Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I l-o-v-e-d Christmas this year. I mostly enjoy the sweet family-time we get. It's highly unusual for Jessica and me to be in our parents' house together, so it is such a treat. I wasn't exactly sure how this year would go. I was coming home for a whole week...yes, I'm so grateful to be out of the office for a freakin weekend baby (two really)! Anna-Jane was the only one getting any real presents. And, the brother and his wife were not heard from in awhile. 

The Christmas tree ended up being pretty dang full for the "crisis" we were supposed to be in individually. My favorite part was watching mom open her "designer jeans" I got her, and knowing that I was able to bless her with several articles of clothing. She's gonna look hoottttt.

My dad wrote me SUCH a good letter. He's notorious for writing letters...and normally we make fun of him for it...but it really is how he gets all of his thought out, and this letter was PRICEless. Seriously! I could've cried for days...and, I probably will when I dare to open it again. 

To top it off, we had the sweetest family prayer I think we've ever had. I can't remember the last time we had a tear-jerking, get on your knees, I need some LARGE help from Jesus prayer. I always cry when I pray....I guess I mess up some much, and when I get on my achy knees before the Lord, I am reminded of His never-ending grace, and his amazing faithfulness. It was truly a sweet moment with our Provider. I'm believing he WILL provide. Amen.

I pray that Jesus is your focus today, and every day. Really. It's hard in our hustley-bustley lives that we walk in. It's DEFINITELY hard during this present-centered holiday that we create. It's hard period. But he is worth our attention. He deserves it. And if we turn our focus a little bit each day, we won't have to work so hard during Christmas, to remember the reason for the season. Like Pastor Livingston said, it's hard to just talk about the Christmas story- Jesus' birth, when that is only a small piece of the puzzle. Jesus dying perfectly, to save our sorry butts and His Grace should also be talked about and remembered. Without that full picture, we aren't gaining the whole aspect of what we should be thankful for.