My favorite time of the year

There are two reasons why this season is special to me.  Mostly for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  That in and of itself is amazing.  Ladies, can you imagine being 9 months pregnant, traveling for hours.  You’re hungry, cold, tired and just want the day to come to an end.  Looking forward to a bath, clean clothes and a warm bed.  If Mary was like me, I laugh at the look on her face when she heard Joseph say, “I’m sorry babe, they have no more room at the Inn.”  Ugh, poor Joseph.  I’m sure as he turned away from the Inn Keeper and was about to face Mary, he thought, “Oh dear, this is not going to go well.”.  If Joseph was anything like my man, he would be quick to say “no big deal, I’ll find a way for you to wash up, I’ll keep you warm.  This is going to be fun and think of the memories we are going to have.”.  Her frustration would soon fade as she hears the hope in his voice.  Finally Mary knows, there is nothing she can do to change the situation.  She might as well change her attitude and truly trust that everything is going to be OK.  After all, none of this is a surprise to God.  Then a glimmer of hope.  The Inn Keeper sees the sad look on their face and finds another option.  It’s not grand but it is quiet and warm.  He offers them the stable.  THE STABLE Y’ALL.  Let’s stop for a minute.  To be completely honest, I would be wondering what on earth was God thinking.  The Prince of Peace was going to be born in a barn.  Some barns are cool looking but they all smell the same.  Nevertheless the King of kings was going to be born in a stable that night.  Not some elaborate kingdom but a stable.  I know I am being repetitive here but think about it for a second. A STABLE.  I can only imagine that God had closed the mouths of all those animals (maybe even added a Scentsy smell like Balsam Fir) like He did when Daniel was in the lion’s den.  Finally, Jesus is born.  All the struggles to get there quickly fade away as Mary looks into the eyes of our Redeemer.  BEAUTIFUL!!!!

The other reason why this time of year is so special to me is that on the 18th Jason and I celebrate the day we said, I DO.  One of the smartest things I ever did was to say yes to this guy.  We celebrated 17 years yesterday.  We had a great laugh last night reflecting on the day.  Last week, for our anniversary, we spent 2 days in NYC.  My favorite city.  I loved every second of our trip, even though it was freezing cold.  We crammed all our favorite spots into 48 hrs and saw some new things too.  But yesterday, we both forgot to say Happy Anniversary.  With Jason’s job, Sundays are the biggest day of the week.  Our day started early as we both raced to church, to get some things done before everyone started to arrive.  After the services, I raced to the shops to grab a few things, only to come home to see that my husband’s truck had a flat tire (yikes, hope that wasn’t me).  Out of all the days, it had to be today.  Too many things happening in such a small window of time.  We had a fast lunch, changed the tire, got our house ready for visitors and then to our daughter’s piano recital.  All of that craziness happened between 7am and 3pm.  We were exhausted already and there was still so many hours left in the day.  So we get to her recital, ready to sit down and take a deep breathe.  All these kids playing their christmas songs did such an amazing job.  We love Livi’s piano teacher, Ms Pat.  She is definitely passing on to our daughter the gift of music.  Livi played five songs.  We were glowing with pride.  After her last song, she stands in front of everyone to announce that it is our anniversary and asks both Jason and I to come forward.  Ms Pat goes to the piano and starts playing the song The way you look tonight and Liv starts to sing.  That is the first time she has done a solo.  We were so surprised and touched.  I cried.  Her voice is beautiful.  So on this anniversary, even though Jason and I forgot to stop and say something sweet to each other, it will be one of the most memorable anniversaries we will have.  Olivia’s gift was priceless.  We are so very thankful to the Lord for giving us 17 wonderful years and our precious kids.

We have all received some incredible gifts.  The gift of our Savior, the gift of our children and so much more.  Joy is my thing to write about.  Today, my heart is overflowing with joy!!!