One Thousand Gifts (Continued)

"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us"

(Acts 17:26-27).

We survived the whole Christmas tree ordeal. Paul's not a big fan of getting the tree, putting lights on it (his least favourite job), and decorating it! This year, it all went quite smoothly though with very little marital strife! We went to a tree farm and picked one that was already cut- even though we had brought our saw this time! It was nice and small, so putting lights on it was not such a stressful task and it all went rather quickly. Very efficient- that's what we like!

It's a bit like this whole Christmas season. It goes by too fast. But, we want things to go fast. We want our shopping done efficiently (online shopping, baby!), we get stressed if we have to wait in lines too long, etc. Even though we're well into advent, I feel like I haven't truly prepared my heart for the peace that Jesus gives us and for the celebration of His birth. I do enjoy our decorated house, and maybe now that that is done, I can spend more time reflecting on Christ, Immanuel- God with us.

Continuing to give thanks...

#2174- #2188

-our cute tree-(almost) every one's excitement to get our tree!
-pre- cut trees



-pretending to cut our pre-cut tree

-keen, eager decorators

-the smell of a fresh, cut Christmas tree

-candle light service at church

-the nine lessons we learned at our candle light service

-God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to send a Redeemer

-male quartet singing my favourite carol

-singing carols with the organ and orchestra

-Nicole reading a Bible passage in church so confidently

-an unexpected (but planned) visit last week

-coughs getting better

-a successful craft at GEMS and a great craft counselor

-different generations in one room doing a craft together