Christmas Thoughts, Amelia's, and Hot Water Heaters

Dee posted this article written by Ken Neller (a Harding guy) last year. It really helped me articulate some of the feelings I have about Christmas & celebrating Jesus' birth this time of year. If you're interested, you should check it out. I think you'll enjoy it.

In case you didn't read my Miscellaneous & Extraneous Thoughts post the other day before I edited it, I'll just inform you that I had vented my feelings about some Christmas carols that we sing--my number one pet peeve is when we sing songs that have to do with the wise men visiting Jesus as he lay in the manger. The Bible says that the magi found him in a house, and our carols make the assumption that he was still laying in the manger. Unfortunately and, well, stupidly, I used a verse to refute it, that really didn't at all. I wasn't paying attention in my haste to get the post published & I used the wrong verse. Malia corrected me on that & added some of her own frustrations about the assumptions we make & sing about that relate to Jesus' birth. For one, the wise men being "wise." She's heard a presentation that these men probably dabbled in black magic. I think that's what she said--she may have to correct me again! I actually deleted that section of my post & her comment, & now wish I had saved them so I could remember what she said. Basically, the point I got from Malia, & I'm grateful she shared it with me: It doesn't really matter what inaccuracies we sing about or talk about (because there are plenty of liberties we've taken to fill in the details), as long as we remember the reason we're singing about Christ's birth. Without His birth, there would not have been the amazing, exemplary life He lived on this earth, there would not have been His ministry, there would not have been His death, & there certainly would not have been His resurrection, which is the miracle that still saves us 2000+ years later. What should be our focus?? Really, you should check out that article. :)

Yesterday, I had a pretty ordinary experience that turned into something rather cool. The furnace guy returned to our house to finish his repairs on the furnace. When the boys & I were in NJ, the heater stopped working. When I returned I called to have it fixed. I recognized the guy that came but couldn't place him. Yesterday, though, I remembered. He is a regular at the restaurant where I used to work. So I asked him, & he said that he had remembered me. We talked a little about the old restaurant, which he doesn't seem to like as much anymore. He asked me if I had been to Amelia's, a new Italian restaurant here in town (the other restaurant, Sal's, where I used to work, was in another town). I said that I hadn't. He told me that Buddy, a guy that used to cook at Sal's opened it up with his family. He also said that the service wasn't that great. After he left, Amelia's remained on my mind. I know this is really strange, just bear with me. I got this idea in my head that they could use my help, & of course, I would benefit from helping them with more income. So I talked Dan into going there to eat last night. (He wasn't very excited about going out & spending money when we don't have that much coming in, you know?) It was pretty slow. I think they need to advertize more. No one seems to really know about it. Anyway, my furnace guy was right, the service was so-so. This girl we had, she really seemed to be trying, but she was so quiet & timid. I wanted to offer her advice!! Buddy was standing behind the counter & saw me...& recognized me! He came over to say hi, & introduced me to his wife, Amy, who I actually knew--she also used to work at Sal's. But I guess Buddy didn't remember that we worked there at the same time. SOOO...I told them I could help out if they needed me, & Buddy said that they had a full staff, but some that weren't necessarily working out, so he would think about it & get back to me. Later on, while I was paying, Amy asked me if I'm staying home with the kids. I said yes, & that I babysit some too. (Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Amy is pregnant, & due in April) So a few minutes later she & Buddy came back over & said that they are actually looking into childcare. They have someone to interview in a few days, but if it didn't work out, they were wondering if they could call me about it. So, wow!

I really felt God leading me there yesterday. I don't know how to explain it, because I didn't actually hear a booming voice from heaven telling me to take the family & head to dinner at Amelia's, I didn't even hear a quiet voice in my head--just my own. But after dinner, despite my disappointment that I didn't have a job offer firmly on the table, I felt like I was supposed to go there, offer to help out, agree to consider babysitting their child, etc. And, actually, we ran into a family whose son was on Nathan's soccer team. They ended up sitting next to us & we enjoyed chatting with them. Maybe they were the reason we were there?? I don't know. It was interesting. And I get the feeling there is more coming...whatever my reason for needing to be there yesterday, it's not come to fruition yet. Kinda exciting!

We've been getting Christmas cards in the mail the past few days--I'm really enjoying them. Thank you, Auntie An, for all the great pictures! I CAN'T believe some of you actually send your cards out so early! No, I haven't gotten there yet! I haven't even started, except that yesterday I bought 60 stamps--hoping that's enough! I can never remember from year to year how many cards I send out. To be honest, something this year feels strange about sending out a newsletter. Now that I'm doing this blog thing, it seems like my newsy letter will be redundant to those who read my blog. Will any of you mind? Probably not. Still not sure, though. I might have to be creative--something I'm not very gifted in.

This morning, Derek has been feeling pretty sick. It wasn't just that he woke up around 4 and wanted to be with someone (that "someone" was me & I ended up sleeping in his bed with him so we could let Dan enjoy sleeping in--those little toddler beds in the shape of a car are pretty cute until you try fitting your 5'7" frame into one--maybe it's time to get a guest bed). After waking up at 7, he was already back asleep by 9. Dan wanted to go over to the school to get some work done & he took the two older boys with him. I laid Derek down & hopped in the shower. AWWWWW... peace, quiet, & all the hot water I could ask for. Nice. I don't know much about hot water heaters, but I do know that ours isn't very good. We only get about 1 & 1/2 hot showers in a row. If you want a full shower, & you're the second one to take one, you have to wait an hour after the first one. Most mornings during the week, I need to get in right after Dan so I can be finished before the kids are all up. But that gives me about 30 seconds. If you're a guy, you're thinking, "no big deal." If you're a woman, you know that isn't enough time to wash your hair, let alone add conditioner, wash your body, face, shave, etc. My priority is to get my hair washed & then whatever else I have time for I consider an added bonus. So today was like a BIG GIFT!

Hope you have all the hot water you need on this frigid December day! Only 16 days left until Christmas!!