Celebrating LOVE

I believe that holidays are special opportunities to share things with those you love...

Yes, we should be thankful all year long - not just on Thanksgiving Day... And we don't have to wait until Christmas to give gifts or celebrate the birth of the greatest Man who ever lived. 

And I do agree that a lot of our holidays have become more commercialized...which can enable my inner materialistic self...

But I think that there's nothing wrong with observing a holiday focused on LOVE...

I mean, there's a whole chapter in the Bible dedicated to telling us what LOVE really is...

It's actually one of my favorite chapters...one that I think on and reflect on often...to see if I'm truly loving someone or just using the word...

1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-7 say this about what love really is:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

And the author, the Apostle Paul ended that chapter with this verse: 

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Love is the greatest gift of all. Why shouldn't we celebrate it? 

And I don't think it has to be celebrated with flowers, cards, extravagant dinners, or an explosive amount of money...any expression of love is important!!

I know that there are some people with regrets when it comes to love...they often wish they would have showed love to the ones closest to them...and for some people, it's too late for that. 

But, you can start today. Celebrate those around you who you love. Do something special to show them that you love them...that you care for them...

And then throughout the day...I challenge you to think about how you can apply the verses of 1 Corinthians 13 along with me - being patient, kind, not jealous, proud, or rude, not demanding my way, not being irritable, not keeping record of wrong...not rejoicing in someone's injustice, but rejoicing in the truth...never giving up, never losing faith, always being hopeful, and enduring through every circumstance...

That's true LOVE...and that is what should be celebrated! 

New New Year's Traditions...

I am still working on my new year's resolutions, but I've also been inspired to write another list...

The Blessings of 2012

I'm so thankful for social media. I love that on Twitter, I can follow people who have no clue who I am or how much they inspire me.

For instance, Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book called Boundaries: When to Say Yes and How to Say No...

This book was transforming for me!! Seriously, reading it and applying it has changed my life!

And now I follow Dr. Cloud on Twitter. He actually retweeted & responded to something by Bill Hybels tweeted...

This totally inspired me to make my own list of blessings!! So, I'm going to be working on this list to share with Lee and our kids...or possibly just me and Lee when it's quiet after our kiddos go to sleep...

But my next project is from Pinterest (and I've seen it on Instagram and Facebook as well)...and it's going to start on January 1, 2013 for next New Year's Eve...

Thank you, social media, for giving me opportunities to create new traditions that will help me be able to reflect on the good things God has done for me and my family within a year!!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas time is here. It's a fun time of celebration with our kids.

Buford the elf has been visiting our house for a few weeks now. The first thing that Bella does when she wakes up in the morning is rush downstairs to see where Buford has moved to. She loves it!! It is fun to watch her face light up with delight. If Buford is at a place low enough for Brennan to touch him, she freaks out and begs us to move him so Brennan won't touch him...Because if Buford is touched, he'll lose his Christmas magic.

We really haven't talked up Santa too much. She makes a big enough deal on her own. But if you ask her what Santa is getting her for Christmas, she says "A Leap Ipad..."and if you asked her what Meme and Popie are getting her for Christmas, she'll say, "A Leap Ipad..." And it's probably true...Popie is more of a Santa Clause than the real one...always has been :)

And if you ask her why we celebrate Christmas, she'll say, "It's Jesus' birthday!" And yes, we do celebrate Jesus' birthday. Cake and all.

And she's super excited about our first Christmas production at Connection Church this coming Sunday (December 16th at 10 am at Mountain Ridge Middle School...check out makeconnection.org for more info if you are in the Denver area!!!) She has been practicing her song for the children's part...and we're going to go shopping for a new dress...and she's even practicing my song for the production with me. This girl loves to sing!

 
And...to top it all off...there's snow! That's something new for all of us!! And now that we have the right boots and gloves for Bella & Brennan, they love playing in it!!! They even had a snowball fight with each other!!!

Last night we made our annual Blakney gingerbread house. The hardest part was keeping Brennan from eating the candy before and after it was on the house! He is still trying to get to it today!!!!



It really is a fun time for our family. This is such a different, new season of life for us...but we are enjoying each moment...we are embracing all that God has for us this Christmas. Bella told us last night, "This is the best Christmas ever!" And it is true...each year of celebration for us is better than the one before.