Every Day Life: Snapshots of Christmas

By Lara

[Editor's Note: Lara wrote a fabulous post two weeks ago about trying to come up with something creative to write for her Christmas letter to her family and friends. Here is the rest of the story.]

A little girl in a yellow nightgown sits on her knees smiling at someone in the background. The frost has laced the window behind her with intricate fragile swirls. The early morning light brushes against her golden locks. Spread out on the floor, scattered amongst crumpled red wrappings, are pieces to a building set. Bright colored sticks with tiny plastic connectors. She is building a tower. It will be the tallest tower that she's ever built - taller than she is. Her eyes sparkle and her cheeks glow. Her father helps her reach higher and higher. Her mother takes pictures of this favorite gift the girl will almost remember that she loved.

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Christmas Reflections

By Pat

A friend of mine asked me to write a devotional about Christmas; memories, lessons learned, etc. Where could I start? What could I say? Like most of us, I have enough Christmas memories to fill an entire notebook. Baking cookies, wrapping gifts, decorating trees. Family, friends, food. Lovely, warm memories that bring a smile to my heart when called to mind.

There have been lean holidays, and more prosperous ones. Some hectic, and some, more peaceful. We have, through the years, said sad goodbyes to loved ones, and have also happily welcomed new little lives into our family.

Times have changed, things have changed, we have changed, and certain aspects of the fabric of our family have changed. But one thing that for me has never changed, except to grow stronger, is the feeling that overcomes me this time of year, no matter what else is going on around me, and that is the feeling of hope.

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In Excess

By Michelle (Graceful, Faith in the Everyday)

My kids are hoarders. Rocks, shells, SillyBandz, Bendarooz, marbles, spare change -- you name it, if it comes in multiples, they horde it.

This, you should know, drives me insane. I hate clutter, of course. I hate piles of junk and stacks of papers and counters littered with debris. Clutter literally depletes my energy. I can't relax, I can't function, until everything is in its proper place...or in the trash. I am the Queen of the Toss-Out.

An experiment conducted by the confirmation class at my church, however, made me realize that perhaps I'm not immune to hoarding tendencies after all. My pastor suggested the confirmation kids film snippets of their lives that point to excess -- as an example, she filmed her tea collection: tea in the kitchen cupboards, in canisters on the counter, more boxes stashed in drawers. Passionate about tea, Pastor Sara has enough of it in her house to last months.

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Life Is Funny: What Do You Want For Christmas?

By Ginny (MAD21)

When I was working as an inclusion helper in our public schools, the main student that I worked with absolutely LOVED hippos. His mom even made him the cutest little backpack that was in the shape of a purple hippo (he was three at the time, now he is 15!!). The second or third year I was with him, this song started playing on the radio.  I just about died! I had never heard of it before, but believe me, I made sure his family got a copy of it. We had a lot of really great times together. I think of them everytime I hear it.

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.

Tasty Christmas Bites: Molasses Spice Cookies

By Beth V

It’s only fitting that the final recipe in the Christmas Bites series is for a delicious cookie. This is one of the most delicious cookie recipes ever. I’ve made them for the past several years. They do not even contain an ounce of chocolate. They do contain a very odd-sounding ingredient, for a cookie.

Black pepper. Wait, black pepper cookies don’t sound quite as appealing as chocolate, do they? Well, black pepper is just one of the many ingredients that make for the very complex collection of flavors in these Molasses Spice cookies.  These are big, flavorful cookies that really do taste amazing. They are a little crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and spicy with a teeny bit of heat from the black pepper. They are almost like a big, soft gingersnap. These are SO good that it is bad for me to make them because I feel compelled to eat them. I sacrificed for my faithful blog readers. I promise more waist-line friendly recipes will be coming in the New Year!

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