Christmas time is here...

It's less than 2 weeks away until Christmas.  However, unlike most years I feel like I've been able to breathe a little more during this holiday season and just enjoy it as it comes.  I think part of that is because the majority of Christmas shopping was done in October this year when my mom was up for a visit.  It seemed like a great idea at the time, since I would be able to send gifts back for family and not have to bother with shipping boxes...and truly I've been enjoying a more relaxed Christmas season for it.  Perhaps a significant part is also that we celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving this year which falls in October, leaving a larger gap between Christmas and Thanksgiving.  This also allows some more breathing room instead of needing to rush around tearing down "fall/thanksgiving" decor and rushing to put your Christmas hat on.

I think this weekend Nate and I will pick up a few last items for the Christmas season and even that I'm looking forward to.  There will be no malls involved.

This year I'm even dabbling into the holiday hosting.  There is a small group of family that will be coming over to our place for a Christmas meal on the 25th.  Right now it's just Nate's parents and aunt and uncle, but it could be a few more come if we find others that have no plans or family around.  But I'm okay with small.  I have to confess I'm not a huge fan of large holiday meals because it just seems like the majority of the day ends up in the kitchen when I would much rather be catching up with family and friends.  (Or I spend most of my time visiting and feel guilty that I'm not helping out more in the kitchen!)  There seems to be extra stress and expectation for things to be a certain way that come along with those holiday meals, that I generally just want to say "pass", but I think this will be a good way to break the ice with a small group of family.

We shall see how it goes!

Over the next week we have a variety of Christmas items on the calendar.  The first being our Christmas date!  We are headed out to eat and then to The Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean.  I have become quite fond of the Vinyl Cafe over the last few years as Nate has introduced me to the radio show on our long car rides from Ontario to Anderson and Anderson to my hometown for family visits. Nate would download some podcasts of the show and we would be swept away in great stories and music with the hours passing quickly by.  This will be the first time I will have seen it live.  And if it was anything like the experience of sitting in the audience during the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN...I will love it.  I'm looking forward to Monday night with great anticipation!

Lastly and most importantly, Nate and I have been reading through a book called "Silence-And Other Surprising Invitations of Advent" by Enuma Okoro.  It has been treasure to us and has resonated deeply with both of us as it lifts up different areas we have been struggling through in our personal and spiritual journeys over the last months, trying to understand the unexpected paths God seems to be leading us.  We look forward to the rest of the advent readings that are to come this season.   I think this year more than any year...while I always know what Christmas is really about, I feel the real meaning and significance of this season.  While I still enjoy the holiday lights and decorations and meals and parties, I know this season is nothing about me and I'm not focused on what I want.  This season is about God's love for us all, no matter what condition we are in.

I hope you are able to enjoy this Christmas season as much as I am.