quiet holiday morning



a morning nap for one of the puppies

 I've been sitting out on the porch this morning enjoying the quiet.  January 2 is a holiday here, and Monday is also our usual day off, so it's been lovely and relaxing.  I got to sleep late, then have a quiet breakfast before heading out on the porch to pray.  

The lessons for the Daily Office today are some of my favorites for a variety of reasons:

-- "Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him!" (Psalm 34)

-- Elijah under the broom tree, fed by the angel and strengthened for his journey (1 Kings 19:1-8)

-- baptismal words:  "There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."  There is a variety in gifts and ministries given us "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ."  (Ephesians 4:1-16 )

I looked this one up in Kreyol, too:
4:4 Gen yon sèl kò ak yon sèl Sentespri, konsa tou se yon sèl Bondye a ki rele nou pou nou gen yon sèl espwa.
4:5 Gen yon sèl Seyè, yon sèl konfyans, yon sèl batèm.
4:6 Gen yon sèl Bondye, ki papa nou tout, k'ap dominen sou nou tout, k'ap aji nan nou tout, ki nan nou tout.
(http://www.kreyol.com/creole-bible/bib-la.html)

-- the feeding of the 5000, especially the part where it is the child's offered lunch that becomes enough for all when the adults are too overly reasonable to see any hope in the situation  (John 6:1-14)

It reminds me of the lines from Madeleine L'Engle:

This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been full of reason there'd have been no room for the child.

-- via Love Blooms Bright, an Advent blog I love (and highly recommend - still worth reading this time of year!)  http://lovebloomsbright.wordpress.com/

I've also been watching the puppies and the birds this morning.  The puppies, of course, are always entertaining.  The birds have been especially wonderful, though, especially the moments when four hummingbirds were playing tag.  What a gift. 
 
Perhaps for your entertainment, I should also mention my moment of surreal humor during breakfast.  There is power again this morning (I think the electric company has been extra generous during this holiday season - I wonder what will happen later this week!).  Our television, when there is power, has the disconcerting tendency to turn itself on.  This morning, during the quiet of my breakfast, it went on, and soon it was apparent that it was not one of the sisters.  I poked my head around the corner to see, dubbed in French, an episode of Tom and Jerry with a car race. Quicksand, swinging bridges over ravines, and a tiny flying car, all in short order.  I haven't seen that for decades.  What a hoot.  I had to watch a moment or two before turning it off and returning to my quiet. 
 
My year is beginning on a good note.  I hope yours is happy, too.