As a perfectionist, I have to say I have real issues with the idea of being finite.  Why can I only be in one place at a time?  Why can’t I know everything?  Why must I make mistakes?

The last is, of course, the most frustrating.  No matter how hard I try (or how much I cover up) there are always mistakes.  At various times in life I’m better at forgiving this in myself and others.

I’m continuing to read the fabulous book “All Truth is God’s Truth” by Arthur F Holmes.  Today I came up to a section on finiteness and was really challenged.

“The key to the problem of finiteness and error is that God, in creating us as finite beings, intended that we learn to live with both the possibility and the actual experience of error.  He did not make us to be either infallible or omniscient, but to be fallible and limited in our creatureliness and adopt a stance about knowledge that is at the same time properly modest and duly confident.  Now we see through a glass darkly, but we still see.  Now we know in part, but we can still know.”

We’re intended to live with mistakes.  We’re intended to be limited.  We’re not supposed to be perfect.

Still with the now and the not yet.

As much as I’m often passing through or in London, I usually manage to avoid rush hour.  Tonight I was passing through right at rush hour.  I felt a little mashed by the time I arrived at my destination!

Holidays are a great reminder to stop and give thanks for all the blessings we have been given.  Tomorrow we go back to “blessed to be a blessing”, but for today we celebrate being greatly blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving.

One of the things that came with my new house was a weekly fruit and veg delivery from local farms.  I was a little scared at first, as I had been figuring out menus and ordering groceries based on that.  How do you cook from random things?  My whole life was about to become Iron Chef America/Ready Steady Cook.

Well, thankfully there are no tv crews or commentators on my cooking and it has been an interesting adjustment.  Every week I look at the contents with a little bit of horror and then turn to the internet to figure out what to do.  Pomogranates with the seeds still in them??  (only managed a smoothie with these).  Swede (roast swede and garlic soup), persimmions (nothing yet)…  the list goes on.

Right now I have two bags of spinach in my fridge to use.  I know plenty of ways to use spinach, but never have the other ingredients necessary for them.  And then I was flipping through my usual food blogs and came on a recipe for spinach soup.

How did people cook before the internet??

You know you want to be Canadian!

Over the last couple of months I’ve been putting together a course on Justice.  I’ve gathered some amazing speakers on the topic.  We’ve looked at what are the 8 foundational topics that need to be a part of this.  Talks have been researched.  Talks have been recorded.  Questions and activities have been developed.  The tasks are slowly being checked off the list.

Yesterday I sat with my friend Peter who was recording the talk on human trafficking.  As he told stories and talked about the lives behind the statistics, I realized I was about to cry.  No matter how often you hear this stuff, the reality is that there are people behind it.  There’s suffering behind it.

As much as I know the course will benefit many many groups, I’m anxious to have it finished.  I’m a wreck!  Time to go back to developing courses on prayer or something that doesn’t leave me weeping after every talk.

Occupational hazard, I guess.

(if you’re interested in this course, there’s more information here)

Normally I have about 30 tabs open on Firefox at the same time.  I know – too much.  But there are always articles I’m reading, things I want to remember, etc.  Generally first tabs are gmail, wordpress, yahoo, facebook, my schedule, my work email, my work wiki, twitter and another tab for general browsing.

For some reason, this week I’ve been using one less tab (I have a video waiting to be watched on Canon gear), which means one of my usual tabs isn’t open.  Two days ago I was switching between losing the yahoo and twitter tabs.  Then it became just the Twitter tab.  Usually several times a day I check in to see if anything is happening.

But this morning I realized that I feel anxiety when I check twitter.  Too much information shoved down my throat.  Too much to catch up on, unless I’m on it constantly.  Anything I really need to know is also on Facebook (which doesn’t give me the same anxiety, for some reason).  While I see benefits to Facebook that outweighs the effort it takes to catch up, I don’t see that same balance of benefits to costs with Twitter.

So, I’m officially “on a break” from Twitter.  We’ll see if I go back.

Almost a year ago I got it in my head that I’d like to try my hand at film making.  While I love photography, I seem to have stalled in my development there.  I either need to make a big push there or diversify.  I love watching movies (and well done television), so I’m fascinated.  What’s actually going on to put it all together.

I thought these were just vague thoughts and that I’d either have to make do with my little point and shoot that has video capabilities, or give up the thought.

As often happens, life got busy and I worked on whatever was right in front of me.  And then something very strange happened.  It looks like I’m going to get my hands on some pretty awesome film stuff.  For real.  It made me laugh.  I guess I am going to get to try my hand at some film making!

Now I have to get up to speed pretty fast.  Styles?  Software?  So much new stuff to learn.  Which is how it should be!

It may be fantastically superficial, but I really love the ‘reality tv’ dancing shows.  Ballroom has all the drama, pretty costumes, music and movement I love (though still falls behind ice dancing).  A really well done dance takes my breath away.  Some of the dances are so poor that they take my breath away because I’m laughing so hard.

This year I’m trying to balance the US Dancing With the Stars (which I’ve been watching since the first season) with Strictly Come Dancing (this is my first season).  The two shows are both fantastic and sum up a lot of the differences between the two countries.  The US show is more glittery, obviously humorous, showy, and over the top (and willing to make fun of itself for that).  The UK show is more sedate, subtle, dry humor and seems more interested in the possibility of romance happening between the dancers.

This year I haven’t gotten as hooked on the US show because I haven’t really had a favourite.  Sure, there were couples I liked.  Louie and Chelsea were so cute.  I had a soft spot for Mark and Lacey because of Iron Chef America.  Donny Osmond is, well, Donny Osmond.  I had a Barbie doll of him.  Nuff said.  Mya is a fantastic dancer, but I just can’t seem to like her (though I love getting to see Dmitri dance every week).  Donny’s probably my favourite at this point, but I’m not really invested in it.

On the other hand….

Somehow I’ve gotten very very invested in Strictly Come Dancing.  At first I only saw the differences, but now I’m quite liking it.  And I’ve grown rather attached to Chris and Ola.  I’m not voting or anything, but I do get quite anxious during the eliminations.  I like many of the other couples as well (Ali & Brian, Ricky and Natalie…).  This week was all drama drama drama.

So, between Friday night (when Dancing with the Stars) and Saturday night (Strictly), I watch a good 5 hours of ballroom dancing.  Is it any wonder I’m dancing around the house and wonder on Sunday how I’m going to last until next Friday.

Oh the fun things I do to ‘rest’!

I’m sitting in my lounge and watching…..

Iron Chef America

on my television!  On a British channel!

It turns out that Food Network UK launched this week.  Really.

I’m initial joy has been dampened a little by realizing that it’s not the same as the US version.  In fact, they seem to show 30 Minute Meals about 8 hours a day.   Really.

But, it does have Iron Chef America, which is awesome.  Eventually Good Eats and others may come.  Ace of Cakes is currently on another network.