Miracle on Waltan Street!

Merry Christmas! May it be one of the best one's yet!
Next week I'll tell you all of our family's Christmas Miracle!

-A

Don't Look Back

This year my sister and brother-in-law aren't able to come to our home for Christmas. Because of this, my parents came to my neck of the woods this past weekend to visit and begin some new Christmas traditions. Weeks prior to their visit I asked around my office to see what kind of holiday events people tend to make their annual tradition during the Christmas season over on this side of the state. I was told of places such as, where we could go to see Christmas traditions from around the world on display at a local museum, that the Sound of Music was being put on Broadway, we could pet a live reindeer at a local flower sh, and a tour of thousands of Christmas lite displays at a local ballpark. 

As you can see, we chose the Christmas Lite tour! This shot shows Santa on a helicopter 

We really enjoyed the lite tour and even though I didn't get a photo of it, my favorite one was of a silly dragon that looked as if he was swooshing in and out of the snow. Reminded me of my favorite childhood movie, Puff the Magic Dragon. We probably won't make this lite tour our new Christmas tradition, but I could definitely see why this would be a tradition for families with young children. Finding a new tradition wasn't the only reason that my parents and I went on this adventure, we went to make new memories, and new ones sure were made! One of my favorites was when my mom and I were slowly driving through a snow storm and not really caring because we were too busy singing a Christmas duet along with the radio. Or the one where my dad made it his priority to find me the best new tires for my truck. I soon won't forget when the three of us exited a movie theater laughing hysterically because Tyler Perry just has that power over his audience. As is the case with most families during the Christmas season there were times where our attitudes weren't so pretty or things were forgotten thus causing one of us to be a bit irritated with one another...

When my mom and I get together the thing we love most to do together is talk! One of the many conversations that my mom and I had over the weekend dealt with the story of Sodom & Gomorrah (not exactly a Christmas story, but hear me out :o). We were discussing how God saved Lot, his wife and their two daughters from that sinful city because of Lot letting the two angel's of the Lord spend the night in his house, thus they spared his and his family's lives. What we remembered most, and maybe you do, too, is that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and she was turned into a pillar of salt. 

Mom and I were quite confused as to why God would turn her into a pillar of salt just for looking back. I mean, that was her home. That was where all her good and bad memories were made with her family and friends. Even though she was being an obedient wife and fleeing the city, I'm sure she felt the grief and uncertainty of her future crumbling away and she wanted one final glance.

Thankfully I don't think God is into turning people into pillars of salt when we fail to do His will and instinctively look back...I can see the similarities of Lot's wife and the memories that were made with my family this weekend and during other Christmas adventures. It's tempting to focus on the things that went wrong (like when I lost my cool when our short shopping trip turned into a long two hour shopping spree) when my family is doing activities. But I believe that God doesn't want us to look back on memories that irritate or make us sad. He wants us to remember the good times and focus on those types of memories. I know that the Christmas season can be hard for a lot of people because of the stress that is associated with it and the bad memories that are there. I challenge you to use this season to focus on the fun and on His Son's birth - the greatest memory of all.  

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories or traditions that you do with family and/or friends?

-A

Life Is Messy

Last night I was really frustrated because my Christmas shopping hasn't gone all that well this year. I want so much to find that perfect gift for each person in my life so that it shows how much I care about them. I was still stressing out today because I didn't know when I was going to get time to actually finish and ship the gifts to certain places. Then when I came home today to find my Christmas tree laying on the floor, I stopped and started to get that sinking feeling that one can only understand if they've gone through the same experience...I was devastated.
For two years now my cat, Poh, has done a very good job of not messing with my Christmas tree, which for a mischievous cat, is pretty impressive. Before I checked over any of the damage, my first concern was making sure he was ok and that there was no glass from the broken ornaments in his paws. Once I checked him over and saw that there was no harm done, I then took inventory of the damage. I was sadden at the loss of two of my favorite ornaments. One being of our family dog that passed away a few years ago and the other of a really pretty flower.

