We used to avoid church on vacation, honestly. But having started a church from scratch ourselves, we now think of each one as a sort of canvas. We've seen first hand how much creativity and energy, time, sacrifice, life, and relationship go into the thing. What has another group of people in another place done with their community piece of spiritual art? We assume that people start churches because they have a vision for something that's not there. What was their vision? What was the need? Are they accomplishing it? Can anyone? How are they trying to make it work? Seeing these things reminds us of what we love about our spiritual community and also inspires and challenges us.

I've been sick the past couple of days, so painting has been out.

But before I got sick, I started the next one, and I really like it so far!

I think I'm on my way toward feeling better, so there's more to come soon!