Merry Christmas!

We have officially survived the holiday season! There should be a new law that moves Thanksgiving at least 3 months away from Christmas - those two days are just WAY too close! I will say, however, that this holiday season really seemed to drive home how thankful I am for things that seem so ordinary and overlooked. There were so many families in our church this December who suffered through serious medical issues; heart attacks, bypasses, cancer, surgery, all completely unexpected. As we were driving down to Indiana on Christmas morning, we passed a cemetery and there was a woman and a young girl standing beside a stone, with flowers and notes. I was blown away by that scene - I've never seen that before on Christmas, probably because I never look for it, you know? Yet how GRATEFUL I am for everyday, ordinary things that are extraordinary in every way! Health, family, our house, a car to drive, my husband who incredibly loves me in spite of me, a daughter, two sons, jobs, a great country to live in, freedom, and most of all, our Savior Jesus Christ - I didn't have to look too far to realize how blessed we really are! Tim and I tried to impress on the kids this year, especially, how easy it is to lose focus amid all the rush to buy gifts, make lists, go to parties - all of those things that make it so easy to put ourselves in the front seat, and forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place - the incredible, extraordinary birth of a tiny baby who would become the Savior of the world, and our liberator from sin! There is nothing ordinary or forgettable about that in any way.