favorite things: the Christmas season

Some of my favorite things about this time of year . . . 

• the lovely scent of my Fraser Fir when I walk in the door
• nativity sets
• Advent candles & calendars - tangible, visible reminders of the anticipation that should mark this season
• finding a new Christmas CD to purchase each year (this year: Diana Krall)
• Christmas ornaments
• poinsettias
• thinking of just the right gifts to give - and even more so, actually finding them!
• family traditions: omelettes, Orange Julians, & the Christmas story on Christmas Eve; sausage pinwheels on Christmas morning
• Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Joe-Joe's - yum!
• Christmas carols
• eggnog, hot cider, Christmas cookies, and the food list could go on . . .
• White Christmas, Home Alone, & other movie classics

While I enjoy all of the things listed above & the ways they make this time of year special & different, it's easy for those same things to become the focus - even inadvertently.  Last year, I posted a video clip from A Charlie Brown Christmas - when Linus shares "what Christmas is all about."  I am grateful for Linus' words - as well as the other vehicles of Truth during this season.  A few days ago at our ESOL Christmas party, we sang carols together and I prayed silently as we sang - that my students would truly grasp the Truth of the lyrics we had discussed - that they would know:

• the "redeeming grace" described in Silent Night 
• the blessings Jesus makes possible in every corner of this earth that has been touched by the curse (Joy to the World)
• Emmanuel, our promised Redeemer (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel)

And I pray that I, too, will encounter these truths in new ways as I anticipate the celebration of Christ's coming. 

Happy Advent!