Of all the liars in the world...

Lingering

2014-12-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago my friend Karla Adolphe started dropping hints on her facebook page that she was headed into the studio to record a Christmas EP. The thought of Karla’s voice singing Christmas carols made me smile, and I couldn’t wait for the result. It didn’t disappoint. Lingering is an EP that I don’t hesitate to recommend. But more than that, I’m excited about the tone and the heart of the album and since I’m incapable of carrying a decent tune, and unqualified to comment on music, it’s the tone and heart that I want to talk about today.

I first met Karla probably ten years ago, when she played an evening of worship music at the church I was attending at the time. We connected slowly, chatting at concerts in town once or twice a year, and becoming friends. I was delighted when she and her husband Gary announced that after several years of living in Colorado, they were coming home to Canada, and making their home base in High River, Alberta, just 40 minutes south of my own home town. Our friendship has continued to grow, and over the last few years I’ve been blessed by Karla’s wisdom, support for my journey, and the friendship she’s offered to me.

A few years ago Karla put out an album titled “Honeycomb Tombs”, written to explore the process and journey of grieving. It quickly became one of my favorite albums for the hard days when it seemed that I was losing my ongoing battle with anxiety and depression, and one of the albums I turn to consistently for background music when I’m writing, cooking, or otherwise engaging in activities that are reflective and healing for me.

Watching as Karla and Gary and their family began to build a life in High River, and then faced devastation as their new home was severely damaged in the flood that struck Southern Alberta last year, and watching still as they fought through the process of rebuilding and setting down even deeper roots has challenged me, and taught me much about living with faith and hope in the hard and dark spaces of life.

About a week ago, Karla wrote the following on her blog about Lingering, her new Christmas EP:

Christmas is often the most wonderful time of the year, but as I learnt withHoneycomb Tombs, grief can cause even the treasury of Christmas to become challenging. I really wanted to create an album that would extend grace and warmth to those of you who may be grieving this season and honour your kindness to me as a listener.

I hope you enjoy the songs I selected, some of these are my absolute favourite! The songs express themes of pilgrimage, longing, hope, revelation, visitation and prophecy.

As someone who at times finds Christmas challenging, I so appreciated the grace that this album extends. It’s quiet, contemplative, and suited for those of us who need a moment of celebration that isn’t so “happy-clappy” as the Christmas tunes traditionally played at this time of year. As a Catholic, the mood of waiting, lingering and longing on this record fits perfectly with the mood of Advent.

As for favorites, my favorite song on this album is Karla’s rendition of “In The Bleak Midwinter”, a lovely old hymn based on a famous poem by Christina Rossetti. It’s a song perfect for the pondering of Advent, the looking forward to a savior, the recognition of that which Christ left in order to come, to truly be “God with us”.

I cannot urge you more to head over to Karla’s website and purchase Lingering. It’s available for only $6, and is well worth your money!

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 88

2014-03-20T21:49:00.000-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

a really good green smoothie
reading a memoir written by a midwife
curling up under a blanket and relaxing
conversation on the way home from RCIA
chocolate

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 87

2014-03-19T20:52:00.003-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

lazy, quiet day at home
hearing my name called in little boy voices
little boy kisses and hugs
an awesome dinner with friends
the chance to catch up and share the stuff of life with good friends

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 86

2014-03-18T20:28:00.000-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

sunshine
kids laughing as they play outside
a really positive career move
fresh mango
dinner with my family

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 85

2014-03-17T19:58:00.002-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

sunshine
reading on the bus
bookstore browsing (without buying - a miracle!)
a coffee date with a friend
getting the news that I passed my nursing licensing exam
a hot bath
cuddling the chubbiest blue eyed baby that I know
conversation over dinner with a heart friend
the encouraging and challenging words of a friend
soaking in the achievement of truly having accomplished the goal of becoming a registered nurse

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 84

2014-03-16T20:49:00.003-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

the chance to be with friends
raisin tea biscuits
cuddling a sweet, chubby baby
that I have a roof over my head
that my tendency to shop deals when I wasn't broke means that I have food in the freezer now that I am broke
sweet potato fries
green beans
reading on the bus
hugs from friends
crawling into a soft bed at the end of a long day

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 83

2014-03-15T19:30:00.001-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

a smooth work shift this morning
a hot bath with a novel
playing and cuddles with my sweet niece
dinner with family
green grapes
blackberries
my niece's facial expressions
mint tea from starbucks
an afternoon nap in the sun, curled up in an armchair
quiet time under a blanket, reading, writing, praying, preparing for the day and week to come

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 82

2014-03-14T20:56:00.001-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

a restful night's sleep
a super lazy sleep in kind of day
episodes of The Newsroom
reading a book curled up under a pile of blankets
grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 81

2014-03-13T22:21:00.001-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

a good shift at work
a hot bubble bath with a good book
cheese
watching episodes of Perception on my ipad as I commuted
a soul-engaging conversation with a friend on the way home from RCIA tonight

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 80

2014-03-12T20:09:00.003-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

80 straight days of making these lists
Chinook weather
getting to see a friend for a bit this afternoon
caramel nut granola bars
a super tasty, simple dinner of souvlaki skewers, green beans, and sweet potato fries

