December Diary | 4th

The western sky yesterday at 4:18 pm

The days have grown shorter, colder, darker. The activities of the season are a light guiding me  forward with baking, shopping, singing, wrapping, playing, and making. I do not think that I could get through this time of year without Christmas; the darkness of the season effects me. Some days I feel like crawling into bed and staying there until spring. But, I have learned that forced cheerfulness is better than none at all. One of my favorite stories is about John Wesley, that great founder of Methodism, who at one time became convinced that he was without faith and unfit to preach. He consulted his friend Peter Bhler, who urged him to go on. "Preach faith till you have it,” said his friend, “and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.” In life, that is so often the way through, I have found.
 
Smiling and giving thanks for all that lies before me during this season of waiting for the Light:

:: Praying St. Andrew's Christmas Novena daily
:: Singing carols with my children each morning and praying together
:: Reading a Christmas storybook with Luke every day
:: Making edible ornaments to decorate a tree deep in the woods for our woodland friends
:: Baking all of our favorite Christmas cookies: jam thumbprints, peanut blossoms, Italian filled cookies, sugar cut-outs, and spritz
:: Cutting out tissue snowflakes to hang on the windows
:: Coloring, pasting, glittering, sewing, and knitting--lots of Christmas crafting 
:: Feeding the Christmas goats each Friday
:: Playing board and card games in the afternoon
:: Writing Christmas cards
:: Shopping and wrapping
:: Making popcorn and watching Christmas films in the evenings