Christmas is coming!!!

Yo ho ho…Christmas is coming well for me that is kind of a reality. I have just managed to make it through the first Christmas Party of the season. It went something like this… My sense of smell is sort of intrinsically connected to my heart. I tend to repetitively tell people they smell nice and my hands start waving round Italian style when l go into those boutiques that are filled with potpourri and lavender sachets.

So like 5 days before our [actually 1 of our] Christmas parties I decide I am going to have a lavender Potpouri Christmas theme. Ahhhh, so as it happens we have an amazing lady who has a lavender farm in Ngaruawahia, I go visit her and find I need to order the lavender off  her and can't pick it up till Thursday, the party is Saturday.  Lavender Farm

Meanwhile I also have the brainwave to paint our 2 very large tables…RED. This takes me and my obedient son Dylan a whole day. Sanding plus 4 coats of paint equals headache. The tree goes up Wednesday in-between painting and I decide to reuse some of our old Christmas baubles. I paint them lavender, spray glue them, then roll them in the dried lavender. This works pretty well. I finish them off by tying some pretty ribbon round the top of them and I alternate them with gold and fluted lavender baubles. The tree is a success. The tables which had looked decidedly scary when we painted them upside down actually come up a treat when we turned them upright and l was on my way to seeing my little Christmas vision come to fruition. 

Next problem, candle sticks, I had none. I headed down to the local Ngaruawahia Anglican second hand shop and found a little wrought iron number , which I promptly painted to match the red table, plus I grab a delightful porceline rose candlestick holder. 

I also spotted a great tall glass jar that looked perfect for displaying  my new stash of dried Lavender. So after parting with the large sum of $12 l take my finds home. Now it's time to maneuver my newly painted tables, tatty hand me down sofa and chairs, borrowed 2 x pews etc around repeatedly till l find a match that vaguely resembles the vision l have in my head. Oh how much fun and hard slog this all is.                                                        

 

Another thing that added to meld together a successful Christmas Party of people who often only meet at funerals and weddings, was to pick up a throng of interesting books suitable for various ages. This proved very useful and is a great conversation starter.

Above Gran Kimpton is checking out the Marvel Chronicle with Levi, our new 13 year old. The Hydranges are from my friend Lynne. They always add an olde world touch and fitted well with the lavender theme.

So 30 of us gathered  together, we sung a Christmas Carol - everyone had a "30 second moment of fame" to share what they had got up to over the year and then we meandered down to the bush and relaxed watching the kids play in the boat - 3 of the  very brave girls swam in the pond, it was fun. There were no presents, it was great to have no commercial pressures put on us. Just being together was a special gift, especially as we have recently seen a favorite Uncle go to be with the Lord. Jesus said: “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” All the material gifts in the world are not going to guarantee that we will have the happiest Christmas. As a matter of fact, the opposite may be true. we can become irritable and resentful because of all the added stress of fighting our way through mad crowds and traffic. The recipients of your gifts may not have shown you as much appreciation as you had expected. And, maybe an argument broke out after your spouse or children told you that your gift missed the boat altogether.” The words are a reminder of Christ our greatest gift of Christmas. We claim the promise of those words “born for us,” and “a son given to us.” The words come to us as gospel, GOOD NEWS!  Christmas Story

What a gift Jesus is for you, me and the whole world! Christ is unlike all other Christmas gifts or presents. Other Christmas gifts are limited, temporal, and often conditional. On the other hand, Christ our greatest gift offers us his unlimited grace and forgiveness; his gift of love lasts forever; and he offers himself to us without conditions. Such a great gift works in us and through us; touching us in the depths of our being. In response we too are then able to give and be bearers of gifts.
 We do not have to give or worry about giving to meet certain conditions; we do not give out of fear of punishment if we fail to or by being coerced into it; we do not give to earn acceptance or gain brownie points or to save ourselves. No, because Christ accepts and loves us unconditionally; we in response are set free to give, love, and serve others unconditionally. Christmas is our celebration of God’s ultimate gift of love. God saw our pain, our devastation, our hopelessness, our brokenness, and our fragile love and he loved us so much that 
“…he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3 v 16 The Bible

Jesus is God’s ultimate gift. “Here, this baby is for you.”

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.” Jesus, the greatest gift of Christmas—for you, for me, for everyone. 

May you have a very Merry Christmas and no that know matter what you do God made and loves you very much.. 
Check this out - a cute song - Hush there's a baby

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” ― Mother Teresa

 Love from The Kimptons
Pentatonix - Carol of the Bells