Sunday, December 28, 2008

Lavished in Love and Lessons

We have had a wonderful Christmas time. G and F gave me a Christmas gift (hand lotion), and in their card they gave me $40! So that enabled us to go Christmas shopping for the grandkids. On Christmas Eve we braved the crowds and shopped for the kids. After that, we moved over to T’s house and took care of the animals before we left for C’s family gathering at 3:00. They had a wonderful spread of munchies, and we helped trim the tree and played Pictionary.

Then, much to our surprise, when they started opening their stocking gifts, they gave us a stocking as well! They stuffed it with gift cards, a cross necklace for me, and a bottle of scotch for Tom. I was so overwhelmed and blessed that tears started flowing, and I had a hard time stopping them!! We were very humbled and blessed by their kindness and generosity.

Christmas Day we went to R and E’s and had brunch when we got there, and then the kids opened their gifts from us. R and E also gave us our own Christmas stockings, and we got some trail mix and candy bars :) R made a wonderful Christmas dinner with roasted chicken, potatoes, and green beans. I made a Jell-O dessert from a recipe that I got from CT, and it turned out great! After the kids went to bed, we played cards and hung out for a while.

For some reason the subject of A and C came up, and I got all emotional and started crying again. I am just so sad that my family situation is such that we can’t all be together, and I guess I was just feeling the sadness more than usual…

G’s daughter-in-law called me and asked if Tom and I could come over to G and F’s on the 26th to meet her family since they would be in town. So, we did and had a very nice visit. She gave me a Christmas gift when we left—it was a book about God being in all the small stuff at Christmas and a card with a check for $150!! Wow. Thank you, Lord, for lavishing us with Your love and gifts this year!

Before KK left for her vacation, she said she had some movie passes that would expire on the 31st and offered them to us for a date night (along with a popcorn bucket that they refill for 50 cents!). So, on Saturday the 27th, Tom and I went to a matinee and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought it was a great movie! The premise was unique, the acting and make-up were great, and the set authenticity was amazing! But at the end of the movie, I started crying again and couldn’t stop… I seem to be an emotional basket case lately!! Lord, help me!

This house-sitting situation has been very challenging since we are in two different places and have some of our things in each house. We have to remember what we will need from each place for each situation (clothes and food for Christmas and Christmas Eve, and so on) and then where we are going back to at the end of the day!! Fortunately, we managed to do well and had all we needed in each place and went back to the right house at the end of the day. We moved out of T’s house today and back into KK’s, where we’ll stay one day before M and A leave—and then we’ll shift over to their house.

I have been running over again and again in my head the Believing God mantra from Beth Moore’s study:

“God is who He says He is!
He will do what He says He will do!
I am who He says I am!
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!
I BELIEVE IN GOD!!!”

This is helping me keep my thoughts from veering too far off the path.

Tom’s men’s meeting on Friday morning was good even though it was just him and one other guy. Tom said that the man had some good insight regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus. He said that she could be considered a prophet because she “delivered the Word of God to His people”! How cool is that? Actually, even her song that she sings is sort of prophetic in Luke 1:46–55.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed…”
— Luke 1:46–48

Lord, thank You for Your love and faithfulness to Your children!