Archive for November, 2011

Thanksgiving is upon us.

Seriously?

It feels like it’s approaching quicker than I can handle. And dont’ get me wrong, I love the holidays more than anyone you know. (Jeremy even refers to me in the same sentence as 50-year old at heart who wants to make macaroni garland and christmas ornaments.) I can’t help it…..I just LOVE this time of year. And the reasonI said it’s coming quicker than I can handle is because I want to enjoy every. waking. moment!

I want to soak it in. Love as much as I can. Give as much as I can. Celebrate as much as I can. And celebrate what CHRISTMAS is really about!

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So…I wanted to blog today about something I truly believe in. A genuine, loving, worshipful Christmas.

Below is a link to a video put together by a group called Advent Conspiracy. Before I tell you what I think and go on with this post, I want you to pause and I want you to watch this video.

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$450 billion a year on Christmas. What would the baby King in the manger think of that?

This makes me so very sad. It hurts. Extremely deep down, it hurts. What have we done to the day we celebrate the birth of our SAVIOR?

I’m not calling anyone out, believe me, because I’ve always been a part of this. And, this group isn’t starting this campaign to say “stop spending money and stop giving gifts.” They created this video to get our attention!

Simply, we need to cut back. We need to run full force into what Christmas is about. The miracle of it, the love of it, the joy of it.

I don’t know about you, but I am making my gifts this year. I don’t want to spend money on a gift that someone’s not in love with. I want to give my time, I want to spend time with the people I love. I’ve never felt such a draw to simply relax with my family and friends until I moved away. What I’m going to treasure this year is the music, the joy, the celebration and the love of having family around me.

Isn’t that what it’s about? Because we always say it, we hear this lecture over…and over….and over…and over….but we STILL fall into this trap of spending tons of money  and time all the while filling our hearts and minds with stress.

If I do nothing else this Christmas, I’m going to get this idea through my head and enjoy the simplicity of worshiping and being joyful.

Will you join me?

And not only that…let me know you read this. I’m not looking for readers, I just want people to hear this. The message didn’t come from me by any means, but I just want to see that I’m not the only one out there that was moved by this. So, if you’re in, leave a comment and let me know what you think!

I have the coolest best friend ever. Seriously.

For my birthday, she sent me the sweetest gift. And part of that gift was a skirt of hers that she’s graciously let me borrow for a little while. I ADORE this skirt. Every time she wore it, I would comment on it. Not only did she remember that, she sent it to me to enjoy for a little while…how cool is she?

Kelly is an intern for Reformed University Fellowship at TCU in Fort Worth right now. I miss her dearly, but I know she’s rockin’ those students’ socks off. They are so lucky to have her and I know she’s doing some awesome things for God down there. If you’re interested in hearing about her time at TCU, you can read her fun blog, “The Frog Blog,” here: http://kellylersch.tumblr.com/

Kelly, I’m so thankful for you! You treat me better than I deserve and you’re the best friend a gal could ask for. We’ll rock the south from Tennessee to Texas.

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The lighting’s pretty awful, but thanks to my awesome roomie, here’s a pic of me in Kelly’s awesome skirt!