Christmas Corinthians

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.  But giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry CHRISTmas!

-- Author Unknown

Corinthians 13:13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Preparing Ourselves

Christmas is the holiest of times to me.  Preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Preparing the house -- decking the halls, preparing the gifts, baking, sewing, crafting.  Lots of preparations.

But none as essential as preparing my heart to receive Him.  The greatest Gift.  God's gift to me.  To all of us.

"For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son.  That whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life."  John 3:16

So, who is this One that we prepare for?  We will delve into that each day as we prepare to welcome Him.  God is vast.  He is deep.  He is rich.  And each day, we'll discuss an attribute of God.

So prepare yourselves, dear ones.  Prepare to meet God here.  Prepare to prepare your heart for the holiest of days.  

I'm prepared. 

Are you?

AF-WHOA!

So I was feeling a bit nostaligic the other day.  Missing my widdle babies.  Missing the sweet widdle curls that my widdle baby had on her widdle head when she was, well, widdle.

In short, I was missing this:

Much to my disdain, as my girl grew, so did her hair --

--without the curls. 

It took me back to my days as a stick-straight haired girl.

 The days when my momma would subject me to hours of hair rolling, stink enduring, and poor-results-having perms.  Yes, I said perms.  In the plural.  Apparently the belief was that if the first perm didn't take, try it again. 

Perms being useless on my pre-puberty locks (as according to a Hollywood stylist), my momma switched to those pink spongy rollers.  ACK!  The bane of my existence:  the pink spongy roller.  Or, more precisely, the bane of my restful night of sleep.  But, it did bring some sorta-curls to my head.

The other night I was looking at CraftyGirl's head and told her that I could make her hair curly.  I was feeling nostalgic and, I guess, CG was feeling adventurous.  And brave.  She agreed.

So we twisted and made (as TheBoy called it) "Worm Hair."  It was very cute. 

CraftyGirl slept soundly that night and was ready to remove the worms come morning.  I don't think I needed to worry about whether or not her hair would curl.

We ended up with an AF-WHOA!

As I was unraveling the worms, CraftyGirl kept saying, "I look ridiculous!  This is awful!"  I couldn't stop giggling.  And, so she giggled.  And then we watched to make sure no birds were coming to make a nest in her Af-whoa.

Don't think we'll be making "Worm Hair" again anytime soon.  But don't be sad that there won't be any subsequent AF-WHOA pictures.

There are others in the vault...

Thankful

It seems only appropriate with Thanksgiving lurking just around the corner that I post about the things I am thankful for.

 However, you don't have the time, and I don't have the patience to type it all out.

Put plainly, I am blessed. 

I am blessed beyond compare.

God has shown me that His timing is always perfect.

And that He can be found in the everyday.

And that, above all else, He reigns.

For that I am thankful.  During a season of thanks and everyday, I am thankful.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."  Psalm 118:1

Homeland Security

The few.

The proud.

The protector of the trampoline.

And of the pioneer woman who resides there upon.  

 With her binoculars.