Epiphany

"Have you had an epiphany lately? It is January 6!...Epiphany, from the Greek, means 'to shine upon,' 'to reveal,' 'to appear, manifest.'"
~2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study

in the church Epiphany is the celebration of the Wise Men arriving at the manger. supposedly the Sages took two years to arrive at the stable. now, if i was Mary, i would have packed up Joseph and the baby and hopped back on that donkey and gotten the bleep out of there. no way i would stay in a stable for 2 years. so i think the writes of Luke's gospel took some liberties with the timeline of the story. but accuracy or no, the arrival of the Wise Men was a big deal. after following that star, the baby was made manifest to the Sages. they saw him and his majesty was revealed.

i can't say i've had an epiphany lately. it seems like i should have. isn't there always an epiphany you can call upon to make things easier? shouldn't there be an epiphany on the horizon? honestly, i don't see one in my immediate future. i guess that's why it's called an epiphany. you don't know it's coming.

today is Epiphany. the day baby Jesus is made manifest to shine upon the world.

i haven't got some big hoo-ha/theological/religious/meaningful thoughts to share.
i'm taking down the tree and putting away the ornaments.
i'm going to talk chris into making sweet bread for a king cake to kick off the season of Mardi Gras.
i'm going to fold laundry and take the kids to dance.

thinking more about it, maybe taking liberties with the timeline isn't such a bad idea--assuming an infant and a donkey aren't involved. maybe an epiphany is on my horizon. i hope so.

so happy Epiphany everyone. i hope you are able to find light shining upon you.

friday five

i follow a blog called RevGalBlogPals. every friday they pose a question. it's called the "friday five."

i'm not one for resolutions. resolutions don't work for me. they add pressure to my life and make me feel depressed when i can't meet my goal. but i do think about things i hope for and will strive for in the coming year.

last week's friday five posed the following question:

For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.

so here is my friday five:

5 blessings from 2010:
1. i made it through January without incident. for those of you who have known me for a while, you know that we fear January around here.
2. my children are happy and healthy. chris is happy and healthy. my marriage is great. i have a job i love. (i think i may may be cheating putting, all of these in the same line.)
3. i started blogging, even if sporadically. i've never been able to journal. this has been an interesting experience.
4. i ran to half-marathons. getting to spend time with my sister for one of them was the best!
5. i made some really wonderful new friends, and reconnected with old ones.

now, hopes and dreams for 2011

1. make it through January without incident.
2. be a better support for chris. he does so much an i do so little. he deserves more from me.
3. try to live in balance. calm is my goal emotion for 2011. i think this will make me a better mom and wife.
4. dust. i hate dusting but it needs to be done. i know, frivolous and maybe a waste of a hope, but there it is.
5. be the best possible mom i can be for my wonderful children.

so there it is. my top 5 hopes and dreams for 2011.

5 seems like too few. so here are some more.

make a real difference with my job.
get on my bike and in my running shoes. the second of those two is more likely to happen. the bike intimidates me.

so what would your answers to the friday five be?
happy new year!