Labor of Love

I want to share my new, favorite Christmas song with you. I'm not sure what it is about this song that is resonating with me this year, but I cannot get enough of it. I discovered it on our soundtrack to The Nativity and it makes me cry everytime I hear it. I was looking for the lyrics the other day when I discovered it on You-Tube. The video is a beautiful reminder of what that night might have been like...if you haven't seen the movie yet, you definately should!

I have to admit, I am struggling a little bit with Christmas this year, because of our miscarriage. I have very mixed emotions from day to day. Anyone who knows me, knows that I truly love Christmas and obviously, I love Jesus, but I think I was just hoping it would have been different this year. Have you ever felt that way?
I was hoping to still be pregnant; hoping to be buying gifts for a little one's arrival; hoping to dream with family; hoping to have a little life to look forward to meeting; hoping to be a mommy and Trav a daddy; hoping for something more.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever wished that. To some extent, I think we all do at different times in our lives. Sometimes our hope is well placed and sometimes it is in vain. I think I like this song so much, because it makes me wonder, I bet Mary was hoping that night would have gone differently too. Not the fact that she gave birth to Jesus, but perhaps the circumstances in which she gave birth. Can you imagine the loneliness she must have felt with no Mother around or friends to help her?

One thing I've taken for granted all these years is that I always imgined Joseph was with her during the birth...I recently learned in Church that he probably wasn't. It wasn't customary for men to be around during a birth because it would have been unclean. Also, Luke is very specific to say that "Mary gave birth to a son and SHE wrapped him in cloths and SHE layed him in the manger." Wouldn't Joseph have done that or helped her do that if he was right there? I'm sure he was waiting outside, but I never pictured Mary, all by herself, in labor, with no one to hold her hand or comfort her through it. She must have been scared and drained of strength and yet, she did it. But I bet she wished it could have been different. She probably never would have imagined giving birth to her firstborn, in a stable, all alone.

Recently, I've just been dwelling on Mary and her simple obedience to the Lord. Although it wasn't what she planned and certainly not how she planned, she said "yes" to the Lord and he gave her a blessing that no other human would ever receive...she got to be the Mother of Jesus. I'm struck by that for many reasons. For one thing, she didn't do it for the reward, she did it because the Lord asked her to do it and told her not to be afraid. Secondly, she obeyed despite the obvious shame she must have received from everyone who didn't believe her, including her own family. Thirdly, she wasn't given a bed of roses for her obedience. She was given a dark night, in a smelly stable, on a cold ground, all alone. The birth God promised her, with a son that would be like no other, was not a glamorous event in any stretch of the imagination. And yet, she still obeyed. And because she obeyed, I see the riches of her choice in the One who would come to save me and to save her. She never could have known the Lord would ask that of her, or that it would be so lonely, but He did and when He did, she obeyed. Amazing. Challenging. Humbling. Definately a Labor of Love....

Labor of Love (featuring Jill Phillips)

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

For all you OFFICE fans out there...

For those of you who are in total "office" withdrawl, due to the writer's strike, this video should help. This is a promo video for our new year's eve event that really has nothing to do with new year's eve...it's captures the complete randomness that is "the office." It features most of our youth staff, with some funny dialogue between Jason and Travis. It's not the real "office" but it's close and it's filling our deep void for more episodes! Enjoy!

Our Christmas Tree...or Christmas Shrub

We put our Christmas tree up this week and I have to tell you, I'm not loving it. We got a free tree this year from our realtor, which is great, but I keep calling it the Christmas shrub because it is severely lacking in height and it is rather "round" towards the bottom. I don't really like it to tell you the truth. I love our ornaments and the smell of a fresh tree but, had it not been free, it would not have come home to my living room! Oh well, I'm deciding to be thankful and enjoy it anyway but without that star on the top, I don't think I could have stomached it all season!! Also, I've decided that it needs like double the amount of lights we have on it, but neither one of us feel like tackling that again, so there you have it! The Christmas Shrub is here to stay!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

What a beautiful week we've had in Minnesota...we are surrounded by tons of snow and I must say, we are loving it! It seems very fitting with Christmas just around the corner to wake up to a winter wonderland everyday. Ryley is in Heaven...we have huge "mountains" of snow all around us from the plows clearing our parking lot, so he goes crazy when we take him outside, jumping and bounding around in it! In March I promise I'll be singing a different song, but for now I LOVE snow and I LOVE Minnesota!!

