Merry Christmas Eve!

Here is my gift to all of you who read this blog. Happy Holidays!

Love Is Like...

Yesterday at church the sermon was called "Following a Star to Love," it being the Sunday we light the Love Advent candle. Love, I think, is one of the most important Christian messages and it speak volumes about who God is and how he relates to us. The scripture passage used for the sermon really spoke to me. It was 1 John 4:16b-19:

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

I added the italics, because those are two points that especially speak to me. First, I have felt in the past that I fear a great many things in this life. Fear causes me to be paralyzed and stagnant; I don't grow because I fear what might come with change. I fear people's disapproval and I fear being disliked or alone. But! There is no fear in love! I know that there are people in my life who love me, and I know that God first loved me, so in this knowledge I try to fear a little bit less.

My pastor also made a great point. He said, "Love is like oxygen." This immediately caused me to want to sing! I know he meant that without love we can't survive, but all I was hearing for a minute or two was, "Love is like oxygen/ You get too much you get too high/ Not enough and you're gonna die..." If you're not sure what I'm talking about, just watch this!

When Life's Getting You Down

Do this!

Cozy Time

I know Fall is almost officially over but I just had to share some thoughts about it. While Spring is my favorite season of the year, Fall comes in at a close second. Fall is one of the reasons I like Northern California better than Southern California. Fall is a magical season. It's the season of bounty, of harvest, of thanksgiving. It seems slower and more thoughtful-- days get shorter, the weather gets chillier. It's a time to stay inside and curl up with a blanket in front of a fire with a good book. Fall is a family-oriented time of the year. But what is my favorite thing about Fall? The colors! And yes, for those doubting Thomas', Sacramento does show fall colors! We're no New England, but there are beautiful pockets of color that pop up all over the place. And when it's foggy or rainy the colors just become more saturated and more beautiful. I love it when the leaves change color, but I hate it when they fall off. And they are mostly gone now. That plus my growing circumference tells me that Winter is fast approaching.