Decorating Without a Tree

De-stress this holiday. Enjoy the season, including the scents and tradtions but in new ways. Check out theseĀ  scented and spirited decorations – no tree required.

Apartment Therapy
YvesTown

Creative holiday tree options – without the tree.

You may also like After Christmas Tree Hangover.

 

InnerPeace – I’ll Be Happy When . . .

Photo R. Meshar

Fideism (pronounced “fee-day-ism”) is a Christian heresy that can best be explained as blind obedience to any external authority, be it educational, religious, governmental or even medical. Basically, whenever we make a decision because someone else told us we should, we have succumbed to fideism. We have handed over our own personal authority and choice to someone or something outside of ourselves.

Choices we make, must be made by learning as much as we can from others, but then ultimately discerning what God wants for us in the deepest interior of our hearts. Put another way, we must form our own conscience well, listen carefully (to those outside, but also to our interior) and then make our own decisions.

But fideism happens in other ways too. We often hear people say something like “I’ll be happy when . . .” fill in the dots; I get married, my spouse stops drinking, get that job, finish school, buy a house, have children, etc. Again, this is also fideism. When we do this we are handing over our own choice for happiness to an external person, situation or thing. Our choice for happiness is a decision that we make for ourselves. It is not dependent on exterior events, persons or situations. Our interior state is not dependent on exterior things.

Actually, you already know this, because we all know people who haveĀ  been happy in spite of living in terrible situations. Think of Dietrich Boenhoffer or Nelson Mandella. Etty Hillesum is another example. Read her book An Interrupted Life for an uplifting look at a young woman who chooses for love and happiness in the midst of tragic circumstances.

Ultimately, we need to inform ourselves, face reality as it really is (and this is not always easy), listen to our own hearts, then make our own decisions.

You may also like Happiness is a Choice, What is Your Story? and Inner Peace – Healthy Self Talk.

Gift Ideas that Do More

Most of us don’t need (and do not even want) one more CD, T-shirt or pair of slippers. Would you like to give a thoughtful gift, spend your money wisel and have it do something good for the world? My friend T sent me these fun gift ideas:

TicketKitchen.com

Try giving an experience of delectable dark truffle hot chocolate from The Ticket Kitchen – using sustainable ingredients and packaging.

 

 

 

Altruette.com

Another interesting idea is altruette.com making jewelry out of recycled sterling silver. They make charms and bracelets. 50% of the net profit from their products goest to the organization the item symbolizes and they have many to choose from.

Thanks T!

Certainly don’t forget donating in someone’s name as a gift option. Mary’s Pence is always my first choice. Their ESPERA Funds help women become empowered to lift their families and entire communities out of poverty.

Also, churches can always use gift cards for local grocery stores, local gas stations, and pharmacies. One year when I was a pastoral associate, a parishioner dropped off a stack of grocery gift cards. When I exclaimed “How wonderful!” he replied, “Last year I was someone who needed groceries from the food shelf.”

Before buying toys to donate – consider gift cards for gas, groceries and prescriptions that make it possible for parents to free up resources to buy the gifts they know their children really want.

You may also like Malls of Justice, Christmas Tree Hangover and Christmas Craziness or Christmas Spirit?

Weekend Movie Ideas

With Thanksgiving weekend upon us, perhaps you are looking for some thoughtful films to watch after the feast?

Here are two provocative Asian films I viewed recently that I can highly recommend. Both are available on Netflix – watch instantly. They will challenge your ideas of cultural expectations – for dying, living and eating.

The first is a film entitled Departures. A subtitled film about the ritual of caring for the dead in Japan. The cinematography is magnificent as are the rituals with their fabrics, and stylized movements. The touching care for the dead and their families parallels the directors handling of the topic of death itself. Interwoven is a love story about the ability of two people to learn that entering into love and life require trust. Food too, plays an interesting role in the story.

The second film is Eat Drink Man Woman. This story (subtitled) takes place in a household in Taiwan where it is the father who cooks. He is a professional chef who also enjoys cooking traditional, sumptuous, Chinese cuisine for his three daughters. However, they are less than enthusiastic about attending his elaborate Sunday dinners. Each daughter has a coming of age story which emerges in the film. There is a surprising twist at the end as the shackles of culture and family expectations are released.

You may also like Fresh, the Movie, The Human Experience, and Movie Waitress – It’s All in the Pie.