I LOVE the Christmas season. And this week was full of Christmas moments for me! So fun.
I received my first Christmas card in the mail (from Jamie), sang carols at church, pulled out the decorations, and lit the candles that Josh bought me last year - in Christmas Eve and Sugar Cookie scents from Yankee Candle... MMMM. Today I've watched both It's A Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas (see picture above).
My favorite part of decorating for Christmas is by far pulling out the ornaments and decorating the tree. Josh and I both brought LOTS of ornaments into our marriage, and have accumulated quite a few since. I like to buy them when we go on vacation - and each year I smile when I pull out a gondola (from Colorado), a double decker bus (from London) and an angel made of seashells (from our honeymoon in Hawaii).
And then there are the ones from childhood. My Grandma Sharpless got all of us Hallmark ornaments each year from birth to 20 I think, so it is always fun to pull those out. Josh has a whole set of Pooh characters, which I love. And this one REALLY makes me laugh:
Yes, we have Ninja Turtles on our tree, from a former fan. And yes, that IS plural. We have a figure of his favorite character AND a ball with all 4 Turtles depicted.
If you're not completely bored already, let me describe one more. The first year we were dating - 2003 - Josh was thoughtful and got an engraved "Our First Christmas" ornament for me. Super sweet. What he didn't realize, however, was that the ornament was very wedding-y. It involves a heart shape with small shapes around it - intertwining rings, champagne glasses, you name it. Not exactly appropriate for a college couple who has only been dating 4 months or so. And I love it.
And as this is something we're not used to:
A little furball who takes off with new chew toys (chew toy/ornament, what is the difference?).Today was the first Christmas-y church service, which was exciting. And surprisingly, the pastor spoke about this verse:
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:17-19
An interesting choice for an advent message. It doesn't involve shepherds or stars or virgins. But the pastor encouraged us to remember this verse and dwell on the love of Christ this season. Through busyness and family time and shopping and decorating. To me, Christmas and love seem to go hand-in-hand. God's love for the world that caused him to send Jesus to earth. Love between family and friends that for some reason rises to the surface more during the holidays. Increased concern for the needy. And the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
An interesting choice for an advent message. It doesn't involve shepherds or stars or virgins. But the pastor encouraged us to remember this verse and dwell on the love of Christ this season. Through busyness and family time and shopping and decorating. To me, Christmas and love seem to go hand-in-hand. God's love for the world that caused him to send Jesus to earth. Love between family and friends that for some reason rises to the surface more during the holidays. Increased concern for the needy. And the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
A good reminder.
Merry Christmas from the Browns!
1 comment:
I think I was everyones first Christmas card! ;) At least that is what I keep getting told! Puppy looks so cute, even when getting into trouble... that's fun that you still have all your old tree decorations from when you were little! ;)
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