I'm still on school vacation, which means I feel like I'm on blog vacation, so this will be short today. However, there are certainly two things worth mentioning.
My biggest love right now is this hand carved, fair trade nativity from West Bank (Israel-sort of). Isn't it beautiful?!
Here's what made this even better: because it was carved in West Bank, it was packaged to send to Ten Thousand Villages by the craftsman in West Bank. Guess what people the world over use to protect items in boxes? Bubble wrap and NEWSPAPER! Ok, I'm a news and culture nut, so to me, having a piece of newspaper from another culture/country is pure gold. I have a piece of Al-Quds newspaper dated Jerusalem, Saturday, January 27, 2007. The whole thing, other than the city and date, are in Arabic, so I can't read a word. However, I do know that there are ads (one for AMERICAN furniture!), one page of obituaries, a political cartoon about Israeli relations with Lebanon (not quite sure of the punchline, but cartoons are universal!) and a picture and short article about a really big snake (yuck!). I love the similarities between this paper and the one I read daily in Houston. I might live half a world a way from West Bank, but we really do have so much in common. We shop. We want things from other places to be like those other people. We mourn and grieve and remember those who have touched our lives. We create satire of politics. We try to connect with the world around us. Thank You, Jesus, for this little, precious reminder. This is a treasure worth keeping as much as my beautiful Christmas gift.
The other thing I'm loving this week is how much my pups love the snow. I'll be honest: if it weren't for these two and the snow on the ground, I wouldn't be in Ohio this week (which is sad, because it means I'd miss what's headed my way this afternoon, but I'll write about that tomorrow!). This is the first time Aggie Belle has seen snow. We stopped in E-town for gas, and she HATED it. However, with the help of Uncle Jacob, she warmed right up to the snow, and now we have to set a timer so she doesn't stay out in it too long. It's been a while since Bailey has seen snow, but he remembered it and seems just as happy as before. I just need to find some geese for this boy to chase, and he'll be quite pleased with his little vacation. So thankful for this special treat for my very spoiled (but incredibly well behaved) fur babies!
And of course I love my Jesus!
What are you loving this week?
Linking up with Jamie.
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