Babies, Brownies and Blessings

Merry Christmas! I am not celebrating the day as I imagined as we have one child under the weather. I find myself plucked from the noisy festivities and instead experiencing the quiet of a sleepy afternoon. No matter how one plans, there is not escaping the facts of life. While I would rather be surrounded by those I love, I'm finding some joy in my quiet afternoon with Christ. Sometimes we need to be taken out of the busyness to experience the true meaning of life, and this Christmas season. Jesus Christ. He came to THIS earth, as a baby, for ME. Because no matter how hard I try, I can never be good enough to earn my salvation. The junk in my life, however hidden, trivial, or unnamed, separates me from my God. However blatant, ugly and unforgivable. I deserve none of what was given. I have received all that was offered. Jesus Christ, son of God, given because He loves me. And he loves you too. He's particularily fond of you, as William P. Young wrote in The Shac...

I think I like surprises. And gifts. I say "think" because I never quite realized it until recently. Surprises and gifts add some pressure and expectation to those who love me so I've been reluctant to classify myself as one of "those" people. Luckily I don't require big gifts, though, so maybe it's ok after all. Bri and I have been married 11 years now. Most "real" dating ended long before kids as we settled into marital bliss. While that sounds facetious, it is not. I wouldn't trade the comfort of our love for anything. Now that our children are a bit older, however, I've been itching for some romance. And so has my man, apparently. Wednesday I was surprised with the most perfect and wonderful Christmas gift: tickets to see Les Miserables for that night! Not only had Bri found tickets on Craigslist, purchased and wrapped them, he arranged for his folks to have the kids overnight, took the night off work and made sure...

Picture perfect is redefined when children are present. Instead of a harmonious family joyfully getting a Christmas tree it's a moment in which all are together and hopefully none are crying. Freezing hands, cold cheeks, hungry tummies all accompanied us on our Christmas tree adventure today. Our expectations were realistic and we enjoyed the time together as a family, marked though it was by normal kid-behavior. We've gotten smarter and kept things pretty short. We picked the first decent tree we saw instead of searching for the perfect one. It was a great time, have a lovely balsam to show for it and some pictures we can look back on and reminisce about the good old days. That's the one! And Claire is really excited about it... Bri muscling a dull saw blade My strong men Caleb helping hold the tree while it got "shook". I love the grins on the men's faces. Merry Christmas! Cutting open the Christmas tree Chocolate dipped pretzel...

There are so many little choices we make each day. Some are of consequence, others are trivial. It would seem that during times like the Christmas season, when there are gifts to buy and limited funds to use, the opportunity to be honest sneaks up more frequently. The temptation to say "Oh, it was their mistake" or "too bad for them, not my problem" when we get "long-changed" is always nudging more strongly than the inclination to turn around and correct the error. At Target today I discovered a Target gift card and another rewards card in my cart when I got to the check out. At first I thought it had fallen out of my purse because I had the same rewards card. After checking out my wallet it was apparent that the cards were not mine. My first thought was "Oh, my lucky day, I can just use this gift card and see what's on it!" Then I realized that was dishonest and my integrity was worth more than the $5 or $10 on that card. The reward...