Christmas 2017

Christmas is the most unsentimental, realistic way of looking at life. 

It does not say, “Cheer up! If we all pull together we can make the world a better place.

If you think Christianity is mainly going to church, believing a certain creed, and living a certain kind of life, then there will be no note of wonder and surprise.

The Bible never counsels indifference to the forces of darkness, only resistance, but it supports no illusions that we can defeat them ourselves.

 Christianity does not agree with the optimistic thinkers who say, “We can fix things if we try hard enough.” 

Nor does it agree with the pessimists who see only a dystopian future. 

The message of Christianity is, instead, “Things really are this bad, and we can’t heal or save ourselves.Things really are this dark—nevertheless, there is hope.”  

The Christmas message is that “on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” 

There is light outside of this world, and Jesus has brought that light to save us; indeed, he is the Light (John 8:12).” 

― Timothy J. Keller, Hidden Christmas

Why Christmas?

Dear Sophia,

I told your four year old self that Santa Claus wasn't real and you didn't believe me.

You told me that wasn't true because you had seen him, and I love that about you.

I love your determination and belief in what you have seen despite even your Mama saying otherwise. 

As you look up at me with bright eyes, head adorned with tinseled garland, and wings peeking over your shoulders, I think about my prayer for what Christmas will someday mean to you. 

May you carry hope in your heart, even if others tell you there is no reason for it. 

May you foster peace, even if it disrupts the peace in your own life.

With each Christmas that you celebrate, may you continue to both experience and spread joy. Not a fleeting happiness based on circumstance, but a deep joy rooted in faith. 

And may you extend love to everyone, including those others have deemed unlovable, or the ones you sometimes find it the hardest to love.

Be generous with this love out of gratitude that there is nothing you can do to matter more or less to the one who loves you the most, the One that we celebrate at Christmas.

With hope, peace, joy, and love,

Mama

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving week began the Saturday before the holiday with our church family.

Monday was Sophia's Preschool Thanksgiving Feast:

Each student created a turkey feather with what they were thankful for:

 Wednesday, Nana & Bop-Bop visited the trucks and trains with us at Edaville.

Thursday morning we attended the 30th annual Thanksgiving Breakfast at Pageant Field with a marching band and Ocean View.

We warmed up by watching the parade and cooking a 24 lb turkey from our friends at the Sentas Farm.

Our friends Susan and Hazel joined us for the meal:

We ended the festive week on Friday evening with Sophia participating in a puppet show prior to the city tree lighting.