A Different December

It has been a different December for me.  I have decorated the house with much less decor than normal -which includes no tree.  We have two kittens who wreak enough havoc without a Christmas tree and other ge-gaws to jump on, grab at, climb up, and knock off.  

Another difference this year is having my Christmas cookies already baked and delivered as of today. This is usually accomplished mid-December.

Even though things have been different there was still all the nostalgia and remembrance of all the years before from way back when I was a child to last year's memories.  

I am sentimental. I can't help it. This is me. 

I have such fond memories of my grandparents when we would drive all the way to Wisconsin to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas with them or when they would sometimes come to Ohio to visit us.  

I remember each home, including ours, all wonderfully decorated, and the excitement of Christmas day coming.  I remember the special baking days, the special foods, all the women dressed nicely and using fancy aprons. The air was filled with Christmas music, Christmas concerts, Christmas plays, and then the special shopping days downtown with my mother, shopping in Wisconsin with my grandparents, or going with my father to the Tire store to get yearly free Christmas record.

My first year of marriage my mother allowed me to choose a handful Christmas records out of their own collection so I could begin my new traditions as my Beloved and I became a family of our own.  I still marvel at how wise she was by giving me the opportunity to leave and cleave.

So many of these joys tied us together as family. Eventually we had children of our own and continued some of the family traditions which were in place and also began new ones.

All of these memories are in my mind and come to fruition as I bake, decorate, and enjoy this precious season.

As this season commences I can't stop "here" where Jesus came into the world as a baby.  The story was in motion then and it still is.  He was to grow up among us. He came at the right time for a purpose, and then His fruition was to be our sacrifice for our owns sins.  No animal could completely free us from our sins.

Jesus' story continues as we live each day for Him until He comes again for His final victory!  Even after His victory His story will always continue as we live in glory with Him!  

The world is fallen and we continue to groan, even the creation groans.  We can't rush it, we can't save it, but we can live for Him in our own sphere of influence.  We can glorify God in our own spot by living for Him.

May you be blessed each day as you live for the LORD in His strength and His comfort as we wait in anticipation for our Savior's triumphant return!

Romans 8:18-28
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, 

with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 

and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Glory to God!