Pumpkin Pie, Twinkle Lights & Peace

It's been ten days since my last post, and what a ten days it has been. Thanksgiving came and went, and we had a full table with friends from church who joined us for dinner. We ate too much, tried to justify it with a walk around the neighborhood, then came back and stayed up too late talking over pumpkin and cherry pie. All in all, it was a wonderful evening that I would not trade.

As is my usual tradition since David and I were married, I used the long weekend to put the tree up and decorate the house for Christmas. I have this secret love affair with little twinkling lights, and to me, the more the merrier. I have placed white lights in the kitchen (laid on top of the cabinets so they create a soft glow near the ceiling), in the dining room (draped on the baker's rack to help illuminate the nativity scene that now resides on the shelf), and all over the tree, where they are joined by a couple of strands of multicolored lights. I still have a couple more places to put them (living room on top of the entertainment center) and in the office window (the only window in our house that faces the street). As I said, the more the merrier.

It's been a rather relaxing weekend overall, having no particular schedule to adhere to and not being one to take part in the black Friday craziness that has permeated our culture. I did do a little shopping, mostly online, the rest as I stumbled upon a few gifts items while I was picking up more decorations for the house. David and I watched a lot of Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel and ate Thanksgiving leftovers. Relaxation reigned in our house this weekend.

This morning at church, Craig had several couples and individuals share what they were thankful for this year, and almost invariably, despite whatever difficult circumstances, hardships or losses they were introduced to this past year, the underlying theme was peace. Peace in the face of uncertain economic times, serious illness, loss of loved ones, and other unnamed personal struggles. We are a people thankful for God's peace.

Regardless of what we face as individuals, families, communities, or as a nation, let us all be thankful for the sweet peace that we enjoy day after day, moment by moment. For tonight's music from the heart, I am leaving Rachael Lampa's Blessed up a little longer. The lyrics are simple and powerful at the same time, as is the peace that we are so blessed with.

As we run full-speed ahead into this holiday season, please remember to take a few moments daily to be thankful for the simple things, for little daily blessings, and for the most precious gift we received two-thousand years ago when the Prince of Peace arrived on the scene and changed everything.

"The God of peace be with you all.
Amen."
Romans 15:33