Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas.

What would Christmas be like without friends and family?  So often we get wrapped up in the presents and lights and running around that we lose sight of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a celebration of an obedient girl and her betrothed and what their obedience brought to the world.  When we think life is rough and that God must have turned his back on us, we need to think Mary and Joseph and what obedience to God's call cost them.  Based on the culture of that time Mary could be put to death for infidelity.  The couple was shunned by their families.  Talk about awkward family holidays.  Then to come time for fruition of God's promise, they couldn't even find a place to stay but had to settle down in a barn.  Not the place I would want to give birth, especially as a first time mom.  That would be terrifying.  No midwife to help.  Just Joseph and the animals to bear witness to God's miracle.

Jesus birth was foretold to wise men and shepherds alike.  God didn't differentiate by classes who was in the know.  God sent a gift for ALL peoples, not just the top of the social hierarchy.  That is something that gives me so much hope.  God doesn't hold out the good news for just a few to share with those they see fit.  He shares with EVERYONE so the whole world may know his son came to the world for the salvation of us ALL.  What a great God!

While Mary was still reeling from the disappointment of delivering God's child in a barn, God sent both wise men and shepherds to share His plan and give her encouragement.  As the Bible says, she listed to all that they said and held it in her heart.  God didn't abandon her but sent his servants to encourage her and help strengthen her for this challenge she'd said yes to.

A baby was born and the alternative to external connection with God was created.  We no longer have to go to the priests with our offerings but we go straight to God.  Jesus made a way for us to walk into the kingdom of God.

Now that is the best Christmas gift of all.  It didn't come in a box wrapped in fancy paper with big bows and a big price tag but in a dirty stable among the  animal.

Thank you God for giving us a reason to celebrate.  Let us never forget the cost of that first Christmas gift.

What to do??

Every have so much on your plate that you are so excited about that you just don't know where to start?  Or you start too many things and get overwhelmed? 

I tend to start things very enthusiastically and then lose my motivation.   This time around I want to finish as strong as I start.  I don't want to give up part way thru.  I don't want to feel overloaded and lose focus on why I am doing what I'm doing. 

I've tried keeping the goals list in front of me.  I've tried scheduling my time to work on my goals.  I don't think keeping that appt with myself has been enough of a commitment.  Maybe what I need to do is put it out here in cyber space for all to see and critique and hold me accountable to. 

I am excited to meet up with friends at the gym everyday and try the classes the gym has to offer.  Maybe meeting someone there everyday will be the motiviation I need to go back day after day. 

I am going to read Billy 2 novels this month as well have him read to me on a regular basis, at least 4 times a week.  I don't know what novels we'll read but it should be fun.  Right now we are reading the Boxcar kids adventures #1 on my kindle.  I think he likes it better being the kindle instead of a book so I am going to try to get library books on my kindle so he can use it and see if that makes him more interested in reading. We'd love to read some more Magic Treehouse books. 

I am going to make Christmas gifts for the people who have blessed my heart over this past year.  This is a pretty big commitment and I hope to get them all made so no one gets left out and gets their feelings hurt.  Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  If you see your gift on there, please know that when I saw it there, I thought of you instantly and had to make it for you!  It's how I am. 

There are so many things vying for our attention and our resources this season.  My biggest goal is to make sure my focus stays firmly where it belongs, on my God and Savior and on the family and friends I have been abundantly blessed by. 

Have an amazing day and be abundantlly overwhelmingly blessed today!

Time Flies

I am always amazed how fast time goes by!

Before I knew it we were on a plane heading to Hawaii after months of planning and saving.  Then we were home (9 days later that went in the blink of an eye).  Then it was Thanksgiving.  So crazy!

Hawaii was beautiful!  We didn't do all we wanted but we did what we needed to, rest and relax and enjoy us time.  It was wonderful!

Now I am preparing for Christmas!  I can't believe it!  I actually started making Christmas crafts tonight for gifts. I am so excited for Christmas.  I am going to make many of the gifts for the people that are important in my life.  It is right in line with the Advent Conspiracy project we do at church but it also touches a deeper part of me.  My mom would stay up late at night for weeks leading up to Christmas working on our gifts.  She made wonderful gifts.  She was very talented with a sewing machine.  I wish she would have been around longer so I could have learned more from her.  Her life was way too short.

There are so many people who have touched my life and I want to be able to bless them with a piece of myself.  I know, that probably sounds pretty cheesy but that's me.

