Spirit of Christmas

Last week was one of those weeks. You know the kind when your days seem to blend together and then by the time you get to Sunday you wonder how, or if, anything was really accomplished?

The main source of the crazy week was getting our Christmas decor out and on display. A friend's father-in-law provided our amazing tree this year. It is the most beautiful tree - biggest and freshest - we have had since we were married and this will be the one Christmas that we will be spending the least amount of time at home since we'll be flying to visit my family for the holidays. J and I laughed the two nights it took us to get the tree together - cut to a height that it would fit in the house, purchase additional lights to wrap around it, hang the ornaments. He said that this is the one year that he was not rolling his eyes at the number of ornaments that I have because we clearly needed them to keep the tree from looking bare.

Coming downstairs alone each morning for my quiet time is enhanced now with the lovely glow, both from the tree and the fire place next to it. It is so peaceful and I no longer have memories of the craziness that I felt trying to make things come together while preparing for other activities of the week. I feel as if I can now enjoy the peace that the season brings.

Polar Express

Jillian adores The Polar Express movie, book and soundtrack. She will watch the movie all day every day, if I let her. We bought the soundtrack a few weeks ago and I cannot tell you how many times we have listened to it - in the car, in the living room, in her toy room. I am not sure what it is about the story, but she loves it.

Since we were traveling to Tennessee for Thanksgiving we decided it would be a good idea to travel a couple of hours into Bryson City, North Carolina, to let her ride the Polar Express. We didn't tell her our plans. In fact, she had no clue what we were doing as we pulled into the parking lot for the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. She saw children wearing their PJs and questioned it. I asked her why kids would wear PJs on a train. Her response: "Well, sometimes kids sleep on trains." True, but then I asked why would kids get on a train in their PJs. I knew by the look on her face that she knew the answer but didn't want to say. I believe she was filled with joy but was overwhelmed by the idea. She didn't want to say it out loud, just in case she was wrong.

We took a quick trip to the ladies room and she changed into a pair of Christmas pajamas then we were on our way. Her face showed nothing less than sheer elation. The soundtrack played over the speakers and Jillian sang along with every song as she watched the countryside go by her window. We were served hot chocolate, her first of the season, and it had to be the best she has ever tasted.

We rolled up to the North Pole and Old Saint Nick got on board, giving each child "the first gift of Christmas." She has clung to that bell since she received it, making sure she, we, and everyone she sees can hear it, therefore believing in the Spirit of Christmas.

I have questioned whether or not the trip was worth the amount of money we paid, but closing my eyes and seeing her face makes me realize that how an adult views an event is a world away from a child's view.

Thankful

"Give thanks in all circumstances..." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am thankful for:

• A God who provides all my needs
• A Savior, Jesus, whose lessons of loving and serving others is one that I need to follow more closely
• A husband who loves and accepts all of my shortcomings
• A sweet child who fills my days with light, especially when they seem dark
  
• Being born into a loving and supportive family
• Marrying into an accepting and loving family
• Friends who fill my world with wit, wisdom and inspiration
• Strangers who bring more into my life than I will ever know
  

Love in a Shoe Box

For the second year we participated in Operation Christmas Child, a wonderful ministry that delivers Christmas gifts packed in shoe boxes to children around the world. Last year we did one box and Jilly was convinced that a little boy in Haiti, named Carlos, received it. She talks about Carlos a lot and, actually, the little three-year-old visits us from time to time in the form of an imaginary friend.

It's been great having Jilly associate a name with her box. It gives her little mind the ability to visualize an actual child who will receive something special this Christmas. We prayed that the children know that they are loved by someone who has never me them. She talks about Carlos quite a bit, especially the past month, and has been planning what to put in his box. Sometime before Halloween Jilly informed me that Carlos has two sisters - one his age and one older. She thought it would be a good idea if we send gifts to them too. So, we prepared three boxes this year.

Jilly has been blessed with family members who have sent her cards throughout the year and many times those cards have included a dollar or two or five. She wanted to use her money to buy Carlos' gifts. It was solely her idea and came about with absolutely no prompting by me. I have never been more proud of her. So, she dug out $9 and we trotted down to the Family Dollar Store to see what we could get. She bought two cars, two coloring books, three boxes of crayons (one for Carlos and two for his sisters), two Snoopy tooth brushes, some Toy Story soap and toothpaste. I added to it with a few more trinkets and a shirt from Target. Jilly wanted to write a note to her friends, so I took dictation and she made them pretty with stickers.

