10 Things I Love About Christmas

In no particular order...

1. The air is cool and crisp and Chrismassy (the only time of the year where I am)
2. Laughing children, lighthearted conversation with family 
3. Presents and gift-wrapping paper
4. Movie parties with family
5. Playing games
6. Extra-special yummy things to eat
7. Christmas music 
8. The reflection and happy nostalgia it evokes
9. Joy and peace just seem to be easier to hold on to
10. That I get to belong to Jesus and everything else has new meaning!

It's The Simple Things In Life

It's an 'unwind-relax-and thank God for life and time-off' thing around here. It happens over the summer vacation, at special celebrations, and of course for the major holidays like Christmas. I find a crew of family members hunkered down with me for movie marathons which I have started to refer to as movie parties. People are welcome; snacks and finger foods, almost required. It's so much fun.

I love to step back and observe everyone in my domain just having fun. It's heartwarming to see the kids laughing and having fun, to hear the opinions and exclamations about the movie, to see everyone just spending that time there together. Of course, there are the moments when someone has to shout at someone else about their noise level (we all want to hear what's happening in the movie after all), or someone is plotting about how to get the last snack, or someone 'stole' someone else's seating place. But it's life, and it's family, and it's time together. It's very cool.

We had the first movie party of the holiday season yesterday. It was impromptu and we had no snacks...well one of my sisters had one bag of barbecue chips. But it was great. I just loved having them here, on my couch and upsetting my orderly and neat space for a while. A cleanup and/or straightening out process is always necessary in the aftermath but it's so worth it.

You know, before the semester ended, and before my holiday vacation began, I had been guilt-tripping about my social media visits (which did go on way too long when I should have been studying etcetera). I imagined I would be freely and lengthily catching up with the Twitter and Facebook worlds once the holidays officially began for me. Needless to say, from that time exactly, I have had little desire to spend my time browsing social media. I guess there is just some perspective right now. These precious moments and opportunities aren't there all the time. And they end all too soon. It really is the simple things in life that matter most. Simple things make the most authentic and happy memories. We should never be in a hurry to leave them behind, and never substitute them for anything else.

Christmas Expectations

Christmas means more to me the older I get. But I hardly spend it in some unique Christmassy way. It's now a quiet, but satisfying, day for me. Of course there's extra special stuff going on around me and I am fortunate to live surrounded by family members. My nieces and nephews will most certainly regale me with the show of all their new gifts and toys. We will play games and then have a 'movie party,' which is a marathon of family-friendly movies, complete with snacks. There's special lunch and then we find ourselves continuing to snack through the day.

The older I get the more satisfaction I have in simply seeing people happy with the presents I gave them, or that they received. I especially love to see the little ones and hear them laughing often. This really stood out to me last year. It made me grasp just how much God must enjoy blessing us and seeing us gratefully enjoy His gifts!

This year, I'm also focusing in on how much I have to be thankful for. A new year is so close and by God's grace, here I am yet again. He is still keeping me, working in my life, delivering me, and loving me.

This year, I also can't help but think of the fresh tragedy that will mark this season for so many that have lost their loved ones recently. I cannot fathom the grief. There are many others who are very lonely and it becomes more pronounced at this time of the year. Many hate the day because they are continually disappointed....It's so important to be gentle and gracious with the Grinches and Scrooges we encounter during this season.

Christmas can be a very normal day for me if I want it to be. Nothing is expected of me. I have no entertaining to do, no kids to chase after, and no kitchen to manage (though I will be cooking and baking for my parents that day). But I also know that with conscientious reflection on the important things, and with a grateful heart, it is elevated to something much more memorable.

As I get older I think about what the Holiday is supposed to memorialize more now than ever before: Jesus Christ, God's righteousness revealed. That's the one truth we need to make Christmas meaningful no matter what else we may lack. Think about it. Pray and thank God for it. Sing about it. And Christmas joy is sure to rise up and overflow. It's a wonderful thing to be loved by a great God who would reach out to you with His very best, before you even knew Him. Christmas is about God saying to you and me: 'I want to reconcile you to Myself. I love you, and I want you in My household.' That's pretty amazing.

For Christmas 2012 I have simple, but great expectations :)

A Bit-O-Humor!

Most people assume WWJD is for "What would Jesus do?". But the initials really have been changed to stand for "What would Jesus drive?".

One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old Plymouth because the Bible says, "God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden in a Fury".

But in Psalm 83, the Almighty clearly owns a Pontiac and a Geo. The passage urges the Jesus to "pursue your enemies with your Tempest and terrify them with your Storm".

Perhaps God favors Dodge pickup trucks, because Moses' ollowers are warned not to go up a mountain "until the Ram's horn sounds a long blast".

