Come Let Us Implore Him

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Coco

Last week at church it was still Christmas, but on Tuesday we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. In the nativity story, Epiphany marks when the three kings proclaimed Jesus as Kings of the Jews, but it also is celebrated as the revelation that Jesus is God incarnate.

Church At Christmas

Since it was still Christmas on Sunday, we sang this Christmas hymn:

O Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels;
O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

As I started singing, I thought that while I am pretty faithful (or at least I hold strong to my faith, even if I fall short in living it), I don’t always feel “joyful” or “triumphant.” I decided to re-write this hymn to fit harder times, and to focus on Epiphany instead of the Nativity.

O Come all ye faithful, sad and feeling helpless,
O come ye, O come ye, to walk with God.
Come and be with Him, tell Him all your troubles;
O come let us implore Him, O come let us implore Him,
O come let us implore Him,
God be with us.

Whether you are feeling joyful or sad, triumphant or helpless, I hope you know that God is with you. 

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Do you ever re-write hymns or songs to fit your mood?

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Five Healthy New Year Tips

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Coco

Well, we’ve made it through the first week of the year. How are you doing with your New Year’s goals and resolutions? I still haven’t set any concrete goals, but I have been thinking about how to get my year off to a healthy start, so I thought I’d share my top five healthy New Year tips.

Healthy New Year Tips

1. Set SMART goals. I know I just said that I haven’t set any concrete goals for the New Year, but I do have general goals of eating more healthfully, training for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, and adding more life to my work-life balance. To make these “SMART” goals I need to make them specific, measurable, attainable, result-oriented and time-limited, but that’s where I usually fall short–and probably why I chase the same goals year after year–especially that work-life balance one!  Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness | 21 Comments

Coffee Crisis (Coffee Maker Reviews)

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Coco

I had a run of bad luck with my coffee last year. Last week I shared my Starbucks saga (if you use one of their travel mugs, you’ll want to check out my post), and today I’m going to tell you how Cuisinart let me down, and share my recent coffee maker reviews.

coffee maker reviews
We fell in love with the Cuisinart grind-and-brew coffee maker that brews directly into a thermal carafe years ago. I always hated the smell of coffee that’s been sitting on a hot plate for too long, and the Cuisinart eliminated that problem, because there is no hot plate. While the “grind” feature wasn’t reliable (after a few uses it became impossible to remove the grinding apparatus for cleaning), the coffee maker brewed excellent coffee, and the carafe kept it hot and drinkable for hours.

Continue reading →

Posted in Product Reviews | Tagged | 16 Comments

Come Look Out My Window

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Coco

It’s no secret that I spend a lot of time at work, sitting at my desk, working on my computer. But every once in a while when I look up from my computer and glance out my window, the view takes my breath away.  

Kennedy Center 1

After I shared this picture on Facebook, a friend suggested that I do something with all of my Kennedy Center pictures. I started saving my good pictures, and made them into a calendar on Snapfish. These are the ones I chose: 

Jan-Feb-Mar

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Apr-May-June

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July-Aug-Sep

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Oct-Nov-Dec

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What do you do with your favorite pictures? 

 

Posted in Life | Tagged , | 21 Comments

The First Ultimate Coffee Date Link Up Of 2015

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Coco

Happy 2015! What better way to start the year than having coffee with friends? Pour yourself a cup, pull up a chair, grab the badge and join us! 

The Ultimate Coffee Date

If we were having coffee, I would ask you how your holiday was. We had a pretty quiet Christmas, but it was nice all the same. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you got any fitness-related gifts I might want to check out. As I shared in my Fitmas post, the only new running gear I got was the headlamp I bought for myself, but my husband gave me lots of new cycling outfits. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you are making any New Year’s resolutions. I feel like a broken record needing to make the same changes at work that I resolved to make last year and the year before, but my perseverance should pay off eventually, right? 

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you read about my Starbucks saga. Someone less addicted to Starbucks would have just stopped going back, but I guess I love their coffee more than I hated the hassle.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you what’s on your reading list. I read three very different books in December (Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott, The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey, and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell) and am ready for something new. 

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Posted in Fitness | 25 Comments