Tis the Season

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!! Oh my goodness, I cannot believe how fast Christmas came this year!

So much going on and so much to look forward to.

I enjoyed decorating our house for the Christmas season for the first time EVER!

My students enjoyed making ornaments at our school Christmas party.

We did our annual girls' brunch thang and ornament exchange. I can home with this ornament:

Fun times!

My husband and I did an advent calendar that we received at a class we took at Watermark Church called "Thriving Through the Holidays." I highly recommend it for young married couples if you haven't taken it, do it next year. Some of the awesome, yet somewhat cheesy advent activities included: kissing every morning for 6 seconds when you leave the house, making a ginger bread house, write a love note and placing it on your spouses pillow, buy something at the dollar store that reminds you of your spouse, make a Christmas wish that doesn't involve spending money (we watched a Christmas movie and looked at lights), slow dance to the Christmas lights on the tree, make a snowman out of pineapple rings, photobomb a nativity scene, recreate santa's beard, make a picnic next to the Christmas tree, see who can lick the stripes off of a candy cane the fastest, Saturday selfie in Christmas pajamas, etc.

Here is our gingerbread house:

That was all of Tyler's engineering mind right there, old fashioned icing and graham crackers! Yes, that is the garage. And, as for the other pics.. We will keep those to ourselves. Hehe.. It was a blast spending some creative time with my hubs and doing things a little out of the ordinary. I must say, this has been the most relaxing holiday we've ever spent together. I can't say we finally got this marriage thing figured out, but we are learning how to be better spouses for each other.

Through the business that comes with the season and on to a serious note:

Have I taken the time to sit and ponder what the Lord did, is doing, and will do for us? Have I truly thought about what Christmas means? Have I thought about anything this season that does not involve selfish desires?

We always hear that famous saying, "remember the reason for the season," BUT what about all of the craziness going on in our world: those who are hurting throughout this season, those that will not be re-united with family members who have passed, the police officers who are literally giving up their lives at work because of the racism issue that is tearing America apart, those that are bearing financial hardship, those that will celebrate Christmas on the streets of the city you live because they do not have a home to go to, the relationships that are broken and crushed, families that are separated during the season, angry hearts, misunderstood people, abused hearts and minds, the people that are working through the holidays, etc.

The things people endure, the way others are treated, the injustices that come with life...

My thoughts always wander here.. and stay here...

Listening to one of my favorite Christmas songs changes my perspective as the lyrics become clear:

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining."

sin: a transgression

pining: suffering with longing

"Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth."

soul: simply us (what we do, how we behave, what we think) separable in existence from the body

worth: having value

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,"

hope: a feeling that events will turn out for the best

weary: physically and mentally exhausted

rejoice: to be glad

"For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

new: unfamiliar or strange

glorious: delightful

Jesus came. It was new. It was glorious. It was delightful. It gave us worth. It gave us value. It gave us something to be glad in. It gave us hope.

"And in HIS name, all oppression shall cease."

oppression: injustice, cruelty

cease: to stop

"His law is love, and His gospel is peace."

Christmas means different things to different people. It is a time that we see good. It is a time when we can live peacefully in a world that does not offer peace. It is a time that we can love one another the way Jesus taught us, without limits, without race, without oppression, and without selfish ambition.

"With all our hearts, we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we."