OLIVIA!!!

Last weekend I had the great privilege to go back to North Carolina and visit my sister Stacie and her husband Jesse, and to see Charlie, Annette, and my first baby...Olivia! What a fun and long overdue visit it was. I wish Travis could have gone with me, and so did Olivia who asked about "Trav" all weekend! We had the best time catching up, playing and just being together. Stacie and Jesse only live about an hour from Raleigh, so they came and stayed with me all weekend at Charlie and Annette's. Olivia is of course, darling...I'm totally biased....and she had us all in stitches the whole time. I am very proud of her and very thankful that we've maintained our relationship from Minnesota. Not only do I miss her very much, but I also miss her parents and it was so fun for us to spend some time together. Annette and I have become great friends and we had so much fun pulling out our scrapbooking stuff and staying up way too late laughing and talking! It was also great to laugh with Stacie and Jesse. We went out to eat at a restaurant Travis and I used to love, which was fun, and Stacie went with me to our old Church on Sunday and to see the house we used to live in! It was a great, whirlwind weekend and I am so glad I could go. Isn't Olivia the cutest little thing you've ever seen?? I'll tell you one funny thing she did all weekend...she's always been into books, I'm sure because we all read to her constantly and still do. Because of that, her vocabulary is quite something for a 4 year old and I found myself stunned at some of the things she would come up with. My favorite however, was the answer she kept giving us whenever someone would ask her a question that demanded a response. When I said, "Olivia, would you like to read this book with me?" she answered with this: "Yes Stephie, that would be ABCDelightful and stupendous!" Can you stand it??



The two of us in her very pink bedroom with a pink elephant I gave her


Can you believe her beautiful, brown hair? She is not the little girl I left!


Annette and I...after 15 shots at least!! We're picky scrapbookers for sure!


We had a tree-trimming party, which Olivia loved, and we did too.


Olivia came into my bedroom every morning to wake me up...I loved it!



Jesse, Stacie and I at Kanki in Raleigh...after a very yummy meal!

Youth Ministry at It's Best...

So, if you're in need of a good laugh, watch this video! We have a huge event coming up in a few weeks for New Year's Eve. We host an all-night party for student ministries at Grace and we're always trying to think of fun, crazy things we can do to make it exciting. It's always a great night, although a long one, but this year we are adding some incredible things that I think the students are going to love! One thing we've added this year is an airband competition. In order to create a buzz and in order to act like teenagers again, Travis and Jason (new High School Pastor), along with 2 of our D-group leaders, formed their own airband and performed for both junior high and senior high on Wednesday night...it was hilarious! Of course Travis loved it and watching him act like a kid reminded me of why he loves student ministry! He's definately cut out for it!! Anyway, enjoy the laugh...I can't wait to see what the students come up with!

Feet to the Fire....

Sorry for the leave of absence I've recently taken from this blog. It's been a crazy and stressful week since Thanksgiving and I've hardly had time to breathe, let alone blog. I'm really getting tired of saying that...I feel like it's the story of my life, or at least this year! Apparently the Lord decided to test me after I wrote a blog about being Thankful for all that He's blessed us with...ironic? I think not. While we were in Iowa, on the day we were to head home, my car refused to start and decided to "die" in the land it came from. We knew this day was coming but we weren't prepared for such horrible timing! Needless to say, my feet have been held to the fire over the last few days as we've had to become a one car family while shopping for something else. Word to the wise, don't shop for a car 3 weeks before Christmas! It's not good on the cash flow! Anyway, add that challenge to an already stressful week and you'll know why I've been absent. I have lots of things to blog about but currently no time to do it! One of these days I'll catch you up with photos and descriptions, but for now I am desperately in need of sleep. Hope December is off to a good start for you! Can't believe Christmas is 3 weeks away??? I'm trying not to think about all the stuff I need to do between now and then...I think it might interfere with my sleep if I dwell on it! Happy December!