Shawna Atteberry

The Baker Who Also Writes and Teaches

A Christmas Poem

"Virgin on the Green Cushion" by Andrea Solario

“Virgin on the Green Cushion” by Andrea Solario

Wisdom builds herself a house.
A holy place of tissue and muscle
A sacred place of blood and water
Working patiently, she weaves away
Chiseling bone, sculpting sinew.

Wisdom builds herself a house.
Enlarging, expanding, developing
Beating heart, pumping lungs
Counting out ten little fingers
Ten little toes.

Wisdom builds herself a house.
And bids us: “Come and dine!
“Eat of my bread!
“Drink of my wine!
“Be happy, be healthy, be wise!”

Wisdom builds herself a house.
In a cave in Bethlehem.
She lit it with a star
And bids those with eyes to see:
Come.

©2012 Shawna R. B. Atteberry, all rights reserved.

Company Girl Coffee: Twas the Week Before Christmas

Company Girl logoHappy Friday Company Girls! The coffee is on and hot!

Dreaming in the New Year

If it wasn’t for Home Sanctuary I don’t know how neglected this poor little blog would be. But the reason I haven’t written much is that I’m thinking and dreaming and planning for the upcoming year. I’m dreaming what I want my business to become and who My Right People are and how much I want to help the people who come to me. So in the busyness of the week of getting to head out to see my family in Oklahoma, I’ve been dreaming and planning and spinning possible futures in the back of my head. What are Right People? It’s a concept Havi at The Fluent Self (shes @havi on Twitter) came up with (and I will let her explain):

Thought 2: Your stuff doesn’t have to be helpful for everyone.

It doesn’t.

It just needs to be helpful for the people who need it in that form in that moment.

Those are your Right People. The ones who need your voice.

Anyone who doesn’t find it helpful? Probably not one of your Right People. Or not ready yet.

That person can go. Be there for the ones who do need what you have to say.

That’s what I really want to focus in on this year: My Right People instead of throwing stuff all over the wall and seeing what sticks. I want to envision My Right People and help them and make this a safe place for them. So that’s whay I’ve been doing business wise. You can find out more about Right people here and here.

We Loved Our Presents!

Let me preface this section by saying that The Hubby and I always travel at Christmas to see family. This year we’re heading to Oklahoma to see mine. Before we go we have our own Christmas and open our presents. So we always open our presents from each other early. They all came in this week and were wrapped, so we opened them Wednesday. Actually the really, really cool present I got My Hubby came in that day, and I couldn’t wait to see what he thought of it! I bought him this beautiful singing bowl from Fabeku Fatunmise at Sankofa Song whom I met on Twitter (he’s @fabeku). The Hubby loved it! And the bowl sings so beautifully! Tracy really got the hang of it last night and all of these gorgeous tones were washing over me. So glad I met Fabeku and learned about his sound healing ministry! He also included his CD, which I am going to have to wrestle out of The Hubby’s hands so I can listen it. He also loved his other gifts: Buckley Balls from Think Geek, and a space-age pen that writes underwater and in zero gravity. This pen has been going up with the astronauts since 1965. I love My Geek.

I will preface my gifts with I LOVE TO COOK. When you’re a person who LOVES TO COOK, pots and pans that are on their last leg and about to give up the ghost are very depressing. So I’d dropped a hint or two about new pots and pans. You should see them Company Girls. They are beautiful: triply, with one of the triplies being stainless steel. The triply insures they heat evenly and hold the heat. They are bright and shiny; they are begging to be cooked in. I finally have a 5 quart Dutch Oven! (My previous set claimed a Dutch Oven but….um…..no.)  Squeee! I am so in love. I also adore my other gift. After we first married, Tracy would leave little red bows hidden all over the place for me to find. Mainly around coffee stuff so he knew I would find it. 🙂 But then the red bows start collecting up and you don’t know what to do with them. My Honey came up with a solution; my second gift: The Red Bow Tree. It’s a beauitful fall resin tree with a little snow on the branches. So now when red bows start appearing in expected and unexpected places I have a place to put them. I always thought I never had a sappy romantic bone in my body, then My Hubby came along. Aah, the sap that man has turned me into. But it’s okay because he buys me kitchen stuff. 🙂

