Two Trees, One Weekend

Black Friday is our traditional tree-decorating day, so we drove down the road to make our selection. Our only requirements ar "Big" and "Short-needled". Easy enough. Christmas tree accomplished. It is now covered with our memory laden ornaments; a collection of vintage glass ones, travel souvenir ones, and the most precious of all: those limited edition ones made by chubby hands at Sunday School, co-op and preschool.

This year we are adding another kind of Christmas Tree to our repertoire: a Jesse Tree a la Ann VosKamp at Holy Experience. I've heard of the Jesse Tree for celebrating the advent season and her (free!)devotional e-book complete with illustrated ornaments is the best resource of its kind that I have found. I promptly drained our ink cartridge to print it out and took one very understanding son out into the twilight to hack off a dead corkscrew tree which I have had in mind for just such a purpose.

Please know it was dark. And cold. And the tree was uncooperative.

Though he may have begun to doubt the need for us to have this gnarly specimen

sunk in plaster-of-paris and made into the centerpiece of our kitchen table, he persevered and brought home the trophy tree.

Next we need to start our readings and craft our grace-blossoms for its bare branches. Another tradition taking root!

Preacher Girl

My sweet daughter regularly texts her friends an encouraging word in the early morning hours and I have so enjoyed being one of the recipients of those daybreak cyberhugs.

This morning she wrote:

"Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Blessed be the LORD, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." Psalm 68:18-19

Stop looking at yourself! Your record, righteousness, sin, beauty, and failure is not to be substituted for Him. We live lives of gratitude and grace by loving Him for Hi incomprehensible, chasing, powerful love of us. Don't starve the source of it- MAKE time to read about what He did for you."

Preach It Girlie!

Balance Is Way Over-Rated

I had a deep and challenging conversation with a friend last night about the verity of balance. Whether there is such a thing and whether it is that to which we are to aspire. I personally wince whenever I hear what sounds like the weak reassurance that "we just have to find a balance." It ranks right up there with "it is what it is," as one of my most annoying current trendy isms. I have had other such talks with estute friends who have told me that balance is indeed a biblical principle, but I have yet to be convinced of that, and the scriptural back-up for it seems to be lacking.


Perhaps it is because so many good things in my life have been bestowed upon me in very unbalanced proportions. It's so hard to smile understandingly when advised to pare down, and even more difficult to sit still when I am praised for doing so much when I know full well that my experience has been that the most important things in my life have come through no effort of my own. I am merely a spectacle of His grace, as is every one of His precious children. Balance is way over-rated!

1 Corinthians 15:10- "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain." ESV