Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day-Choose

 

Choose

What will you choose to do this weekend?

I know, a pretty lame question and entry into today's Advent word-a-day post. The wind is howling outside my window. It appears to no longer be snowing. However, the temperatures are still dropping. I read somewhere on the interwebs today that we will experience a 60-degree difference in temperature from this morning to this evening. The Birds were active this afternoon. Tecumseh and I went out twice to fill up our feeders. I haven't seen them since 3:30 pm. I imagine they are roosting somewhere to stay warm like the rest of us. 

Speaking of Birds, did you know they can choose to puff out their feathers? [Again, sorry for forcing the word-a-day!] I notice on days like today, our Bird buddies are rather floofy. I won't bore you with the science of it all, so I'll tell you this: they fluff their feathers to keep warm! This method works because air pockets are created between a Bird's skin and the feathers when it fluffs its feathers. The heat generated by the Bird's body is trapped in these air pockets. In turn, the combination of the feathers and air pockets is excellent insulation. They also will choose to stand on one leg, tucking the other leg under them, then switch -- most often seen in Canada Geese. Like us, Birds shiver to stay warm. 

Before it got cold, the dogs and I decided to go to Kickapoo Park for our morning saunter through the woods. We saw two Bucks and watched a Kingfisher couple fly up and down the creek! By the time we reached the end of our walk, the Trees were getting cranky. The wind had them all in an uproar! 

We made a good choice going early. 

The weather outside is frightful. While I don't have a fire inside, I have two Golden dogs keeping me warm. The weather doesn't show signs of stopping -- and I'm okay with this reality. We are coming to the end of our Advent journey. The beautiful events at church that contributed to our waiting and anticipating the birth of the Christ child has left me tired. I welcome this opportunity to end these final days of Advent doing a type of 'roosting' myself. The Gospel lesson assigned for today is Mary's Magnificat. Her song is a beautiful one of praise, proclaiming the Living God's greatness and rejoicing in God as Savior. What I love about Mary's song is how it invites me to think about the activity of the Living God in my life. God chose Mary to be the Mother of the Christ child, so God chose/chooses us to join our voices with Mary's, singing of God's liberating love for all flesh. 

Tonight I choose to ponder the profundity of the season. I'll light the candles of my Advent wreath, make some tea, and journal, reflecting on how Mary's song magnifies the Savior who loves the whole world with a love that makes creation whole. And I'll think about how I'll choose to do the same. 

But first, supper. It's 5 pm, and Chloe is letting me know it's time to choose which dish she'll be having tonight.