Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well, Merry Christmas everyone! It was a rather pleasant day with the usual fuss but without the muss. I got away without cooking once again. I like that. Got to meet a new grand-niece for the first time. She has great blue eyes so her new nickname is B-Berrie. Enjoyed the morning with my hubby and two homeschooled children opening gifts. I got away without shopping this year too.

I've decided Christmas is much more pleasant and meaningful without the fuss of gift giving, food preparation and trying to create a major photo op of the day. By keeping it simple I much more enjoyed the reflection of what this day truly means. Sure it was great to see sisters I don't often see, spend time with my mom, and talk on the phone with my nephew in the Army, but this particular day brought me some much needed peace to my mind and heart.

The world seems in such turmoil at times, not only locally but on a larger global scale and I have no control over that. My thoughts today were with those who have no peace or freedom in their lives, mainly because of the bad choices they've made. Life is about choices my friends. We get to where we are by the choices we make. Maybe we need to slow down our lives in order to take our time in making those choices. Get ourselves informed better, take time to research and learn what the consequences will be. Slow the rat race down before we are caught up in a frenzied free fall without hope or inner peace.

There are more important aspects to this life on earth. I know because I've seen glimmers of them. By homeschooling we were able to slow the rat race down to a manageable speed at the least. We were on cruise control for awhile which allowed us to look around and take in the scenery, garnering information and allowing us to order our lives. Although still searching for some answers today, we were able to help others along the way and still do.

Calm. It's all about calm. 'Tis a gift to be simple is more than just a song. It is a way of life. Why make life more complicated than it already is. Or is it. Sometimes I think we make it more complicated than it really is. Homeschooling was the easy part of raising our children. Now is the difficult part...watching them try to survive in a schooled world.

Merry Christmas everyone. This celebration day of the birth of Christ was a rebirth for me in some ways. With it I hope to strengthen my resolve to find calm, grace and peace in my world in order to help others find the same in theirs.