get engaged

It feels like it's been a long time since I had to make a special trip to be home for Christmas. It's strange, I guess this is the first year since living in Tulsa that it has really even hit me. Perhaps it's because I haven't considered it much until now, just one day before my sweet baby sister flies home for the holidays.

I've got to be honest, I'm not sure if it is because of the perpetual whirlwind the past few years have been, or how I get the feeling of 'easing' into Christmas when I'm close, but I think I much prefer being on this side of the coin.

The years that I lived in Oklahoma I always felt a little ripped-off because Christmas seemed to sneak up so quickly on me. I usually didn't even hear her footsteps tiptoeing across the floor. I attribute this two things mainly: the lack of family nearby, and the absence of snow... it definitely wasn't because of the Christmas music I began playing in October!

As I look at the holidays so quickly approaching, and how they seem to fly by before you know it, I've made a conscious decision to capture and enjoy every moment of it to the best of my ability. Just like Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown, I'm going to mentally freeze frame every tender and special moment with a mental 'click,' storing it away to be visited for years to come. I want to literally let myself 'live' in the moments.

Who knows what the future holds...? With Livy living out of state, and my new journeys yet to unfold, it's tough to trust that we'll always be in Michigan when the snow flies. It's the same for all of us, and that's why we have to purposely invest ourselves into the moments happening around us, connecting with friends and family; giving room for warmth to grow between us.

I had a meeting out of town today, so I picked up food to eat in the car as I drove. I said a quick prayer aloud to give thanks for the meal while I pulled out into traffic. I was immediately convicted by what I heard come out of my mouth...

'Lord, thank you for this food, bless it to our bodies...'

Our bodies?! I was alone in the car!! It was then that I realized I was not investing my heart into the prayer at all. For whatever reason (distraction, hunger, not caring enough to take time) I was just throwing out meaningless words with my heart totally detached.

I was convicted.

How many times do we do this in life? Not just in times of prayer, but at work, in relationships, when we're preoccupied. Too often, I'm afraid. This holiday season, I'm making an honest attempt to really invest myself into the people around me, and to allow a place of sincere thankfulness to settle in my heart. We are recipients of the greatest Gift the world has ever been given! This should be evident in all that we do. Take in the sights and sounds. Indulge the thrill of a child opening her gifts. Shed sentimental tears when you see the Nativity placed with care on the mantle.

Above all, remember to engage your heart.