"If You Want to Make a Grown Man Cry--"

We were a little late getting our Christmas tree cut in the mountains this year, but that's okay.

I reminded my girls who were choosing ornaments with which to decorate it

to make sure that they chose plenty with the real meaning of Christmas.

                                            It can be so easy to just go with a secular theme--hunting, buffalo plaid, winter ice skates and sleds and snowflakes, but for our own home, I choose to make sure that even while we decorate our tree, we remember God. One of God's biggest gripes with mankind is that they forget Him. Some people think that the way to please Him is to not celebrate Christmas--no tree, no gifts, no decorations. They think that is the way to be spiritual. But are we really remembering Him? I think Christmas can be a really great time to remember Him. We can remember Him by decorating a tree with meaningful ornaments, or we can remember Him by not having a tree but spending extra time praising Him, singing, or praying. I don't think that just treating Christmas like any other day is a really great way to remember God. Remembering God requires action, purpose, and special events and celebrations.

                                          

    I loved the real horse and cow in the background behind the manger scene window cling!And below Rose decorating cookies before the kids went Christmas caroling last night. 

      Jonathan and Sam arrived home just as the kids left to go caroling, and the working men needed to be served supper (I heated it on the woodstove!) After the men cleared out of the kitchen and I got the dishes almost all done, I found myself just praying in the quietness, praying for our children and for our neighbors. I was wishing we knew how to reach them with the gospel.

Well, little did I know!! The kids with the three friends who came to carol with them were already reaching them with the gospel in Christmas song! They went over to our next door neighbors, and the father said the carolers were awesome. In fact, he and his wife and kids asked if they could all go with the carolers to the next places! Our kids were delighted! So the neighbors jumped into their truck and followed our kids around, and also asked if the carolers could carol to some people they knew! Mr. Neighbor was so excited, he was videoing the whole thing everywhere they went! Rose said she has never seen him so excited! The neighbors wanted the kids to carol to Mrs. Neighbor's parents, and so they did. The parents/grandparents live a couple miles away. The granddad came out to listen, hugging on his little granddaughter, and he was crying. He said, "If you want to make a grown man cry---!" He said it was the first time in his life that he was ever caroled to! Our neighbors directed our kids to two other places and were having so much fun, they wanted to carol all night!

Anyway, the carolers also caroled to the mechanic, who has had Crystal's car in his garage for over four months now. He was on the verge of tears,too. He said, "This is much appreciated!" He doesn't have a happy life, lives either alone or with a daughter or something. He had to quit his own business because of so many problems with it, but discovered that working for another mechanic shop only proved that they have the same kind of problems--wrong products being shipped in, etc. We've tried to be patient with him about the car, and show him kindness since he seems depressed and unhappy in his life.

We heard about people caroling in California, hundreds of them, to protest the ban on singing. Well, the kids weren't protesting anything, just taking some joy to people around us. I think that the darker the night around us, the brighter the light of Christ shines in His people. We may not have all the answers, but we have Jesus!

One of the lovely things about the Christmas season is that Crystal can be home from student teaching! So we get to enjoy hearing her playing the piano often. She is already being asked about by no fewer than three interested parties involved in missions or Christian school, and is praying about what the Lord would have her to do after the holiday season is over.