A pre christmas gift....

Yesterday I entered the world of breadmaking. Here is a my early gift from Santa brought to me courtesy of craigslist :-). 

Christmas Update

I'm really enjoying this season of Christmas. I always love this time of year but this year especially has been so much fun. We went to a Christmas tree farm and cut our tree down for the first time, we've been celebrating Advent and we've already watched quite a few Christmas movies. We went for our annual trip to visit Santa which turned out to be great as well. I've also finished up a large part of my shopping which brings gives me a big relief. Today I finally decided on a dress for Ellison's Christmas program. It's this Thursday night. She and I went out shopping last night for one and we had a great time together. She sang Christmas songs and loved having all of my attention. Although we went to 3 stores I couldn't find one that I loved. After I picked her up from school the 3 of us (Me, Jude and Ellison) went to Belk to get a dress that I'd spotted this weekend during our Santa visit. I can't wait to see her on the stage doing her little songs.  I am sad, however, that my parents won't be able to be in the audience. That is the one thing that stinks about this time of year. My brother lives in Colombia and my parents and sister are in SC and they are just far enough away that we don't see each other as often as we'd like. Thanks to the digital age, however, we can keep them in the loop on things. Well here are some pictures from December fun so far. Enjoy.  

Grateful

It really seems like there has been so much sadness all around lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm not living with an unawareness of all the sadness in the world at large, but there is something about sadness experienced by people who you know. In the past 2 weeks we've seen a lady who I was in small group with contract a flesh eating bacteria which required amputating her leg and she still continues to fight for her life, 2 friends have lost their fathers, one co-worker lost her mother and yet more sad news as one of our neighbors, a father of 3 children took his life on Saturday evening. In some of the cases mentioned above the families will have the hope of our God as they walk through these tragedies. In others they are not in relationship with the Lord and will not have the peace that can come from knowing him. 

This is the season of Advent. Advent comes from the latin word meaning "coming." It is a preparation for the coming of the Lord. The devotion from yesterday lead us to Isaiah 40:1-11. It's a consolation from the prophet and a reassurance that the the time of darkness will come to an end. "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Is. 40:3-5

I do love Advent and the way that it draws Christians back to the beauty of this season. As I think of these families and their sorrows, my heart breaks for them. I am reminded of the eternal hope that I -that we- have in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the gift of Jesus and am praying for all those who will start this day without that hope. 

BTW I have been getting the Goshen devotions for Advent each day and they have been really good. If you would like to see what they are like here is a link. www.goshen.edu/devotions/Home