Deck the halls! Trim the tree! Hang the stockings! Christmas can bring so much beauty with it. We decorate our trees in silver and gold, tie gifts with pretty bows, and hang up beautiful stockings for Santa to fill with goodies. Our tables are laden with tantalizing treats and carefully coordinated table trimmings. And these…
The big red circle on my 2014 calendar was creeping closer, and I still had no idea what I was getting for teachers’ Christmas gifts. This season always creeps up on me, and I am continually surprised when Christmas happens every December. I wanted to do better this year. My daughter was in preschool, and…
‘Twas the night before Christmas in 2014, the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, the kids were tucked all snug in their beds . . . and I almost missed it all. I’d let myself be consumed by the planning and projects that come during the Christmas season. All the pretty pictures on…
Every year I tell myself I’m not going to overload the seasonal calendar. Yet every year I find myself trying to keep up with friends on Pinterest—making cute Advent calendars out of matchboxes, creating wreaths out of old ornaments, and baking all the things. I want the picture-perfect Christmas tree and the one that was…
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.’” ~ Matthew 9:37 I am two generations removed from true dependence on the family garden for food. Just close enough to remember picking an armful of vegetables and fruit from the garden, yet far enough away that my own garden…
Christmas is my favorite season by a mile. I love the shimmering decorations, the mugs of frothy goodness, the anticipation in the air, and how everything is softened by the glow of tiny lights. I love how each December twenty-fifth marks the passing of time like no other day on the calendar. Each year I…