The Transiton

Yesterday we had our family time with the Carrolls and now the holiday is officially over for us. It's been a wonderful Christmas. I've soaked up and enjoyed the celebration of Christ's birth, family time, way too much food and a little blogging break. I woke up this morning without an alarm clock and felt refreshed and renewed....and then I came downstairs.

What is it about Christmas decorations that looked so beautiful before Christmas and so bereft the day after? There is dust (a friend loves to call it the "velour" on her furniture) covering every surface, and my floor looks like a herd of rhinos just trampled through. This house needs cleaned out and cleaned up. I'm ready to pare down, and my Better Homes and Gardens that focuses on New Year organization is calling me.

Some years I get a little case of the post-Christmas blues, but this year I feel a real sense of expectation as I look forward. I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but I have some goals in mind. I also have some promises from God that I'm rolling around in my heart that are fanning the flames of hope and expectation in my heart. In this current state of faith and optimism, I think I'll skip the news this morning in my routine!

I'm praying that each of us transition into the New Year that we'll ponder the wonder of God's promise to bring us out of the old and into the new. Colossians 3 is full of words that encourage us to put off the old and put on the new. It begins like this, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Col. 1:1-3) Let's set our hearts and minds on Christ today!

Peace on Earth

OK. So I had a meltdown after writing my post on Monday morning, took off the post, REPENTED, put the post back up. I'm so embarrassed to confess that I yelled at my husband while he was sick. Terrible! I'm mostly embarrassed, though, because I see from the fact that there were no comments that no one else behaves badly over Christmas. :)


This morning, God is giving me a little treat. It's quiet here at home. I'm sitting by my tree.... The presents are all wrapped (sorry folks, no pretty bows this year...too much stress)....



I've had coffee in my beautiful, HUGE new coffee mug (Thank you, Brian and Denise!)...


I'm munching on some delicious band fruit...



I have some writing to do, and my sweet, little dog, Hilde, will inevitably come and snuggle up.


Life certainly isn't perfect at the Carroll house (ie. yelling at your husband when he's sick!), but it's good. I hope you're enjoying some peace today, too.

The Countdown

Note: I posted this morning and then unposted as I was having a huge struggle with that nasty thing called the flesh. I'm praying hard for myself and anybody else who's doing a little pre-Christmas freakout!!

I've been trying not to have freak-outs this Christmas season. I have to confess, though, that today I'm really tired from two parties this last weekend at my house. It's been two crazy weeks, and I'm really worn down today.

I'm praying for God's strength not to do the usual when I'm tired--getting snappy and irritable. God's using two things to fuel me today. Yesterday my Sunday school class went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Incredible! Thinking about how God has preserved His Word for thousands of years boggles my feeble mind.

The second thing is sort of a corollary. I'm reading the book i am not but I know I AM. In this morning's chapter, Lou Giglio describes his one-word Bible study method. He takes one word at a time in a passage and studies and meditates on it for a whole day. In the chapter, he describes using this method on John 1:14 while he spent time where Jesus walked in the Holy Land.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

When he meditated on the word "became", he realized that it is a compound word, be-came. As in "Be came". Think back to God's answer to Moses when he asked "Who should I say is sending me?" God anwered "I Am". Am is another form of the verb "be". Get it? Cool, huh?

Jesus is the Word is flesh. God has made sure that His Word is never far from us by sending His son to be the Living Word and by preserving His Word in written form throughout the generations. That's enough to charge me up for the day!

Will you pray with me? I don't know about you, but I really need it today.
Lord, I have been so busy that I'm run down and tired today. I believe that the things that I've been doing are in your will, so I know that You'll provide for everything I need. Today I ask for your Spirit to take over my weak flesh. Help me to rest in your Spirit and the fruitfulness that He brings. Help me to bite my tongue when I feel sharp words coming and to treat my family with love. They're the ones who usually catch it!

Jesus, thank You that You came. The Message says that you moved into my neighborhood. Please move right into the midst of my life today. Thank You for Your faithfulness in the midst of my weakness. Amen.

Have a great day, friends, as we count down the the world's greatest celebration!

Joy to the World

Sometimes joy catches me by surprise. Last Saturday was finally my turn to help chaperon the high school marching band in the Apex Christmas parade. This group of kids is so terrific that parents literally compete to chaperon, so I've been waiting with excitement to watch my oldest with the group of kids that he's spent countless hours with this fall. Look how handsome he is in his uniform.

I think it's funny that this "game face" has become the norm in his uniform.

Can you believe how tall this boy is? I marvel when I have to stand on my tiptoes to kiss him good-bye in the morning.

Anyway...after waiting in the parade line for a LONG time, dancing with a reindeer (the boy was so proud that his mom did that in front of the whole band) and watching the boy interact with his new friends, we finally started moving. I grinned like a goon through the whole parade. Apex is a previously small NC town that has preserved it's charming downtown. As we walked through the old, brightly painted buildings with the twinkly Christmas lights gleaming down from above, the band played "Glor-or-or-or-oria". I looked at all the happy parents and children around us and thought about all the simple gifts that God surrounds us with every day. It was a moment of the purest, deepest joy.

An article in Better Homes and Gardens this month said, "Not to be confused with happiness, joy comes in fleeting moments of shiny perfection when the edges between us and others blur. It's a gift, one that comes from someplace deep and divine on its own terms." I think they're really close in that definition.

Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:9-11). Joy is a divine gift. It's based on God's love for us, and He's the giver of every good and perfect gift. The emotion of joy may be fleeting, but true joy abides with us just as Jesus abides with us.

