It’s been a peaceful December for our family so far. We’ve been having some lighthearted, affordable fun through our new family tradition, the advent calendar…
I have always wanted an advent calendar, and for the past few months, I have been scouring Pinterest for cheap, easy ways to make one. But then I found this one at Michaels on Black Friday. I used a couple of coupons and got it for about $12. Then Ryley and I spent an afternoon painting it how we wanted it.
I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! I think the little drawers are adorable. On to the fun….
So Day 1 was meeting our friends at the Plains Conservation Center for “Christmas in the Soddies”….
The girls had to wear bonnets, of course!
It was such a fun morning with good friends!
On Day 3, we made special hot chocolate with “cookie-cuttered” whipped cream:
It didn’t turn out quite as well as the pictures on Pinterest implied! But it was still fun….and delicious!
On Day 6, Ryley performed with the choir in her school’s winter concert:
The guy in the blue baseball cap really irritated me. As did the families who were talking. I even shushed a few of the parents around us.
On Day 7, we made candy cane milkshakes! They were delicious!
And on Day 8, we drove up to Georgetown for their annual Christmas Market. I have wanted to go for several years. What a hit! So much fun, albeit chilly!
I love this picture:
What a fun day!!!!
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I have really been working hard at becoming a nicer person this Christmas season. I get so easily angered and annoyed…by traffic, by co-workers, by customers, by people’s Facebook posts, even by my own daughter sometimes…. :-(
I seem to have a very short fuse these days. I know that I can come across as snippy and unfriendly. Honestly? Sometimes people make me soooo mad! Anger flares up in me like fire before I think about what I’m doing or saying, and I spit out mean words like nasty venom. It’s made me an extremely unpleasant parent, spouse, co-worker, etc.
So I am trying to be friendlier and more proactive in showing Christ’s love. Since making this resolution, I , of course, have found soooo many reasons to be angry/hurt/irritated by different situations. I’ve actually had a lot of awkward issues come up in the last couple of weeks where I felt extremely vulnerable…like I was being walked on, and though I knew I needed to, I felt guilty for standing up for myself. I hate confrontation soooo much. I had to dig really deep to find my PR skills and ask God to give me grace and wisdom with each situation so that I could respond firmly, yet in love, not in anger.
But it all comes from a place of ugliness in my own heart. I am coming face-to-face with my own need for Jesus. What is standing in the way of His light shining through me? Why am I so afraid of becoming vulnerable with people? It’s as if I shut them down before they get too close.
I know these are disjointed thoughts, but it’s where I’m at. I also know it’s not possible in my own strength; only Jesus can diffuse my anger and replace it with His peace.
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On a good note, the last story I wrote for Good Catch Publishing won their monthly story award! I’m so excited that they liked it. I wrote it for an amazing lady in Kodiak, Alaska, and it’s about how God healed her after having two abortions.
If you’re interested, you can read it here:
God is so good. I hope you’re all having a pleasant December. Thank God for Jesus, the absolute greatest gift of all! :-)
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