Sighing, I started to clean up. All the while Poh "innocently" watched me pick up the pieces and put the Christmas tree back together again... Growing up I would like to help my mom dust the house and countless times I would accidentally break something that was special to her. Each time I feared for my life when I had to tell her what happened...but each time, her reaction was the same. She would always tell me that I was more important to her than (enter broken item here). After she would tell me that I would feel so loved and amazed that she wasn't going to ground me for life! But my mom knew that life is messy and things break. My Christmas tree falling over (I wonder if it made a sound) made me realize that it's our reaction to those messy breaks (or break ups) that matter most. And my mom was a great example on how to handle those situations. I could have freaked out over the tree and just left it laying there, broken glass and all, but instead I picked it up and cleaned up the mess and started over again. It was hard. It was sad. But that's life.

Christmas is less than 2 weeks away (don't panic!) and yes, I lost two special ornaments that I'll never get back, but this event stopped me from stressing over the little things that I had yet to do and pressed me to find my Christmas spirit again. It's our actions that show the Christmas spirit not our gifts. So I challenge you to be proactive in your actions this Christmas season and reach out and take a moment or two out of the Christmas hustle and bustle and try to find a creative way to show your loved ones how much you care.

-A

Single? Huston, we have a problem

A few weeks ago I went to a Selah concert at a local church with a group of friends. The band, if you're not familiar with them, consists of three individuals, Todd Smith, Allan Hall, and Amy Perry. Amy is the lead singer and has an incredible voice. Between songs she shared her testimony with the audience. Amy struggles with weight loss. She decided to state the obvious to us because she had the courage to do so. She shared the story of how she struggled her whole life and even more so after having her first child to lose weight. One day a very close friend of hers committed to helping Amy lose the weight that was weighing her down emotionally and physically. She lost a substantial amount of weight and also became more spiritually healthy, too. People applauded her efforts there at the concert and you could see that she had continual support from her band-mates as well. Another example of weight loss being supported in a church setting was in an article I read about Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life and Pastor of Saddlebrook church. He discussed when he was baptizing congregants at his church he realized how overweight he and most of his members were. That next Sunday he confessed to his church about his gluttony and wanted to challenge his congregants to go on a diet with him. They all supported each other and lost a substantial amount of weight as a congregation. Please feel free to read the full article here.

There are many burdens that we all face in life. Some have weight issues, some have financial issues, marital issues, etc. But a topic that I hear rarely supported and confronted in Christian circles, churches and self-help books is the burden and struggle that some individuals have as single adults.

Christena Cleveland stated it best in her article when she said that the single life is complex and hard for some individuals to live out especially with little to no support from the Church. We are encouraged by the Church to "embrace" this time in our lives but not really taught how. There are individuals that say things such as, "don't worry, you'll be married soon, let me hook you up with my husband's best friend's daughters ex-boyfriends cousin-in-law who is single!" What if marriage isn't the prescription that we as singles need right away? What if we really do want to learn how to embrace our single moments and truly live them out the best we can? That's where my new favorite author, Mandy Hale, comes in.

For the first time I have come across a book that has taught me how to embrace my current relationship status. Ms. Hale wrote the book, The Single Woman, because she too got frustrated with there being a multitude of books on how to have a better marriage or on how to get married. She realized that there was a lack of motivational books on how to be great at being single and decided to write one herself! I get excited about a lot of things in my life, but this book has given me a soul deep excitement! Ms. Hale has helped me realize that this time in my life can be amazing - if I let it. Do I still want to get married and have kids one day? You better believe it! But that's not the only purpose that God has made me for in this life. Ms. Hale has encouraged me to "embrace" my single life by chasing my dreams and her book is full of encouragement on how to do just that.

After reading this book I again realized how desperately singles need to be encouraged and supported in the church just as much as their married counterparts or any other battle that people face. I found it refreshing and somewhat relieving that both Ms. Hale and Ms. Cleveland were bold enough to speak out in support of the single person and I agree with them. Both of these ladies have encouraged me to not only be the best I can be right now just as I am, but to look at ways that I can help people in my same situation at my own church and surrounding circles. You may be reading this and may be a married person or you may be in the same boat that I am in and I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on this topic. Friends, if Amy's weight loss struggle can be accepted and supported amongst the congregation and Pastor Warren can have his congregants do the same, why can't we lift up the singles in the church?

-A