Dear Santa

Well here we are again, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the sales and shopping craziness. Christmas is all around! I love everything about this time of year, the smells that trigger so many memories, the glow of the lights, but I especially love the nonstop Hallmark Christmas movies!! Although I do think the amount of emotions that I have while watching them might be the sign of a serious problem, I am choosing to ignore that! 😊

As I asked my kids to start making their wish lists, I started thinking that after the year we have had, I had a wish list of my own that has nothing to do with what is wrapped under the tree. So here it is…

Dear Santa,

It’s been a while, quite a while…

I have a Christmas list that is so much harder than the the ones I used to write. I wish I could ask for something simple like a Barbie or a beeper(yes I am that old), but my request is not so simple this year. As you know, five years ago when I remarried, I gained a husband and a daughter to add to my two kids. We are now a blended family of five. So many complications came with this that were unexpected to say the least, and it hasn’t been easy on any of us. So this year my Christmas wish is this… well behaved kids filled with kindness and love toward each other, calm Godly spirit for my husband, and gentle patience for me. Even the most perfect gift beautifully wrapped under the tree could not compare to the joy this would bring.

I still believe,

~Bethany

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To Birthday or Not to Birthday…

Okay, I realize the title makes me sound like a total nerd… If you know me, then you are used to it…if not, it only gets worse. 🙂

Oh birthdays. Isn’t it funny how when we are young we count down the days with excitement waiting for them to arrive, but as the years add up we begin to ignore them as best we can in order of avoid the inevitable fact that we are dun dun dun…AGING. My birthday is soon, really soon, and I have been pretty negative about it. In fact I have been for quite a few years now. I don’t know if its the fact that I thought I would have it all together in my thirties and I’m not even close to having it all together, or the fact that I am terrified at the thought of looking old. Whatever the reason is, it is like a dark cloud that hovers over November 26th and for years now on that day I have sat in it’s shadow and let it steal my joy. So this year, I am trying something new! When I opened up my Bible app this morning the daily verse struck a C chord with me…you know the key of C when after a melody has come to it’s end and the last chord is back home where it should be and all makes sense?(I literally just coined that!) 🙂  That is what this verse did for me…

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:13)

Giving thanks, what a concept. Being thankful is easy to say that we do, especially around Thanksgiving, but are we really thankful? It’s funny how many times I catch myself praying for this and that and forgetting to thank God for all he has given me. I don’t think it is a coincidence that my birthday falls this time of year, I know being thankful is something I have to work on. It is so easy to get caught up in the things I wish were different or better instead of being grateful for the things that I have. When I get down over my birthday, what am I saying to God? I would be so hurt if someone didn’t like a gift I had given them. I can’t imagine how God feels when I reject his gifts.  I should be thankful that I have been given another year on this earth to be with my loved ones, instead of worrying about the time that has passed. I am definitely thankful that I get a whole other year to be in my thirties! Someone might need to remind me of this post next year! 🙂 As for this year I will Birthday, and I will do it with Thanksgiving. (Pun intended) I challenge all of you to think about what you are thankful for! Leave me a comment and let me know! Let’s all start treating everyday like Thanksgiving, well maybe not the eating part…that could be a problem! 🙂

~Bethany

 

 

In The Storm

Sometimes life is hard, really hard. I know you all know this and we all go through hard times in our lives, but a simple storm made me realize something and I thought I’d share.

I was on the way to teach a cake class in Sugarland a few weeks ago and as I pulled onto the Grand Parkway, I noticed this dark, angry sky ahead of me.  At that moment there was a beautiful sunny sky above me, but all I could see in front of me was darkness. 

I wanted to turn around and go back home, but there were kids that were expecting me and in order to make it, I knew that I would have to drive straight into this nightmare of a sky.  Fast forward about 5 minutes and into the heart of the storm… I was going 10 mph in a 75 mph zone with NO idea where the road was.  The rain was coming down so hard that I couldn’t see anything except the water smacking my windshield. My anxiety kicked into full gear…I didn’t know when I was on an overpass,  or if I was even in a lane, and I couldn’t see any other cars until they were too close for comfort.  I just wanted to stop and hide in the backseat until it was over, but I kept going…not by choice….I literally couldn’t see where to pull over so I stayed right where I was hoping I was in a lane. It felt like an eternity before I even saw a sliver of light, but then the rain turned into a drizzle and the clouds began to part. WHEW, the light was peeking through. Finally! My breathing began to normalize and I began to relax the death grip that I had on the steering wheel.

As I drove back into the sunlight, I began to realize that this storm was placed in front of me that day for a reason.  I had a rough few weeks and I was in need of a reminder that I needed to let go and let God.

God has a plan for our life. He never promises that we won’t go through storms, in fact he says that we will, but he does promise that he will be there with us.  The hardest days that I face are not a punishment, but my training, and as hard as it might be to keep going through the storms in life, God’s purpose for me is waiting on the other side. Each storm that I come out of makes me stronger, and equipped with more tools to help withstand the next one, so bring it on! Well…maybe not while I’m driving. 😉

~Bethany