This Christmastime...

I have already been blessed beyond measure.

Marley's Ghost

I have...

• Watched the joy on the faces of a roomful of children at church as I read them The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
• Attended a charming play--White Christmas--at the oldest theater still in use in America. (I delight in retro/vintage music and fashion.)
• Experienced the excitement of playing "Mary, Did You Know?" on a gorgeous, white grand piano at the Christmas recital.
• Industriously worked on Christmas crafts as I watched A Christmas Carol with my mom and dad.
• Wrapped a never-ending stack of boxes and presents, in anticipation of Saturday's festivities.
• Fallen under the enchanting spell of a silvery winter moon.
• All but worn out my much-loved Michael Buble, Josh Groban, and Bing Crosby Christmas CDs...not to mention the Carpenters.



Tiny Tim

• Enjoyed a shopping date with my dad for mom's Christmas present. (Persuading my dad to participate in a shopping trip is an accomplishment of enormous proportions...Christmas truly is a time of miracles!)
• Wished upon the brightest star for a white Christmas.
• Watched Mickey's Christmas Carol with my sweet, 2-year-old niece McKenzie at least a dozen times.
• Made 120 chocolate-covered pretzel rods (complete with festive red and green sprinkles)with my mom to give to friends.
• Enjoyed a Christmas hayride/light show with our youth group. (A hayride is the southern way to celebrate Christmas.)
• Become overwhelmed with the realization of the amazing truth Christmas represents--the King of Kings humbled Himself to the utmost and became a baby without refuge so that He might grow into a man and give His life to purchase my freedom, to redeem my soul, to hold me in His arms in Heaven someday.

"...And so, as Tiny Tim observed, 'God bless us--everyone.'"

~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol