The Thrill of Hope

I love holidays. And I especially love Christmas. 

As tradition goes, the day after Thanksgiving is the day to start Christmas songs, to decorate and get the Christmas tree.

I am pretty sure I was so happy that day I cried. 

The last month or so has been extra stressful for me.

A lot of changes, disappointments, and situations out of my control. 

I started this holiday season listening to Joy to the World. I've heard this song so many times. It is just 'part of tradition'. Most people probably listen to carols this way - as sort of the soundtrack to the month of December. But I stopped and really listened to the words. I had 'a moment,' as I sometimes do. The lyrics really spoke to me, the way scripture would. It was very poignant. I was brought to tears thinking about what joy really is. It is not affected by circumstances. It is God-given. It changes your perspective and attitude. And when you really take the time to acknowledge the gravity of what God did on Christmas...whoa..how can you not be full of joy? 

I love these lyrics from Joy to the World:

"Joy to the world! The Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing."

 source: salvagedgrace 

After my Joy to the World moment, I started to listen to all my favorite carols with a different ear. I was so struck by the amount of hope and peace this holiday sings about. I have always loved the way I felt at Christmas but I never really attributed it to the fact that the world (whether recognized or not) is celebrating a holiday of joy, hope, love and peace. 

Some of my favorite lyrics from O Come, O Come Emmanuel:

"Oh come desire of nations bind

In one the hearts of all mankind

Bid thou our sad divisions cease

An be thyself our king of peace

Rejoice, Rejoice

Emmanuel shall come to thee..."

Yes! This is my prayer. That one day our sad divisions will cease. 

And I then I listened to O Holy Night. I never know the last verse of carols. I know the first verse, no problem. But I really listened this time to the whole song. 'Jesus taught us to love one another... His gospel is peace.'

This verse in O Holy Night put me to tears:

"Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace. 

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.

And in His name all oppression shall cease...

Christ is the Lord! Then ever we will praise...

His power and glory ever more proclaim!"

source: etsy

And I also hear the nativity story every year. But I really listened this year.
To imagine the moment when hundreds of angels appeared before the shepherds and sang: 

"Glory to God in the highest,

and peace on earth to those 

whom God is pleased" - Luke 2:14

 source: tumblr 

This is the God I worship and serve. 

A God who entered this earth as a baby, so that God may dwell with God's people. 

A God that desires peace and joy on this earth for every person. 

God, who is Emmanuel - with us. Now and always.

May you take a moment, lay traditions and celebrations aside

 and really ponder the gravity of what Christ did.

May you be filled with the joy, hope, love and peace that comes from God this Christmas. 

source: viewalongtheway

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Creations

I have really struggled to make some diy posts after writing about Africa but I have accepted that I am where I am for this season. And I will continue to write about what brings me joy while I am in this stage of my life. 

Naturally my posts will shift as I become pregnant, possibly move overseas, enter into new seasons, but until then I will share yummy recipes and diy crafts.

So with that said, here are some gifts Michael and I created for Christmas:

1. A laptop case for Timothy, made out of a cool plaid skirt, some grey felt, and quilt batting.

I even added a pocket in the front for the charger. I really liked how it turned out!

2. Michael made a box for Evan's art supplies.

It has a little drawer in the top for brushes. 

Here they are at Christmas, Evan with his box and Michael with his sweet wine rack that Evan made. I love handy/crafty/creative men! (Oh and their new pj pants) 

3. I made a pen and ink piece of art for Sami and Jonathan. Michael created this beautiful frame.

The verse in the middle says:

"By wisdom a house is built,

and through understanding

it is established;

through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures"

-Proverbs 24:3-4

I love lots of details and lines! I am really happy with it. 

4. I made a quilted picture book for my nephew Liam. 

The cover says "Who loves Liam?" and then I added 8 pages that say "Mommy loves Liam", "Aunt Merrill loves Liam", "Abi loves Liam", etc. 

I was going to create a diy blog with instructions on how to make it, but I decided there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Here is Susan Weinroth's blog. She has great instructions. Her blog is actually the blog I stumbled across that led me to start quilting 2 years ago. 

What new crafty creations have you made recently?