grateful and blessed

christmas has come and gone.
in as hurried as it came upon us, it hurried right on past.
paper has been flying off gifts, goodies baked and eaten, lots of travels and visits.

what i've appreciated and loved the most have been some sweet moments with friends and family. we see each other and chat all year long, but there are little special 'extras' that come with the Christmas season. a different kind of thoughtfulness and acts of kindness. everyone is busy and has so many things to do--which makes those extra visits and acts even more special. we matter enough to each other that we make time in the middle of all our busy moments.

so...thank you to all my dear friends and family--visits and gifts and treats and dear words--thank you for being a part of my life. God uses you in so many ways that it would be difficult for me to mention all the ways in one little post. just please know that i am grateful and i pray that God blesses you in ways that only He can.

merry Christmas and a very blessed 2008 to all

unnoticed

no fanfare
no red carpet
no media
nothing obvious

it blows my mind to think that God entered this world
in the most unnoticed of ways.

no grandeur
no phenomenal signs or wonders
nothing to set Him apart

God entered the world
through a frail teenage girl.
He came in unexpected ways.
He came unnoticed.

eventually there would be signs.
there would be angels and shepherds
worshipping at His feet.
there would be dignitaries from afar
bearing gifts.

but He came in unnoticed

do we notice Him now?
do we notice all that He has done?
do we notice all that He is doing?
are we aware of what He is going to do?

i don't want Him
to be unnoticed in my life

God, keep me tender
to notice you at work
not only in my life,
but in all those around me.

i don't want You
to be unnoticed in my life

early Christmas

this past weekend, we had Christmas early.
i always love having Christmas early--it's something i've always grown up doing.
with families out of town, we always got to have our immediate family's Christmases early,
so we were fortunate to open gifts early and then do our best to keep things a little hush-hush because we wanted to help keep the excitement for everyone else who was waiting for the 25th.

got to see my siblings and their spouses (and their dogs),
got to play games together (congrats on the tie d.g. :) )
and see who had who for our present exchange.

there were lots of laughs as we were playing a new game my sister-in-law shared
with chocolate flying back and forth across the room,
flying paper as the boys were opening their gifts and wanting to show everyone,
tears as we read a letter to each one of us from my mom and dad
(good tears, not sad ones)
and quick catch-ups before it was back to the middle of december.

on our way home, i felt so overwhelmed, so filled with gratitude.
presents are nice, but feeling loved and connected is so much more.
gifts that were given meant something because thought and time were put into them.
the gift was nice, but the meaning behind it meant far more.
it was fun to give, it was overwhelming to receive.

i love my family--with all of our quirks like needing to take several hundred pictures in a few days,
having a gift exchange just for the pets, or watching the same movie a couple times in the same weekend because we are talking through it.

i love that our tradition of early Christmas hasn't changed.

the beginning

holidays are always an interesting time
and they seem to intensify so many things...
anxiety, emotion, tension,
thankfulness, humbleness, love and forgiveness...

as mentioned previously, it's been a tough year.
unexpected things happening several times over.
things turning out differently than planned.
new directions and blessings that come with it all.

had a reminder today to really remember
what Christmas is all about.

it's not about gifts and busy activities
or even about doing things for others.
God meant it for one thing--
we are to remember His love and His grace.

we are to remember and reflect on the fact
that God gifted us with His most precious--
His only Son, a perfect gift in every sense of the word.

we could leave it at that, remembering that
God gifted each one in this world
with His perfect Son.
but that would be missing the point too.

God gave His Son,
knowing that He would die
a most gruesome, lonely death.
God gave His Son
knowing that He would die
for each one of us--
a terrible, heavy price to pay.

Christmas is the beginning--
God coming into this world
in an unexpected way.
Easter is the goal--
Jesus paying the ultimate price
for each one of our sins
by dying on cross,
a price He didn't have to pay.
And a future day will be the culmination--
when He comes again
and all will be made whole and complete.

