wonderfully sick

I'm home for Christmas, and so far have had several meaningful and fun memories. Here are a few of those memories, in no particular order:

1. Ordering 2 speciality frappachino drinks at Starbucks with my sister, and finding out that they messed up our order, so we got two more for free!
2. Sleeping in the same room and bed with my soon-to-be 4 year old niece, and feeling her little toes and elbows and knees bump me often throughout the night. :)
3. A Christmas Eve service with friends, and sharing what aspect of the Christmas story spoke truth into us this year.
4. The kisses and hugs of my sister's 3 beautiful girls.
5. Coming down with some serious stomach sickness Christmas Eve, and knowing that I would be taken care of well - I was with people who loved me very much.

And the celebration is only just beginning...wow, it is good to be home.

Story

I went to an Andrew Peterson concert this past weekend. In one word - incredible. He has a Christmas album that is anything but traditional, and goes on tour with a bunch of other great artists every year during the Christmas season. He and his friends sing the whole album from start to finish without any pauses or breaks for clapping. He calls it a Christmas musical, but without people dressed up in camel costumes. :)

I love this musical, because it's all about Jesus. They sing about the Israelites being delivered from Egypt, and the people wanting a king to lead them, about their captivity, and then about a man named Joseph and a girl named Mary. And then they had a little boy - Son of God, Son of Man. I love how every part of his musical, and indeed every part of the Bible is a story belonging to a bigger story. A story that all points to a Savior.

I belong to that story. And I think sometimes, I skip listening to the stories in search of straight meaning and purpose and answers. I recently heard someone say that when we watch a movie, we usually don't immediately ask what the purpose of the movie was right after we're done with it. We usually don't ask for the purpose when someone tells us about an important event in their life. We hear, we listen, and we get it if we're really paying attention.

I guess I want to pay better attention to the stories of the Bible, and the stories of truth all around me. I want to know truth and love and beauty and all that God is. Not by searching for some hidden answer in the stories (cuz stories don't have answers), but rather trusting that the truth that's there will take hold and shape me...if I let it.

Getting into the season

I don't know why exactly, but I've never had a Christmas tree since moving to West Virginia. Maybe the fact that I'm always gone from my house over the Christmas holidays has kept me from wanting a tree. Maybe it's the fact that trees are always more fun with kids and families to share it with. Maybe I'm slightly cynical when it comes to holiday decor (do you see inflatable santas in every yard where you live too?). But this Christmas season, I took the plunge and bought a tree.

The best part about it was being able to pick it out at the tree farm and cut it down myself. Close to gathering my own firewood (which I'm planning on doing sometime soon) or digging my own coal (I leave that up to the miners), cutting my own tree has renewed my heart - I'm officially 'festive.'

Next year, I might even put up lights around my house. It's a slippery slope, those holiday decorations...