Christmas 2012

December 24, 2012

Christmas will be officially here in just a few hours.  It will be a time when many families gather to celebrate the birth of our Savior and each other.  I am so glad that I have a huge bag of memories that I can pull out and do some reruns!!  For so many years, Christmas was such a wonderful time of family get-togethers and festivities.  As my children left home to establish traditions of their own, I found that Christmas was ... well, different and kind of lonely at times.  I have had to reinvent various ways to keep the holiday spirit alive.

My son and his family arrived last Saturday for a pre-Christmas celebration.  It was a time of enjoying good food, laughter, and a whole lot of love being passed around.  I felt alive and my heart was beating to the tune of  Joy to the World!  They brought their two dogs, Bristol and Missy, which delighted our dogs, Sadie and Toby.

Zachary and Nicholas spent two days outside in the backyard entertaining themselves.  They played hide and seek in the storm shelter, climbed the Pecan tree, and dug a huge hole to plant tree limbs to see if they would grow.  I sat on the patio watching them dig, chase each other, and explore the rusticness of the back yard.  Tommy lit a fire in the chiminea and we visited while laughing at his two offspring who were so engrossed in their undertakings.

It was nice to spend some time in my kitchen (ham with mustard sauce, twice baked potatoes, corn/green beans, crescent rolls...), getting out the sterling silver, and setting an inviting Christmas table.  I had made some cupcakes and put a candle in each one so the we could sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  Everything looks so inviting by candlelight!!  At the first sign of sundown, I light candles and take refuge in the shadows of the dancing flames.  I'm such a romantic at heart!

At Christmas, I am reminded how Jesus came to earth to take our brokenness and create new lives of peace and serenity.  Jesus sees us as his creation ... works of the Father.  He knew me in my mother's womb.  (Psalm 139:13)  It is our goal to catch Christ's vision and become more like him.  I was blind, now I see.   (John 9:25)  With his blood (red), he washed us white as snow.  (Isaiah 1:18)  His light shines in us and through us offering a beacon for others ... "Come to me those of you who are weary..."  (Matthew 11:28)  The door to salvation is never closed ...

 

I wish you blessings of love this Christmas and always. Always remember you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU

 

Miss Dottie

PS  "Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given–when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.”~~Joan Winmill Brown

PSS  I got a kick out of my granddog, Bristol.  Once all the festivities of gift opening was over, he made a nest out of the wrappings and settled down for a Winter's nap!!  I think he had a good idea!!