Some Days..

Feeling Inspired.... I'm feeling inspired. Inspired to laugh, inspired to love, inspired to create memories for my children that will last a lifetime.... I'm more excited about Christmas this year than I have been since I was a child.

Maybe its because the gifts have been bought, and wrapped. (almost) the meal is well underway (I'm as prepared as you can be in advance with Fresh Food), and in general I just feel relaxed. A good earmark of that was that I wanted to sleep late when my munchkins woke me up this morning, usually I'm up before dawn with a giant to do list for before the rest of my house wakes.

Maybe it's because I have a different set of values now. We've had a tough year, lots of illness, scary diagnosis, medical bills, marital difficulties, my faith has been confronted to a deeper degree than ever before. And it has been refined. God has been faithful, He has Sustained me, He has strengthened me and my family as we have drawn near to him. Anyway, I'm more thankful for the chaos that sometimes is my family. Sometimes you don't realize how grateful for something you are until your confronted with loosing it.

So, for me this Christmas is about love. It's about Giving, it's about time spent with those you love. Is it possible that after all these years, I have finally gotten the point, that my little four year old seems to embrace so well.

This is Christmas: twinkling lights, crisp, cool air, the sound of bells ringing, the sound of Bing Crosby crooning, the miracle of children laughing, the spirit of giving, of self sacrifice, the memory of the baby born in a smelly scratchy manger to a girl who didn't know what to do with him, the recognition that God gave up his son to this imperfect world where he would experience sickness and pain and rejection, and injustice and death, for me.... That the weight of the world and all of humanity would be cast upon those tiny quivering shoulders, and one day offer a place at the cross where we can lay our burdens down....

It's no wonder I feel inspired...