Christmas Season 2010

I have been home for 2 weeks now. I have loved visiting family and friends. Please be in prayer for some of my family and friends. Losing someone is never easy, but around the holiday's it makes it even harder. The Blake's and the Morrison's, even friends of these families, will need some extra prayers for right now.

Well, Christmas has came and went. It is such a busy time of year. My sister and I were still shopping for our parents gifts on Christmas Eve. What saddens me the most is how people have lost the real meaning of Christmas, even myself. I was looking around on Facebook and realized how selfish I was. My status was all about our family traditions- when and where I was going. Not that it is not bad, but I had honestly put Christ birth on the back burner in my mind. Sure, I went to Christmas plays about Jesus, even a happy birthday Jesus party, but my heart had let the real meaning fade. I quickly changed my status on Facebook to a song I had recently heard on the radio. "Where’s the line to see Jesus? He was born for me. Santa Claus brought me presents. But Christ gave His life for me. In the blink of an eye, at the sound of His trump, We’ll all stand in line at His throne. Every knee shall bow down, every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord! Where’s the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store? It’s Christmas time, it’s His birthday. Why don’t we see Him more?" This song spoke exactly what my heart was feeling. Christmas isn't about Santa, presents, or even family for that matter. Christmas is about Jesus Christ who was 100% God. He chose to come to this earth as 100% man, as baby and live, so that He could die a horrible death in order to save me and you. So much of Christmas is about His birth, but we must consider His death because that is the whole reason He was born.

With this in mind, on Christmas Eve, The Herndons, Matt came over for a delicious dinner and we opened gifts together.

Christmas Morning we went to my mama's side of the family get together for breakfast. It was lots of fun. The children were all told to make a homemade gift for the cousin that they had drawn the name of.

For dinner we went to Mema's house for Daddy's family get together. It was a lot of fun with some good food. We didn't take a picture with everyone, but here is one of "us".

Well thats not all that took place. We actually got about 9 inches of snow :] So here are a few pictures of us having fun.

what a trip...

Well, I have finally made it to NC after a long closing week in Hungary and then an even longer trip home. The last week of school for the students was a hard one. The Lord allowed some trials which we grew through. It was awesome to see the Lord provide strength and wisdom for the staff.  My trip home was horrible. I left WOL at 8:30 am. My flight from Budapest to Paris took off at 10:50. We didn't take off the runway on time, therefore I missed my flight in Paris. Many people would say, "Wow, at least you were in Paris," but I must say the only place I wanted to be was in NC with my family. The next morning I flew out Paris, had a lay over in Ohio and finally around 5pm on Monday I landed in NC. When I reached baggage I didn't find my luggage which I was fearful of because I missed my flight.  I love flying because I love the view. It's beautiful. Below is a picture I took while flying.

Since I have been home, I have been pretty jet lagged, finally it seems to be a little better. 7am isn't too bad for me taking a 2 hour nap around 8pm. I have spend lots of time with my family [Below is a picture of Jordan being silly in Papa's huntin' boots]. I am looking forward to seeing people from my church too.

I also had the opportunity to speak to a girls group at a local church. I was able to share my heart. I spoke about Word of Life, Hungary, and what God was doing in my life. I enjoyed it so much. Below is a picture of the group.