Peace, Joy, and Presents: Happy Christmas

Today was our first Christmas together and it was absolutely precious. For Christmas Eve, we spent time with the family and went to our family friends' house for their big get-together. We had a great time playing "dirty Santa." Joshua ended up with a very useful $25 to Home Depot and I snagged an oil burner and a Christmas decoration to be added to my budding collection. (Over the recent months, Joshua has become acquainted with my family's Christmas craze and realized that his future wife pretty much takes the cake on Christmas Queen). On our way home, we stopped at one of those synchronized Christmas light shows and then proceeded with family tradition of our myrrh, frankincense, and gold gifts.

Family Tradition #1: As a way to keep the gift-receiving part of Christmas in a healthy mindset, my parents started this three-gift tradition. 1. Myrrh was an embalming ointment given to Mary and Joseph at Jesus' birth, valuable and a prophetic symbol of how He was born to die that we may live. The gift that goes with this one is something having to do with the body, perfumes, clothes, makeup, etc. 2. Frankincense was another gift, known as one of the premiere "cure-all" treatments and it was designated to be burned in God's temple. This one always relates to the individual's relationship to Father, often worship CDs, a new Bible, devotionals or even allegorical books. 3. Gold, the last of the mentioned magi gifts, was obviously the most general and valuable, and our gold gift is usually something of great importance that the receiver really wants.

Family Tradition #2: This one is an old tradition on my mom's side of the family. At midnight between the 23rd and 24th, the first person to call "Christmas Eve Gift" gets to open one gift a whole day earlier than everyone else. As a rule, I win this. Every so often, I grant the privelege to someone else, but let it be known that out of all my competitive family, I dominate. Haha, so I'm joking. But, really. I do. Needless to clarify, I won this year too. I will never outgrow this tradition.

Me Tradition #3: Laying awake on the 23rd and 24th because I cannot sleep because of all of my excitement... I love, love, love gifts. I also like surprises in the sense that I enjoy being surprised (however, the NOT KNOWING of it all drives me crazy) and I truly enjoy the reaction on others' faces when they open something from me.

We ended up persuading the parents to let us open the gifts from each other as well (all of us kids draw names and then go in on stuff for mom and dad. Hunter drew Joshua who drew Hannah. Ashtyn and I got each other). We had so much fun with every one sitting around getting excited for each other and ourselves, sharing in joy and family. Joshua and I were super stoked to get the cookware from our registry. It was a huge contribution to our household as we both enjoy dabbling in the culinary arts. Also, a pizza cutter, measuring spoons and cups were a few more everyday items that tickled our to-be-wed fancy. Included in what I gave Joshua was a DVD I made with a video of his proposal and four slideshows (our lives together, the day of the proposal, the proposal event itself, and our engagement photos), complete with sweet iDVD menus and customized buttons, scene selection, and music. I'm pretty proud of that one, not gonna lie.

Today we ate breakfast, opened stockings, and played with "Dad's" new Wii Rockband waiting for friends to join use for lunch. Food, games, and movies comprised our fun-filled day. Now I am half-watching "The Incredible Hulk" as "the boys" play with Joshua's Batman action figure sliding on dental floss from second story to front door (indeed, boys will be boys).

As I look forward to the future and all of the wonderful, sweet Christmases Joshua and I will enjoy, I have to admit that I very much appreciate and covet this one. Sometimes the stresses of life cave in around the holidays and it all seems like too much. But family really is priceless and I jealously bottle these moments knowing always that "this too shall pass" applies to both good and bad. Thank You, Jesus, for a day to celebrate everything beautiful.

This Too Shall Pass

Another Christmas, another season, another new year. Taking a glance backwards is appropriate at this time because it serves the purpose of reminding us of blessings, growth, loss, changes, and the most crucial thing that I am coming to realize: this too shall pass. Most is so temporal and it is terrible that so significant a thought as "make every moment count" has become so cliché.

I have had delightful Christmases, stressful Christmases, painful Christmases, and various kinds of anticlimactic Christmases. This, by far, was the most unique I have ever experienced. This time home was "home" in a deeper, more abstract sense. Home was not home because that is where my toothbrush is kept, my sleeping done, or even where I know where the silverware is. Home is the place where the familiar is precious (and pretty much taken for granted) and the sharing of moments delightful (because history is mutual). It is where comfortable is more in the atmosphere than location and where unconditional love truly resides. Never before have I been so overwhelmed by blessing and known gratitude as such a heartfelt reality instead of a passing sentiment. My friends, I am rich in all that matters; the grace of God is undeniable in my life. I deserve it not and receive it still.

'Tis the season for resolutions and this is the first year I can recall that I have none. Sure, there are some things that I would not mind tweaking and improving. However, they are all what I have been resolved on previous to the end of the year. All that I really want in 2008 is for my life to look like the transition it ought to: seven is the number of completion and eight of new beginnings. What needs to end can and the best shall be sealed in the treasure-box of experience. The dead and done can give way to the fresh and lively. It truly is all new this upcoming year and I am ready for it; I'm tired of the goodbyes and drastic endings that have occurred over '07. I graduated and that was the beginning of many ends, so many "lasts" for a season of mine. It became a catalyst for firsts, a foreshadowing for this next year as a time beginning. So here I am welcoming '08 with open arms, an open heart, and great anticipation. Surrendered, I stand.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.
- Tennyson