A Christmas Perspective

The last two weeks have been hectic and fun and crazy and tragic. 

Jason and I were able to NYC and enjoy ourselves kid free for 2 days!  I am so proud of my husband for winning the George Van Cleave Military Leadership award from the USO.  He was THE Navy Honoree (for those of you that didn't know!)  It was fun and we did all the touristy things we could fit in...The Rockefeller center, the Rockefeller tree, Times Square, and the Museum of Natural History. 

On friday morning we got up and went to eat breakfast where I got a text with someone asking if my kids were ok since there had been a shooting in a Connecticut school.  I quickly found out it was not my kids school.  Relief.  Yet on our way home from New York,as we got snippets of news information, I simply began to cry.  It wasn't happening to me, but I felt  like I was living in a nightmare.  And the news got worse and worse until we were left with the end carnage.  I have cried on and off for over a week. 

Twenty 6 & 7 year olds off to live with Jesus long before we were ready to let them go.  And I know that this would have affected me, no matter what their age.  But I know what 6 looks like.  I live it every day.  I know the joys, the frustrations, the wonder, the irritations, the exhaustion that comes with having a 6 year old.  I read a blog called "I know what 6 looks like" and it was so sad and yet it so perfectly captured what I had been feeling.  What I still feel. 

And those teachers who laid their lives down to protect those children.  What wonderful Shepherd's they were, laying down their lives for their sheep.  There is no way to understand what happened or why it happened.  All I know is that even out of all of this tragedy, God will make something good out of it.  I may not see it in my life time, but there is something good that will rise from the ashes of a school once known as Sandy Hook. 

It seems sad that this happened AT ALL, but so much sadder because it happened at a time that highlights being with your family.  Christmas is forever changed for so many people.  And yet, at the same time, Christmas is what happened to bring the whole world hope.  Thousands of years ago, in a stable, a baby was born.  He was born into a broken world when he had come from paradise.  He knew from the beginning that he would die a painful, tragic death for simply being who he was.  And yet his death is our salvation, our hope. 

So this year at Christmas, my biggest wish for you is that you find hope in Jesus and cling to it from this Christmas to the next and the next...

I'd like to share a wonderful prayer written by Max Lucado:

Dear Jesus,
It's a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.
These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.
The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?
Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.
Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.
Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.
This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
Hopefully,
Your Children

Joy to the world!  Our Saviour is born!  May there be hope in your Christmas and love in your hearts this season. 

This, That and the other...

Man, time just flies by during the Christmas season (which for the record, I consider it starting on NOV 1st HAHA)
I started Christmas shopping early because, well, our paycheck demands it.  We're done shopping!  Hooray!  Almost done wrapping..BIGGER hooray!  So much happening this month.

Not that this is NEW news to anyone, I just can't help but talk about it again.  I am so proud of my husband.  We have the USO 51st Armed Forces Gala to attend in just few short days (ok,9, but who's counting?) I can't wait to see my husband accept his George Van Cleave award.  He so deserves it!!

And if I sneak away from the enormity of that, can I just say how EXCITED I am to be out in NYC with my husband?  And how utterly excited I am to get all glammed up?  That just doesn't happen often enough!! 

I can't wait to get all girly.  I love the prepping for a fancy night.  Long, hot showers, hairdo drama, make up! I love make up!!  Nails, toenails.  Seriously.  I just love it.  Don't worry, I WILL post pictures of the dashing couple.  LOL.

To change subjects completely, I like to call December "Do For" December here in our house.  We have items everyday that we do for someone else.  Could be buying someones dinner, could be washing dishes.  Doesn't matter, as long as we do something kind for someone else.  I love this time of year, yes, it can get hectic, BUT I love teaching my kids how good it feels to do something for someone else.  And to do it in a spirit of love and expect nothing in return.  I try and teach this year round, but there is just something magical about this time of year.  The anticipation of the event that changed the course of history.  I know that there is lots of evidence that would prove Jesus was born in the summer, but I'll be blunt, it doesn't matter to me WHEN he was born, but THAT he was born.  And yet, I am thankful that the church picked a date to celebrate that day!

There is a song that I love, and I'd like to post the words here.  So beautiful.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!!