My husband was watching this clip from Charlie Brown the other night and it brought back fun memories from childhood when we'd race home after Sunday night church service in order to see our favorite Christmas shows. There were no video recorders in those days so if you missed the TV show, you had to wait until next year.
Watch and see if you remember this one--
Watching that clip with Linus got me to thinking of how rarely we hear the true meaning of Christmas reflected in the shows on TV today. Sad, but that absence in our culture only makes the light of Christ shine brighter when we live out the true meaning of Christmas, not only during December but every day of the year.
My sweet dad is with us this Christmas and we're spending a quiet holiday here at our home in Nashville with the kids. It's nice having everyone under one roof for a few days. For New Years, we'll be together with my brother and his family which will be wonderful. But can I risk a moment of blatant honesty? While I love the Christmas holidays and, of course, appreciate the meaning of Christmas, I can hardly wait for January 1st. I'm ready to put this year behind me. To start fresh.
Do I want to forget this year? Hardly. I'll carry moments of 2009 with me forever but we all need those turning points in our lives when we surrender whatever it is we've been carrying and we lay it down at the foot of the cross. I'm so there.
I'm not in the dumps, and in fact, if you were to see me today we'd chat and hug and laugh, and I'd sincerely enjoy and mean every word and giggle. But there's a part of me that's also ready to take down the tree and the garland and get back to normalcy. To get this book finished, finally!, and to take the next steps in whatever God has in store. 2010 promises some wonderful family times with Dad moving here to live with us, our daughter moving into her first "real" apartment, and our son getting one step closer to college graduation, and a belated 25th wedding anniversary trip with Joe this spring, but more on that in another post.
I'll close with the words of Linus, and of our mighty God spoken through the Apostle Luke, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Continued blessings, friends,
Tammy
