Finding the Perfect Christmas by Tracey J Lyons

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching a lot of Christmas movies. It seems like they’ve been running since before Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Christmas movies. The thing is they all have that happy Christmas ending. The cookies get baked, the tree gets decorated, the town gets saved, the couple has their happy ending…we all know that real life isn’t like this. And yet, if you’re like me at this time of the year you want your life to be exactly like that Christmas movie.

For the most part my “Christmas” life is pretty darned good. I have not one but five Christmas trees, decorated by theme, in my house. I have my lights strung up around my front porch and wreaths hanging from all the windows on the front of the house, spotlighted just so.  I’ve been keeping on schedule with most of my holiday things, like shopping and baking. That is, up until last week when I got hit with a bad cough and not one, but two days of migraine headaches. While I was standing at my kitchen counter whipping up a batch of cookies, and multi-tasking making appetizers for a cocktail party I was hosting that same evening, and making my dish to share for the family party, it occurred to me that as much as I wanted it to be, my life is not a Christmas movie.

I had to take a step back and give myself permission to not bake the second batch of cookies for the family party the very next day. I only put out one freshly made appetizer and not the two I’d been planning on baking for the cocktail party.  And I had to dump out half of the 7-layer chopped salad (my dish to share-yes I overfilled the bowl) to make room for the fifth, sixth and seventh layers! This is the time of year when we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make everything perfect. When really perfection isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. By nature, we humans are flawed. And it takes a lot of work to be “Perfect.”

You know what? I realize I don’t want to be perfect, especially not at this time of the year. I want my kids to be happy, and they are. I want everyone near me to be healthy and I’m so very blessed that they are. I’m looking forward to having my kids and their kids here to celebrate our family Christmas together. And they don’t care if I don’t get all the sheets on the beds or if the silverware doesn’t match or even if the dinner I wanted to make suddenly gets changed because I forgot an ingredient at the grocery store.

Because finding the perfect Christmas isn’t about what we put on our tables or how we decorate our trees, it’s about what is in our hearts. Kindness. Caring. Love. Compassion.  Remembering why we celebrate the day to begin with.

I’m wishing you all the best, non-perfect, Christmas ever!!

Christmas Blessings,

Tracey

PS I'd love to hear some of  things that make your Christmas "not" perfect. Feel free to drop a note in the comments section. 

Lessons from Dad

Christine Johnson here today. As Father’s Day approaches, my thoughts turn to my Dad. I’m blessed that he is still around and able to give me advice. He has always been a great role model with his strong work ethic, honesty and willingness to try what others would dismiss as too difficult. For instance, he began racing vintage cars when he was in his 70s. That’s him buckling into his race car.

Lately my Heavenly Father has been showing me that I have been limiting things unnecessarily. I thought a tight writing deadline could never be met. He showed me that with Him all things are possible. (paraphrased from Matthew 19:26) I didn’t think I could step into a helicopter even though my husband desperately wanted to go on the tour. God nudged me to do it. What a wonderful experience. My jaw literally dropped wide at the beauty of His creation from above. 

Some of the many lessons learned:

-          Don’t listen to naysayers (including that voice in my head)

-          Take a chance

-          Step out in faith

-          Love those God places in your life

-          Greet each day with a smile

I am blessed to have such great fatherly examples. What has the father figure in your life taught you?

In July’s Groom by Design, the first book in The Dressmaker’s Daughters series, three sisters are worried about their father’s failing health and the family’s floundering dress shop. They decide to take matters into their own hands by propelling one of them into marriage with a well-to-do gentleman who can rescue the family business and get their father the life-saving treatment he needs. First up is Ruth, the oldest and shyest sister, who for some reason has drawn the attention of the handsome—and clearly well-off—new man in town.

Christine Johnson

Groom by Design – LIH, July 2014

Suitor by Design – LIH, October 2014

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

Twitter handle: ChristineJWrite

The Cycle of Life. Christine Johnson

This time of year always reminds me of the ever-changing cycle of life. Spring's reawakening and brilliant colors usher in a burst of energy for those of us living in the north. The days get longer. The sun wakes me at five in the morning and stays up until almost ten o'clock at night. I feel energized.

Autumn brings a less exciting promise. The sun will sleep longer. The leaves turn color and fall to the ground as the earth prepares for the long winter's rest. My energy wanes, and I look forward to an extra hour of sleep when we move from daylight saving time to standard time.

It's at this time of year many years ago that my grandfather died from cancer - my first brush with death. Recently, friends have lost family members - sons, husbands, wives. How easy it would be to see only the falling leaves and the stark earth, yet God has given us a promise through His Son. I see that promise in the vibrant colors of autumn leaves. They remind me that spring will arrive in due time with rebirth and renewal. So too will life begin again in an entirely new and vibrant way, far beyond anything we can imagine. Through all seasons, He is there, showing us hope.

Give someone a hug today and shine a little light in their lives.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)



Christine Johnson
Groom by Design - coming July 2014
http://christineelizabethjohnson.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor
Twitter: @ChristineJWrite

Ask Elnora--About climbing that mountain??? Lenora Worth

Hello, my craftie friends. Long time, no blog. But I'm back and ready to talk writing. I've scaled a few mountains since the last time we chatted. And almost fell off of one of them. The hike up another one in hiking boots with cement embedded in the leather. Okay. that's what it felt like to my two big toes which kept hitting the tip of my boots on both the going up and the coming down moves. I have bruised and battered toes to prove it and I'm not sure I'll ever wear real shoes again!

But all that climbing got me to thinking about how we climb mountains every day in our work and in our lives. We put one foot before the other one and we just go. One thing I've learned in this business--you have to learn to write through anything. You have to find that next breath to scale that hill that looks too high. You have to climb over the obstacles that hold you back, the rocks full of doubt and the deeply buried roots of frustration and fear. We have to push away any despair or weariness because we want to reach that summit. And when we do reach the top of the mountain, we find a sight so lovely we realize it was worth the effort after all.

Big D and I searched for waterfalls. We found several that took our breaths away. Hurt feet and all!

On our last day of mountain adventures, we took a long drive through a place called Roaring Fork. Ironically, we found the most beautiful spot I've ever seen in the quiet beauty of a deep-woods forest. We didn't have to climb to find that spot. We drove right through it. 

This is a good lesson for life. We fight to make that climb when sometimes all we have to do is push through and walk right into the spot God has placed there for us to find. I scaled lots of mountains a few weeks ago, both physically and in my head. One day, I'll explain how my adventures on the mountain mirrored my adventures in my work, too. Life is always full of amazing surprises. If we only wait to find them! Have you ever experienced a mountain-top moment?