Some scholars insist that Jesus drove a Honda but didn't like to talk about it. As proof, they cite a verse in St. John's gospel where Christ tells the crowd, "For I did not speak of my own Accord..."

Meanwhile, Moses rode an old British motorcycle, as evidenced by a Bible passage declaring that "the roar of Moses' Triumph is heard in the hills".

Joshua drove a Triumph sports car with a hole in its muffler: "Joshua's Triumph was heard throughout the land". And, following Jesus' lead, the Apostles car pooled in a Honda... "The Apostles were in one Accord."

{Something funny that I came across a long time ago online. Don't know who came up with this - except that it had to have been a car lover!}

The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

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Book review: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

This book is a Romantic Suspense novel; it was my first from the author and a very satisfying read. I enjoy good fiction but allocate more of my precious little reading time towards non-fiction. When I have an overall pleasurable experience with a novel that’s always extra-special for me.

In The Breath of Dawn we first meet Morgan Spencer, who is a widower and father of a toddler, and who suffers panic attacks from repressed grief and other effects of the trauma he has experienced. When he meets Quinn Reilly he doesn’t realize right away that she could be more than someone needing ‘help’ - which he’s good at giving. Quinn, who has learned to be alone and self-sufficient, is on the run from a past that has come back into her present and she has to deal with the human and the supernatural element behind that trouble. Still, she maintains a refreshing genuine sweetness and maturity. Their lives become entwined in ways they never could have seen coming.

I think it’s really hard to come across a novel that strikes you as entirely original, especially in genres like this. I could see ‘parts’ of various other novels I’ve read within the past year here, but this was a good read that I did not get bored with it at any point. What made this novel work was the entire like-ability of the (good) characters. They were characterized well and in a somewhat refreshing way - Quinn especially. The plot worked as well: there were no glaring gaps or unanswered questions; the writing was solid and there was actually some heart-pounding suspense (which I don’t really experience in many ‘suspense’ novels). I would also add that the protagonists didn’t do some uncharacteristically stupid thing which happens in many novels so that the conflict is able take place - that always annoys me. Everything here unfolds nicely.

I have long had another Kristen Heitzmann novel in my vast Kindle library and I am definitely more eager to pick it up after reading her work in this one. I’d give it 4 stars in its genre. Many readers will give this a 5 but I would need to have that lingering, ‘can’t stop pondering what I just read’ element to give it a perfect rating.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review only.

20,000 Days And Counting by Robert D. Smith

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Book review: 20,000 Days And Counting by Robert D. Smith

20,000 Days presents breathtakingly simple strategies and concepts that, once applied, will enable readers to be 100% present and intentional with every passing minute of every day, for the rest of their lives….On the 20,000th day of his life, the author sent an email that inspired and reminded a group of people of all ages to live in the moment. This group now includes you. - Excerpt from publisher’s book description

This book is chock full of simple yet truly thought- (and life-) altering principles for becoming a more productive individual in the life we live, with a view towards an eternity that we’ll have no reason to dread. I usually shun self-help and motivational type books but I am glad I read this one. Although not featuring Scripture throughout for the most part, the author shares key Scriptures at the beginning on the wisdom of numbering our days and other similar biblical exhortations. This provides a great foundation for the principles shared. Each chapter is preceded by salient quotations on the topic of Time and Productivity from past voices which were so gripping that I highlighted almost all of them.

Of all the principles shared the one that jumped out at me most was ‘Motivation is a myth.’ The author says:
“Believe me. You cannot motivate people to do any one thing. Even yourself. Never try to motivate yourself or anyone else to increase productivity. Instead, do the opposite: Increase your productivity, then the motivation will follow."

I reflected on my own experiences and could see the truth in this. My attempts at motivation in itself have often been very short-lived to downright failures. However, whenever I did just set my mind to it and accomplish a task, I found I was more likely to feel satisfied and attempt another.
Because I was also intrigued by the author’s calculation of his days lived thus far, I followed the information provided to the author’s website where I was able to input my birth date for a calculation of how many thousands of days I’ve been alive. It really does bring perspective if you will soak it in and be reflective!

The author says that the book was designed to be read in about an hour. I am not a slow reader and I did use just a few minutes at points to re-read key points and reflect on my own experiences, but this took me about 2 hours to finish in one sitting. If the topic is of particular interest to you and you intend to see how these tips can be applied to your own life, I reckon you will also need more than one hour to finish it.

If you struggle with a feeling of purposeless, procrastination, or just a nagging sense of not living up to your full potential despite some achievements, this book would be an asset to you. But reading it won’t be enough; you will also have to choose differently in your everyday life to see changes - Or as another principle in this book states: ‘You only have two choices, yes and no. I recommend 20,000 Days And Counting and give it 5 of 5 stars in its genre.


BookSneeze® provided me with a complimentary e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review only.