After Christmas Shopping Tips

December 26th...the day to work off the turkey and gravy by hitting the mall with a vengeance! I have fond memories growing up of taking money I had been given at Christmas and going to buy new clothes at the after Christmas sales.

Are you headed for the mall today? Or maybe Target or Wal-mart?

Here are a few tips to help make your shopping a little healthier:

1. Bring a bottle of water with you. You want to stay hydrated and that will also help you feel fuller and keep you from buying a soda or coffee while you're out.

2. Put a protein bar in your purse or another satisfying snack. You'll probably get hungry while you're out and you don't want to be standing in front of Cinnabon when that hunger hits!

3. Walk, walk, walk! If the weather permits, park far away from the store so you have to get a few extra steps in.

4. If you have to wait in a long line to check out, don't just stand still. Go up on your tiptoes a few times, and tap your toes while you wait in line.

May the remembrance of yesterday's activities warm your heart today and know that God has wonderful plans for you today and in the New Year!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thoughts on Christmas

I received a gift book a few years ago that I love re-reading every Christmas season.  It's a little book full of scripture and thoughts on Christmas.  These are things I'm reading to my children this year.  Here are a few gems:

Infinite, and an infant.  Eternal, and yet born of a woman.  Heir of all things, yet the carpenter's son.

-Charles Spurgeon

On Christmas Day two thousand years ago, the birth of a tiny baby in an obscure village in the Middle East was God's supreme triumph of good over evil.

-Chuck Colson

Christmas is about a baby, born in a stable, who changed the world forever.

-John Maxwell

The Son of God does not want to be seen and found in heaven.  Therefore He descended from heaven to this earth and came to us in our flesh.

-Martin Luther

Christmas day is a day of joy and charity.  May God make you very rich in both.

-Phillips Brooks

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.

-Charles Dickens

Matthew 18:11

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Luke 2:9-14

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I shall bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

Be lifted!  Merry Christmas!  

Celebrate Where You've Been

You can't help but smile when you see this picture.

This is my own Pillsbury dough boy posing as Santa, taken around Christmas 2004. Now my little Santa is 4 years old! How time flies!

When I think back about my babies and those precious first Christmases together, my heart is full, and the pressing needs of the day don't seem quite so pressing.

So today, I want you to remember your baby. Maybe this is your first Christmas together with baby (or third or fourth...). Take time to reminesce about where God has brought you already. Capture these sweet Christmas moments in your heart (and on your cameras!).

I received a baby shower invitation this week for a mom who had her original shower cancelled because the baby came early. He arrived early with complications, but now months later, he's a healthy baby boy. God is good. Don't forget to think about His goodness in your life. Every baby is a miracle.

You can even be thankful for that post-baby body, even with all it's jiggles and wiggles! The baby fat will come off!

"Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke
2:19