Something New

Drawn by Karalee on our new
Christmas tree box!

Welcome to the 2012 Christmas season! It is glorious. We have leaves falling, and we are delighting in the cool breeze. Oh, we wish we had an indoor fireplace. We have an outdoor fireplace; imagine that! And we have a firepit that we greatly enjoy on the weekends. We burn off the fallen limbs around the property and enjoy sitting around the fire. But on the days it is too cold to be outside, we long for that indoor fireplace. I don't think we'll get an indoor fireplace, because our space is limited. But we are trying to figure out the best spot for a small wood-burning stove. We really need one for back-up heat in case of an ice storm and electricity lost. Unfortunately, that probably means parting with a piece of furniture; and I'm the sentimental type. So, that is going to be really difficult for me.

Brand new tree

This leads me to another item we need to part with - our old Christmas tree. I don't remember the year we bought it, but it has to be over 15 years old. The layout of our "little house on a county road" is very different than we've previously had, and there just isn't room for that broad tree! So, we had to buy a new "slim" tree. I really love it though. Our old one was 7.5 feet; and our new one is 9 feet. That extra height is glorious. We had to place it in our entry way ... leaving just enough room to open the front door ... there simply was no other place. But it is so pretty there, and the lights on it shine through the front door at night. Makes me smile.

I'm not the only sentimental sap around here. My husband wants to keep our old tree and set it on the front porch with lights. I'm all for that! It so hurts to part with the old to make room for the new and necessary. And that is why there is a dollhouse high above the front door in the photo (look closely). One daughter is a teenager, and the other soon-to-be; but a special friend gave us the dollhouse, and hand-delivered it all the way from Mississippi. You know what I mean! But hanging on to the old can overcrowd us - our closets, doorways, and our garages - and keep us from having room for new growth.



Stockings were hung on the "bookshelf" with care ...

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus came that we could part with the old to make room for the new and necessary. It's spring cleaning in December! Let His light shine through your heart's door. If you haven't pushed away the old to let Jesus be your new, it's time to consider - something new.

(Please do not look closely at this picture!)

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Shelli


"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17