Spending a quiet New Year's Eve at home, just the two of us. Sitting with our feet up, a fire going in the fireplace and snow falling outside, watching college football. Won't be staying up 'til midnight-we haven't done that for years-it will be midnight somewhere, and that will be good enough! Tomorrow, we'll head over to our daughter's house for corned beef and cabbage, her traditional New Year's Day dinner.
Wishing everyone a Peaceful and Blessed 2021!
The last of the kids and grands have driven off and the house is very quiet. It was one of the best Christmases we have ever had in spite of the "dumpster fire" that has been 2020. The important things have not changed and will not change: God is still in control. Jesus still left Heaven 2000+ years ago to come to this broken world, live as one of us and give His life to save us.
Watching our children and grandchildren enjoy the Christmas Eve service was wonderful. I loved seeing their faces illuminated by the candlelight. We were also given a very special gift this Christmas Eve by our worship minister. Since our service was a limited one, it was decided to have only a quartet sing for the service instead of the regular praise team. My husband (tenor), myself (alto), daughter (soprano) and son (bass) were asked to be that quartet. We haven't gotten to sing together in far too long and it was something we will treasure in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
After the service, we all ate pizza for dinner at our daughter's new home. Christmas morning, everyone gathered at our house for presents and a Christmas lunch of Posole (red chile and pork stew), tamales and tacos. My husband and I were born and raised in New Mexico and this is a tradition we have had for years. We ate way too much and had a great day.
Like many good things, Christmas was greatly anticipated and prepared for and over far too soon. But the warm glow of love and sweet memories will linger on through the winter days ahead.
I looked at all kinds of beautiful and elaborate pictures to put on this Merry Christmas post, but I couldn't find one that I liked any better than this one of our youngest grandchild and her very first Christmas Tree this year.
May this Christmas hold the sweetness and innocence of Christmases past and the hope of Christmases yet to come. Merry Christmas!
2020 has certainly been a long season of waiting. Watchful waiting, fearful waiting, expectant waiting. We have waited for cures, for elections, for peaceful endings, for joyous beginnings-but always it seems that it has been us that have been doing the waiting. God's people waited for a Messiah to come to earth and bring them freedom. We wait for a Messiah that will return to earth to take us home. Sometimes we get tired of doing all of the waiting. But...what if God is also waiting for us?
This Advent, I've been reading the Tyndale Daily Advent Devotionals as well as the Liturgical calendar daily readings, and I'm enjoying this different perspective on this season of waiting. (I'm not advertising for them or anything, I actually just stumbled onto the website and wanted to share what I found.)
Not a lot going on right now, getting out in the mornings while it's relatively cool-as in mid to upper 80's instead of 100's)-...
