Hope

Loss changes your perspective. It makes you realize (sometimes in the most painful way imaginable) that things are not what matter, people are. This Christmas Eve day I am thinking of those who are celebrating Christmas despite the absence of someone they love. Maybe the pain is so deep or the loss so fresh, they are not even celebrating -- they are just enduring.

For those people, I am wishing for future Christmases that they can enjoy... when the hole in their hearts is not so raw, when the people they are missing are back in their company. Maybe that reunion will take place in this life, and maybe it won't happen until the next, but the thing that I love most about Christmas and the true meaning behind it, is Hope.

Hope that we will celebrate Christmas with grandchildren near.
Hope that next Christmas the child we are longing to adopt will be in our homes.
Hope that our siblings and children will return safely from serving our country.

Hope that the babies we have lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, infant cancer ... will be restored to our arms once again.
Hope that the friends and family members we have had to say goodbye to, we will see and laugh with again.
Hope that came in the form of a baby born in a smelly barn.

Hope that is possible because of our Savior.

If you feel empty and alone this Christmas, if you feel the absence of someone you love, just hold on. Hold onto hope.

4 more sleeps...

• The gifts are purchased & wrapped
• Hannah's school Christmas program is over
• Our contribution to our church Christmas vespers was a success -- Hannah made an adorable angel, along with 5 other little girls.
• I've made a significant dent in my "Christmas movies to watch" list
• The stockings are stuffed by the chimney
• 3 more work days (including today) and then we get Jonathan home for 4 days
• I wish it would be a white Christmas, but am thankful the roads will be better for my family who are traveling

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Are YOU ready for Christmas?


Journaling prompts: What was your favorite Christmas present as a child? Why was it special to you?

What's the most memorable Christmas of your past? Why?

Because He Came

Christmas is wonderment. Because of a stable birth so very long ago, we have a Savior. And because of that Savior, we have hope in the bleak times, and joy in the good times and the bad.

Because He came, we can see the miracles. Because of Him, we hold on when we feel we will be blown over. Because of that baby, we are given the ultimate gift. I hope that this Christmas season, perhaps in the bustle of overcrowded toy aisles, or in the suds of a sink full of Christmas dinner dishes, maybe while sitting quietly in your living room, aglow with dozens of twinkling Christmas tree lights, or on the drive to pick up your child from school that last exhausting, busy week before Christmas break begins, you will feel that special magic that Christmas is. The magic that represents the peace, hope, joy and faith that is ours in this life that is not always easy or good. That magic is because of an obedient Mary, a faithful Joseph, a baby Jesus who was born in the most humble of settings and circumstances, and because of the sacrifice made on the cross. No Christmas present can ever top that gift.

I wish you that moment to remember what's behind this holiday of hustle and bustle and the never-ending "to do" list; that moment that exists because He came.

Don't you just love...

sweet vintage rubber stamps in happy colors? Rubber stamping is so much fun and can dress up so many different things. Check out this Etsy shop. Cute stamps!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Corrabelle

Check out this adorable vintage toaster.

Fun, fun!

Things I Love about Christmastime

pillsbury ready-to-bake christmas cookies. coffee-mate peppermint-mocha creamer. scarves. red. 4 personalized stockings all hung in a row. family. snow (when we get it). little girls in matching christmas jammies. froofy holiday dresses. my husband in a red tie. journaling by the lights of the christmas tree after everyone's gone to bed and it's quiet. christmas music. traditions. taking hannah to see the nutcracker. 'elf' with will ferrell. peppermint hot cocoa with marshmallows. hearing my daughter ask her baby sister, 'nally, what do you want for christmas?' plotting what to get for the girls with my husband. keeping (good) secrets. swapping gifts with my best friend over tea. the feeling that magic is in the air, that there are possibilities. being together. hope. very real hope because of a child born unto us many, many, many years ago...

Facelift

As you probably noticed, Live Art.fully has a new face! I hope you like it. Stay tuned for new posts...