An Amazing Gift

For the last few years my friend Jinny has gifted the women in our book club with a Christmas letter to our group. This letter is truly “gifted” to us, not just given. The letter is the most thoughtful of all the gifts I receive each year, for the gift contains nothing physical (it’s send via e-mail) and nothing material (it is not haphazardly stuck on top of a loaf of bread or a gift card). The letter contains two parts. The first is a look back at our year and what we have accomplished individually and as a group. This year it highlighted things such as three of us going back to work and four of us completing a triathlon (two for the first time), it talked about our girls’ weekend away and some of our struggles as well.
While I love the first part of the letter, the second part is the main show. Jinny assigns us each a name for the year and then talks about why. While she could easily assign us humorous names and roast us for our flaws or shortcomings – believe me she has the dirt on us – she picks beautiful, honoring, strong names. In choosing our names she holds a mirror up to each of us and says “look at what I see in you.” She reminds us of our own strength and beauty.
So in these final days before Christmas, if you are thinking of running to the mall one more time to buy one last gift for a loved one or friend, may I suggest giving someone the gift of letting them see themselves as you see them. Hope a mirror up for your friend or family member and show them the amazing, strong, beautiful person you see in them all year long – it’s an amazing gift.

Emily's Song of Christmas

This year the girls have been wanting to sing carols each night after our Advent reading. It has been so much fun and girls seem to really have learned a lot of carols. Sarah learned some new songs for her choir concert and Emily has come up with her own to have a new song to contribute to our evenings. I love her little song as she sings it with such emotion and it shows me that she is actually thinking about the true Christmas story - and the ends makes us all smile. She is only 3 after all.



This is Emily's Christmas song: (italics are singing, bold is yelling)



The angel came to Mary, you're going to have a baby,

she was so haaappppppyyyy,

then they went on a donkey,

Jofis knocked on the door and they said,

WE DON"T HAVE ANY ROOM,

Mary was really sad,

they went on a donkey,

Jofis knocked on another door and they said,

WE DON"T HAVE ANY ROOM!!,

Mary was really, really sad,

(depending on the night this "verse" is repeated quite a few times with Mary getting sadder and sadder - I am trying to have her sing it to me now and we have gone to ALOT of inns!)

then they went on the donkey to the manger and Mary found baby Jesus,

She was soooo happppppppyyy,

Where are the shepard?

They are making gingerbread cookies for Jesssssuuuss,

for Jesuuussssss,

They are making gingerbread cookies for Jesssuussssss!



I love Emily's song and the story she tells, I'm not sure where the gingerbread men come in, but knowing that my girl loves cookies, I think that to her, making Jesus cookies is a very nice thing for those shephards to do.

My friend Joanne, says that her family celebrates the story of Christmas not the stuff of Christmas. Isn't that wise? I think we are programmed for stories, from the youngest age, don't all children love a story? How does your family celebrate the story of Christmas?

Thinking about Mary

This morning in my Advent devotion book, it noted that today in the Catholic Church, the Feast of Immaculate Conception is celebrated. This feast day honors Jesus' mother Mary and the immaculate conception of Jesus. It made me stop and think about the challenges Mary faced. She was young, unmarried, packed onto a donkey, led far from her home and family and then had to deliver Jesus not only in a far away town but in a manager (or cave). Oh my. Not to mention all that she faced during Jesus' life and death.
I was reminded of a wonderful book I read last Christmas called Unafraid: Mary by Francine Rivers. This book is in The Lineage of Grace series. It is an easy read, but very memorable and really paints a picture of Mary as a woman, wife and mother. I loved it. I may actually read it again this Christmas! It would make a great gift this Christmas season - to yourself or someone else. (I will give the warning that it is told from a Protestant prospective and Mary does have other children after Jesus, so it may not jive with Catholic readers. )