December Redux: My Favorite (and least fave) Things About December

Obviously, it's been forever since I posted here.  I thought about lots of fun things to write, but there was always a church program or party or time with friends or shopping or wrapping or watching a movie or being lazy to get in the way.  So now you get to read the highlights from December.

Things I loved about this December:

1. Listening to so much fun Christmas music!  Approximately 10% of my itunes is Christmas music.  This does not bother me for 2 reasons.  1 - it's not my fault that the Messiah has like a 100 songs and 2 - Christmas music is ALL I listen to for almost 10% of the year, so it makes sense.

2. And this I year I LOVED all of the great original Christmas music out there.  Andrew Peterson has been a standard for several years now and Bebo (PC alum - woo hoo!) has been joining the ranks, but this year Dave Carter & Tracy Grammar stole the show.  Listen to samples from their work here.  The title track, American Noel, is my favorite.  It's a retelling of the Nativity in modern America with a blugrassy feel.  I just listened to the 20 second clip (track 8) and teared up from that.  I love this song.  And I love that I first at heard it at church.  "He'll bring joy, joy, joy to the wandering soul".  Go Tell the Fox is my second favorite track on this one

Go tell the sinner, weeping in his prison

Go tell the widow on her lonely way

Go tell the seeker, searching for a reason

Tell the philosopher old and grey

Tell 'em baby Jesus was born today

3. Speaking of church, I also love that our church prints an Advent devotional every year, complete with Scriptures, hymns, creeds, and collets from the Book of Common Prayer.  Even more, I love that this year it didn't stop right at Dec 25 but continued through the Christmas season to January 5.  It helps give me a jump start on those New Years resolution and combats the post-Christmas let down feeling.

4.  I also loved the message from Advent Conspiracy. I think it's a really timely and challenging reminder of what the Christmas season really means to us.  Instead of giving to the water project mentioned, our church chose to direct giving towards a great local ministry - Decatur Cooperative Ministry.  They have really cool programs like Pride for Parents, where parents who are struggling financially can work in their gift store to earn money to buy the new/gently used items there to give to their children for Christmas.  They also run Hagar's House which is one of the only (if not THE only) shelters in Atlanta that allows teenage sons to stay in the same shelter as their mom instead of going on their own to a separate men's shelter which is HUGE - you're a single mom, possibly battered, definitely broke, and now you have to send your son to a whole other building by himself to stay with a bunch of strange men?  What a blessing to be able to keep your family together at the same shelter as you work to get back on your feet!  

5. I'm also so thankful to have spent time with friends this December.  In the midst of all the busyness, it was great to stop for lunch, dinner, or a walk with a dear friend and just share what we're learning and laugh together.  

6. These cookies.  Yum!  And making them (and loads of other kinds) with my mom and sister this Christmas, like every other Christmas. Picture here.

7. My sister and I were watching The Sound of Music on Christmas Eve and we had to stop right after "Favorite Things" and although we didn't pitch the fit we might have when were kids, we were kind of bummed to stop the movie and miss The Goatherd Song and So Long, Farewell.  When we came back it was the "Climb Every Mountain"  and run and hide from the Nazis part.  Boring.  Let's turn that off and go play Life.  Except wait, my dad (who somehow never saw this movie although my sister and I watched it continuously through childhood) was like "Wait, there's Nazis?  Isn't this a based on a true story?  Look at that car!"  Too cute!!  So we all stayed and watched to the end.  

My Less Favorite Things about December

1. Driving in holiday traffic, in construction, in Atlanta, in the rain.  

2. The Christian radio station here put up billboards EVERYWHERE that had a big picture of Santa that says "Santa Listens".  Really?  Really, Christian radio station?  No matter where you fall in the Santa debate (and I'm undetermined at this point), I find pasting a blatant lie all over town on your Christian billboard pretty off-putting.  

3.  And this one might be kind of controversial and I mean no offense, but as much as I love getting Christmas cards and as cute as your family is and as faithfully as I'll put the pictures of your kids or dog up in my fridge, you're my friend, and I'd love to actually hear from you - even something as simple as Merry Christmas, We love you, Hope to see you in 2012, Praying for your New Year, etc. Less than 1/4 of the Christmas cards I received actually had something hand-written on them.  Maybe I'm just old-fashioned or behind the times, but I'm a sucker for something hand-written arriving in the mail. I just think it's so much more relational.  However, I did love, love, love the personal thank you note written by a college student who's involved in the RUF ministry of someone whose ministry I support.  Will definitely be including that idea in March's support raising I&O talk. :)

How about you?  Any favorite things from this December?  Any Christmas pet-peeves?