snow

it won't be too long from now that we will pause and reflect on these days: all the impossible dreams, all the incredible potential. we'll feel again, for a moment, the anxieties that once kept us from sleep; and perhaps there will be new ones, but we'll see how each step was a preparation for the next. we'll understand how we couldn't possibly have seen through more than just the door opening immediately in front of us, but how He of course could; and how He was always walking with us, shining light upon the path that had just before seemed an insurmountable journey. it won't be too long from now that we'll pause and reflect, from the heights of that impossible path.

ps: there's snow in vancity.
pss: thanks to brie and erin for the most memorable times.

eggnog

eggnog incites nostalgia. each year, with the release of the precious liquid of life quick on the heels of halloween's retreat, i begin to think about being home for the holidays. those precient sages who first mixed nog and espresso have become my magi. hints of nutmeg transport me back to the days when i used to sneak whole glasses of nog from my parents' fridge, without the requisite equal-part milk dilution. vancouver's meteorological predictions now often include flurries, and there were supposedly even said precipitatory permutations this morning (but long before i dragged my overslept behind out of bed). i can't wait for the freezing dry ontario air to steal my breath on the first inhalation upon exiting the plane. i look forward to long hugs from my family and friends. to stealing undiluted glass-fulls of nog from my parents' fridge. and attempting to extract all that has occurred in the lives of those whom i love over eggnog lattes. a sweet reunion.

ps: my sister is a star. and not only do i get to spend Christmas and new year's with her, but she's coming out to the wet coast just after, to spend a couple days of layover with me on her way to hawaii. perhaps she'll take me with her....

faith

"he would say, some years later, that he had 'faith', then add, 'i also have faith in penicillin, rifampin, isonazid, and the good absorption of the fluoroquinolones, in bench science, clinical trials, scientific progress, that HIV is the cause of every case of AIDS, that the rich oppress the poor, that wealth is flowing in the wrong direction, that this will cause more epidemics and kill millions. i have faith that those things are true, too. so if i had to choose between lib[eration] theo[logy], or any ology, i would go with science as long as service to the poor went along with it. but i don't have to make that choice, do i?'" - tracy kidder quoting dr. paul farmer in his book "mountains beyond mountains: the quest of dr. paul farmer, a man who would cure the world."

"if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 john 2:17

halloween

what would halloween be without a party? and what would a halloween party be without a little bit of fire? and what would blowing fire on a porch be if the porch didn't catch on fire? team zissou captures the moment while lookers-on catch a face full of fire from behind the glass. better than a face full of kerosene; that stuff can't taste good. thanks to brad for the photo; more can be found in his gallery.