It's Chinese New Year!

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It's Chinese New Year today! Although both hubby and I were born in the Philippines, we are ethnically Chinese. Having grown up there and now essentially identifying ourselves more as being Canadian than anything else {having lived here now more years than any place else}, the tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year has always been pretty foreign to our family.

Nevertheless, Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!!

Chinese New Year, to me... in recent years, has become a second New Year.... a time to assess and see if the new starts and the new beginnings that I've prayerfully put in place for the New Year are off to a good start.

And... by God's grace, I am happy to say that this year... it is! More days than not, I am soaring... hoping in the Lord! It truly is a good thing, a great feeling!

So... this past weekend, there were no Chinese New Year feasts, no red envelopes, no wearing of traditional clothes. It was a normal, typical, every-day-kind-of weekend for our family... church and sports!

It was an awesome Sunday morning as our teaching pastor dove into a new series on the Gospel of John, starting at the very beginning of the book... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Where does Christianity start? It has no beginning and it has no end. The human heart wants that which had no beginning and never can have any ending - namely, the Word.

~ A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us.

Then, it was time to watch football! We were rooting for the Ravens and the Giants. One loss and one win... I say it's a great ending to a wonderful weekend. :-)

As I continue my hunt for grace-gifts... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1227 - #1237:

:: Planning the menu for another Out of the Cold dinner.
:: Dinner with a good friend for her birthday.
:: My boy's Mindstorm team finally starting up again!
:: Japanese food with hubby.
:: My boy loving and learning lots at Youth Group!
:: My girl studying hard for her first high-school exams.
:: Freshly vacuumed carpet.
:: Filing away a huge pile of papers!
:: Fun day full of basketball.
:: Our vehicles needing repair, but still mostly reliable.
:: Relaxing Sunday afternoon: baking and football! :-) 

Happy Monday, friends!
May your week be full of grace-gifts and thanksgiving! :-)

Non-eucharisteo, ingratitude, was the fall - humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives. That is what has scraped me raw: ungratefulness.

Then to find Eden, the abundance of Paradise, I'd need to forsake my non-eucharisteo, my bruised and bloodied ungrateful life, and grab hold of eucharisteo, a lifestyle of thanksgiving.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Soaring into this new week with you, friends... acting justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with God!

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Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!