First Blog Ever!!!

December 27, 2011. A strange day to join the blogging world? Perhaps. Perhaps it is the Christmas atmosphere which is conducive to bloggular resolutions. The holiday calls us to be more reflective of our lives, to share our love with the whole world, to be disgustingly sentimental, and to be more selfish for attention. Also, there's that whole awkward transition phase between Christmas and New Year's which makes everyone feel a little fuzzy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8kWxP6R0Yk&feature=related (To see what I'm saying, start it at 1:00)

Ugh, why do we put so much pressure on Christmas day to be perfect? Everyone expects to wake up on Christmas morning to their family getting along perfectly, the dogs not barking, the phone ringing only with pleasant calls, a gentle snow falling on the evergreens, meeting the person of their dreams, finding they've lost weight instead of gained it... the list goes on. And despite how much we yammer on about "the reason for the season"
-sorry. just had to vomit. christianese makes me do that sometimes.-
our friends and loved ones still seem to wake on Christmas morning to be their usual, imperfect selves, though we have woken up angelic beings overflowing with Christmas cheer and goodwill to men etc.

Still, everyone tries to be kind and loving, to disguise any crankiness, to laugh loud and long, and to eat as much as they possibly can, and something about this behaviour seems to bring our families together. New memories are made and old ones are relived. Over. And over. And over again. Every. Year. The same old stories.

My Christmas with my family was a little different this year. It was small and quiet. We were missing a few of our loved ones for various reasons. Some forever, some just for a little while. It was hard without them, but we had a special time together nonetheless.

I love Christmas. I love that it's the one time of year where families really truly do come together, despite everything.

I love thinking about Jesus' birth. This year I was blown away at the thought of him humbling himself to the intelligence of a baby- of a fetus even! What? GAHHH. Crazy. God, you blow my mind sometimes. Jesus lay there in a stable, as a baby, and the most intelligent thing that went through his head was probably "Where is the warm? Why is it loud? Can someone please turn off the lights????". Think of that. Our amazing Creator and Saviour was as shell-shocked as any infant after the traumatizing experience of birth.

Oh God, how come you're so great? Why do you love us that much? Are we really worth it? I know that I'm not.
Gratefulness, thankfulness, humbleness, awe. Merry Christmas.