Christmas y mas

I have always wanted to roast chestnuts on an open fire, ever since the first time I remember hearing the Christmas Carol. Obviously it's a highly recommended experience, the chestnut roasting.

Before delving into a random chaotic story of my life these last few days, let me share what really is in my heart coming up to Christmas. Watch - God is making everything new for me! He's making me new! I am so blessed to see so many things that only point to God doing a new and incredible thing in me and in the people around me, just because he's that good. I heard the best Christmas sermon I have ever heard tonight, about peace. About how even the chaos and restlessness and anxiety of the darkness that is in the world gives way to Christmas. How true is that for me? The restlessness and anxiety of not knowing what my future holds, not knowing the depth of the love of God, and not comprehending the purpose of God for me has given way to the peace of God. That he loves me and that I am lovable, that he has a good and holy and adventuresome purpose for me that's not bound to any one location or group of people, and that in finding that purpose in small things is the greatest joy. Christ's Mass (Christmas) is a renewal, a baby being born is a renewal, a new year... watching my sister get married and start a new family after seeing the death of my grandparents and the loss of family as I knew it... watching God renew old friendships for me long neglected... watching God show me new (and a lot more fun to exercise!) gifts and people to love, and new ways of expressing love... watching youth and people I work with in the church become "oaks of righteousness" before God, and letting me watch God transform them... watching a good friend be born again through baptism... what a time of renewal. Merry Christmas. Here is my firm hope and prayer that God would renew you in your hope and in the desires he has for you that are so good none of us has begun to comprehend them yet.

K, there's my heart. You want my humor?? I started another fire. You heard me. Another fire. Not on purpose, either. I had the garbage in the burning barrel, and there was a gust of wind. It picked up a piece of paper and lifted it - up, up, up - and then down, down, down into the tall dry brown grass behind the fence. FWOOOOOSH. Fire. Lots, and with the wind getting bigger and bigger. And me. Little old me, not big enough or brave enough to stomp it all out. And the trees, closer and closer to the flame. It sucked. 911. For the fourth time in my life I had to dial 911 and answer the operator's questions. Ashamed that it's me calling again. (Granted, twice it was to save other people so those two don't count. But twice in four months for fires that I caused.) The fire went out, mostly because the wind died down. (Good God is for doing quick answers to prayer.) No harm done. Unless you count the black patch of ground that is our section of front lawn.

And out come the fire trucks. Here's the part where I discover that I know two of the firefighters personally. They already know my family name already, because there have been four fires and a fatal traffic accident all in the same family in the last four years. They joked around with me before they left that all the forms come out of the printer now with our last name on default. And my family says I'm never allowed to use matches again. Ah... do I know why this one happened to me? Nope. But maybe it's all about suffering producing perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I LOVE YOU ALL (um, if you're a random stranger cruising blogworld, don't take that last bit about me loving you too too seriously - though I suppose I love you too).