This will be our third Christmas on the farm.
It's the most Christmas's we've ever spent in one place.
There are God-size reasons that we've moved so much in the past and I'm sure there are God-size reasons why we might be in this humble farmhouse for many years to come.
And the truth is,
I am so very thankful for the privilege of this place.
HOME__ /hom/-
"The Christian home is where we find spiritual agreement and purpose. Here is where we build Christian character and teach sound doctrine within the privacy of the family unit. Here is where love begins, kindness is shown to all, and loyalty is instilled in each member. Here is where children are free to share their dreams and fears openly..."
{A great little blurb on what a Biblical home looks like, here}
I want our home to be a safe-haven for the five that I love most. But our home has never been about the building, it's about the folks that live inside and even more than that, it's about what's in the hearts of those folks.
During the season of Christ come down,
what better way to soak up all that Christ has already given than to give all of ourselves in learning to love like He loves?
So on the first Saturday of December I woke up early.
I switched the laundry, and straigtened up the living room.
I turned the Christmas music on low and smiled to myself as I brushed my teeth.
Each year since we've been in this place, we start December with a drive up the mountain to find the perfect Christmas tree.
It's this thing we do as a family.
It's a coming together to start a season well.
We eat donuts and Mama takes an insane amount of pictures and we chat about how great it was the year before, and how this year is gonna be even better.
And it's true, each year does get better.
There are more memories made and laughter had, and there is always that moment when we make that final decision, as a family, to deem that one tree deep in the forest to be OURS.
It's not about the tree.
It's about us together.
Its about home.
It's about the place where we build each other up in Him and we choose kindness and our love for our Jesus and each other grows through the hunt of how to do all these things well.
Home is where He refines us.
It's where He makes us aware of our weakness and His strength.
That's the awesomeness of family.
We don't have it all together.
We figure it out one piece at a time. Then after a lifetime of surrender and selflessness and uninhibited love for one another.... Then... THEN... He turns all the pieces into a masterpiece for His glory.
And on a Saturday in early December we soak up a bit more of His extravagant love.