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  What
We've Been Up To
It's Thursday, December 14 and the scent of
holiday cookies baking fills the air. The Chieftains'
Bells of Dublin Christmas CD is playing in the background
and all my candles are lit. I love the lights of the
Christmas season! Winter is so dark and colorless with all
the cloudy weather and bare trees, but at Christmas time we put
up bright lights and burn beautiful candles. It's like the
light that Christ brought to this dark world, making cheerful
celebrating possible. I hope you all are having a merry
Christmas season and remembering the reason for all the lights
and presents and hustle and bustle!
Around our home the days have been
quietly slipping by. One day I think that time has been
going slowly, but the next I realize that the year of 2006 is
almost over. It's hard to believe that another year is
drawing to a close and our little baby is almost one!
Every day Joshua gets a little older, he gains new skills, and
his movements become more coordinated and confident. Yet
all of this maturation comes so gradually, it's hard to notice.
I think he's on the verge of many things - walking, a new tooth,
and getting into the cupboards while I cook in the kitchen - but
he's not quite there yet. He has learned that going feet
first off of furniture is safer than head first and he can make
sound come out of recorders and whistles. Maybe he'll be
able to blow out his first birthday candle; he hasn't yet
managed to extinguish an advent candle, though we've been
practicing!
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Lately I've been thinking too much. I'm the sort of
person who's mind is always busy thinking about one thing or another
and too often I end up thinking that something's not right. And
then I get sad. So when I found this quote from Nancy Wilson's
new book, Building Her House, I took it to heart as though
she wrote it just for me. "For those who do lose heart, we
must cheer them on. We must exhort them to resist the
temptation to stop and analyze what is going on, falling into an
endless cycle of introspection. Cast your cares upon God and
then seek His strength to move on. There is too much work to
be done!"
-Nancy Wilson, Building Her House, p. 59
Instead of worrying, fretting, criticizing, comparing, and getting
into an "endless cycle of introspection," I should keep
Philippians 4:8 in mind. I'm trying to remember to focus on
that which is true, noble, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and
praiseworthy. And other than that I'm just trying to keep
busy! There is much work to be done and if I have time to sit
around and feel sorry for myself then maybe I should ask God to
bring along something new to fill my time.----------------------------------------------
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If you have any questions, comments, corrections, or communications,
I can be reached at "amanda at exodusbooks dot com".
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