Beloved

In the last week I have felt an incredible amount of stress. I cried...in front of people...and that is a big deal for me. I wasn't granting myself any grace in any area of my life. I was demanding perfection from myself and those around me. This is not the world of perfection. God has been so gracious to me in the last week in revealing Himself to me and covering me with His peace. A friend shared this story with me and I have been mulling over it the last few days. She was talking to her younger sister who was being overly hard on herself and saying that she was stupid. My friend reminded her sister of her baptism and that she is united with Christ. That means that she can't say that she is stupid because she is loved. How great is that?
A few months ago I talked to high schoolers about when Paul says that he has a thorn in his side and that is a "messenger from Satan." What that means is that that thorn comes with a message of "I'm not good enough" or "I'm not worthy", but that is not true because the truth is "I am loved." So whatever I face, the truth is that I am loved deeply and completely and I am united with Christ.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness --Lamentations 3:21-23

Show me that smile again...

I was thinking last night as I drove past some pretty tacky Christmas lights (oh the joy) that there are some pretty random things in this world that make me ridiculously happy. They are silly to be honest, but I enjoy them tremendously and they make me really thankful. I thought I would share them. Any insight on why stupid, meaningless things bring such delight to us is welcome. The only thought I have is that God loves us. Here is my list:

1.) Tacky Christmas lights
2.) The Growing Pains theme song (Show me that smile again...show me that smile)
3.) Waffle-knit fabric
4.) Open windows (in your car or at home)
5.) Playing monopoly next to a lit Christmas tree


...there are more, but this is enough for now...later

Sweet December

I love November and December. There is so much excitement. I mean, you have Thanksgiving, a lot of birthdays (including my own) and, then, Christmas. Plus, with all the traveling and time off I get more time to catch up with people. In the last 42 hours I have talked with four people that I never get to talk to anymore. It's fabulous. And then you have the decorating, fun music, Christmas movies and getting to wear sweaters because it is cold. It's just a good time.
I spent Thanksgiving last week with my family at a state park in SC. It was so fun. I was also able to visit one of my best friends from college and her family. It was really wonderful. I think the best part about these visits and the conversations I have had lately is that it has allowed me to talk about what I am thankful for. Day to day we deal with the mess and the problems and we talk them to death. But when I get to talk to people that I don't see everyday, I get to give them the big picture. I found that in talking about life as a whole-the challenges and the blessings-my heart softened and I was encouraged. I got to tell them how I see the Lord working both in and around me. And that is good. And that is just another reason that I like this time of year.


p.s. I am making a gingerbread house tonight and the christmas tree in my house is sweet-there are three layers of lights-at the bottom:white lights, in the middle:multi-colored lights, on top:multi-colored flashing lights---all powered by a foot switch. It is beautiful.