The Week Before Christmas

It's the week before Christmas and all through the house...delightful smells are wafting from the kitchen, plates of cookies and baked goods are appearing, colorful packages are getting wrapped, Christmas cards are arriving every day from near and far away friends and relatives.

Even though December seems to be so busy, I'm very thankful for this season. For without Christmas and the baby in the manger, there would be no salvation, no present joy, no future hope.

On Saturday morning, a friend from church invited me, along with 20 or so other women, to an open house Christmas brunch at her house. I was a little anxious that morning, worrying and fretting about a future unknown. God spoke to my heart about my anxiety and ministered to me through His Word before I even got to the brunch. Then He further blessed me during the morning by surrounding me with so many wonderful godly friends. One of those friends shared a verse that had meant a lot to her and as she shared it, God reassured me of His love and care. The verses she read were: Deut. 33:26-27 ~ There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. I'm happy to say, I'm no longer worried about that future unknown. I KNOW God will take care of me. He always has and always will.

Last weekend, our Living Nativity ran for 3 nights: Friday, Saturday & Sunday. My mother, brother and sister-in-law came down to walk through on Sunday night. Mother had been here once many years ago, but wanted to come again, so asked my brother and his wife to bring her. Andy and I went through with them. My heart is always touched with the message of salvation, seeing it portrayed in dramatic fashion. What a beautiful story.

I worked in the office all three nights from 2:00 - 8:00 pm, except for a 2 hour break on Sunday when I walked through with Mother, Wendell & Rita. Andy didn't get home on those nights any earlier than 11:00. We were a little sluggish on Monday, but we went to work anyway.

On Monday night, Andy drove to the airport to pick up Beth, a missionary friend who stayed at our house for a couple of days so she could visit some friends here in this area. She was stuck longer than expected in Chicago because of snow there, but finally arrived here around 12:30 am. I'm not sure of the exact time, because I didn't wait up, but was sleeping soundly when they got home.

I was a baking/cooking fool on Tuesday. We were having an office staff party on Wednesday which I organized. I made 30 turkey and cheese sandwiches, wrapped them in foil to be heated up for the party. I also made a batch of toffee oatmeal cookies. Then I had agreed to make a meal for a young mother who had just had a baby, so I made 3 loaves of chocolate chip pumpkin bread and a pan of baked ziti. I was able to deliver the ziti, a loaf of bread, a dozen cookies, and a salad that afternoon, with the added bonus of holding that little 2 week old baby. There's nothing like a newborn!

Our Wednesday staff party ended up with between 25-30 people. A few weeks ago, I asked the pastors if they wanted a party this year. They enthusiastically said yes! Then I asked if they wanted to exchange names. All the men again were enthusiastic in saying YES. I thought it was interesting, though, that leading up to the party, the guys were asking me for hints as to what they should get for the person they picked. Then yesterday, the day of the party, there were about 3 or 4 of them that came to the office to ask if I had any wrapping paper! Well, fortunately for them, I did! And it was pretty funny, I think, to see how many packages there were on the pile with the same kind of wrapping paper. We had a very good time with the food and presents. I feel very blessed to be able to work with such fun and good people.

Then today another dear friend invited me to her house for lunch. What an honor to spend a wonderful hour and a half with her. She is very talented and creative and served a tasty and delicious lunch, as well as provided an oasis of relaxed fellowship in the midst of a busy week.

Well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I will probably work several hours, then we have 2 Christmas Eve services. On Christmas Day itself, Andy and I will be by ourselves. Our family plans to get together the day after Christmas at Amy's house with all the kids and grandkids. Should be fun!