I have the wonderful opportunity to guest post over at Life Lived fully today.
Lindsay, the heartbeat behind the blog, has quickly become a dear friend. She is beautiful, hilarious and is all about keeping it REAL (which I love).
Some come check out her blog and read “Cheating when it matters most”
And as a little order of business…CONGRATS to Tina who won the Spirit Led parenting book!
We were stuck at home all day on a rainy Saturday. No real plans, just a family day at home.
Running through my mind were all those blogs that talk about their blissfully perfect family time where they all laugh in joyous harmony together as they play games and make cookies.
As soon as my feet hit the floor that morning I was excited about a “perfect” family day together.
Our day started with a few errands, only to realize my car had a flat tire. My husband was stuck having to fix that while the kids and I took his car on our errands.
Then the rain started.
I UBBER excited about the opportunity to guest post today at Sisters in bloom.
Please follow me over there for the rest of the story.
A whole year has passed and what do I have to show for it? Have I learned anything? What were the best parts?
Thanks to Simple mom and Sorta crunchy for a little inspiration. I sat on our back porch enjoying our fabulous spring like southern December to reflect on the past year.
A phrase or statement that describes 2011 for me is:
Developing an attitude of gratefulness. Learning to love what I have instead of wanting more. Viewing my “problems” through a different lens and realizing how much I am blessed.
What I learned:
The biggest thing I learned in 2011 is:
God is 100% all the time in control (not me). He knows what is best for my life even when I disagree.
What is a new found passion?
De-cluttering! Stuff is just stuff. I would much rather have room to play!
I am most inspired by?
Bryan (the hubs) I have never met anyone more self-motivated, always growing. always wanting to be better and always kind.
Something I am proud of?
My baby brother graduating college, and Hannah learning to write her name.
Something new I tried this year?
I am getting pretty creative and experimental in the kitchen. I have made my own yogurt, canned salsa, jelly etc., and grew my own sprouts.
Mistakes I would rather not repeat:
Locking my keys in my car (more than once), trying to catch the kitchen on fire by making popcorn the good ole fashion way, and getting the stomach bug (arguably un-preventable but still no fun).
Favorites
Best books I read this year:
Radical, and Simplicity parenting
My current favorite song:
Father of love
Favorite internet time waster:
Pintrest
Favorite movie:
Annie. Yes fromt the 80′s. Hannah and I are watching it and I am remincing my childhood. LOVE IT!
Blog related:
Most inspiring testimony shared here in 2011:
Kisses from Katie
My favorite post:
No judgment
Readers favorite post:
I’m an imperfect Christian
Favorite pics this year:
Family picture in Kansas City this fall
Girls on the swingset laughing hysterically. Ava is wearing a bathing suit over her clothes too. Nice touch.
My granddad, mom, me, and the girls. 4 generations all together at my cousins wedding.
What were your 2011 highlights?
I have finally and sort-of successfully converted this blog to a word press!
Why?
-Because it is 100 million times easier to edit, much more friendly to the search engines, and it is self hosted!
But..
It was a pain and a lot was lost.
Soooo…
Over the next two weeks I will be re-posing several of the top posts. Hopefully this will be a fun reminder of the “good stuff” for some and a highlight reel for others.
Comments were lost so dropping a line would make me your very best-est friend!
P.S. a BIG thank you to bluehost for going above and beyond to help me with the change! And Tent Blogger for suggesting them!
Today’s post is a re-post from a very popular Santa is not Satan post from last year. I hope you enjoy!
If Christmas is the day we celebrate Christ’s birth then where did “Santa” come from? Are Christians to ban Santa trinkets, sweaters and wrapping paper to show our loyalty? I think a little education is helpful on why or how the whole Santa thing came about.
His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).
And that (in a nutshell) is how we have the legend of Santa Claus. I don’t know about you but that Santa doesn’t sound like such a bad guy. He has certainly become over materialized but isn’t everything in our culture?
St. Nicholas would have NEVER wanted the legend of him to be greater than the Jesus he served.
That is where our job as parents is to teach our children about Christmas, the importance of Jesus’ birthday, and about the real “Santa Claus.” The only list he was making and checking twice was those whom he could serve. In fact how amazing would it be if everyone knew who the REAL St. Nicholas was and how he was such a model of Christ.
Personally, we tell our kids about the real Santa. We say people dress up like him today because the amazing person that was St. Nicholas. Sure Santa is fun but we don’t pretend that he is coming through the chimney.
At the end of the day “Santa” is not Satan. Getting caught up in banning Santa clothing, wrapping paper and decor is just plain silly in my humble opinion. The real Santa can teach us a lot about our Lord through the servant life he lived.
Let’s show the world what Christians are FOR instead of what we are against.
St. Nicholas was an amazing example of what we are FOR…Christ’s love.
I just ran across this blog that has a very clever family tradition of playing “St. Nick” and anonymously giving gifts around their town. I love it!
Join the conversation. What are your thoughts on Santa?
Who doesn’t need a good reason to laugh? I will never forget the belly laugh i had after i realized in the song “footloose” when he says, “I’m burning, yearning, for some…” that he wasn’t actually saying, “I’m burning, yearning, coleslaw”
Who knew?
Well here is a list of HILAIOULS misheard Christmas lyrics. I hope you laugh as much as I did!
Deck the halls with Buddy Holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Have a holly jolly Christmas, It’s the best time of the year.
I’ll don’t know if there’ll be snow, But have a cup of cheese.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way
OH what fun it is to ride
With one horse, soap, and hay.
Joy to the world!
The Lord has gum.
Santa Clause is coming to town:
He’s making a list
Of chicken and rice
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My tulip sent to me:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lawyers leaving,
Nine lazy Hansons,
Eight maids-a-milking,
Seven warts on women,
Six geezers laying
Five Golden rings
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turttle doves
And a cartridge in a pantry
Later on we’ll count spiders
As we drink by the fire
To change and appraise
The plans that we made
Walkin in a winter wonderland
Adolf the other Reindeer…used to laugh and call him names.
Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf they say
Now bring us some friggin’ pudding…
Hahahaha Heheheh….breath…I am laughing so hard.
Hey Imperfect friends have you ever mis-heard a song lyric? Whether Christmas or not, Please share!
Imperfect People is almost 6 months old! Although we only have since August to reflect, it is still fun to look back to see what you liked the best! So here are your favorite post each month for 2010:
August: An unplanned pregnancy and a beautiful story
September: De-cluttering 101
October: Coconut Oil, A miracle food?
November: Fair trade coffee
December: Homemade Christmas
Looking forward, I am beside myself in excitement about the upcoming week. It will be the first ever “week of testimonies” Over the past several weeks I have been in contact with some really amazing people all of whom have agreed to share what God has done in their life.
Every story is unique, captivating, and inspiring.
If you don’t subscribe yet. Now is the time to do so! You don’t want to miss a single story!
P.S. There is still time left to enter to win the coffee, tea, and chocolate giveaway!
I have my first guest post today! I made a wonderful friend in the “blogging world” named Emily. Emily has a really cool blog about how her and her family have step by step remodeled their home. Embracing simplicity and beauty all along the way. They have done it all DEBT FREE (after working their way out of a pile of debt) and that is what I am writting about today on her blog. So CHECK IT OUT
