This Ransomed Life: December 2009

So for anyone who really knows me, knows that I love snow.

It's not like an "Oh Yay! It's snowing" kind of affection, it's like "how can I get my affairs in order so I can move to Alaska and surround myself with feet and feet of snow??" and "Where can I live that I can have access to groomed cross-country ski trails and tubing hills and evergreen forests that I can snowshoe thru?"

Yeah, it's bad.

But the Lord is kind to give me little snippets of time in snow country.

And this time, I got to bring my nieces along which pretty much seals the deal and makes me the coolest Aunt on US soil right now. (Sorry for all other Aunts out there reading this -- apparently I've set the bar kind of high now :-D But they are girls after my own heart -- they love the snow too!

So I've often wondered, and in my quiet time with the Lord dwelled upon snow and why I am so drawn to it, and I always come back to the simple fact of how a fresh blanket of snow makes even the most rugged and unattractive landscape overwhelmingly beautiful. Even the rusty grossness that is the yard of the construction company near my neighborhood, with it's rusted machinery and junk piles, looks amazingly peaceful and beautiful when it is laden with a thick blanket of snow.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. -- Isaiah 1:18

My mind always returns to this scripture. My sin will be washed white as snow. My sin, as wretched as it is, as wretched as I am, in Christ, by His sacrifice, is white as snow.

I am reminded of this as the harshness of tree bark is softened with snow -- a beautiful sight is a forest of trees with branches laden with snow.

And snow always makes me think of my Creator. What a neat way of watering the earth in the cold months.

I am thankful the Lord has given us a fun way of enjoying His creation in the winter months. Tomorrow I am planning on taking my nieces snowshoeing and cross-country skiing along some groomed trails. I am hoping to take in some beautiful views of snow laden trees and frozen lakes.

The Lord is so kind.

I suppose the anthropologist and journalist in me are hard at work in this post. I have done extensive research, interviewed many folks, daydreamed on my own and asked all the necessary and pertinent questions to bring you this list.

And what a dandy of a list it is!! : )

And so, as promised...and, although perhaps a tad late....Here is a list of Christmas traditions I have collected over the years. Some I plan on instituting into my Christmastime celebrations, others I wrote down simply because I am a self-professed collector of traditions, and still others have come along the way out of the need to entertain the young ones. I think the last category is my favorite category.

So sit back, pour yourself into your Snuggie and grab some cocoa 'cause here we go in no particular order!

1. Gazing through foggy windows
As a kid I would always grumble at the thought of loading up into the car to look at Christmas lights. I've grown up now and after wrangling tangled strings of broken bulbs and wrestling with the extension ladder I can now fully appreciate the time, effort and creativity that others have put forth to haul out the holly and deck the halls. So load your grumbling kiddos (should you have any) into the sleigh, fire up the Kringle 3000 and sing through all the Christmas carols as you acknowledge your neighbors that have channeled Clark W. Griswold and lit up their homes with Merriment!

2. "Is your house on fire Clark?"
"No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights."
Ahhh...there's nothing like nestling in with the person(s) (or pooch) that you love and filling an evening with Christmas movies! A friend invited me over this year for a Christmas movie marathon with her husband and sweet little girl. I think it should be a new tradition : ) We each picked a movie, cuddled under our own blanket and watched, laughed and giggled together. Such fun! This year our movies were: Prepped and Landing, Elf, Shrek the Halls and the Lemon Drop Kid.

3. The children were nestled all snug in their beds
A common tradition is new pajamas at Christmas time. It just so happens that mine this year have polar bears in Santa hats. They are wonderfully warm and perfect! : ) Now I don't really practice this tradition, it just so happens I got an incredible deal on these polar pants, but some day if I ever have children, I have a suspicion they'll get matching pj's at Christmas time.

4. One for you and two for me...
Christmas cookies and festive goodies. Need I say more? Getting together to make the Christmas goodies can be a wonderful time! It can also be messy, but hey...it's yummy in the end!

