light

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world:

he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
John 8:12 (KJV)

 

Have a blessed 4th Sunday of Advent,

Tami

Merry & Bright

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas to all !
I wish you a truly blessed holiday.
We will be spending the next 3 days with family and friends. Nearly everything is done. A little baking and some last minute details, then I can breathe.
Joy and Peace, Tami

tradition

 

We took our annual Christmas picture yesterday. The kids have gotten so good at it over the years. Three minutes and we're done. They love taking the silly picture at the end. This is the best silly one yet.

I love Christmas traditions.

 

Have a blessed Monday, Tami

AMEN

Simple Mom posted this article today in her weekend links. It is written by The New West blog. I love it when others are able to express so beautifully thoughts I just cannot articulate.

My favorite part is:

"We might often feel that the secularization of our favorite holiday has deprived it of all meaning. But on the contrary, Christmas is the time when many who would qualify themselves as ‘non-believers,’ feel a stirring of the spirit that leads them seeking. If we are truly disciples of Jesus, we should celebrate any element of the season that urges people toward the holy.  It may start with the mall or the Hallmark channel, but it often lands them in church. I’ll take it."

Oh and this part too:

"Speaking of shopping–if you are bothered by all the secular expressions posted around malls and big box stores this season, might i gently suggest that you spend less of your Christmas season at the freakin mall? If you don’t like the signage, spend more time serving the poor, going to worship, getting out in nature, and spending time with the people you love. I’m pretty sure the birthday boy would be all for it."

Amen.

Have a truly blessed Sunday, Tami

magical

 

 

Have a blessed day, Tami

reality

I allow myself one holiday freak-out every Christmas season.

Consider this IT.

This is usually the culmination of the stress of holiday gift making and buying, and my house feeling about ready to burst at the seams.

Before I begin, let me make it clear. I love giving and receiving gifts, and I love Christmas.
Here it goes.

In preparing for the Christ child, I am also knee-deep in preparing my home to accommodate more stuff. Not by choice, but out of the realization that the way I want to celebrate Christmas does not line up with how most folks indeed celebrate - by giving a lot of stuff. So I go through the perfectly good stuff we already have, and decide what to get rid of to make room for the new stuff we don't need.
Really, I am not the Grinch. I just wish that there was a way to convince more of our family to exchange gifts that don't require consumerism to run rampant. And remember that I am ranting here, I have actually tried SOOOO many different ways of changing their minds. Out of my control.

Did anybody read this blog post by the Nester a few months ago ? Hello, my name is Tami, and I am a stuff manager. Sad.
It hit home and made me really sad. But in this situation and in most situations, I feel like it is out of my control. Too big of a tradition to change, in our family anyway. So, I continue purging my house that is already small by most standards. For a lady, that leans towards minimalism anyway, Christmas nearly puts me over the edge.

Once this freak-out is out of my system, I will carry on. I will watch Christmas movies, and light Advent candles, and bake cookies, and I will even buy my kids things they don't need, and I will remember the reason for the season, for it is certainly not to make me insane.

Have a peaceful day, Tami