I'm Going to Miss Them So Much!

Today was our Ladies' Bible Study's annual Christmas party. Every year we get together before Christmas at our usual time, everyone brings something for a brunch, we all bring a wrapped ornament for an exchange, usually one of our ladies sings, or Tina plays her harp for us, and we either play a game, or share something interesting, etc.

This year is especially sad for me since I have to leave this group in about 8 weeks. Tim moved our family to another church (and it really is a good church and the kids like it). But after 4 months or so, I still haven't connected with a single woman there. I tried checking out small groups - nothing fits Tim's schedule, I tried the scrapbooking group - they took a few months off so I couldn't go. I thought about the Ladies' Wed. night bible study but that'd mean Adam would have to quit the High School teen boys' bible study - and I don't want that. I tried meeting people in the bookstore, cafeteria, bathroom, courtyard...I'm just not able to connect. Their Tues. Ladies' bible study is my last chance to make friends. I didn't choose this change, it was chosen for me, but I'm trying to make the best of it.

The Mountain Valley ladies are truly amazing women. We've discovered a community-building method we can't explain, but it's special and unique. We're closer than family, we've all been through so much together, we're connected in a way I've never been connected to any other girl or woman in my life, and our group is constantly growing and thriving. I'm going to miss the ladies.

I can't begin to name names because so many will be forgotten if I try to list them, so I won't, but I have found I'll miss each woman for a different reason. They've all brought so much into my life - more than they know. It's so humbling to have them give me cards that say how I've changed their lives - if only they knew THEIR role they've played. I'm who I am today because my heart is made up of pieces they've all given me. I love them and I'll miss them so much.

We Begin the Advent Season

I've seen advent wreaths in church but never really understood them. This year I decided to find out more.

The 4 candles represent the 4 weeks until Christmas, beginning the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I also read it may represent the 400 years of waiting between the last time God speaks to his people in the book of Malachi and the birth of Jesus, beginning the New Testament. There's usually 3 purple candles and 1 pink, with a white candle in the center, although I find that isn't always the case, but it's the most popular display. Each Sunday of Advent one candle is lit.

The first candle celebrates HOPE. Hope of a savior, bringing light into a dark world, and our being that light of hope for others, especially this time of year when many are alone and burdened.

The second candle represents PEACE. It's lit as we remember that we were promised a savior 400 years earlier, and we have peace through him. It's a peace we find no where else, especially in the midst of life's storms.

The third candle is the pink JOY candle. It's a reminder of the joy the birth of Jesus brought, the joy of his message that we can be saved from an eternity of despair, that God made a way for us to be forgiven so we can live forever with him in Heaven instead of separated from Him because of our sins.

The fourth candle, called the LOVE candle, is lit as a reminder of the love God showed by creating a sacrifice in our place, and for the love Jesus had in accepting to be that sacrifice so we can have eternal life.

On Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, all 4 candles are lit along with the center's white candle representing Jesus. It's to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Note: During the 4 weeks, there are readings you can read together as a family every day, either gathered together in the morning, or in the evening, say at dinnertime. Those can be found online.

It's a great reminder to stay focused on the real meaning and message behind Christmas. It's great to give gifts to appreciate and love those we care about, but it shouldn't be about who got what and how much someone spent on us. We could never give a greater gift than Jesus gave, nor can we out-spend what God gave in sacrificing His only son, to watch him suffer and die while innocent. But now we can have eternal life through simply accepting this gift of Jesus, who died in our place, so that our sins are atoned, or paid for, and we can be re-made fit to live in the presence of God forever.

Merry Christmas Everyone.