Celebrating Christmas

Welcome everyone to a new Monday blog post.  I am happy y'all made it over for a visit.  Today, I plan to talk about my family's Christmas traditions and things about Christmas that are chiefly special to me.  In the comments, I would love to hear about some of your Christmas traditions.

First and foremost, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.  Jesus is eternal from everlasting to everlasting, but when He was born of Mary, He took on human flesh, thus becoming fully God and fully human. He came to be the Savior of the world, to live a perfect life and then die on the cross for the sin of all who would believe in Him.  That is the most important reason to celebrate this time of year.  As I was growing up, it was my family's tradition to read from the Bible, Luke 2.  This tells the story of Jesus' birth.  As a child, I didn't understand why we should read that before we opened any of our presents.  The chapter seemed sooooo long to me, but as an adult, I am truly thankful that my parents taught me that Christmas is about Jesus.  There would be no reason to celebrate, if He had not come.  We still read Luke 2 in my home, not necessarily before presents, but it has been important for us to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas.  It warms my heart to watch my grandchildren being taught now, too.

I love giving gifts.  Thinking about each person on my list, their likes, interests, needs, wants, personalities, etc., is important to me.  I enjoy picturing them opening the gifts and hope they realize the love that went into them.  If I'm ever forced to choose a gift quickly or without thinking it through, I feel a little sad that I have not been able to put the thought and love into it that I wanted to.  Receiving gifts is fun, too.  Even little gifts, if they are given with love, mean so much to me.  I hate to feel as if a gift is given out of a feeling of obligation.  Did you guess that my love language is gifts? 😄  How do you feel about gift giving? Some people don't care about it at all.  They just want to get it over with or they think it a waste of time and money.  A gift doesn't even have to be a thing, though, it can be an experience or an act of service. A nice gift for me from you, would be for you to push that follow button over there ↗ and the submit button over there ↖. 🎄You need a gift, too? Ok, how about this...be the first one to follow me, email me your name and address, then recommend @sandykayslawson on facebook and I will send you a $10 gift card to @Chick-fil-A. May the gift giving begin! 

Usually my family waits to decorate and put up a tree after classes are over, tests have been taken, graded and grades turned in (my husband is a teacher).  When those things are done, we feel like we can truly relax and enjoy the season.  This time we are also waiting for our renovations to be finished before we completely decorate, but we did start on some of it yesterday.  Since we decorate so late, I leave them up until after the new year before I put them away, so that I can enjoy them longer.  When do you decorate and put away? Some people start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I don't even want to hear a Christmas song until Thanksgiving is over.

This year will be different for my family. Two of my kids married this year, so I only have one 17 year old son left at home. My oldest has been married for 6 years.  With only one child left at home, I'm not sure what our Christmas Day will look like, but I'm sure we will all try to get together at some point over the holidays. Our old ways of celebrating the day are just memories now, really good memories, though.  I am excited to see how my children will celebrate in their own families and the traditions they will start together with their spouses and children. We will need to change how we do things.  It's a little sad, but I am happy for my children and the lives they are building and the families they are making.  God has blessed us so much.  In the past, Santa Claus would have all the kid's presents set in their own special spot in the Living Room. No child was allowed in that room after they went to bed on Christmas Eve, until their Daddy lined them all up in the hallway in order of age with video camera and camera ready, the hallway door would be opened and the children could all run in to see what Santa had left for them in their stockings and special spots. All the rest of the presents to each other would be wrapped and waiting under the tree, to be opened after breakfast.

It's hard to talk about the holidays without talking about food.  We have favorites around here, that we must have or we feel like we have not truly celebrated.  Santa Claus pancakes have been our Christmas breakfast for as long as I can remember, since my children have been born.  I probably saw it in a magazine at some point, but I don't remember.  I make regular pancakes, but we decorate them to look like Santa with the ingredients on the table: bananas, berries, raisins, cherries, whipped cream, nuts, etc.  I always try to have special syrups, too, such as strawberry, blueberry, real maple, chocolate and pumpkin.  Everyone has always had fun making their Santa's and taking pictures of them, before eating them up. The main Christmas dinner must have, is the Turkey Wreath.  About 15 years or so ago, I went to a Pampered Chef party.  In their catalog, they had the recipe for the Turkey Wreath.  I made it for Christmas that year and the family loved it so much, it has been at the center of our Christmas table ever since. What do you have? Turkey? Ham? Trout? The sides on our table are pretty much the same every year, too, like Green Bean casserole and Sweet Potato casserole...the more traditional holiday foods.  Certain sweets "need" to be available also, such as, Pumpkin pie, Apple Pie, Fudge-peanut butter, chocolate and white chocolate, peppermint bark and sugar cookies cut into Christmas shapes and decorated. I would love to hear about some of your favorite Christmas foods.

