Christmas IS...

Christmas Day is nearly here, but the spirit of Christmas has been hanging around in its usual fashion for weeks now. Our pretty city has hints of Christmas everywhere, including this gem that I saw last night on Fountain Square:

merry christmas, cincinnati! 

 This morning, we walked into a beautifully-decorated service at SonRise:

gorgeous! 

Today was a huge encouragement, in a lot of ways. First, the message today, via Chad, which spoke to both Rob and I in a big way. If there's one thing I forget every year around this time, it's not distinguishing the real reason for the season, or extending Christmas greetings to our family & friends... what it usually is though, is a blurring of our limits. Most of the time, I just refuse to believe that I actually have limits, and consequently manage to over-commit myself to everything, everyone, and being everywhere. It's impossible to please everyone, and when I try to force it, it becomes a daunting challenge rather than a joyful experience, and that in itself strips away some of the meaning behind the holiday. Reality check, much? :)

Oh, and after that, Rob & I took care of some household things before heading back out for a missions meeting! More details to come, but for the time being, please just... PRAY for us as we commit to and begin the preparation process for our mission trip in 2015 to Panama!

#sonrisepanama2015

Your prayers are exceedingly appreciated; I'll post a few updates soon with a little more detail on this trip!

For now, it's back to this knitting deal & a close to an awesome day.
♥♥♥!

xo | cmd