It's not just Christmas that is the most wonderful time of the year, it's Thanksgiving too! Everything from November 1-January 1 is the most wonderful time of the year in my book.
This year I had the blessing of being able to carry on the family tradition and join my mom's family up in Yosemite for almost a week at Thanksgiving. It's always a fun time of hiking, good food, and just general relaxation but this year it was especially fun because we had snow! It was absolutely beautiful. I have never really known what it meant when
people say that snow sparkles in the sunshine, but now I can say that I do. When the sun would hit the fresh snow on the ground around the pine trees it would SPARKLE, and words cannot do it justice (so I have included a couple of pictures of course). In this week away from school I got to hike 6 miles in the snow with awesome relatives, build a snow man with cousins, aunts and my little brother, go sledding and have a snow ball fight, slow down enough to get some knitting done and work on puzzles, bake some pumpkin pies, and be reminded of everything and everyone that I have to be thankful for. In the midst of an ever changing world it was good to remember that I have a God who is faithful and that he has provided me with a plethora of people to be thankful for as well.This year I am thankful for snow, relatives that I truly enjoy spending time with, a little brother that sets an example for me every day of what it means to live as Christ, the fact that my parents and older brother are coming for Christmas, a house off campus with four wonderful roommates, classes that both challenge and inspire me, friendships that have been cultivated for three and a half years in order to last a lifetime, the fact that my first roommate ever Dezi is coming to visit me in January, a job to pay the bills, bosses that are like moms to me, and so much more!
And now it's on to Christmas. In the midst of paper writing at the end of the semester it's somewhat hard to get into the Christmas mood, but thankfully I have some professors that even among the papers stop to help us reflect. Last night in my Worship class we celebrated the first week of advent, focusing on Jesus as the LIGHT of the world given for us and the hope that comes with that. In my Church History class we did a semi-traditional Eastern Orthodox worship service, and there was something very powerful about reciting what has been a tradition of believers for so many centuries. And it's not just in classes that we're managing to get in the Christmas spirit. At home the house is starting to look like Christmas (the tree is coming soon) and Christmas baking will soon get under way. This year we are going to deliver cookies to our neighbors since we live in a real neighborhood, and today I bought Christmas cards to give along with those cookies. It's nothing big, but it really has me excited for Christmas and the fact that we can celebrate the birth of Christ even in these small ways. So this year I am intending to really focus my Christmas spirit on what it is all about: Christ coming and moving into the neighborhood. The lights, cookies, music, movies, decorations, and holiday cheer don't hurt either :)
May God grant you all a very blessed Advent. Peace be with you.
