I can't believe another December has rolled around-wait a minute- do I say that every month? Well, I'm sure my husband or my adult kiddos would say I do. But anyway here we are in December. As I write this it has been in the 30's/20's in temps outside which is a little unusual for us but tomorrow is supposed to be 50s. Ha-Kentucky weather!
Are you a decorator or Christmas shopper? Well if you are I'm sure you are feeling the pressure but I hope to convince you to not put so much pressure on yourself. It seems natural to most people for there to be a little hustle and bustle around the holidays but as we all know that can be a sure fire way of draining all the joy out of celebration-for most of us anyway. Now, I know a few of you are die hard Christmas shoppers/Black Friday junkies. Maybe it's not Christmas without finding that awesome holiday bargain. Thinking of all that madness stresses me out to the point of retreating into a corner (maybe with a book). But if it brings you joy to find something special to share with someone you love I understand.
So back to the topic at hand in the title-The Heart of Hope. There is a special magic this time of year wrapped up in the topic of hope. In my heart of hope, I carry the joy of knowing this time of year in a stable on the other side of the world Hope was born-His name was Jesus. The Hope of the world. This is where my joy comes from at Christmas and all year long. My faith is the driving force of how I choose to live and how I treat others (and I have made and make a lot of mistakes along the way-I assure you that I am not perfect). I'm not here to convince you to believe the way I do. I will love you just the same and would be happy to share my table with you if you have questions about where my hope comes from.
But in my heart of hope, I want love to spring forth- Love in seeing others succeed, love in seeing relationships restored, love in sharing our life with people we love and new people we meet. Yes, I believe the the cure to all of the world's problems begins and ends with love. Love in a Savior named Jesus, the Hope for all the world. Hope is such a beautiful thing-just like a flower.
So changing gears here what can we do this time of year outside. Well, I know it's tempting to clean up all the spent plants and seed heads in your landscape but leave them-the seed heads anyway. It feeds the birds and other wildlife-such as squirrel, chipmunks and the sort. It's tempting to mow the leaves as well but they are great at providing a mulch to your landscape to provide warmth to your plants as well as harboring overwintering butterflies and other wildlife that we so enjoy in our gardens. I also leave my hydrangea bushes with their flower heads on just to provide a bit of winter interest-by about Feb they have lost lots of their brown petals and I am ready to cut them back with anticipation of what will come in the new season.
I hope that this December you are filled with love and joy. I hope you can count the multitude of blessings that you have been given-sometimes it's hard if grief hits home but I assure you-make a list of your blessings. Make it. It will help pull you out of sadness so you can share the joy of being arounds those you love. If you have to make the list every day, or twice a day or three times a day but just make it. It's ok to have grief with the sadness but it's not healthy for us to live there. I know this December blog has been all over the place but that is my authentic self-I am kind of all over the place (and thankful for a husband and children that love me just the way I am). My friends, I hope there was something here to help you and I hope you have a beautiful December. See you later!
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