our 2013 family christmas theme:
we had a christmas theme last year and it was awesome. it gave us focus during the christmas season and after.
sadie volunteered to come up with our theme this year. she thought a lot about it.
she decided on
gloria in excelsis deo.
she heard it while listening to Pandora in the song Angles we Have Heard on High. She decided to google the meaning of the latin phrase. Gloria in Exclesis Deo means "Glory to God on the Highest". Then she looked up the definition of glorify.
"reveal or make clearer the glory of (God) by one's actions."
Sadie decided that this Christmas, she wanted our family to work on glorifying God through our actions.
we watched this for family night and loved it!!!
then...
i was in the post office sending my christmas cards. i had quite a stack. vivian wanted to get down but i knew right when i let her down, she would head straight for the door. i proceeded to hold a squirming vivian with one hand and put stamps on my stack with my other. an older man that i recognized, but didn't know, walked by. we said hello and he said, "that's a pretty big stack of envelopes" as he rushed by and out the door. i thought to myself, yes it is, and was slightly embarrassed that i was trying to complete the project in the entrance of the post office with a cute little girl that had other plans. it was my one goal for the day though, so i needed to get it done. i quickly turned my thoughts to all the wonderful people we know and how grateful i am for the friends and family we enjoy and are blessed to know. suddenly the man reappeared. i was a little shocked as he swooped in and before i knew it, took half my stack and some stamps as he said, "i got in my car and started to drive when that little voice said, 'that was a dumb thing to say! here you have your hands full and i walked quickly by and commented on how much you have to do. so i turned around. let me help you because i have two hands and you have one."
i almost started to cry. i don't know why. i was surprised and thankful and immediately thought of our family theme and how we are watching for ways to glorify God through our actions....and here someone was doing it to me! it made me realize that those moments are the best gift of all.
it is already making a difference in our family. kai was stressed and tired, which means he was crying and struggling to get through piano practicing. i was sitting by him, trying to help him. max and abe quietly went and did the rest of his jobs for him. kai was touched and stopped crying, which i had been trying to help him do for about 30 minutes. he felt loved and better. i also felt touched and better after the post office guy helped me. we had a great conversation as we put stamps on my christmas cards. as we left, i smiled and gratitude filled me. vivian and i stopped to notice the poinsettias and christmas bells that just happened to be ringing in the town center. it was a good feeling and my thoughts turned to God.
gloria in excelsis Deo!
