Encouraging Decorations???

Have you decorated your house or church building for Christmas yet? Is this the year, you promised yourself you'd buy a pre-lit tree so that you wouldn't have to untangle all of those pesky little stands of lights? And now, there are LED lights for a "green" Christmas (for those of you who love all things about Christmas lights, click here.)

Where do you stop unloading boxes of decor? Is this enough decoration, or should I add a little more? Should I buy more? Newer, prettier? Artificial or organic? Should I give away some of the stuff I've had for years so I won't feel so guilty when I buy more? Oh my goodness - Stop the Christmas madness!

Why do we go to all of the fuss and muss? Is it for us? Our neighbors? Maybe our friends? No, I've got it, it's all for the little people in our lives! We drum up excuse after excuse, and we wear ourselves out physically, and sometimes spiritually, trying to "do the season right." I know, I've been there!

Every year I have a theme for my mantle. I've had some pretty crazy themes through the years, A Crystal Christmas, Our Town, Babes in Toyland, Simple but Elegant, All Things Greeen, A Christmas Village, etc., etc., etc. I was having a hard time this year deciding on a theme for my mantle. Maybe it's because each year I'm more prone to do less decorating.

So tonight as I put a few simple decorations on my mantle, this years' theme came to me, Back to the Basics. When you look at a portion of my mantle, I hope that you'll be struck as I was that the central focus of Christmas is really all about celebrating the birth of Christ. Anything more is just icing on His birthday cake! Joy to the world the Lord is come!

- author Cindy Daniels

Send some pictures of your Christmas decorations, especially your mantles. It will be fun to share with others their Christmas traditions.

Encouraging Friendships

My goodness, time buzzes by when you're living life! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. we sure did! Here are some pictures of our Trash Can turkey and the Master Chef. Don't knock it if you've never eaten it!
I've been thinking a lot lately about the holidays. Doesn't it seems like this is the time of the year when we reflect most on our lives and the past year? I know I cry a little more when I'm watching movie classics like "Christmas Shoes" and "It's a Wonderful Life". I reminisce as I trim the Christmas tree, remembering the year I received certain precious ornaments, as I lovingly place them on our tree. And, I feel the urgency to send just the right card to those who've touched our lives in some special way this past year.

We run ourselves crazy trying to find just the right gift (isn't shopping on line great? For those of you who haven't ventured there yet, it's really not so hard, and a lot easier on the feet!) We bake cookies (for the first time all year), we string tangled lights, we visit in the homes of those we've not visited with all year...

Last year, we decided to break the madding cycle of "doing it all in December". We decided to spread our hospitality throughout the year. With so many new families coming into our church, neighborhood and work these days, we thought we would begin opening our home before the holidays. We invited people over for brunch, went out for pizza, shared an auction experience, barbecued hot dogs and even cooked "Trash Can" Turkey, all the while getting to know folks we didn't know very well. But, you know what, now we know them a lot better. Why, because we invited them to our home so we could spend time with them.

We've hear it over and over again - what's the most important gift we can give to others? Well, it really is time. And, at this busy "time" of the year, maybe we can shop a little less, buy our Christmas cookies, instead of baking all of them, and become a minimalist when it comes to holiday decorations. In doing so, I believe you'll gain a lot more holiday spirit. You might even encourage some one's Christian walk by spending your time on them.

Try spreading out the time you spend with others - don't stop with December. Begin now scheduling time in January to meet with friends, or folks you don't know very well. There's no better way to get to know someone than to have them into your home. For those of you who want to spruce up your home before you begin to invite others over - forget it! Your house will never, ever look like HGTV!

And, when you reflect on 2009 at this time next year, you'll be glad you invested in people and not things!

- author, Cindy Daniels

The Encouragement of Prayer

This journey called prayer is a never ending one. It's filled with high places and low places, mountains and valleys. It's a road often vibrant with color and dimly lit with the dawn of a new day. It's a journey covered with streaming tears or hilarious laughter. But, it's a journey worth taking!

If you've been messin' around with your prayer life, let me encourage you to kick it up a notch. For those of you who begin praying and find there isn't enough to pray about, just look around! Who are the people you interface with on a daily basis - coworkers, sales people, teachers, even the mailman. What neighborhoods do you drive through on your way each day? What things touch your heart as you surf the net or remote the TV? And, perhaps most importantly, praying for your brothers and sisters in the church!

God made you the way he has, and placed you where he's placed you so that you can get plugged into the world at your fingertips. Sorry, but the excuse that you don't know who or what to pray for doesn't fly with me today.

Today we have many things to be praying for. I've listed a couple of blogs at the right of this screen to introduce you to two families I'm aware of who are going through tough times. Is there a story or a blog you'd like to share? Send me a note, I'll be glad to post them here.

Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Call on Him, you might just find yourself traveling a new adventure!

- author, Cindy Daniels