Christmas is just the beginning
of something far grander.

fresh snow

we've had a couple little snowfalls already this month.
another coming tonight and tomorrow.
the trees are absolutely beautiful
with their white frosted limbs and soft dusting of glittery white.

something interesting happens when you have multiple snows
with a little bit of time in between.
first, the snow is that crisp, clean, sparkling white.
give it a few days and it begins to get that grimy color
from traffic and the dirt that seeps up
and turns it to that dull brown and gray.

a little more snow falls again and it all looks brand new.
you don't see that grime underneath...
you just see that crisp, clean sparkling blanket of fresh snow.
it's all new and pure and clean.

looking at it, it makes me ponder a bit about how we are.
we need that fresh cover too--
only ours needs to come from the inside,
not just a surface covering.

thank goodness we have that fresh start
in Jesus Christ.

unexplainable

this past week, some surreal events have happened a little too close to home.

in omaha, a young man chose to randomly shoot people and then himself in a mall that i go to now and then.

in colorado springs, an individual shot at people as they were coming out of church on a sunday morning, a church that we love to visit when we are in the area.

in the denver area, a man chose to shoot people who were in training to become missionaries.

i don't know why God allowed these things to happen, but i pray that these senseless acts will cause people to turn to God and to trust in Him--allowing themselves to be loved by a God that wants love them more than anything else.

i will trust God in these situations--even though i can't explain why He would allow something like this to happen.

worlds colliding

we all have a past, we all are in our present and we all have a future. it's interesting when they all meet together.

this weekend was our church's christmas production. it's a time that's filled with activity and also has plenty of moments to enjoy--gathering with friends and performances... our production including collaborating with two other local churches--a very cool thing. one of the collaborations was a presentation of handel's messiah.

as i was playing my flute, i got to experience a coming together of things from my past and things of the present and caused me to ponder my future. one of my previous college advisors was playing his violin and helping with rehearsal details--was fun to see him again and to learn from him again. also made me think back to choices that i made in college--switching majors and colleges. made me ponder some 'what if's'. was there with folks from the church and ministry i currently serve in--and that's always a joy and privilege. was really special to see people from multiple churches come together and present something to God together. i really enjoyed it.

i wasn't expecting the event to cause me to contemplate so many things. what if i didn't change majors and stayed in music? what if i hadn't changed jobs when i did? why am i terrible at keeping up with relationships from days past when i truly do miss friends from those days? why did i feel like switching majors was the only option at that time in my life? what is God trying to teach me right now, bringing two worlds together in the same moments? how is my past helping and encouraging my present that will impact my future? what is God going to do next in my life?

i appreciate so many of the things that happened in my past...they have helped shape who i am today. i'm anxious to see how the events and things of the present are going to shape my future--He has brought so many things into my life this past year that can't be happening without a reason.

God works in mysterious ways--using ordinary events and things to grow and shape us--taking things from the past to grow us into our future.

giving and gathering

the heart that gives--
gathers.

~hannah moore

it isn't always a rat race

had a revelation today...guess you could call it that.

in the middle of prepping some things for work this evening, i stopped for a few minutes and walked around the building. there were all kinds of things going on--things being cleaned and set up, people practicing and decorating, last minute touches being added here and there.

i have done my best to pace getting things ready for today--not leaving everything to the last minute. in general, i like to think ahead, figure out what can get done early and efficiently and enjoy the run to the finish line. i've enjoyed today--i wasn't crazy or harried or overwhelmed. i was just doing the things that could only be done today. that afforded me time for my little walk.

that walk made me think...how much do we miss because we are running around, trying to get everything we think needs to be done at this moment instead of pulling back, pacing ourselves through life, and enjoying the journey?

there are times when i am missing things all around because i have things right in front of my face and i am dealing with my consequences for not thinking ahead...but not today. i'm enjoying today.

hope you are enjoying the journey today too.

moments

time is a very precious gift--
so precious that it is only given to us
moment by moment.

~amelia barr