Announcing a New Women's Bible Study, Christmas, and How Are You Doing?

As we settle in to a New Year, I just want to share how grateful I am for this community of women and the friendships we have come to share in this blog world. I know the Christmas season can be a difficult one for many, and I hope that there were some moments of comfort and peace for each of you this year.

To kick off the year with a fresh start, we will be doing a bible study on Nancy Leigh Demoss's book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. It is one of my favorites, and I'm so excited to delve into it in the coming weeks. I hope many of you will be able to join in, as well....even if just to read along and share your heart as you feel led.

This book is not specifically about grief, but it does address many of the areas we struggle with as women. So, I think it will be helpful...whatever you are facing. We will not be doing a weekly Walking With You, as I will be doing the study on The Beauty of Sufficient Grace blog, beginning Monday, January 3rd, and continuing each Monday after for several weeks. You can tune in there to participate and/or read along.

In an effort to keep in touch and share what's on our hearts, though...I would love to hear how you are doing...how this Christmas was for you and your family...what prayer requests you have...what's on your heart for the coming year. Please share in the comments of this post...or leave a link to a blog post you may wish to share, and I'll get over to visit.

My Christmas was busy, as always! We usually have what I call a Marathon of Christmas celebrations over the course of a few days. This year was no exception. In the frenzy, I try to grasp moments of peace and reflection as I think of the reason for all of the celebration...the gift of our Savior. There were moment's like that...standing at the candlelight service, listening to my husband's guitar and the voices of our church family blending with mine as we sang Silent Night. And there were moments of laughter with family and friends...good food, fun presents.

There were also, moments of missing...as there always are. The time after the children open their presents on Christmas morning...when I would normally call my mother to give her my recap of the morning and chat with her while cooking Christmas dinner to prepare for the evening celebration at my house. I ache for her with a fresh longing each year, wishing desperately to hear her voice. I dreamed that I was talking to her on the phone. But, the dream ended so quickly. Times when bittersweet memories wash over me, as I hung ornaments on the tree in memory of Faith, Grace, and Thomas and my mother's ornaments. Reminders that while we celebrate here, there are some missing from our celebration...ones we love who celebrate in heaven.

Angie Smith calls it The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy....and rightly so. That's exactly what this life is. A dance of grief and joy, interwoven into the tapestry of our lives. They are not completely separate...one from the other. But, they dance together in the moments we walk through. They dance together, and we must find a way to dance along with them. I don't claim to have the answer to that...and truthfully, I'm too clumsy to try and learn the perfect steps, and, therefore, ill-equipped to teach them. I prefer to take my Savior's hand, and follow His lead...knowing that the best I can hope for is to be carried along life's dance in His loving arms.

Oh...I almost forgot...there was one special moment I wanted to share. One that was sacred and touching. Tim and I received a precious gift from his grandmother this Christmas. It had three sweet baby angels on the sides of a lovely bowl. It was a gift in memory of our three babies in heaven. What made it even more precious...more meaningful than I can even convey...was that it is the first time our babies were remembered at Christmas on that side of his family...the first time in fourteen years. We received it with tears in our eyes...touched beyond words to know that our Faith, Grace, and Thomas were acknowledged and remembered. I won't lie...it touched places in my heart that are so tender, I prefer to keep them covered with layers of protection. But, it was good. Good to have that place of tenderness touched. Good to know they were remembered. Good to see God's grace washing over all of us...gently healing deep wounds, reminding us that He sees...that he values each life...that we are all precious in His sight.

Please know you are in our hearts and in our prayers as you continue this process of healing, missing your sweet baby and other loved ones, and take steps into  a New Year...

Love to all...