all you need is love

gettting ready for Christmas normally involves shopping, baking, writing letters and cards, and trying to figure out how to visit as many people as possible within a short period of time... and in recent years, my plans have included flights, trains, and buses, and how to recover when blizzards hit and find a way to my family... this year, things are a bit different... i will be ushering in summer, not winter, a few days before the 25th... i will need sunscreen and bugspray, not a scarf and snowboots... and will probably play in the ocean and eat ice cream, not throw snowballs and eat lots of Christmas cookies... ok, there might still be Christmas cookies...



but what about Jesus? i've never thought about what it meant to prepare for Christ's arrival on earth (or the celebration of it, which has already happened)... but i heard a sermon a week or so ago on this concept... and it got me to thinking: how did Mary prepare for this? watching my bosses in the last couple months, who had their first child on halloween night, getting ready for their baby, i wouldn't be surprised if Mary's actions were really much different... getting advice and support from family and friends, making space in the home for the little one, mentally psyching herself up for a natural birth without the wonders of modern medicine... but after the birth, what can you do to prepare a child for the world? stories, scoldings, warnings, encouragements can all guide the youth throught the experiences of the elders, but lessons are usually learned the hard way, as we all know... all Mary could do was love her child... love him as any parent loves their kids, as any person loves another, as anyone who cares about anyone else loves them...

its all Jesus asks of us as well... there's a lot of stuff in the world we can't fix, can't control, and can't prepare for... but we can love one another, and we can love God and our Savior... in preparation for the days to come, and when we see the Messiah once again...

so i wish you a very Merry Christmas, full of love, in all the ways it can manifest itself!

not a barbie girl

i often have moments where i realize how un-girly i am... granted, i have the times where i shriek over really exciting news or the sudden appearance of a poisonous snake, like to sit and watch a movie eating nothing but chocolate, and comment on how hot the waiter is... but in the grand scheme of things:

i fall over in heels.. nope, can't walk in them for the life of me! although i've made it a goal to be able to wear them to a wedding next labor day weekend in the states... 8 months and counting..

i don't really like chick flicks... i like plot. story line. not necessarily a movie that is only going to make a profit because colin firth stars...

i'm not addicted to shopping... can't really stand it, to be honest, most of the time... i've seen girls twitch and go a bit crazy because they haven't spent money on something in the last week.. or 24 hours...

i'm not graceful, or delicate, or "curvy" or anything really feminine most of the time..i'd like to think i can be, but usually, i'm not...

but at the same time, i would love to be someone who is adored by someone else, i appreciate the genuine flattery of friends (and a guy every now and then) and have my moments where i just want someone to take me in his arms and make the rest of the world disappear for a while... a cowboy to sweep me away and ride off into the sunset... i want to encourage, inspire, and love a man who loves God more than me, and loves me more than himself :) and i want to be encouraged and inspired by him as well...

most of all, i want to be a follower of Christ who admits her mistakes more than she does now, dare to try to make the world a better place, and with the grace of God maybe even change something... being a girl has nothing to do with any of that, but i think it might help :)