Star of wonder, Star of Light...

Why a tree?? 

I did tons of research before I was married and after. And we really weigh what to do and what not to do when it comes to traditions and things for our family. Where does God want us?? What does HE want us doing/not doing. 

And my big thing is things aren't evil. Trees. Decorations. Etc. The heart of man is evil. Man turns inanimate objects into dirty, evil, things. And if in my house we bless our tree and we change the meaning of it, for us, then Some pagan idiots from years passed aren't the reason for OUR tree.
My mom made the tree about CHRIST growing up. She changed the meaning for us because she could. She made everything about Jesus.  Because that's the beauty of the gospel, really. Everything in life can relay back to Jesus Christ..

Beautiful trees that God made don't HAVE to represent evil or paganism or anything else we despise. We talked about how Jesus was born. How he laid in a manger. How he died on a cross. About how that manger and cross were made of wood. Sure it wasn't the exact same wood as the tree in our house. But it made us think about Jesus and what great love he poured out by coming here as a baby born just the same way as we were. She talked about how Jesus takes us and transforms us and lavishes his love upon us. And our lost soul goes from needy and dirty and tattered to brand new and clean and healed. And the tree represented that beauty to me. I remember thinking of it that way. We decorated the tree and sang all the great holy Christmas carols. They make me cry and I listen to them all year. We tied it in and made our own traditions. In SC, avoiding worldly things was all the rage in a big way. People boycotted everything. But in our house with a Christian mom, She went with the flow & my dad loves Christmas so she made memories and gave us four kids a childhood of joy. She knew that one day we would be here and things wouldn't be the same.

Every year at this time, no matter what, I have so much fun and joy fills the air. The man selling the Christmas trees was so friendly and kind. I heard him say tons family, he loves seeing smiling children as they pick a tree. And jump up and down for joy. Elijah was in awe of all the trees. I get excited thinking about what he will say as he is older. Because I will explain to him that God made everything. He made so much beauty for us to enjoy. My mom always asked us questions about God and we had such profound answers as toddlers/young kids. We pretended that we were shepherds and the angel on the top of our family tree was the choir of angels finding us in the field. Some of my most cherished memories. We tied a star to a long stick and pretended we were following it to Jesus. One Christmas my sister was born, dec 20, and that was amazing. My brother said, "we have our own baby on Christmas. Mom you are like Mary" it was the sweetest most tender moment. Him realizing a little more about God. 

Elijah is young so he doesn't understand much. He knows we pray before food and bed and when we leave the house and anytime we feel we need to. But even that he's not fully grasping quite yet. But he's so into it whenever we do it. 

Christmas is special to me. I do my best to keep my Christ eyes open all year. And especially this year. Christmas and all the fun activities have been such a blessing.  All sorts of bad things can be happening but then Christmas arrives and God has helped us all have fun moments and memories. And reminded us that it's okay to have fun amidst stress and pain. We don't have to sit and be sad constantly. Which is easy to do. Because sometimes life feels like watching a car crash that we can't stop. The harsh reality of people you love not choosing Jesus. And what that truly means for their souls. Terrifies me. But no one can force anyone to love Jesus-- To see the truth. 

We choose. 

We've had Some amazing photo opportunities. Some from getting our tree are the best photos I've ever taken. And just all around joy.

I don't want to be a part of the crowd and do things I shouldn't do. But making memories and being together, having fun looking at my sparkly tree with all the special ornaments on it doesn't make it a pagan thing. (Kaleb and I buy each other a special ornament every year we started it when we were dating). Because we aren't pagan. That tree is just a teeny tiny reminder of the majesty of my Savior. And I love looking at the intricate details of pine trees. They are my favorite. Such perfection and symmetry. 

And when it's done inside we will put it by our big picture window and we will decorate for the birds. It's so fun! Maybe it will even attract a cardinal! That would be my Christmas miracle. I love cardinals.

We all have to weigh and search our souls. And for me, where there is joy and love and smiles and laughter in my life, there is God. Because I seek the Kingdom first and watch as God works miracle after miracle. The day we had planned to get our tree was 55 degrees in December! I was so thankful and amazed. We were able to make an amazing day out of it. We've never gotten a real tree. And I thought it would be a fun tradition to start. Christmas tree cutting photos every year. 

And I see God in it all. He's right there. Leading us and helping us. He always is. And protecting our hearts and showing us how to cherish one another. And we've been budgeting for money but isn't about gifts this year. God really blessed us with great deals and yard sale finds and generous people and family. It helped us out tremendously. All of that is because God works in people's hearts and if it takes Christmas traditions to soften people and so on, that's okay.

Many Blessings!