My favorite things (part 3)

Spending time with my son, Jack is (of course) a favorite thing. When he comes home from college, for a long break, we are always looking for something new and interesting to do. 

So this break, Jack and I took the four-hour road trip to a St. Louis and attended a Blues hockey game. We had "on-the-glass seats" which means the only thing between us and the hockey players was, well, plexiglass. It was exhilarating. Being so close to the ice, we felt like we were part of the game, and we could even see the facial expressions of the players. 

Once it was scary. I was looking away while two players dove for a hockey puck right in front of us. My heart stopped for a second as the two guys plowed into the glass in front of me. After I regrouped, I quickly became part of the game again and didn't look away anymore.

I don't know if I am about to become a life-long hockey fan, but for this night with my son, it was one of my favorite things.

My favorite things (part 2)

1. My husband Steve (the best guy ever)

2. Attending the Nutcracker (a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays)

3. Enjoying the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (awesome)

Hope you are enjoying a few of your favorite things this holiday season. Merry Christmas!

My favorite things...

One of my favorite things are people. Every Tuesday morning for the past seven or eight years, I have had the pleasure to learn about Jesus while enjoying the wonderful company of these awesome women. Each year we take a Christmas photo of our gang. And every year, there are one or two new faces along with a few absent ones. Whatever the case, they all mean the world to me. My life was pretty hard the past couple of years as I took care of two very sick, aging parents. And these gals (along with many other of my favorite people), were the life raft that kept me afloat.

My favorite things: Bible study and friends. Done together, life doesn't get much better than that for me. By the way, we always have an open chair. Join us if you like.

Walking on water

In this case, it's geese, not Jesus, walking on water.

The other day, I looked out my window and saw that the geese were not swimming in the lake in my backyard. Instead, they were walking on the partially-frozen lake. (Smile with me here.) The geese made me think of Jesus--because He really did walk on water. Sometimes it's kind of fun just thinking outside of the box and looking for Jesus in, well, geese.

Awe

Countdown.. ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two....ONE. And the lights came on -- a magical moment.

It was the lighting of the mayor's Christmas tree at Crown Center in Kansas City with my nephew Max. I was excited, he was startled. But after the initial shock, we both smiled and then laughed. Sometimes it's grand to experience the unexpected and then be in awe. 

I've been thinking about God and "awe" lately. Seems like we aren't so amazed about things these days. And during the Christmas season, when we should be astounded at the superb gift that God gave us -- Jesus -- seems like we have even a harder time to be in awe. 

My problem is that I don't take the time to actually practice His presence in my life. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to practice "awe." Here's what I'm going to do: 

• Reflect on the fact that God gave me a perfect gift -- no need to look any farther.
• Reflect on the fact that Jesus left his wonderful, glorious and rightful throne to be born in poverty.
• Reflect on how big of a sacrifice God made so that I can experience His presence each day.
• Reflect on the assurance that I have no reason to fear anything today or tomorrow because Jesus overcame the world.
• Reflect that Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace loves me personally and individually. 

My prayer for you is that you will look to God this Christmas. You might get a little excited. You might smile. You might laugh. But hopefully you will be in awe.