Christmas is my favorite time of year.  Caroling, eggnog, hot chocolate, apple cider, decorations, presents and celebrating my Savior Jesus Christ. What's not to love?  Yes, the traffic is worse, the shopping is harder, the days are shorter, but the fun and joyful celebrations make up for all those things, at least for me. 

I hope you and your family all have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Remember to thank the Lord for all your blessings and the joy of this season. Without Christ there would be no Christmas.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful Christmas song "O Holy Night" by Celine Dion and Josh Groban. 

Updates: 

I did get my submission in on time last Monday for the short story contest I entered.  I don't know if they will contact me if I don't get 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, but I guess if I don't hear from them after a month or so, I'll assume I didn't place.  Of course, I would love to win, but if not, I would at least like some feedback to help me learn from my mistakes.  Also, I have received the feedback from one of my Beta Readers on my first 3 chapters of my novel Hope for Charity, so I am busy working on those corrections, which I believe will help me as I go through the rest of the chapters as well.  The renovations on my house are in full swing and I will plan to post some more pictures when they are done.

I hope to spend the next two Mondays just enjoying my family and I hope you will do the same.  I will plan to have another new blog post after the new year.  If you haven't read all of my past posts, and need something to read, I encourage you to go back and see what you missed.

In Christ,

Sandy

Life Lessons

Hello and good Monday morning.  I'm happy you could join me today. As many of you know, I have been working on a short story to submit to a contest. That deadline is today. My story is written. My cover letter is written and my short bio is done. But...the formatting is beyond my skill set. So, I called in my genius husband, who plans to help me finish up and get it in today. Thank you, Lord for my husband!

Well, I thought today about ranting on the evils of formatting, but decided not to put you through that torment. Instead, I want to talk about a few life lessons I have learned so far in my journey to become a published author. Maybe, some of the things I've learned, will help you, too.

When we are born, we have talents and personalities already embedded in our DNA. Our environment can either encourage us or discourage us along the way. If we have parents, grandparents or others in our life that help and encourage us, we are more likely to excel. If we don't, then it will be a harder road ahead. Certain personalities will push forward no matter the obstacles, but others will grow discouraged and give up. 

If we lose heart and get stuck, no matter our skill or talents we will not be able to reach our full potential. Sometimes what holds us back is fear or self-doubt. Maybe we fear rejection or failure. May we doubt our ability to accomplish those things we dream of accomplishing. Believe me, I know all about that. Why do you think it has taken me so many years to follow my dreams? Fear and self-doubt can be debilitating. 

Maybe it's laziness. Maybe you enjoy vegetating and watching life go by. You want to give the least amount of effort possible to survive. You're born, you breathe, you die. What a depressing thought that is. I personally believe in Heaven and Hell. I believe that there will be an eternity in both of those places. What you believe and what you do in this life matters. We have all been given an awesome gift, the gift of life. On top of that, we have each been given personalities and talents, that the Lord God expects us to use. Not for ourselves, but for His glory and to be a blessing to others. To show how great He is. Don't waste this gift. Don't let life pass you by. Don't be happy in your comfort zone.

If it's fear or self-doubt holding you back, there is help. I have learned that it is OK to say, "I don't know. I need help." Maybe there are some people who will look down on you or me, but if they are that type of person, I don't really care what they think and you shouldn't either. What I have found is that people respect someone who wants to learn. Nobody likes a know it all. Why? Because nobody but God knows it all. We all need someone to teach us, we all need to be willing to learn. There are so many opportunities to learn available for every learning style. There really are no excuses anymore. You can find motivation, examples, people who have done what you want to do, classes, tutorials on YouTube, books...the list goes on and on.

