The One Thing

Well, we landed safe and sound back in Charlotte. But there was one last little gift from God waiting for us as we landed. When all the passengers were gathering their belongings and getting ready to get off the plane, the overhead sound system came on suddenly and began to play a banjo pickin' version of "Praise the Lord, I saw the light!" Genia and I started cracking up laughing while all the other passengers just kept looking around trying to figure out why this song was playing. The song was a perfect ending to an amazing adventure.

Keep checking my blog and I'll post updates as we get them. Oh and yes I will be posting some of the Hollywood photos in coming weeks as well. You'll just die when you see me holding up that pair of $1200 shoes--- U-G-L-Y- you ain't got no alibi! (sorry 80's songs die hard.)

Now, I'm back in the land of laundry, homework, and a to-do list for Christmas that seems never-ending. Like many of you, I've come to the realization that Christmas is coming in fast motion. I could get all in a tizzy and start steam rolling ahead determined to still get everything perfectly checked off my list. And then tensions would run high, finances would get tight, emotions would flow and I would spend the next month beating myself up over all the places I fall so short.

Or, I could simply ask myself one simple question each day, "What can I accomplish today that will stay within the boundaries of my emotional white space?" In other words what can I realistically do without losing my Christmas joy?

Several years ago, I decided keeping my sanity was of the utmost importance that Christmas and gave myself permission to let a few things slide. Here's my journal entry that I wrote as I headed off to bed the night of December 25th of that year---

I sit in the quiet watching the lights dance and flicker around what is left of our Christmas festivities. The presents are all opened and half of them strewn about, evidence of happy children that were too tired to carry their treasures to their room. They can do that tomorrow.

Usually a mess of this magnitude would have sent me into a cleaning frenzy complete with finger pointing and tense words, but not tonight. Tonight I'm going to bed and not let the messy house bother me a bit. I will sleep and dream and feel completely at peace. For this was my first Christmas where my family hadn’t missed the One thing.

Oh we missed other things this year. We missed buying the batteries for toys though their packages were clearly marked, “Batteries Not Included.” We missed a few family members and friends on our not-so-organized Christmas Card list. We missed an ingredient from our homemade bread attempt that flopped, literally. We missed Aunt Jane’s gift and had to dig through our closets looking for a suitable re-gift item. We missed the deadline to send our out of town presents that I then cleverly marked as Happy New Year gifts…though we missed that deadline as well. We missed doing the proper RSVP on some of the parties we’d been invited to. Yes, there were certainly things that were lacking about the TerKeurst’s holidays this year.

But we did not missed the One thing.

For the first time in years, I made a promise in my heart to keep Christ as the focus of our Christmas celebration, and we actually made good on that promise. We did not do it with a lot of fan fare and hoop-lah but we celebrated Jesus in a most glorious way. Not that an outsider would have really noticed a huge change. We still decorated the tree, draped the stairway with greenery, baked our favorite cookies, and gave gifts and cards.

But had an outsider happened upon our Christmas morning breakfast today, they would have seen something different. The kids weren’t fidgeting in their chairs waiting to tear open the gifts surely calling their name from below the tree. They were eagerly awaiting their turn to give a gift to Jesus from their heart.

With a simple candle attached to each breakfast plate, we took turns lighting our candle as we explained what gift we were giving from our heart to honor Jesus this year. Our oldest son gave a renewed commitment to tithe. Our youngest daughter gave up her tendency to pout, “No more whinnies,” she proudly exclaimed.

Each of us gave a gift that you could not tie a bow around or even touch in any way. But these gifts were real and precious and sincere. For just a brief moment, the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season faded as we invited our Jesus to sit and talk for a while. As my husband lit the candle that was attached to Jesus’ plate at the table, we each told him thank you and Happy Birthday.

Finally, a Christmas where we did not miss the One thing.

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple,” Psalm 27:4.

May it be so for you as well. And we all join in singing---twang, twang, twang--- Praise the Lord, I saw the Light!

Now, it's Give Away Prizes Time!!!

The TWO winners from Renee's wonderful gift pack are:

* PAM STEWART
* Squirrelly Mom

CONGRATS! Please post your e-mail address in today's comments section below and we'll be in touch!!!

Now for today's Give Away--- We have a gift for mom and one for the kiddos!

First, For Mom:Marybeth Whalen's e-book called "A Recipe For Christmas Joy " which contains recipes, ideas, encouragement and thoughts on keeping Jesus at the center of your Christmas celebration. This book was designed to help you find that Christmas JOY your heart is longing for! To visit Marybeth's blog, click here.

Marybeth is a wife mom of 6 kids and the friend I sometimes lovingly refer to as "Gourmet" on my blog. (see my post called "How Long Does Molasses Stay Good For? for a quick laugh and insight into how cool it would be to have an e-book written by such a friend!

Secondly, a gift for the kiddos sponsored by Van Walton! A stocking full of great goodies--- here's Van:

Van’s Visions for a Happy Christmas Lucky, stressed-out mom of crazed over-active, give me more candy, Christmas lights, and visits to toys-r-us out-of-control little ones will receive a Christmas Stocking full of happy Christmas activities and ideas for moms to share with her children. Van’s giveaway will include her popular children’s DVD, From the Pound to the Palace.
Christmas is the most magical and inspirational time of the year for me. As I reflect on the many wonderful memories my sons and I made while they were growing up, my passion to share our special experiences has been fanned into flame. Being the keeper of my home and my child’s heart I learned to protect my little ones from the distractions of the holiday season. I purposefully set out to create an attractive home environment during the month of December. Working prayerfully to design interactive activities, I created memory making games and projects. Today, I find great joy in sharing our special times together, encouraging mothers of young children to give the gift of their presence and play rather than stressing out over presents, parties, and the perfect Christmas.

To visit Van's Blog click here.

So click on the word comments below, type in your comment, and you'll be entered. Then be sure to check back tomorrow to see if you've won~

Merry Christmas!