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 79

2014-03-11T20:13:00.003-06:00

Today's Daily 5:

a really good green smoothie
iphone games
resting
watching television for free online
sweet potato fries

Daily 5 Revisited - Days 77 & 78

2014-03-10T20:03:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's Daily 5:

Sleeping in after a late night and daylight savings time
puttering around the house in my pajamas
crawling into freshly washed bedsheets at the end of the day
tackling a few nagging household tasks
resting and reading

Today's Daily 5:

mint tea
seeing a friend at a rather dry work event
A New Liturgy: Lord Have Mercy
being able to borrow a vehicle from my folks to run errands and buy groceries
curling up at the end of a busy and tiring day with another cup of tea and an episode of Suits online

Daily 5 Revisited - Days 75 & 76

2014-03-08T23:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's Daily 5:

tackling a few nagging tasks
reading a novel curled up under a blanket
a good cup of tea
tv on dvd
watching episodes of The Newsroom

Today's Daily 5:

a decent work shift with my lady this morning
a long hot shower
a friend who cared enough to attend my rite of call to lenten renewal tonight
the ceremony itself
dinner, conversation, laughter and sharing over pub food and booze

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 74

2014-03-06T22:10:00.001-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

lazy morning with netflix
fresh mango
peppermint tea
reading in a starbucks
texting with dear friends

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 73

2014-03-05T20:31:00.003-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

sunrise colors
a positive career moment
ash wednesday mass
grilled cheese and tomato soup
borrowing a car to do some errands

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 72

2014-03-04T20:44:00.001-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

some encouraging dialogue about Lent with a dear friend
TV on DVD
pancakes for dinner
peanut butter on a banana
good chocolate

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 71

2014-03-03T21:26:00.003-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

restful morning
positive step in my career
sitting in the sunshine for a bit
potatoes - because I just happen to love them, and tonight I roasted some
"Mother's Little Helper" tea from David's Tea

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 70

2014-03-02T22:30:00.001-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

being able to borrow a car
multiple cups of mint tea
hugs and prayers from a dear friend
magic bags on sore muscles
conversation about Jesus over a good meal

Daily 5 Revisited - Days 68 & 69

2014-03-01T23:24:00.002-07:00

Yesterday's Daily 5:

fresh mango
skype with my Lyds
doing some bible study homework that challenged me
a hot shower
quiet time alone

Today's Daily 5:

peanut butter
green smoothie
more challenging bible study homework
seeing Karla play in concert with Heidi
cuddling with both Sterling and Hudson throughout the concert (cute kid cuddles are pretty much the best thing ever)

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 67

2014-02-27T22:42:00.001-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

sleeping restfully
lazy slob day
a library stop
reading in a Starbucks
a good conversation on my way home from an appointment tonight

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 66

2014-02-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

tackling a nagging task that had been hanging over my head
Rick Mercer and Jann Arden rock-climbing - so many giggles!
this post from Preston Yancey
waking up feeling rested
hot crossed buns
super happy news I received
simple lunch - blueberries, cheese, cucumbers
a walk in the sun (and managing not to fall on the super icy sidewalks)
facetime call with a dear friend - just sharing the stuff of our ordinary lives
a cup of tea as I wind down for the night

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 65

2014-02-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

Sunshine during the time I was out and about
being able to borrow a car from mom to go get some groceries
hot crossed buns
quiet and restful day
phone date to catch up and pray with a good friend

Daily 5 Revisited - Days 61-64

2014-02-24T21:38:00.001-07:00

I spent the weekend in the mountains, standing up in a wedding for a long-time friend. As such, I didn't quite make my lists, and rather than present individual lists for the last several days, I present one composite list for all four days.

Daily 5:

a sliver of moon
listening to "A New Liturgy: Lord Have Mercy"
feeling rested on waking
glimpses of sunrise
a much better work shift
Vietnamese dinner
a hot tub soak in the falling snow
good quality chocolate
watching olympics
sharing a friend's last moments as a single gal
the fun of having my hair and makeup professionally done
the look on the groom's face as his bride walked down the aisle
a truly amazing meal
the beauty of the mountains in freshly fallen snow
dancing a few different songs over the course of the evening
watching the joy as friends and family celebrated
a mountain hike
time with a good friend
coffee date with another friend
lots of good cups of tea

Daily 5 Revisited - Day 60

2014-02-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

A brief, unexpected reprieve in a stressful situation
watching the final minutes of the gold medal olympic woman's hockey game with my dad, and then watching as the Canadian team celebrated their win
a hot shower
walking home in the sunshine from mom and dad's
treating myself (thanks to the starbucks card I was given) to a big cup of peppermint tea as a stop for a "treat" on my walk home
a short nap
episodes of White Collar on Netflix (loving this series!)
reminiscing as I wrote a toast for a wedding I'm in this weekend
simple, quiet time at home
baking cookies

Daily 5 Revisited - Days 58 & 59

2014-02-19T21:22:00.003-07:00

Yesterday's Daily 5:

an unexpected health event that explained some irritating symptoms
listening to "A New Liturgy" on my morning commute
a better day than expected
Skype with a dear friend
the simple, calming actions of working in the kitchen

Today's Daily 5:

glimpses of sunrise as I rode the bus to work
a patient teacher
got my first IV start!
the release of tears that flowed somewhat unexpectedly
a quiet evening with minimal human interaction