• The crazy-beautiful yellow-gold tree in our front yard. It shines brilliant autumn-light!

• Shara reading Tough Boris, Heidi snuggled on her lap. Then tickles!
• Missionary friends staying with us before heading off to Papua New Guinea in January.
• Four kids racing round the “racetrack” that is our house.
• All eight around the table. Oatmeal and muffins.
• Amazed at fellowship in Christ. After only meeting them once or twice we’re like old friends! Love how the gospel unites us.
• Savoring domesticity.
• Fresh laundry folded neat.
• Apple Cider from scratch that’s just as good as TJ’s!
• Yellow-gold leaves on the backyard birch tree.
• Chocolate-covered peppermint oreos from TJ’s. WHAT?! So good.

• Early mornings snuggling by the fire.
• Christmas shopping done!
• Looking over the sweet things waiting to be wrapped. So excited to give them!
• Finding just the right pen.
• Sharp pencils.
• New markers.
• Fresh flowers by the kitchen sink.
• Familiar words, new again.
• REST.
• Resting, abiding, trusting.
• His finished work.

• Digging with Dutch in the yard, molehills supply hours of fun!
• Kids clinging to daddy’s legs.
• Dutch talking on the phone.
• Kind cashiers.
• Gracious return policies.
• My husband who loves unconditionally. Truly, what a man. Thank you, Lord.
• That the food on Thanksgiving really doesn’t matter.
• Feasting on fellowship!
• Calendars and schedules falling into place.
• One red leaf alone remaining on a tree.
• Dutch thinking that every holiday is opportunity to wear a costume. “Mommy, what should I be for Christmas?”
• Thanksgiving small. Relaxed and restful.
• Truly a day of rest.
• My first Black Friday experience … part investigator, part participator. I only visited one store but I was thankful for the experience. Interesting!
• Pear-cranberry green salad with parmesan and raspberry vinaigrette.  Yum!
• Leftovers.
• Pancakes for dinner.
• Long naps.
• Pulling out the Christmas tote!
• Kids playing all afternoon with new “toys” — Christmas ornaments, ribbons, and lights.
• Christmas books.
• Hanging our lighted “joy” sign.
• Having joy. 
• His joy. 

Let’s face it, among the goats and cows and rabbits we purchase this Christmas, we’ll still want to buy some gifts for our friends and family. Thankfully, there are ways to buy modest gifts for those we love that show our love and share our wealth. 

So, still looking for the perfect gift? Check out these fabulous finds. And, no need to stand in a line out the door, circle a dozen times looking for a parking spot, or wake up at 2am after Thanksgiving. Such a deal!

Books:

• Revolution in World Missions by KP Yohannen. (free!)

I know, I know. What am I doing talking about weight on a site devoted to spiritual growth? Of course by now you know my mantra: Everything matters. Diapers or devotions, laundry or liturgy, weight loss or worship, the details of life are the whispers of a Savior. Isn’t Christ in the middle of our mundane?

And, I just thought I’d toss in a word or two on the topic since the issue usually hovers beneath the surface with most women. And of course tomorrow is a day devoted to gluttony, yes? Plus, my friend Joy mentioned something about it the other day that I thought was great. So, feeling inspired, take it or leave it, a few thoughts:

The world has us wrapped around its finger because we alternately worship two false gods which feed upon each other:  

One is BODY, the other is FOOD. 

These two false gods have been erected and are now the focus of women’s worship in our world. And, we become what we worship. We naturally grow toward whatever we focus on. Joy made the point that she never diets because the more we focus on food and what not to eat, the more we tend to want that very thing!  It’s true.  We’re far better off just focusing on something else!

Sin must always be displaced. That is, we cannot just remove a sinful habit, we must displace it by pounding, as with a hammer and nail, another habit in, driving out the old one.  We’ll never remove greed by focusing on greed. Only be focusing on generosity.

We pound out greed by giving. 

We’ll never remove anger by focusing on anger. Only by focusing on patience, love, abiding in the grace and gentleness of Christ. When we worship and focus on Christ we become like Him. Make sense?

So back to the idols. Our culture has made idols of BODY and FOOD. We obsess about having celebrity-figures and yet we also obsess over FOOD. Look at our magazines? What’s on the cover?

Naked bodies and food.

Right next to a scantily-clad Angelina is a chocolate pie or a salad (or Kelly Ripa, right, holding Christmas cookies you better believe she’d never eat). Go ahead, look at all the women’s magazine covers. You’ll find BODIES and FOOD. 

So, knowing those are our idols, it’s a no-brainer to realize that we are bound to a life of frustration. Why? Because to have the one we can’t have the other and to have the other one we can’t have the other. AGH!  Or, more accurately, we either tend idolize one more than the other (and it shows). We look like what we worship. When we idolize body, we look anxious, striving, frustrated. When we worship food, we look overweight. When we worship both, we’re some mixture of the two. But always, always defeated. When we worship something that’s empty, we lose our vitality.

But what if instead we worshipped Christ? 

Instead of focusing on the pumpkin pie tomorrow, what if we focused on the Savior?! Instead of every family traditions centering on food, what if it centered on praise? YES, there is a place for feasting (God commands it!) but we were never meant to worship His gifts, only the Giver. If we worship food this holiday season we will gain 5 lbs and lose a lot of joy. If we worship the Savior, focusing on Him, obsessing about Him, planning about Him, seeking Him — We’ll come through the season with weightier lives, lighter hearts, and happier days.

Truly, the secret — we become like what we worship. 

Let’s FIX our gaze this Christmas on our beautiful Savior. 

{Thanks for reading.}