Holiday Season

This Thanksgiving season, I think I watched more football than I have in the past 5 years!! For some reason the particular game that was on was "the games to see"!!! I admit I do like to watch a game, especially when the Razorbacks or Packers are playing. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we enter the Christmas season -  yes, I say merry Christmas even if store clerks say happy holidays. As Advent approaches, we seem to forget the true meaning of it. Advent” from the Latin adventus means the “coming” or “arrival” of the Christ Child and is marked by the four Sundays preceding Christmas, commemorated in some churches and homes by lighting four Advent candles. We are encouraged to shop early, go to Black Friday sales, or take advantage of the special sales. This is all traditional and full of anticipation, but let us try to forget the worldly celebration and concentrate on the true meaning. Our Thanksgiving was a day of family and food. The great grandchildren were asked what they were thankful for - some answers were family, homes, teachers, and from almost 5 year old Jaylen, cars! Jaylen loves cars and can name the "fast" car if he sees them go by. His grandma's  Jeep is not fast because it does not have spoilers and the engine does not stick out. We had three days of great grandchildren -  Thanksgiving Day - the following day as the twins' parents went deer hunting, and then the other two on Saturday as those parents went Christmas shopping. I did not realize how the little ones really wear a person out!!!It was fun though, and the quiet of Sunday was a relief! As we were decorating the tree, one of the great granddaughters found an ornament with Baby Jesus on it. It gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about what Christmas was all about. 

the twin great granddaughters helping their Dad  grind deer meat into hamburger. Their Mom shot a deer that was cleaned and processed at Grandpa's house, then wrapped, ready to be frozen.

some of our great grandchildren - poor Jaylen was the only boy until the latest, Connor, was born. 

The weather is cooler, but even though the leaves are off the trees, it is still beautiful in the woods - even all of the leaves on the ground create a beautiful scenery. It does not snow much here in NW Arkansas, but when it does, it is beautiful. I even loved the snow when we lived in Wisconsin especially when there were huge, fluffy flakes that piled up for a few days. The kids played in it often when they were little - lots of wet clothing drying downstairs. With 4 girls, we always seemed to have a lot of single socks in the wash - they were piled in a basket. When it snowed they just grabbed mismatched socks to to play outside - after all, no one saw them in their boots. After they were grown, we adults took advantage of the winter weather to snowmobile or cross country ski, never worrying about the cold. Now I would rather curl up under a blanket and read a good book. A sign of getting older?  Hmmm.

We finished up I Peter this last Sunday as Vance will be preaching the Advent sermons now until Christmas. God is large and in charge. Do not grow weary and lose heart. We need encouragement in our walk with Jesus. We need to do what it takes to stay connected to God. We are in the season of the great Resignation or the Big Quit. Because of the struggles of the past 2 years and COVID, many people are quitting their jobs because of mandates - some folks are so discouraged that they even quit attending church. Chapter 5 in I Peter is Peter's final instructions to those who want to follow the Lord. We need to surrender our will to God. Peter tells us that we all need to clothe ourselves in humility. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humility is having confidence in God. We need God - we cannot do it on our own. Surrender is not giving up but giving over to God. We want clarity - the ability to understand what He wants for us, but it can turn into us wanting control. Having more clarity is to have more trust in God. Surrender your worry to God. Strive to strengthen your walk with God. It is time for us to be awake and alert because we have an enemy - Satan.  Peter wants us to not fear the roar of the lion but to stand firm in our faith. Make a choice to be engaged in God. The devil is not stronger than God - resist the temptation of the devil. See the work of God all around you. He will hold you up where you need to be held up.