Getting ready to leave

I’ve ran errands most of the week to get ready to leave: bank, Target, The UPS Store, library, etc. I need to go to the grocery store today to pick up a couple of items we’ll need over the weekend and clean house. I don’t want the cat sitter to be walking into a mess. We take off to OK next week, and I won’t have internet connection, but that’s okay because I will have a boatload of holiday baking to do. My Mom doesn’t like to bake that much, but I love to, and since we’re coming in early, I am going to do all the Christmas baking! Whoo-hoo! Then there’s all the eating, opening presents, eating, catching up with everybody, eating: you know how it goes.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Decorations

Rachel at Home Sanctuary challenged us to get a picture of the moment this season instead of the posed pictures of Christmas. After snapping a shot of The Diva on her perch atop the couch, I decided to click a few more pictures of our decorations. Here they are:

And a Diva on the couchback.

Even our mummified skeleton gets in the spirit.

Christmas Vespers

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll’d along th’ unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow’d my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

‘Til ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.’

4He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’

7I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’

10Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling 12kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Father[-Mother], and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

A reading from Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,* the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,* praising God and saying,
14‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’*

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Thanks be to God.

Magnificant Antiphon: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Alleluia!

The Song of Mary    Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55

My soul doth magnify the Lord, *
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded *
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth *
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him *
throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm; *
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, *
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory to the Father[-Mother], and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Magnificant Antiphon: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Alleluia!

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Our Father[-Mother] in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.

Lord, hear our prayer.
And let our cry come to you.
Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, splendor of the Father[-Mother], into the age old darkness of our world, you cast the brightness of eternal light. We give you praise for those who show forth the mystery of your coming, until at last you are all in all. Listen, as we pray: Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who behold the glory of God shining in your face, Lord Jesus, and tell it in language, music and art.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who listen to the words of your mouth, Lord Jesus, and defend the afflicted and do justice for the poor.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who look upon this world with your eyes, Lord Jesus, and are patent in tribulation, constant in prayer.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who learn from your gentle and lowly heart, Lord Jesus, and are patient in tribulation, constant in prayer.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who learn from your gentle and lowly heart, Lord Jesus, and live in newness of life.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who stretch out your hand, Lord Jesus, and heal the sick and give life to those in the thrall of death.
Son of God, we give you praise.

For all who hold fast to your peace, Lord Jesus, and, in becoming reconciled to one another, give hope to the world.
Son of God, we give you praise.

Your word, O God of ageless glory, dwelling with you from before time, has become flesh and lived among us, and we have seen the glory of your Christ. Place on our lips the word of salvation, in our hearts a love that welcomes all, and, in the depths of our being, the light of faith and hope, which the darkness can never overcome. We ask this through Jesus, the Christ, our Lord.

May the Lord bless us, keep away all evil, and lead us to eternal life. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Magnificant Antiphon, Litany, and Closing Prayer were taken from Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary. The rest of the office is taken from The Book of Common Prayer.

We opened presents with my sister-in-law and her family this morning. Tomorrow my brother-in-law and his clan (he has five kids and married a woman with three kids) are coming, and that is when we are feasting. There are going to be nine kids and eight adults stuffed into my parents-in-law home! We’re having a great time. My favorite gift has been Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, which I was hoping someone would get for me. My second favorite present: a baseball cap with reading lights in the brim. It is so cool! I am such a geek.

I hope that you are able to celebrate Christmas with your family and loved ones.

Love,
Shawna

Christmas has taken over

I’m sorry I did not get the Esther article posted this week. I had to many Christmas things to do and getting ready before we leave to see the in-laws. The article on Esther will be posted the week of January 5.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”

Luke 2:11-14