Campaigners Christmas Tea

For the last few years I have been doing a Christmas Tea for my Young Life Campaigner girls. We have tea and scones and read the Christmas story and a story from A Christmas Longing. We sit around the table and talk and laugh and remember favorite Christmas memories. It is a fun time away from finals and a joy to be together. This year the girls brought a donation to give to Revive Africa - a ministry of Chris Shabay, one of my old YL club kids. I gave each of them one of my favorite books, Face to Face. It is a wonderful book of prayers that guides you to pray scripture back to God. It has been a huge blessing in my time with the Lord. I love these girls and thank God that I get to be a part of their lives.

The Christmas Squirrel

Caught in the act

Decorating?

Thief

As I was sitting at the computer this morning, I heard the sound of little feet by the window. I went outside and this was what I saw. I am just hoping that he is not going to use my flowers to decorate a nest in my attic!! If he thinks he is going to get something to eat he will be very surprised!

A Christmas Longing

A Christmas Longing
By Joni Eareckson Tada

This has to be my favorite book to read at Christmas. I have had it for many years and I think that I have given it as a gift to quite a few friends. I started reading it again today and remembered how much I love it. I want to quote from the story called" Create Your Christmas Spirit".

Joni begins by asking us to start the season by creating the Christmas Spirit by "adoring, worshiping, thinking, and meditating on all that the birth of the Lord Jesus means to you."
"Maybe that's why God puts those wistful longings in our hearts this time of year. He wants us to find the answer to those longings in the celebration of Jesus. He wants us to define that nostalgia as nothing more than a deep human desire to come home and adore His Son."

Do you have those longings, too? Longings for the perfect Christmas, for peace, for something that you just can't put a finger on. I do- and I try to fulfill it with so many other things. Christmas seems to make it harder because we are so busy deorating, buying and wrapping gifts, getting out our Christmas cards, going to parties, cooking and baking... The list goes on and on. When do we have the time to be "adoring, worshiping, thinking and meditating on all that the birth of our Lord Jesus means" to us?

Here is another quote that I read this morning -

"Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again." - A.W. Tozer

I pray that this Christmas season that we will take time to adore our Savior and to let Him be the answer to our Christmas longings.

The Texas Tour

Center of Attention

Time to eat

The Muellers and La Bistro

The Atkins

Heather

Hudsons and Gentrys

The Bracks and Gentrys

Amarillo Friends

The Austins

Old Friends

Yummy

There were so many pictures and I couldn't put them all up. There were some of our friends that I did not get a picture of and I am sorry not to have gotten one. A lot of them are on my Facebook page though.

How do I describe this trip? Maybe the word joyous would sum it up. Seeing so many old friends, Mark getting to say good by to people we love and that love us, seeing the body of Christ work together... I was reminded once again of His great love and the huge blessing that He has poured out on us by giving us such amazing and loving friends. All that will remain in the end is His word and people- and we know some great ones.

I am just to thankful to each one that showed up to spend a little time with us. We got to visit all the places that God has led us over the last 35+ years, from high school buddies in Wichita Falls and Henrietta, to Amarillo, the Mid Cities and Tyler. There was great joy, laughter and a few tears as we talked of our shared history and the future. What a blessing to see old and dear YL club kids (who by the way are not kids anymore!), family, high school and work friends, neighbors and brothers and sisters from former churches and Young Life. It was truly a gift to be able to make the trip and will bring a smile to my face every time I remember this Thanksgiving.

Oh, and that last picture- probably the best dessert ever!