Christmas in Siam

Thank you all for your thoughtful inquiries and concern about my Christmas out here. It was lovely, actually. In a determined effort to make it as un-pathetic as possible, my friend, Sarah and I did everything we could to conjure up nostalgia and warm-fuzzies of Christmas past. While I thought it would be far cooler to sit alone in my room with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a packet of cigarettes, teaching myself to smoke (you know - stories for the grandkids), it was a beautiful day and I felt quite interesting and, well... grown up in spite of myself. Sarah and I sat amid lighted candles, a screensaver fireplace, complete with real crackling sounds (when looking at that while holding our hands in front of the candles, I could pretend it was a real fire), a modest little pile of presents, and tepid apple juice out of a box that we passed back and forth (it's LIKE cider). We watched the only English language Christmas movie we could find in town (anyone ever heard of "Christmas with the Kranks"? It's a real classic, let me tell you). It was even a little cold. A friend who lives out in the beautiful country an hour outside of Mae Sot invited us for lunch, and I nearly made myself sick on mashed potatoes, which was all I really cared about. It was a peaceful day, and I have managed to avoid the Jack and Marlborough's for at least this year.

Pictures to come...

I am so blessed to be here, having the opportunity to do what I am most passionate about. I am still a little in awe of a God that allows us the chance to live from our deep hearts; to live fully and vibrantly. As a Norwegian friend observed yesterday, "Christmas isn't just for the Christians". Indeed, how much God desires for all of humanity to discover the joy and the hope possible through His life and death; how He has come to fulfill our deepest longings and restore us to that for which we were created. Christmas seemed very real to me this year, and the message of the Gospel so very tangible - how Christ came to restore and to heal and to fulfill. May our eyes be opened to how we can be an extension of His love and restoration to a broken world. May we choose to see the suffering of those around us - because, my friends, suffering is all around us; whether we see it or not is our choice. In Mae Sot and refugee camps and IDP areas and Oklahoma City and Charlottesville and New York and Omaha. May God continue to break our hearts for those around us; may we CHOOSE to see their needs. We have been given so much...