Goodbye 2011

Some things never change

(does this look oddly familiar?)

Wishing you a happy, blessed new year!

       Love, 

                        The Crazy Freak House

Immanuel- God With Us

She asks me, "Will it be Christmas tomorrow too?" 

I know that feeling. 

That feeling of not wanting any of

this wonder to wander away-

or me from it.

"Yes, it is Christmas forever now," I say

"Because Christ is always with us."

God With Us

O come O come Emmanuel

And randsom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel has come to Thee, O Israel.

Taking Time to be Before the Manger

"If God avoided red carpets and opted instead 

to enter the black stable, 

is there anywhere 

the hallowed presence of God won't appear?

The One who cradles galaxies

in the palm of His hand

curls his newborn fist in a barn feed trough.

He who breathes stars

breathed in heavy, dirty stable air.

I would kneel before the manger, 

and it would be so clear: 

God comes to us not so much in the lovely, 

but in the unlikely.

At the manger. Love came down."

                          -Ann Voskamp

Love Came Down

"Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem

A baby born to save the souls of men.

Hallelujah!"

                         -Joy Williams, Here With Us

Unhurried Hands

"Life at its fullest is this

sensitive, detonating sphere,

and it can be carried 

only in the hands of the unhurried."

             - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

This Moment

"I profane this moment when I don't stay in it.

Be all here; and be holy.

Because the Presence of I Am

always fills the present moment.

And isn't the only way God can come to us

is through the door of this moment?"

                               -Ann Voskamp

tree decorating randomness

"But the biggest mistake I made is this:

I did not live in the moment enough.

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more 

and the getting it done a little less."

                -Anna Quindlen

December Nights

Taking time to be still and enjoy:
cranberry-orange candles, 

hot chocolate made with soy milk,

striped wool socks,

reflecting on the reason for this season

knitting projects, 

an unexpected night at home,

and this song. 

"And He will be our peace." -Micah 5:5