5. You made that??!?!
A few years ago...one GLORIOUS winter...we got some snow. And not just SOME snow...a FOOT of snow!! Oh how I loved it!! : D I was home from college for the break and it was just a few days before Christmas. My brother and sister-in-law have jobs that when it all goes down-hill they have to be there and they work long hours and as a result we get more time with the girls! I remember it well, mom was sick with the black plague and so entertaining the girls was all up to me. So I broke out my craft supplies and we crafted! We made snowflakes and took pictures and made picture frame ornaments for the pictures and dabbled in glitter and had glue under our fingernails and the end results still hang on my Christmas tree to this day. Thus began the tradition of making Ornaments or something Christmasy to put around the house. And every year we have continued this, and it was neat this year to see as the girls pulled out the Christmas decorations at my house that they remembered making the things and their eyes just gleamed as they looked at them again. Sweetness.

Snowflakes we made from the big snow storm. (The year is escaping me right now...)

6. Lights...Tinsel....Action!
One of my first traditions came about four years when I moved back home after college. Being a single gal, dwelling solo, and with the Christmas season quickly approaching I was pretty saddened at the thought of decorating the Christmas tree by myself. A phone call and request produced the two extra hands of the eldest niece. She came over and helped me decorate and I will NEVER forget the year we put up the Christmas tree TWICE in the same day. We put it up, had all the decorations on it and as I walked into the kitchen I heard a gut-wrenching *creak**snap* and Punkin's tiny voice slowly yelling, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" as the tree came crashing to the floor, sending ornaments flying through the air. Her poor little face had the look of surprise, anguish and fear as she quickly made known to me that she wasn't near the tree when it happened! Well, it was a hand-me-down tree and over ten years old, it was bound to happen! (I am cracking up as I write this, it was hilarious!) And no ornaments were harmed in the fiasco! : )

7. Do you see what I see??
A friend of mine told me once that the first night their Christmas tree was up that him and his brother would lay underneath and sometimes sleep underneath the tree. Laying on ones back and gazing up through the light-laden branches is quite pretty!!

8. Basket 'O books
This same friend who spent some nights beneath the tree also told me about the basket of books his mom had that would come out each year with the Christmas decorations. I have adopted this tradition and it has been a lot of fun! I mentioned it in a previous post.

9. The Anticipation of it all
Many I know celebrate the season with an advent calendar, which I think is a great way to slow down and enjoy the season each night. Some have little treats in each pocket/door/slot for each day, others have a scripture for each day and yet others do a mix of everything and even include fun scavenger hunts on some days. I like this one and will someday do this...perhaps when I'm no longer living solo : )

10. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son
The reading of the story of Jesus' birth is a favorite tradition and the reason for the Christmas celebration in the first place.

11. On the 4th day of Christmas....
Some folks like to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas or 25 days of Christmas, and so in my research I came across a link that has 12 days of devotionals in celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. I think that's a neat idea!

12. Live to give
Gather together and spend an afternoon or evening making homemade gifts/goodies to give to others. I love homemade gifts and try each year to have at least a few gifts that didn't come from a store. This also allows for more thoughtful and creative gifts : )

13. Not a creature was stirring...well maybe one!
Not sure if this could really be a tradition but my brother and I used to have a competition to see who could wake up first on Christmas morning. He would always win by getting up at 2 or 3 am and then going back to bed. I was always disappointed that I could never win : ( lol

14. Timberrrrrrr!!
Cutting your own Christmas tree can be a fun tradition. I've never done it, but I'm thinking next year might be the first year. Although, I'm having visions of the Griswolds and frozen eyelids...

15. Pass the toast please
Our mom, for as long as I've been alive (and even longer) has always fixed a huge breakfast on Christmas morning. I love this tradition and am glad I'm finally old enough to help prepare the meal and clean up afterwards. I love that our family is always together and we share laughs and love over eggs and juice : )

16. Christmas music
Mom always has the radio on to the station that plays Christmas music 24-7 at this time of year. I'll always remember the nights when we're all home and I'm sleeping in her room and the Christmas music is playing softly into the night.

I'll stop for now, I actually have more, but perhaps I can post the rest of them a little later. Until then, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!

And I don't know why this font feels the need to scream at you -- I've tried to fix it but it's just all screwy right now....sorry for the ginormous font!!