I'm so grateful for that moment in Apex. There is so much joy that comes with this season when I slow down and pay attention. What events or people have brought you Christmas joy this year?

Connecting at Christmas

"Isn't being with each other at Christmas really what it's all about?" I mused contentedly on my way to Chapel Hill. I was excitedly anticipating a happy reunion at the church I attended 20 years ago as a college student. My friend and then-roomate, Nana, had invited me to come speak at their women's Christmas tea.

The theme was "With", and I thought about my question again. "Isn't being with each other at Christmas really what it's all about?" I think the answer is "Yes!" After all, God's desire to be with us and for us to be with Him is the reason that Jesus came. He gave up so much to be with us--heaven, glory, worship, complete intimacy with the Father and the Holy Spirit, freedom from pain, sickness and grief... The list could go on and on. Jesus gave it all up to be with us. Incomprehensible! That thought brings me such awe and joy.

His desire to be "with" is reflected in His creation--us! One of the highlights of Christmas is being with the ones we love. My oldest said that being with his cousins and grandparents Christmas morning is the thing he looks forward to the most. Friends and family work really hard to carve out time for each other in their busy schedules this time of year. It's a priority.

I was happy to be reunited with Nana. We've decided that we're older but definitely better! All our wrinkles and gray hairs are symbols of the lessons we've learned, the hugs we've given and received and the richness of life. Totally worth it! Not too bad for 2 moms!

Can you tell how much fun the women of Grace Church were having fun WITH each other? Check out their beautiful English high tea. I haven't had such yummy scones since my family lived in England!

Sometimes it's hard to slow down enough during this season to even enjoy being with each other. Our family has a couple of traditions that slows down our schedule and helps us to focus on God and people.

When I was a little girl, my crafty mom made an advent calendar for my brother and me.

I loved taking out the tiny felt symbols every day. There was always a big fight about whose turn it was to take out baby Jesus that year. Real spiritual, right? My mom gave a new calendar to each of our families when our kids were born. It's the greatest gift. Not only do my boys enjoy it like I did, but my childhood memories come rushing back every morning in December.

As an avid reader and former elementary school teacher, I love books. I've been collecting Christmas books for years. I've amassed enough that the bottom broke on my book basket, so this year I replaced it with a book bucket. Our family loves to spend the end of the day beside the fireplace in the glow of the Christmas tree reading our favorite stories. Some of the very favorites are: The Three Trees, Polar Express and The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree (a NC story!). I couldn't help but grin like a goon this year when my very cool 11 and 14 year olds picked Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia as the first book of the season!

Tip: If your big 'ole boys act like they might not want to cuddle up, go to Ulta. I bought some of their Vanilla body spray. It made me smell like a cookie, and they snuggle right up to me. Enjoy being WITH!

Celebrate Christmas

I met this cute guy at the Women's Night Out in Greer, SC. He was the only one who was cold! The rest of the room was toasty warm with friendly faces, trills of giggles and the sharing of pictures of new grandbabies. It was a wonderful night with the men of the church--including their pastor (impressive!)--serving as the wait staff. A quartet serenaded us, too.

These are just some of the beautiful decorations. It didn't feel like a gym at all with each table decorated beautifully by a gracious hostess.

Thank you Faye (far left) and Debbie (far right) for making us feel at home. My friend Julie is in the middle, and she was my navigator as we traveled the roads of SC. We only got lost twice!

I have one huge praise. We have a new sister in the kingdom! I'm so thrilled that one of the SC girls is celebrating her first real Christmas. That brought the whole night from wonderful to simply glorious!

Snuggled In

I truly love every season. I especially love when a new season is beginning, and yesterday was a wonderful, rainy day to snuggle in and enjoy the end of fall and the beginnings of winter. The family decorated for Christmas on Saturday (more about that later this week), and I enjoyed the fruits of our labor on Sunday. We stayed in, turned on the Christmas lights and the gas logs and delighted in being snug in our home. Lovely!

One of the things that I've been doing during these shorter days is reading, reading, reading. For all you speakers out there, I want to recommend a book. At She Speaks 2 summers ago, I went to Micca Campbell's breakout where she taught Andy Stanley's method of message preparation. She outlined his book Communicating for a Change. I FINALLY read the book last week. It's fantastic, and all of you speakers need to read it. It's a simple message outline that revolves around ONE point. Shocking, right?!! Surely every good message has at least 3 points, 2 quotes and a poem!

Here's the thing. My goal in my messages is always that God would use them not only to draw women to Himself but for God's words through me to accomplish a transforming work. God is in the transformation business, and I want to be His assistant! I feel good about accomplishing change in my retreats, but I always feel that I fall short on the one session events. Those are much harder to me. I'm so excited, though, because I believe that Andy's idea will be one that focuses my messages to truly reach hearts. His idea is to simplify our messages so that people remember them long after the event is over. Application is based on the one point which also helps people to focus on change in one area.

I'm speaking tomorrow night in Greer, SC. I'm excited to meet the women and share what I pray will be a transforming message. In looking over the message that I'm sharing (which I originally wrote a couple of years ago), I was overwhelmed. It's one that I've given many times, but I had a hard time remembering where I was going. I took one of the points, rewrote the message focusing on that one biblical idea, and now I'm charged up!

So speakers, if you're looking for a way to sharpen your messages and make them laser-like, snuggle in, turn on your Christmas lights and read Andy's book on one of these dark winter nights. Make sure to register in January for She Speaks, too, and go to hear Micca's teaching. She'll make you laugh hysterically even while you're learning something invaluable!