Whether we feel stuck, ill equipped, held back or just plain lazy, we can change, especially if we seek direction and guidance from the Lord Jesus. He made us and He cares about how we use this life He gave us. Remember, it is not just about you. Your life affects so many others, not just for this life, but the life to come. Be a good steward. Don't squander these precious gifts.

One of the best lessons I have learned, is that no matter how much I have already learned, there is still more to learn. (How many times have I used the word learn so far...?) I've said it many times, but I didn't come up with it, "You learn something new everyday." That is especially true, when you are actively seeking to learn. (Ok, I have learned I need a different word than learn.)

According to Thesaurus.com, I could have used any of these words...

Synonyms for learn - verb acquire information

determine, enroll, gain, get, grasp, master, pick up, read, receive, review, study, apprentice, attain, con, cram, grind, imbibe, lucubrate, matriculate, memorize, peruse, prepare, be taught, be trained, become able, become versed, brush up on, burn midnight oil, commit to memory, crack the books, drink in, get down pat, get the hang of, get the knack of, improve mind, major in, minor in, pore over, soak up, specialize intake course, take in, train in, wade through

That is just a silly example of me realizing I needed help, because I caught myself using a word too much. So, easy peasy I looked it up and found what I needed to make my blog better. I was about to go back and change a substantial portion of my words, but then I thought I could use my mistake as an example for you. Don't be afraid to make a mistake, only be afraid if you have no desire to be taught or improve.

Don't let life pass you by with nothing much to show for it. Even if the only legacy you leave is, "They always tried to improve." That may be enough to help someone else reach their full potential. 

May God bless you and your family as you try to live the lives, He created you to live.

In Christ,

Sandy

Wonderful Chaos

Good morning! Monday is here again and I am excited about it. Today, I want to tell you about some of the things happening in my life since last Monday.

Renovations!!

About last Wednesday, our Contractor who has been coordinating work on the outside of our house told us it was time to start work inside. Well, it has been go go go, ever since. Right now my kitchen is unusable. We are having to move everything in the house to make way for painting and new flooring.  Thankfully, my Mother and Father-in-Law live close by, so we have a place to live, for the next several days. Some of the painting has begun.  My cabinets have been painted and some of the walls primed, but the painter plans to be back today and the flooring people are supposed to come Tuesday or Wednesday.  There is plenty left to do and it is hard work, but I am really excited about all the changes.

Our house was built in the 60's, and there had been very little updated since then. We have been in the house for five years, so I am really happy to see the end of the worn, broken and outdated parts of our home.

Here some pictures of our wonderful chaos:

So, you can see the house is a disaster, but it is all going to be worth it, when it is done and we see our planning and dreaming come to fulfillment.  Life is like that. We may have hopes and dreams, but they are rarely ever realized without hard work and perseverance. This renovation project did not start happening overnight. It has been at least 2 years of making plans, finding a good contractor, working out the finances, making lists of priorities, etc., etc.  My dream of being an Author, is taking much more work, than just writing the story, too, but it is worth it to me. 

If you have a dream, don't give up.  If it's worth doing, it's worth working for.  If its God's will for you, then trust Him to help you accomplish your goal.  If it's not God's will, then you'll be wasting your time.  So, make sure you are seeking God's will for your life.

I have talked about my efforts to declutter and organize my house. Although, this mess and mixing up of my things, may seem like a derailment.  I think it will actually be a blessing.  I will hopefully be able to declutter and organize everything, before I put it away. It may take awhile, but I am excited about the prospect of putting my house back together better than it was. 

I mentioned last week, that I planned to enter a short story contest.  Well, with everything that started happening at home, I was unable to finish on time.  I do have a good start on it, though, so I found another short story contest that is open until December 10th. Hopefully, I can make that deadline.  I'm not making any promises, though. Also, I am still working on my proposals. I want to send them off before Christmas, but if I can't do it by then, it shouldn't be much longer than that.

Well, that's a glimpse of my life right now.  Good things are happening, but oh so chaotic.  I feel very blessed. Have a great week! May God bless you and your family, too.

In Christ,

Sandy