So, just wanted to pop in here and say I'm still alive and well and am looking forward to all this months activities and fun times!

What are you doing for Christmas this year?  Do you buy gifts or make them?  Which do you prefer to receive?  Do you like a combination of both store bought and handmade?

Those are the thoughts and questions running thru my head at the moment.

Hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving and had much to be thankful for!

Happy Days

Good morning!

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas filled with love and hope that is what this season should bring out!  Love is what God showed when He sent his precious son to this world for our behalf.  Hope is what Jesus brought us thru his resurrection!  What amazing gifts we already have.  This was the focus of our Christmas. 

We choose to buck the American tradition of overspending and pay for our Christmas with the money budgeted and planned ahead to spend.  I started looking for Christmas gifts in August and watching the wonderful blogs Money Saving Mom and Frugal Living NW for special deals.  That really helped. 

We had a nice quiet weekend at home, just the 4 of us spending time together and relaxing.  We didn't put any pressure on ourselves to go and do but rather to just be and enjoy. 

As I've been back to work the past couple days, I have tried to bring the weekends calm with me.  Problems have arose, like they invariably do but they are not causing a panic or anxiety like they normally do.  I have just been rolling with them and they are getting resolved.  Truck break downs, intense snow storms, road closures are just part of the business but in my being proactive about tracking the trucks that are in bad weather, I have been able to head off upset customers not getting their product on time by letting them know the problems before the truck just doesn't show up.  Much better way to go. 

That's my big success of the week.  Being proactive so I don't have to react to the situations.
I have a lot of goals for the new year but that is matter for another blog.  This proactive approach is something I want to get down to where it's 2nd nature before I try to tackle the rest of the list. 

How was your Christmas?  Did you make it thru without having to incur the financial hangover that comes in the mail in January?  I hope you did but if not, I encourage you to start today looking at the way you budget and plan for Christmas.  It comes every December so it shouldn't take us by surprise when we get there. 
By planning I was able to get my family far more and better gifts than I do by waiting til later to prepare.  If you don't follow any blogs about saving money and getting more out of what you spend, I highly encourage you to do so.  There are so many great one's out there that provide everything from the latest store deals/coupon match ups to how to stretch your money to save for your goals to basic budgeting.  If you need help finding one for your particular needs/wants, let me know and I will help point you in the right direction.

Coming soon, I will be blogging about a great book I'm reading called Blind Hope.  It's incredible so far.

I will also be sharing some of my goals and plans for the new year. 

Take it easy and be safe.

Venting

Hi all, whoever may actually read this...


Today, on what is usually a day I enjoy and look forward to with the greatest pleasure, I am filled with frustration and iritation.

I am one of those rare people who detests crowds but really looks forward to Black Friday shopping. I will visit with people in the stores and in lines and have great fun with it. This year however, I decided I was going to pare back drastically and only hit 2 stores before going to work this morning.

I was only looking for 2 or 3 items so no biggie, right? Wrong. I wanted to get a USB digital camera for my oldest son for his Christmas stocking and store # 1 was out and store # 2 had the same camera in silver and purple but only the purple was price cut. What 18 year old male is going to want a PURPLE digital camcorder? Seriously?!?!?!?

By the time I got done in the electronics at both stores I was so disappointed and fearful of the amount of time I would spend in the checkout line (I still had to work today and be on time) that I forgot to look at bikes for my little man (Billy). He's been asking constantly for a bike and I thought this would be a great time to get him one. Drats!

Then I was going to order my gift from my husband off Amazon. It was going on sale at 9am so I had it pulled up on my computer just waiting for the sale price to pop up so I could order. It popped up and I clicked "order" and waited 2 minutes to have a screen pop up telling me I was on the waitlist. Then the sale closed. Bigger drats!!! It was for a Kindle e-reader for $100 off the retail price. Kindles don't regularly go on sale so I was pretty stoked! I guess a LOT of other people wanted it too or there were only a couple available.

Now I'm just hoping that I will have better luck getting Chris's Christmas gift for a decent price. I don't want to spend a lot for Christmas, thus the sale shopping but I am afraid I might end up spending a bit more than I had anticipated in order to get everyone at least 1 thing on their list.

I refuse to go into debt for Christmas. I am also keeping the Hawaii trip money off limits.

I am super blessed that my family isn't obsessed with the gift but more appreciative of the thought and effort put into it.

I hope your Black Friday shopping experience was much better than mine.

Have an amazing day and remember the real reason for the season...Jesus Christ! Now that was the best gift of all!