Jewelry Making and Christmas Shopping

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Holidays? Those being Thanksgiving and Christmas! Well I do. I L-O-V-E them! This year, I have completed most of my shopping pretty early....well early for me. I have most everything made, wrapped, and ready to go to the different houses for Christmas. If you know me at all, you know that I usually don't finish shopping until either the 23rd or even Christmas Eve. So a week before is a record for me. I am pretty stinking pround of the gifts I get to give this year. From Rangers' tickets, to a Red Roomba, to some the best pieces of jewelry I have ever made, to the amazing cookbook I wish I was keeping for myself, everything is absolutely perfect. I like to think that I got something unique to each person. I hope they like what I got them...well I got for them from other people. :) Oh did I mention, that this year, I did most everybody's shopping for them this year. It was an absolute blast! I can't wait for everyone to open their gifts. Aside form the gift part, I am just excited to get to go home and be with my entire family, extended and everyone. I can't wait to see my pals from Farmersville for some bonding time.

Well its this time of year, that we are strongly encouraged to take a long look at our lives and give thanks for everything we have. Our health, job, house, friends, family are just amoung a few that are typically included in that list. My question is....why are we only encouraged to do this during the holiday season? What about the other 10 months of the year? Should be ungrateful or less grateful during those months? My challenge to people this year, is to be thankful for life year round. Let God know that what He provided you with is enough. That you are completely thankful for all the blessings in your life daily. Expand those blessing beyond what we are "normally" thankful for. Expand them to the sunshine, the rain, the person that smiled at you in line at the grocery store, the grocery store, the warmth of your house, the fact that you can read, your car, your computer, the phone, the fact that you live in a place where so many conviences are at arms length. Don't get me wrong, we should still be thankful for our health, house, family, etc, but those are the only things we should give thanks for. This Christmas season and the beginning of a new year, challenge yourself to be a better person. A Thankful person. I promise that you will notice a difference if you say thanks to God for the person who cut you off on the highway, rather than cursing at them. Other people might just notice it too. Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a wonderful time with your peeps this Christmas season!

Megan

PS: Here is a picture of one the necklaces I made.....I just had to keep this one! :)

The True Meaning of CHRISTmas!

On my way to work this morning, I was listening to some Christmas music on the radio. One of our radio stations play Christmas music all the way through the holiday season. I understand that there are a ton of songs out there that are "funny" and have to do with Santa, and lots of other things associated with Christmas. I did not however know that there was a song entitled,
"The 12 pains of Christmas." This song took on a whole outlook to Christmas and what this season is all about. It also poked fun at the "12 Days of Christmas." A few of the pains included in this song were, children crying, dealing with inlaws, charity, and shopping for gifts. Color me crazy, but I thought the whole meaning behind Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Over the years, this concept has appearantly been lost. This season is no longer about family, celebrating the birth of a King, being together, or just being happy and excited about life. It is now all about who gives the best and most expensive gifts, complaining because you had to spend a little bit of time with some people that you might not particulary care for, complaining about traveling, throwing a fit because "Santa" didn't bring you exactly what you wanted, complaining because you had to stand in line for hours to get that one perfect gift for someone you didn't really even like. When did it get to be like this? When did we all loose our values? When did the true meaning of the season change? Why do we now care more about things than people? Why do we put so much pressure on gift giving and trivial pursuits? Personally, this year will be different for my family. My grandmother, the matriarch of our family, is not doing so well. She has been through so much this past year. Her health is declining everyday. There is a very distinct possibility that this could be our last Christmas with her. So this year, I am choosing not to focus on anything but being with my family and all the things that brings with it. I don't care about the gifts. I love giving to other people, but I would be just fine with not receiving any. I have so much in my life and so many things to be thankful for. I don't care about all the little things that could go wrong anymore. I am just excited that I get to spend the whole day with my grandmother and my family just being together. I challenge anyone who might read this, to spend this Christmas season focusing on what this season is truely about. Focus on those who are not quite as fortunate as you. Focus on those who might not have the family that you have, Focus on those that just need a smile from you. Focuse less on all those small things that aggrivate you. Focus less on things and more on life and family. Focus on the reason we celebrate this particular holiday and all the joy it brings. Focus less on yourself and more on others. Focus on Life!