"The Twelve Joys of Christmas"

Blues Alley in Georgetown--Hearing the Ahmad Jamal Trio

Nora's Coconut Macaroons

The Stocking Stuffers

Seeing my sister every day for just about 2 weeks

Admin. Team Christmas Party

From Left: Mary, Katie, Rachel, me, Christy, Elise

The fresh farm eggs that Nora brought with her on the plane!

Family Game Night: Nora and I got the giggles and lost it...

Fresh Lemon and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta sent from my friend Brittany!

Traditional Christmas Eve Picture

Wet faces from a walk in the rain Amazing coffee that Travis and Nora ordered from their honeymoon location in Hawaii

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Prepare Him Room

Christmastime is a time of 'preparing room'. Shopping, cookie-baking, special parties, holiday decorating, wrapping, thinking about years of Christmas memories, traveling to visit with family and friends...these are all ways we open up space in our budgets, our stomachs, our schedules, and our hearts. Some of us do it a bit earlier than most (I think Nora finished her Christmas shopping in October), and others wait until the last few days of holiday frenzy (the boys went out yesterday, lists in hand!) But whether you are a super-efficient Christmas expert, or a spontaneous last-minute spaz, it doesn't really matter. The holiday spirit comes upon you whether you are ready or not. I finally joined the bandwagon two days ago when I finished my school finals.

Our family has our own traditional sense of preparing room, too. We like to prepare room for Bing Crosby's rendition of "Chesnuts Roasting..." in our c.d. player; we make time to watch "White Christmas"; we enjoy special Dutch treats like streup waffle cookies and spiced, sugared pecans; and best of all, we listen to my Mom reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" out loud while we all laugh until our sides hurt. This year has also been unique--in a literal sense, I 'prepared room' for Nora and Travis, who have come home from Arizona for 10 days to spend their 1st Christmas as a married couple with us. As I emptied shelves in my closet, cleaned, and switched over to the single bed in Brett's room, I smiled at the thought of how 'preparing room' at Christmas often takes joyful sacrifice as well. But this one is definitely worth it---it is SO good to have the family all together again!

Yet, how easy it is to forget to prepare room for the one person that really matters: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When Joseph and Mary knocked on the door of the Inn, there was 'no room' and so the door was shut. Will I open the door of my heart yet, so that He may enter? Have I taken the time to consider why we sing "Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room"? Christmas can so quickly become focused on the presents, the food, the expectations, the wants, the needs, the costs, the worries...but Jesus has only asked for one thing. He has asked us to prepare room for Him in our hearts, so that He may enter it and give us LIFE.

In John 20: 19-26, Jesus says "Peace be with you!" three times. This is in response to the disciples locking up their doors because they were afraid of the Jews in the days following His death on the Cross. I love the fact that locked doors--whether physical or spiritual--does not stop the Prince of Peace from bringing good gifts to us. And the gifts He offers to us are priceless, of eternal value, and more satisfying than any 'thing' inside a wrapped box. Even when we doubt, like Thomas (vs. 25), Jesus declares peace to us and asks us to "stop doubting and believe." And then there is such a wonderful promise that He offers: "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed".

Oftentimes, we do not know how He wants to meet us, or what we are preparing Him room to do in us, but we may rest assured that there is the blessing of PEACE as we make room for Him in every aspect of our life.

God Incarnate

Immanuel, meaning "God with us" (Matthew 1:23)

Normal nazarene (Isaiah 53:2)

Christ, the Consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25)

Anointed by the Spirit (Matthew 3:17)

Road of the redeemer to the Cross (Gal 3:13)

Night: born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:8)

and would die in Jerusalem (Luke 23:44)

Appeared and will appear again (Titus 2:13)

Treasured by Mary in her heart (Luke 2:19)

Eternal God (1 John 1)

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him IMMANUEL--which means, "God with us"...

"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him"...

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the CONSOLATION of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ"...

"At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased"...

"Christ REDEEMED US from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit"...

"And there were shepherds living out in the field nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at NIGHT"...

"It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed HIS LAST"...

"While we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good"...

"When they [the angels] had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary TREASURED up all these things and pondered them in her heart"...

"That which was FROM THE BEGINNING, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

'I write this to make your joy complete' as you celebrate the Christmas season this year!

A Cam Jansen Thanksgiving

No, Cam is not a relative of mine. Cam Jansen is an amazing sleuth who has a photographic memory. When I was little, I read her books and wanted to be like her. She would look at a scene, close her eyes, go click with her memory, and save the photograph in her head. Then, she would be able to solve all these really cool mysteries, like the one of the "Missing Cookie" or of the "UFO".

The reason for a Cam Jansen Thanksgiving? Peter and I were taking pictures with my Dad's digital camera and there was a "sim" card error which resulted in losing all of the 50+ Thanksgiving shots I had taken throughout the day. To say the least, I was pretty upset. But, as we know, pictures are only pictures, and sometimes it's best to "remember" a special day in our head rather than on special paper. So, I decided to make a click like Cam into my own memory. Ok, so maybe a bit cheesy, but hey! Sometimes you do what you have to do.

I will remember my 21st birthday as not only being on the national day of giving thanks, but also because I got to share it with two other incredible women whose birthdays were also that week. As we each got to open a gift from my Grandma at the same time, it struck me that the three of us all have 2 things in common.

First, we share a passion for writing and books. My great-Aunt Maggie has been writing for years and is an aspiring author who has taught me much about what good writing really looks like. Louise Stark is a lady who has spent the holidays with my Mom's side of the family for over 15 years. She was my uncle's childhood librarian who passed on a love for reading to him. It was neat to think that whether words are merely on sheets of paper, or bound together and placed on shelves, we all have been affected by them in our 21 years, seventy-something years, or even 80+ years.

Secondly, we are all beneficiaries of my Grandma's generosity and thoughtful gift-giving. My great-Aunt Maggie loves leather jackets, so she received a brand new one that she will enjoy when she rides on the back of her son's motorcycle. Mrs. Stark, who is elderly and often in much pain, received a cozy, fleece wrap that will keep her warm and comfortable at her assisted living home. And I received a check from my Grandma that went towards getting my hair cut and highlighted. But the best part was not opening my gift; when these two women opened their gifts and my Grandma's smile revealed her delight in being the giver of these gifts, I quickly realized it was time to click something into my memory. The ooohhhs and ahhhs of Mrs. Stark, and the powerful silent smile of my Aunt Maggie, revealed to me that God has given my Grandma a gift of extending His love to others. Through her generosity, God's generosity is displayed; through her thoughtfulness, God's specific care for each individual can be considered. I thought to myself, How can I learn from my Grandma's example and be more like her in this new year of my life?

Thus, I decided that though I won't have 50 pictures of Thanksgiving day or even a few of my 21st birthday, this 1 mental picture is worth more than all of them. Even technological errors are sometimes a blessing in disguise, so if your camera or phone or computer or blackberry or iPod happens to break in the next few weeks, take a second to realize that there may be a really cool thing to learn in the midst of the inconvenience.