Every Day Life: Snapshots of Christmas

By Lara

[Editor's Note: Lara wrote a fabulous post two weeks ago about trying to come up with something creative to write for her Christmas letter to her family and friends. Here is the rest of the story.]

A little girl in a yellow nightgown sits on her knees smiling at someone in the background. The frost has laced the window behind her with intricate fragile swirls. The early morning light brushes against her golden locks. Spread out on the floor, scattered amongst crumpled red wrappings, are pieces to a building set. Bright colored sticks with tiny plastic connectors. She is building a tower. It will be the tallest tower that she's ever built - taller than she is. Her eyes sparkle and her cheeks glow. Her father helps her reach higher and higher. Her mother takes pictures of this favorite gift the girl will almost remember that she loved.

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Every Day Life: In Heaven

By Beth M

Recently I have re-read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, book 5 in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Partly because I love the series and partly because the movie is coming out soon and I need to be prepared to criticize it. You'll be happy to know that I am thoroughly prepared. Once I finished that book I thought, "Hey, why not read books 6 and 7 too?" After all, I've only read them about 37 times each, not like The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe which I know by heart. So I read The Silver Chair and The Last  Battle.

It was the last book, The Last Battle, that really spoke to me this time. I've read it tons of times, know the story inside and out, but this time it just somehow meant more. It really got me thinking about heaven and eternity and all that stuff that I believe in but never really think about. It's scary to think of FOREVER, we can't understand it, makes my head hurt to try. I think my way, and maybe lots of others' way of thinking about heaven can be summed up in the Kenny Chesney song "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" the lines of interest being: "don't you want to hear  Him call your name when you're standing at the pearly gates? I told him, 'Preacher, yes I do but I hope He don't' call today, I ain't ready!" "here's a ten to help you remember, the next time you've got the good Lord's ear, tell Him I'm coming but there ain't no hurry, I'm having fun down here." "everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to go now" We think of all the fun things we want to do, or are doing, and think that heaven can't measure up!

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Every Day Life: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman (at Christmas)

By Lara

She sits alone in her bedroom looking for any and every distraction possible to keep her from coming up with something creative to write for the holidays. She's already finished half of her vacation scrapbook… made lists of people to buy gifts for… watched a movie or three… called half the people in her phonebook… played her cat to exhaustion… fed and entertained her parents… Sigh. If she had sucked it up and spent $4.88 per 12 cards in a box of non-tacky Christmas cards at Walmart, she could be addressing envelopes right now… and staring at a blank computer screen trying to write a Christmas LETTER. She takes a deep breath. And so she begins.

Right. What will I write this year to amuse and entertain my friends and family? A fable? No. It's been done… recently. Remember the penguin? A play? Hmm. I wrote a Thanksgiving play last year. I guess this year should be a story of some kind.

A story. What could I write about? It has to be funny… People have come to expect that from me. And it has to be appropriate for both friend and family audiences alike. Let me think. What is funny? Bananas are funny. Banana. Banana. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Sigh. No bananas. Oooo. It could be about an animal. Everybody loves Christmas stories about animals. Ok. So… there could be this hippo. And she's friends with a… lion. Wait. That seems too… Madagascar. No hippos. Weasels with chainsaws are funny, but not universally appealing. Maybe I should put funny on the back burner for a bit.

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Every Day Life: All I Want For Christmas...

By Beth M

People constantly ask me what I want for Christmas, here are a few things I tell them:

All I want for Christmas is a day off, seriously, this whole working full time, being a grown-up is overrated.

All I want for Christmas is for my car to last the winter, that's all, just until I can save for a new-to-me one.

All I want for Christmas is a husband, but not really, I'm way too independent for that. How about just someone to go to movies with and snuggle with on the couch? I know…..

…..All I want for Christmas is a puppy! Oh, wait, you can't take them to the movies. Never mind.

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Every Day Life: Thanksgiving

By Lara

Several years ago, my mother approached me regarding our family tradition of Thanksgiving. She felt that Thanksgiving hadn't felt festive since my grandfather died. I agreed with her. She asked me for suggestions for making a more festive holiday. I set to work immediately.

I spent some time thinking about what we used to do to make Thanksgiving festive during my elementary school years. I remember dressing up as a pilgrim. I remember shaking a jar of cream for 6 hours trying to make butter. I remember making turkeys out of hand prints. I remember making maracas out of dried seeds, brown paper, and popsicle sticks. However, I do not remember any Thanksgiving SONGS. I had thought that "Over the River and Through the Woods" was a Thanksgiving song (probably because of the pumpkin pie reference), but I was mistaken. It's a Christmas song.

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