1000 Gifts for Today

So many wonderful gifts to share today...

• the first clean, white, ground-covering snow of the season
• crisp, clear, still, sparkling air
• superfans and silliness at high school basketball games
• visits with cousins
• the pure joy of a simple BIG hill and new snow
• making birthday cake - from scratch
• the gift, 16 years ago, of becoming a mother to one of the most amazing girls in the world
• the warm, inviting scent of Indian food simmering on the stove
• letting go of *my* ideas of a perfect day and letting it happen
• being stunned and awe-struck by the beauty and complexity of my children

One Last Christmas

Sometimes, it isn't about the presents at all.  It's about Love.  And community.  And about celebrating Life.

This is a must-see video.  Just make sure you have tissues handy.  Matthew West, one of my favorite contemporary Christian artists, wrote this song in honor of a family who lost their little boy too soon, and the gift that his community gave to him just before he went to play with Jesus.



It is in moments like this that the Christmas miracle interweaves itself with Easter's joy.  The coming of the Babe that came to give his life, who came to redeem the suffering, the pure wrongness of the death of a child.  This little boy shouldn't have died.  It wasn't meant to be that way.  This certainly isn't what God intended for his parents.  But the gift of that baby in the manger reminds us that God so loved the world...  After all, He knows the heartbreaking soul-ache of this kind of loss.  And He gave His Son so that we might live, and so that, one day, these parents might be re-united with their child, and the world will be made new again.

So, as we celebrate the Miracle this year, let us all take time to ponder the Sacrifice, and be thankful, joyful, and overwhelmed by Grace.

And There You Go...

I made it.  I did it.  I completed 30 posts in 30 days, thus concluding another year's NaBloPoMo.  I hope to continue posting fairly regularly in the days to come, even though the festivities have concluded.  I must say that I have enjoyed the ride this year, although I didn't get the opportunity to post some of the things I had wanted to.  Too much craziness around here...  But that means that I still have some things to share, so I hope you will continue to read.

Thank you so much for playing along.  I have enjoyed it.  So stick around...  I promise to keep writing.  And, hopefully, I'll have something interesting to say, once in a while.

Thanks for reading.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  Even if there's just ONE of you.  So, come back tomorrow.  I'll still be here.

More 1000 Gifts

• a five-year-old who LOVES to vacuum with the borrowed Dyson
• a feast of abundance and thanks
• leftover pie
• homemade whipped cream
• the warm, savory scent of turkey stock simmering on the stove
• "gravy planes" and other assorted silliness
• grown-up talks with daughters
• the expressions of baby's first tastes of food
• anticipation of he season's first snowfall
• planning for Christmas baking
• planning for Christmas presents
• reflecting on the meaning of Christmas
• being thankful for Grace

Celebrate the Season - Advent Begins

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas.  It is a time of preparation, a time of waiting, when we quiet our hearts and await the coming of the Christ Child.  We contemplate the sacrifice, the gift, of Love that was poured out for us that first Christmas morning so many years ago.

And, this year, I would like to share something wonderful with you - something I hope will bless you in a special way.  Ann of A Holy Experience has graciously shared a labor of love for this season.  Please, PLEASE, visit her blog and download a copy of her Jesse Tree Advent Devotional.  It is meant to be a family activity, leading up to and preparing the way for us to celebrate the coming of the Baby Jesus.  Ann's grace-filled words and gentle meditations will bless you and your family as you journey through these chaotic few weeks, and hr devotions will help your family remember the Reason for the Season.

Ann's blog has blessed me beyond words, encouraging, searching, and speaking to my heart.  She has a gift, and she is sharing it with us.  What a blessing she is!

So, please join me in this journey of hope and expectation.  And may your Advent be blessed!

Randomness for Saturday

Almost spaced posting today, so here is a bit of randomness to round out your weekend...

• It's nice to live where it gets cold enough to use your back porch as an additional refrigerator.
• It's not so nice when a child spies a critter attempting to nom the pumpkin pie.
• The hue and cry when children discover said critter is an adorable long-haired tortie is tremendous, and
• Certain of these children will beg to leave food out just in case the poor kitty is homeless.
• Heartless Daddy will inevitably veto this idea.
• Mommy will secretly hope that itty bitty cute kitty will return.
• I have eaten entirely too much food this weekend.
• My Advent Wreath is still in the basement.  *blush*
• I can't believe I'm almost done with another NaBloPoMo.
• I can't believe my first baby turns Sweet 16 one week from today...   *sniff*

And, on that note, I'll head off to bed...  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, dear reader!

Looking Forward

I've been doing a lot of reflecting, a lot of looking back, in the last few days.  Today, I am beginning to look forward.  As I gaze around my house at all the fall and harvest decorations, I get a little (okay, more than a little) nudgy that I need to take everything down and re-decorate for Christmas VERY soon.  Yes.  Christmas.  I know that many of my friends have already begun the transformation in their own homes, but  I am not usually that organized, together, or ready to get all Christmas-y before now.  We usually like to get our December birthdays out of the way before we go all out, although, as Sarah has gotten older, she doesn't mind the crossover of seasons, so I have actually started decorating at the very beginning of the month, instead of waiting until mid-December.

But this Sunday heralds in Advent, the new year in the church (for liturgical churches such as ours).  And I need to begin to move my heart towards Christmas, towards the celebration of the Christ Child.  So, as I begin to pack away the pumpkins and the golden leaves and the cornucopia, I quiet my soul and turn my thoughts towards the manger.  As I unpack the Advent Wreath and the candles, the greens and all manner of sparkly things, I also begin to prepare my heart for the coming season.  For the wonder of it all, for the gift of new life, for the ultimate sacrifice that lay, wrapped and tiny, in a stall.  I look forward to Grace, to God made man - the ultimate miracle.

And I quiet my heart, and prepare to wait.  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.