After preparing the boxes, we said a prayer for each of the children who will receive it. Jilly said that Carlos had a stomach ache so prayed that God would heal him. It make me wonder sometimes if she has a sort of connection of the spirit with the child who received her box last year.

As I previously mentioned, I am reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love as part of a Bible study. The gist of the study is that we should stop clinging to earthly goods in the hope of using them in the future. He really hammers home the point that those of us who have received an abundance of God's blessings should pass on more than we use. In Matthew 25:45 Christ says: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." And in 1 John 3:18 we are told, "...let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth."

I hope that this simple act of sending children goodies that fit in a shoe box becomes a building block for the type of giving heart Jillian develops throughout the course of her life. My prayer is that she becomes a person who, as her recent memory verse - 2 Chronicles 9:7 - instructs, is a cheerful giver.

Dear Santa

We did an official Santa list today. It was rainy and cold and seemed like the perfect indoor activity. Plus, if we don't get this list to Ol Saint Nick soon Jilly may be out of luck this year.

I found some cute paper from Activity Village and we went to work. Jilly was a bit confused because she scratched out a note last week. I gave her a quick lesson on the beauty of nice stationery and no questions were asked.
She went to work on her version and I translated it on another piece of paper. Her main gift "wants" are an art easel and a CD player with microphones so that she can sing along. After that, her request is for the all-too-general "a lot of toys." I told her that she couldn't ask for something like that. For one, Santa doesn't know exactly which toys she likes and secondly, and more importantly, there is no need for "a lot of toys." Finally she said she was OK with those two things, but then added she wants a Horton Hears a Who game as well as a Curious George hide-and-seek game. Santa also has it in his head that he'll throw in the Mary Poppins CD as well as the new Olivia book.

So tomorrow we will place the completed list in an envelope and ship it off to the North Pole.

Generational Bond

It's interesting that I tend to use certain cooking utensils for certain tasks and can never change over to something else. For example, I only allow my dough to rise in a particular glass bowl. I have one specific pan that I use for baking/roasting fish. I will only use the heavy aluminum pot my mom used to make fudge for sauce, chili and other hearty foods. And the only thing I will cook cornbread in is the iron skillet that belonged to my Grandmother Robbins.

There were only two things I wanted of my Grandmother's when she died nearly 10 years ago: her Bible and this skillet. Sadly we were unable to find the Bible she made notations in for much of her Christian life, but luckily I was able to use this.

My Grandmother was a product of the south and that means she was a great cook. As a kid I remember her making potato cakes and fried okra and fried corn in this skillet. I can smell it by just thinking about it. Needless to say the skillet is well seasoned, which probably accounts for the reason things I make in it taste so good. I have used this skillet to make fried chicken and pecan crusted catfish, but it is primarily used for cornbread. I am so thankful for this time of the year because it is when I make cornbread more frequently as an accompaniment to stew and chili, which we had for dinner Sunday night.

My Grandmother was also a woman of very strong faith. I recall waking up early in the mornings, before the sun had peeked up over the horizon, to the sound of her voice tearfully calling out to God. It was not a plea of desperation or a cry for help; rather it was her desperate cry to be closer to Him. I used to think she was sad but instead it was a joy filled cry thanking Him for all that she had and for always being with her - in good times and in bad. It was a passionate cry to her God that was more like an overflow of the love she had for him in her heart. It has only been in the past few years that I have truly appreciated that display of love.

Genesis 17:7 says: I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

And as much as I look forward to passing along my Grandmother's skillet to my daughter, my prayer is that the seed of faith that she planted grows even stronger through the years.

Give Thanks

Today is the first day of the Thanksgiving advent-style calendar Jilly and I created last year. We placed it in our hallway and began what is developing into a family tradition - taking the time to write down what Jillian is thankful for each day. Today Jillian said she was thankful for eating spaghetti with daddy and God's blessings.

We had a bit of a challenge with the start of this exercise. She seemed to be confused with the Christmas Advent Calendar where she woke up to something new each morning. After letting me know what she was thankful today she immediately asked if she would have something new tucked inside one of the pockets in the morning. I tried to let her know this is the time we recognized how we are blessed. She completely understood that but still wanted to know if she would have something new in the morning.

Last year was the first year we did an Advent calendar for her and I am beginning to rethink that. First off, we never had one growing up so I'm not simply sharing a childhood tradition. And secondly, even though the gifts were small, she got something every day for 24 days. I think that it stole a bit of the thunder from Christmas morning. Maybe we'll simply give her an inspirational message most mornings and the other days we can give her a new ornament to place on the tree. For now we'll focus on having her recognize how incredibly blessed she is, even if it is something so simple as having the chance to eat spaghetti with her dad.