what it's all about.

My friend Alison kindly gave me a little gift this year:

You open the ribbons on top, and it unfolds into this:

"The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23

Isn't that clever? She said she didn't have a sewing machine, so she hand-stitched all of it. How sweet is that? And a nice surprise, because I didn't even know she had an interest in sewing or anything like that. I like surprises. I look forward to putting it out every year and showing it to Livvy as we teach her what Christmas really is all about. This year she just chewed on the ribbon a bit. :)

I've found this year to be somewhat simplified--with a new baby, I just haven't had the time or effort to do a lot of the things I normally do. But paring down has been refreshing; I've only put out about half our Christmas decorations, I've only made a couple batches of cookies, and I'm going to be creative with wrapping this year, only using what I already have on hand. I've been thinking a lot about new traditions we can start with our little family, and how to keep the focus on Christ instead of being consumed by busyness and shiny, sparkly things {as fun as they are!}.

I've been reading through some little Christmas books I've collected over the years, and appreciated this entry from David Jeremiah's The 12 Ways of Christmas, taken from the chapters entitled Wonder and Reflection:

A good place to start this year is to spend some time reflecting on the wonders of the true Christmas story. Raise the questions, study the Scriptures, give thanks for what you know, and pray about what you don't. Wonder and marvel at what God has done....

In the darkness with only the twinkling glow of the Christmas tree lights, it's fun to sink into a chair, hand curled around a cup of cocoa, and ponder the ageless wonders of Christmas....

How wonderful to reflect on the timeless story of Jesus, keeping it in mind and pondering these things in your heart {Luke 2:19}.

Amen!