Old Friends and New Additions

Dinner with college friends and their families

Meeting new friends...

Watching others grow up...

Goofing off and catching up

This is Love!

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool."
                  - Isaiah 1:18

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
                                                          - 1 John 4:9-10


This love is something to celebrate!  May this joy be yours today and Merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls

We finally put up our tree and a few decorations.  Everyone got in on the Christmas cheer.

Emmanuel

Advent is in full swing and on the Church calendar we are looking forward as we look back to the arrival of Jesus.  This year has added expectation for our family as we look forward to an extra person joining us and continue a seven month search for a house.  Many times for me expectation is accompanied by uncertainty.  This uncertainty often reveals how shallow my faith runs because I am placing my hope in things on earth such as a clean, orderly house; a healthy baby boy; prettily placed Christmas decorations; and a completed nursery.  None of these are bad things in themselves but when I end up twisted out of shape because I have no certainty of any of these things happening, I find my hope in the things rather than the Giver.

This year, maybe due to events that declare the darkness of this sin-twisted world and our own hearts, I am delighting more in the birth of Jesus.  The Creator of the universe, the King of kings, worshipped by angels and archangels, Sovereign Ruler, 100% God who chose to become 100% man and be born in the blood, cries, filth, and humility of barn to a nothing couple.  Even his choosing to be born, an event that was in itself cursed by the Fall, rather than him only appearing, amazes me.

God is not aloof to the suffering, brokenness, and sinfulness to this dark world we live in.  He came, the Emmanuel, God with us, and experienced to the full our sadness and temptation.  He entered it, experienced it, accepted the judgement and wrath for it on the Cross all to conquer it and bring us peace with him and great hope in the darkness.  He dwelt with us and all of our grossness.  God is not separate or "other" from us in suffering and brokenness.  He is our Emmanuel and came to make all things new.  This truth brings a far deeper hope this Christmas than anything the world can offer.  

    

L.O.V.E.

I L.O.V.E. my class of elementary art students.  Last week, they were excited to present me with a very heavy gift bag.  When I opened it, inside was this plastic piggy bank full of change they had collected as a gift for the baby.  There was so much they couldn't fit it all in the piggy and had to include an extra bag.  

This note was included with a sweet gift of banana bread and apple butter.  It reads, "Dear Krissy, You have a great sense of humor.  Silly you putting underwear on the 'sculpsheres'.  God loves you."  This kills me.  I love it!

PS.  When I show PowerPoints of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance art, everything is G-rated even if this requires the addition of virtual underwear on the nude sculptures.  The kids make fun of me but they don't really want to see the nudes anyway.

Bubble Bath

Addict

After going a whole seven days pacifier-free, E found a hidden "nuk-nuk" in a drawer in his room.  Is there a twelve-step program for toddlers?