Living beautifully for Him

Switching from Fall to Christmas!!!

Sorry...but I LOVE prelit fake trees. I'm such a traitor. :)

My tree putter-upper hero.

I know there is alot of controversy amongst Christians on the celebration of a "secular" christmas. We, however, have yet to be convicted by the Holy Spirit on specific celebratory details. This is how our pastor puts it; "In essentials we have unity. In non-essentials we have liberty but in all things we have charity, or love." Until we are led in one direction or another, we will remain sensitive to the moving of the Spirit and respectful of how others celebrate.

We have felt a strong conviction in one area though. A deep disgust at the gluttony of todays generation has been particulary overpowering this holiday season. A dear friend of ours has 4 children and has shared this with us. If 3 gifts were good enough for Baby Jesus, it is good enough for us. I love that! We have prepared our children for that and they really have a good understanding of what Christmas is about. We are also undertaking several charitable programs this season. We are going through the kids things and they are anxious for their toys to go to the "right boy or girl." I refuse to let our children get sucked into the wastfulness and "gimmes" that this time of year brings. It turns my stomach when I hear of some children's wishlists. Literally thousands of dollars can be dropped in no time at all. Yet ask them to give something up and one would think they had been asked to cut off their right arm. DISGUSTING. We use this time of year, as a teaching tool. As christians, we are simply making the best out of any given situation.