"Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God,
who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation
with those who love Him and keep His commandments." -Deuteronomy 7:9
It is an admirable person who can get past imperfections & disappointments & live life fully in spite of & with them!
Lemons into lemonade
Thinking positively!
Staying optimistic!
Onward & Upward!
I admit that this is something I struggle with & I addressed that in an earlier post:
It's easier said than done, though! However, days are fleeting & it is ever-present in my mind to redeem them. It's especially helpful to have children around because everything is truly better with them & they create a lot of motivation!
So this morning I woke up determined to make it a Christmas-y Day!
Things are not ideal, but love is present. If we are waiting for perfect than life will surely pass us by! There is a lot to be said for seizing the day and grace that covers us all!
I have learned that the mama can do a lot to set the tone of the home.
I have learned that a little bit of magic goes a long way!
I have learned that your family looks at you with eyes, eager for you to get it right, eager to be on your side.
So, a few decorations up. Some treats. Some Christmas music & a great candle sending out a pleasant aroma.
And pretty soon those around you are feeling festive too!
(Noelle with her Christmas-y oatmeal!)
Micah, decorating Playmo 'Merica, one of our pretend places.
So even when just outside the cute photos, things look like this:
Wowzers. What a wreck!
(Yikes! Just keepin' it real!)
Even when. You have the ability to create an atmosphere of JOY that is catching!
So that is what we did today. Counting it all JOY. We started with getting our tree, later than ever this year! It was a fun surprise to see that Kevin had fixed up a mini hay ride for the kids! Especially because of our "Give-Away Christmas", ~talked about here:
it really isn't any sacrifice at all to not have the perfect tree. We had a lot of fun getting it & I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Timber!
I love that my tree this year has cones in it!
We may be starting a new tradition - tiny trees in the bedrooms that the kids get to decorate!
This might be my favorite pic of the day.
We got a little stuck, but that just makes for more memories!
The tree place that we have often gone to has cider & doughnuts & caroling & a store with ornaments & other things for sale. We did a mini re-creation of that by having our own cider & doughnuts, (store bought~ I know my energy limitations, or at least am learning them!)
We had our traditional "fruit tree" & for the first time we put raspberries on it! They were yummy & really added a lot of color!
We had new ornaments from Nancy! (who else!?)
We had surprise goodies from Kevin & I.
Chocolate advent calendars! So fun! They were especially excited that they got to eat 4 pieces today! No, it is not fair trade. Give me some grace!
An ornament that is a Christmas journal as well.
We did a simple craft from Paul & Marilyn & this helped create even more of a Christmas spirit.
We read several Bible verses & started our Adventures in Odyssey Thriving Family advent calendar with several mini-devotions. We ate supper & gave Kevin our cards & sang "Happy Birthday". Kevin's birthday brings to the surface another growth for me. I knew I didn't have the time & energy to make a dessert & so for the first time I purchased one for him! Growing, growing, I am! Counting it all JOY.
Then, the kids opened their last surprise & we settled in for a Christmas family movie: White Christmas!
(by the way, apparently it's very cold in our home, with all these pics of kids wearing hats inside!)
After all, who has a perfect Christmas? I'm not jealous of those who have GORGEOUS trees & catalog-worthy family photos. I love getting Christmas letters and hearing about all the highlights! But I also know that life ebbs and flows and people are hurting, with empty chairs, empty hearts, empty wallets... And sometimes no matter how hard you try to create that JOY, it just ain't happenin' because we can't control other people! So do what you can with what you have and learn to give God the increase.
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has annointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning. The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." -Isaiah 61:1-3
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” -Luke 2:14
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