When you' need a little Christmas Spirit... “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ” ― Norman Vincent Peale Sometimes..... we need a little help finding beauty and creativity. “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” ― Calvin Coolidge Sometimes..... we need a little help dreaming again. http://youtu.be/ozVmO5LHJ2k “I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.” ― Norman Vincent Peale Sometimes..... we need a little help Continue Reading
A Simple Tradition of Remembering
Some traditions begin on a whim, and yet in their simplicity, they become a profound bedrock of family celebrations, rich in meaning and steeped in value. And it’s not until we’re given a glimpse backward that we realize how they’ve imprinted faith on our hearts and grounded us in hope for the future. I remember it began early in our marriage, with a simple “baby’s first Christmas” ornament, hung on a short, barren tree, between a few golden baubles. Like most young couples starting out, we didn’t have an excess of anything. We lived in a tiny parsonage and had scarcely enough extra to decorate our first Christmas tree. By the time our first child came along, our tree still lacked ornaments, but our hopes and dreams for what we wanted for our children were never lacking. We wanted Continue Reading
How Gratitude Broke the Chains of Perfectionism {Link-Up}
To the rest of the world, I was optimistic, the glass-half-full type of person. To me and mine, I was critical, honing in on what was wrong. I didn’t try to be this way…. I just was. Regretfully so! Which made me try all the harder to STOP being like this. No matter how much effort I used, breaking free from this pattern of thought/behavior seemed impossible. Perfectionism had its grip on me and it was like a vice! As a perfectionist, I tend to ignore the 99 good things and hyper-focus on the 1 bad thing. It affected not only me but my faith. Striving, worry, comparison, and discontentment marked my inner thought life. I felt like a failure to myself and to God. It seemed like I, we, lived in a constant state of neediness from Him. I almost felt embarrassed when I approached Continue Reading
Listing As an Act of Love
When I got engaged, the angels sang, Mom cried, Dad was relieved - “Finally, someone who can afford her!” (Thanks, Dad.) and I bragged to all who would listen: “Mark is a cross between Prince Charming and Jesus!” True story. I was a missionary at the time, and that line went in my newsletter to all my supporters. (They were relieved, too.) Then, I got married. Not that Mark wasn’t Jesus or Prince Charming. But we did think (before marriage) that we knew everything. And we did think (before marriage) that the other person was perfect and would love, perfectly. Well, well. What does this have to do with cultivating a heart of gratitude? Well, everything. One day while fuming over Mark’s non-Jesus-ness and where-did-that-charm-go-anyway, I knew I should call my friend, Deb. Now I knew Continue Reading