Annie's Hammock

"Mary tilts her head down, staring into the face of her newborn son. She is tired - taking care of her baby by herself is exhausting.  With no mother, sister or women friends to assist her or show her what to do, she has to rely on her husband to help her with newborn care.   But her fatigue cannot quell the deep emotions she feels as she looks into his dark eyes.  What a beautiful child he is - how perfect in every way!  At least, that's how SHE sees him. Mary is no different from me in that way.  I remember the strong, overwhelming, indescribable, breathtaking feelings of love that came over me when I looked at my babies.  ( I still get those feelings on occasion when I look at my grown children).  But Mary is different from every mother in history in a way that none of us can fathom.  She is the mother of the Son of God!  An ANGEL appeared to her with the news of his conception  - and that was just the first of many unbelievable...

 

Many Sundays our pastor offers us a challenge based on something he preached about. During Advent, he preached on the book "The Advent Conspiracy". WORSHIP FULLY, SPEND LESS, GIVE MORE AND LOVE ALL - are the basic guidelines from the book. As a reminder for us to try and live these guidelines during the next year, he proposed this challenge: when packing away the ornaments, choose one to be placed in a prominent place in the house. Let this ornament serve as a spiritual reminder to "live" Christmas all year. Simple, right? For some, the ornament may be enough. But for me, I think I'll need something more - something bigger - more "in my face". My guys gave me more pieces for my "Willow Tree" Nativity set. It's on the baby grand downstairs in the living room. I will see it every day, several times a day. Can't miss it, even if I tried. I have challenged myself to stop and look at it every day. To pick a different piece -...