A Perfect Christmas...

It's what we all hope for, right? A perfect Christmas. Everyone "home" for the holidays. The perfect gifts. The perfect dinner. The perfect weather. Everyone getting along. Perfect traditions. Everyone healthy. Everyone happy.

Sounds like a dream come true, but how often does it all happen? Someone in the family doesn't make it home...or you couldn't afford that certain gift or it was out of stock...or the turkey is dry and you-know-who burnt the pumpkin pie...or slush or sunshine instead of a cold snowy day...turkey making people tired and grumpy... Auntie's in the hospital...Susie has the flu...or that sad look in Granny's eye hasn't gone away.

We wish for a perfect Christmas. We expect it and we stress ourselves over making things perfect. But think about the first Christmas. There wasn't a lot about it that was perfect, was there? I doubt Mary thought, "Perfect!" when she found out she was giving birth in a stable. Joseph probably shared her sentiment. All the political unrest at the time? Not so perfect either.

But one thing WAS perfect: God sent a Savior to all of us.

Well, I had a college professor who shared a little devotional thought just before our final exam one year. It was the BEST Christmas devotional I've ever heard. I sat there listening, totally hooked, but after the final, I wrote down notes. I can't find them anymore, so I won't do justice to what she shared with us but I want to share what I remember.

Rather than worry and stress over making things perfect, look with me for a moment at the original Christmas story. We all know the basics of Jesus being born to Mary in a rugged manger, etc. But let's look at more than that. Let's look at what the angels had to say.

They appeared months before...to Zechariah (the husband of Elizabeth who was Mary's cousin). The angel came to tell him that Elizabeth, who was barren, was going to give birth to John the Baptist...who would pave the way for Jesus. When the angel first appeared to Zechariah he was afraid. And the angel spoke, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard."

Six months later, another angel, Gabriel, came, this time appearing to Mary. Gabriel greeted her and Mary was troubled and wondered at his greeting. So Gabriel said, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God."

Then came Joseph's turn. He was troubled over Mary's pregnancy and had decided to divorce her quietly. But an angel came to him and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife...."

Finally came Jesus birth and there were the shepherds not far from his birthplace. "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" Then they went on to announce Christ the Savior's birth.

Over and over, the angels appeared to people...humans...like you and me. And each time the people were afraid, worried, scared. And every time the angels told them, "Do not be afraid." Words of assurance..."your prayer has been heard"..."you've found favor with God"..."I bring you good news: A Savoir is born!"

So what do you say? Why don't we lay down our worries...or better yet, give them up to the same God who sent those angels (and His Son) to people like you and me.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear's third verse says...

"O ye beneath life's crushing load, Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road And hear the angels sing."

Merry Christmas, everyone. I pray that all of you can find rest and peace during this season. God bless you all. I love you!

I'm sorry it's a bit late. It was supposed to be my Christmas Eve post, but a virus tied up my computer.

Christmas Wishes

Hi everybody. I know there are a couple days still before Christmas, but I thought most folks would be caught up with family on Christmas day and that perhaps Christmas Eve would be the last chance to extend wishes before it's too late. And since some of you get on here before I plan to open my eyes tomorrow, lol, I decided to get this blog up tonight.

My Christmas wishes...

I wish for each and every one of you true happiness this Christmas. I hope that you all will be surrounded by people you love and who love you. I pray that the Christ of Christmas would be real to you and fill your hearts with His peace no matter what your life is dishing out these days. May that deep, settled peace bring quiet and pure joy that nothing can take away from.

I love you all and wish you the merriest of Christmases.

Love,

Hillary

It's About Time

It's about time I got my tip-tap-typing fingers over here to blogland. I've missed being here, but you know how the Christmas season can be. Busy, busy, busy. And ok, confession: I waste a lot of time...doing a lot of nothing. But I'm working on it.

Aaaand it's about time for Christmas. I love Christmas. Did I ever mention that? If not, then hear me now. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I love the snow (which I haven't gotten to enjoy in the last 15 years). I love the music. I love the movies. I love the decorations. And I love the nativity and the fact that Christ came to earth as a baby, lived through the crud (and the joys) that Earth has to offer, and died for me. I love babies all the time, but during Christmas the whole newborn and motherhood thing has an ultra-ooey-gooey place in my heart.

At least one evening every Christmas season, I like to turn off all the lights inside the house, plug in the tree lights and sit and watch them blink. This year I have non-blinking, all-white lights, which, frankly, I think are gorgeous, but truth be told, I miss the colorful blinkiness a bit too. But I like to just sit in silence and stare at the tree...sometimes praying...and sometimes just sitting with no particular thought. Just enjoying the calm and the peace and the aesthetics of it all. Come to think of it...it ought to be followed up by some serious Josh Groban music. Talk about your aesthetics!

Today I was out doing some shopping and seldom does there fail to be something noteworthy (on a goofy scale) about a shopping spree. Today was no different.

For instance, I didn't quite know what to make of the cashier at ToysRUs. She was a friendly young thing, and I have no problem with that. But I'm thinking that she MIGHT be missing what some of us refer to as "a filtering system." Mmhmm. First of all, if you donate a dollar to Toys for Tots, they give you this sticker ... like when you donate blood, only Christmasier..or should that be Christmas-y-er? Anyway, she doesn't hand it to me, despite my reaching out to recieve it. No, she reaches right past my hand and puts it on my shirt front. I wasn't overly comfy with that. Personal space, you know? But I blew that off. It wasn't a huge deal. And we exchanged pleasantries, wishing each other a nice day, etc. I made a comment about how busy it was and here's where the filtering system failed.... The girl put her hands on her stomach and said, "I'm feelin' all crampy, can't hardly move, so I'm just goin' side to side" and she starts swaying back and forth. I said a merry "Get Well!" and left before I got more of her medical history. It was...interesting. Very open girl, that one.

And later I was in Wal-Mart and you will NEVER guess who I saw! A real celebrity and not only did I see him, but he saw ME and SMILED!! Try not to swoon. It was Yosemite Sam. BAHAHA! Ok, he didn't have the hat and he was definitely 3-dimensional, but it was ol' Sam alright. I'd know that face anywhere.





As excited as I was to see Yosemite Sam, it in NO way compared to what I saw just two nights ago. I was sitting here in my living room and could hear horns honking. It gradually got nearer and nearer until finally I went outside to see what the hoopla was. What to my wondering eyes should appear but a parade of somewhere between 20 and 30 golfcarts, all decked out in Christmas lights. Some had stereos playing music. Some were blowing bubbles. Others were calling out, "Merry Christmas" and "Ho ho ho!" It was hilarious and so much fun!! At the suggestion and with the help of my wonder friend, Sunshine I found a youtube video that looks shockingly similar. Click here to check it out.

I'm now on break from school, which means I should have more chances to get on here. However, I bought Mamma Mia! so ummm...well...let's just say it's as addictive on dvd as it was in the theater.