funeral

We just celebrated the life of Grandma Payne, an amazing woman of God and Michael's grandmother on his mother's side. Although funerals are never a good thing, something amazing generally always happens at them. So I thought I'd make a list of the good things about Grandma Payne's funeral.

• celebrating the 89 years of a remarkable woman
• seeing family that I don't get to see that often
• meeting family members I haven't met before and learning about their lives
• hearing stories about the "old" days, when life was much simpler
• learning that Grandma Payne loved Krispy Kreme donuts and her two favorite seasonings were salt and pepper
• seeing pictures of the younger versions of people I've only met since I met Michael
• hearing one of Michael's cousins on the phone with her son say, "I know what's wrong with you, you're 17 and you're a moron."
• getting to hang out with my sister-in-law, who has also been my "bestest friend" since 8th grade
• all the hugs
• all the love
• lasagna and coca-cola cake!!!
• the laughter shared by friends and family as we remembered the times when Grandma made us laugh, and the tears shared as we all realized just how much we will miss this remarkable woman who loved the Lord with all her heart and loved her neighbors as she loved herself
• thanking God for the blessing of this wonderful family He has allowed me to be a part of
• the reminder that life is short and the reminder of all I take for granted
• knowing that when I get to heaven, Grandma Payne will be there among my other friends and family who are already there
  

LIGHTS

I walked in Walmart last Saturday, the Saturday after Halloween, and before my eyes stood a Christmas tree, and I had to smile. I was excited!!! I love how something changes in most people around Thanksgiving and people get a little nicer, are more inclined to give to others, etc.

I have to admit, I am one to get all caught up in it though. I love to give gifts, and I will confess, I like to receive gifts. Now I wouldn't sulk if gifts were not a part of it, but that is part of the fun. My Mom and my in-laws always want a list, which is wonderful to get the things I want, and usually they get something that wasn't on the list which is always a pleasant surprise. Then there's always the challenge of those hard-to-buy-for people, which I'm not sure how well I do at that. Then there's the challenge of the affordable office gifts, so you don't go broke buying for the people you work with, but you don't want to buy something that's going to be sold at their next yard sale either.

I LOVE Christmas lights. The reason we bought a Jeep with a hard top instead of the easy-to-retract top with plastic windows is because I couldn't imagine driving around looking at Christmas lights though plastic windows. I love decorating our tree and looking at the ornaments and the memories they bring. If I get an ornament as a gift, I write the year and whom the ornament was from on the bottom, and I always took as I'm putting the ornaments on the tree.

I wonder what God thinks about how Americans celebrate Christmas. I wonder if He just looks at us and chuckles, the same way Jesus must have looked at the disciples many times and had to refrain from laughing out loud as to not hurt their feelings over things they thought were so important, but in the big picture, the picture Jesus sees, were so minute. I wonder if it makes Him mad. I wonder how many people who don't think about Jesus on a regular basis think about Him during this season. I wonder if God smiles as He hears the voices of choirs singing Christmas music, or if it breaks His heart because of the pain those who are singing the words are covering up inside and are refusing to trust Him to relieve it.

I wonder what God thinks of me and the way I celebrate in His love and the gift of His Son whom He sent here to die for my sins. May my focus be on the glory of God and less on the glory of the worldly celebration of this holiday.

Some things that I enjoy...

• watching football with Michael
• pretty much doing anything with Michael
• scribing - I'm in the book of Matthew right now, and it's been cool scribing through it
• getting an unexpected note from a friend in the mail
• seeing kids dressed up for Halloween
• when Michael comes up with some new combination of food that I would have never tried on my own, and it's healthy and tastes delicious
• listening to my mp3 while I'm running
• green tea
• fitting into a smaller size clothing
• when Tabor poops on the hill in the weeds, which means we don't have to clean up after him
• reading a good book - I am about to finish "Breaking Dawn"
• hanging out with my friends