Winter Thoughts

Well, well, well.  Here it is four days after Christmas and I have only been out of my house once for about 90 minutes in over a week.  And that 90 minute or so adventure was to the nursing home to see my mother in law with our whole  family.  In the same car.  On very snow blocked roads.  It made me almost thankful that we were not able to make our trip to Illinois to see my family being in that car together on snow packed, slippery, drifted in roads.  


And until you've been in a very small room in a nursing home with my three very big sons, two daughters, and the two of us (not including grandma who was already there) you've not lived.  What is it about being cooped up in a small space that makes what should be normal adult young men suddenly act as though they are 3, 4, and 7 again?  


So my world has been a bit narrow the past week.  We were going to have our Christmas at home together on Christmas Eve and then drive up near Chicago on Christmas Day.  Not optimum mind you but workable.  It is not as though we have never done it before.  


But the Wednesday (two days before) prior to Christmas we realized that the weather was not going to be our friend.  We made the executive decision to box up the gifts and UPS them to their recipients 500+ miles away.  Then the blizzard began.

We tried, we really TRIED to go to church on Sunday.  We tried going north and got stuck.  We tried going south and got stuck.  So we came home.


Yesterday was the first day we have seen the sun in many a day.  Lots of snow moving took place.

I'm starting (okay, I'm way beyond) to get cabin fever.  But there is really nowhere I need or want to go.  I may go get some groceries today just so we can eat something different.  


One kid has flown the coop already and is on a ski trip to Colorado.  The snow will be his friend there.  Another kid is finding places to go which is alright with the rest of us.  And one kid will have to leave eventually and go back to work.  The other two are living in the land of staying up very late and sleeping for long periods of daylight.


Hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Ours was pretty great actually.  As we began to open our gifts on Christmas morning my husband said, "let's take it one gift at a time.  We have ALL day to do this!"


Here's hoping and praying that winter goes by quickly and that the promised spring arrives right on time.  I do like to be punctual you know!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

What I Am

Here I sit the Monday before Christmas with all of my gifts that I need to buy bought, wrapped, put under the tree or in categorized boxes ready to go with us to IL.  You would think that would make me really happy, calm, peaceful and content.  But I wasn't earlier today.


I took a few moments to read my scripture for the day and BANG God hit me over the head with His loving discipline.  


Last week I had a fight discussion with my husband about some extra hosting plans that I hadn't really counted on in my vast "book of what I expect to do in the next week" that I carry around in my head.  And for the past couple of days I will admit I've been kind of fuming underneath the surface and perhaps leaking a little out from beneath the surface occasionally.


Then, yesterday morning I got to drive to church very early to sing in the cantata as well as driving completely and totally ALONE.  It was great.  I'm a person who really REALLY needs alone time and lately there hasn't been much of it.  So then this song by Sanctus Real comes on the radio and God just speaks to me through it.


Fast forward to this morning.  I woke up ready to get a lot done but thankfully took that break to read the Word.  What do you think today's message was about?  About being joyfully hospitable.  Now I love having people over and I love family but I also value my ability to PLAN for things.  That is all I'm going to say about that.


Holidays are hard for me in another way.  Even though I've lived here for 26 years I still kind of feel like my "belonging" is in limbo land.  I've been thinking about our Christmas that we will share with my extended family back in my home state.  Honestly, it doesn't feel like I belong there anymore.  And yet I don't feel like I belong here either.  


So.  The song.  Hopefully, you listened to it. (You'll have to turn off my music player at the bottom of my blog first.) And now for the lyrics.  This is the Music From My Heart after all.  


Have a great Christmas knowing that you are a treasure in the arms of Christ!

Forgiven

Well the past is playing with my head

And failure knocks me down again

I'm reminded of the wrong

That I have said and done

And that devil just won't let me forget.

In this life

I know what I've been

But here in Your arms

I know what I am

I'm forgiven

I'm forgiven

And I don't have to carry

The weight of who I've been

Cause I'm forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind

And I'll relive my days, in the middle of the night

When I struggle with my pain, wrestle with my pride

Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

In this life 

I know what I've been

But here in Your arms

I know what I am

I'm forgiven

I'm forgiven

And I don't have to carry 

The weight of who I've been

Cause I'm forgiven.

When I don't fit in and I don't feel like I belong anywhere

When I don't measure up to much in this life

Oh, I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ 'cause

I'm forgiven

I'm forgiven

And I don't have to carry

The weight of who I've been

Cause I'm forgiven.

Merry Christmas because we are forgiven!

                     Linda

                     

To All Of My More Than Friends

This morning I was driving to the one and only Walmart to hopefully finish up SOME of my Christmas shopping.  There was a song in my head that I couldn't get out.  I was singing it to myself and thinking of all of you dear friends of mine.  Before I left I had checked all of my bloggy friends' posts for the day.  On my music playlist pop up the song that was playing was Watermark's More Than You'll Ever Know.  It is one of my favorite songs of  all time.  It suits so many of you who are near and dear to me.  So I'm going to post the lyrics here and you can click on the song on my player down at the bottom of my blog if you want to hear it.

MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW

By Nathan & Christy Nockels

Something brought you to my mind today

I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh

And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you

Something about just being with you

When I leave I feel like I've been near God

And that's the way it ought to be....

'Cause you've been more than a friend to me

You fight off my enemies

'Cause you've spoken the truth over my life

And you'll never know what it means to me

Just to know you've been on your knees for me

Oh, you have blessed my life

More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith when I had none

You prayed God would bring me a brand new song

When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing

And all the while I'm hoping that I'll

Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me

And that's the way it ought to be....

You have carried me

You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own

And may the blessing return to you

A hundredfold, oh yeah

A hundredfold, oh yeah.

That pretty much says it all.  I love you, my friends!  May you all be blessed MORE than a hundredfold this Christmas.

This Is It, I Promise

I think this speaks for itself!

Can't Get Enough of Christmas

Now that I started to document my favorite Christmas decorations I can't seem to get enough of them!

I wish I was a better photographer.  It seems like everyone else has such sharp, clean pictures.  Maybe it is just my dirty house?

One of my favorite Santas in my red bathroom.

I love to shake things up and use my everyday things in a different place for Christmas time.

This is a favorite of mine!

My Heart's Christmas Music

I really want to be a part of something in the greater blogging world.  So I'm attempting to add my home to the 2009 Nester Christmas Home Tour.


First of all I need to say that I haven't really enjoyed decorating for the holidays for several years and I don't know why exactly.  But this year I was kind of excited to use just the things that I truly love and not all the "stuff" that is in the boxes in our garage attic.  


Keep it simple is my motto lately.  And I'm no designer but these are some of the things about my house at Christmas that I love.

Little tree at the top of the stairs with fake candy ornaments.  Fun stuff.

There's something really warm about a stairway at Christmas.

Santa likes dust.  Really.  He does.

The big tree by the fireplace.

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is something that I keep up all year round.  All the Christmas photos of family and friends look back at me in my kitchen.  And yes, it is blurry to conceal everyone's identities.  It is not that I am a terrible photographer.

Willow Tree is my new favorite nativity set.  

This is the old favorite which has been with me all the years of our marriage.  And I just LOVE that angel with the flashlight!

My husband is Swedish so our dining room stands as a tribute to that year round but especially at Christmas.