Home Stretch

I have some posts in mind, but haven't had much time to really sit down and put my thoughts together!  But, I wanted to do a quick update for my Advent Prayer Buddy.  When I signed up to be a prayer buddy, I committeed to blogging more and haven't been that great about it.  Since it is almost the end of Advent, I thought I better get something in!

This week has been busy.  We waited until Guadete Sunday to get our Christmas tree-in part because we didn't have time before that.  Now we are thinking about waiting until that weekend (the third weekend in Advent) and making that a family tradition!  We cut down our very own 9 foot 4 inch tree!  We, ok, my husband, finished putting the lights on yesterday.  We had been waiting for them to arrive in the mail.  For the past week and a half we have had a tree with lights on the bottom third.  We still turned them on, it just looked a little weird. :)  We hope to finish decorating with all of our ornaments tomorrow night!

I am busy wrapping, making and buying last minute presents.  I am really excited to share my homeade presents on the blog!  I hope to post pictures soon.... my first pictures on the blog!

I hope this post finds you all well rested and joy-filled in this last week of Advent.  Blessings!

RMB 

Dependence

So I lost my phone yesterday morning.  It is driving me crazy!!!  I know that I'm pretty attached to my phone, but didn't realize just how much until I didn't have it anymore.  Good thing I have the internet, otherwise I would feel so disconnected!  I just want to be able to call my husband or send a quick text or make a dentist appointment.

Seriously, what did people do before phones??? (Oh yeah-they walked over to their neighbor's house and actually talked face to face.  Imagine, that. :) )

I'm trying to figure out just what God is trying to teach me here.  I know that not every single thing that happens in your day happens because God is trying to teach you something, but I think that losing my phone IS definitely a teachable moment.  One question that has popped up in my mind-Am I as dependent on God as I am on my cell phone? Am I looking for Him in everything, everywhere?  What if I took more time out of my day to search for Him in my life?  Does it drive me crazy if I can't find Him?

Beauty

Beauty is a newborn child held lovingly in his father's arms. Beauty is the first snowfall of the season, a fresh blanket of white covering the earth Beauty is the calloused, rough hands of a grandmother who has given her life to care for her children. It is a painting that takes our breath away and makes us long for something more. Beauty points us to the ultimate Creator of all things beautiful. It points us to something beyond ourselves in a truly remarkable and unique way.

Frederica Mathewes Green said, "If you want to have more beautiful eyes, pray more." Prayer leads us to a deeper relationship with Christ, encourages us to be more selfless and helps us to spread our love to others. By uniting ourselves to Christ in prayer, we become more like him and, naturally, become a more beautiful person inside and out.

As we continue our Advent journey, we see beauty in many places- in the liturgy, in the decorations, in the coming birth of our Savior. Yet, do you see beauty in yourself? Do you live a beautiful life?