Celebrate Good Times, Come'on

Jon & I decided to celebrate last Friday. We had a lot of really good things to celebrate. First, Jon had finished his exams on Thursday! Hooray! Only 3 semesters left! I now have him to myself until Jan 5th, 2006. Second, my good friend Lori had been clean for over 2 weeks and had just completed Detox! We invited her along to celebrate with us. Another reason to celebrate was that I have finally been at my job officially for 1 year! Which means that I can take holidays! Which brings me to my fourth (but not final) reason.... Holidays! I have almost two glorious weeks off over the holidays. I haven't had that much time off for a long time, and we are going to make good use of it! We are traveling to Saskatoon for Christmas. We will be staying at my parents place for all of you who are interested... If you don't remember the number is 477-2648, so feel free to give us a call! We will be in town from Friday, Dec 23rd to Tuesday, Dec 26th. Then we will jet over to Jon's grandma's in Norquay for a bit and finish our holiday in Brandon, MB. My sister Jennifer just bought a house there so we will be helping her family pack and move into their new home! I have not celebrated my birthday with my family for a long time either so that will be fun! Our tradition of glow bowling will be resurrected this NewYears! There is so much to celebrate. And this is how we did it!

That's Hot!

Oh, my sweet Wesley. What have I done?

Some of you might not get the connection right away. And in fact I don't know why we all decided to change our haircolor, but it sure was fun!

Jon, Lori & Crystal

Lori went from blonde to brunette. Jon went from Dark Brown to Blonde. Crystal went from reddish to RED! I think that we were sitting in Detox visiting Lori on day last week and she reminded me that I needed to do her hair again. Darker... much darker she said. I can't remember the conversation but somehow the idea for Jon to go Blonde came up and it stuck! I have a bit more work to do on him but for a first try it came out ok. I wonder what the family will say! We certainly had a lot of comments at The Ap this weekend! Trust me... we didn't do it for shock value! Jon actually said the next morning "I think we should change it back." His reason was (as he looked in the mirror with his hair down and all frizzy) that it looked "unprofessional". I gently suggested that he do his hair before we made a final decision to turn it back to brown. He did and the above is the result! Doesn't he look Hot! Yes, yes he does!

Seriously though, we have so much to celebrate this season. This is the time of year that we celebrate our Lord and Savior's birth! It doesn't mean that December 25th was Jesus' actual birthday, the purpose of this season is to take time to remember Him. Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God. There was a holy presence in the stable on the eve of His birth.

"The celebration began many years ago and at first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that Christ had done for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Year after year dinner tables are set with delicious foods, pastries, and decorations. There are many, many beautifully wrapped gifts, none of which are gifts that are offered to Him. He is not given thanks. Not even acknowledged in our festivities as the guest of honor!

Every year it gets easier to forget. Children only remember the food, the gifts, the parties but not Jesus, not the reason for the celebration. I would like you to recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago God came to this world to give his life for you on the cross, to save you.

He died and lived for you, and you should lay down your lives for each other. Pursue peace with all people and be holy – without which you will not see Him. Be sanctified – set apart and totally given over to God.

You are all on a quest for security and happiness. The more knowledge you acquire, the less wisdom you seem to have. The more economic security you gain, the more boredom you generate. The more worldly pleasure you enjoy, the less satisfied and contented you are with life.

You search and search and find a little peace here and a little pleasure there – but nothing is permanent and satisfying. So, your search continues, yet his presence is always there.

The happiness you long for, which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. The happiness for which your soul aches, is one undisturbed by success or failure, one which will root deeply inside of you and give you inward relaxation, peace and contentment no matter what the surface problems may be.

That kind of happiness cannot be found in worldly experiences. That kind of happiness comes through Christ. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." adapted from "Jesus" by David D'Silva.

Merry Christmas to you, I hope and pray that you find the reason that we celebrate. That you would find Jesus in the smiles of your family and friends. That you would know Joy, Hope and Love this Christmas Season! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Joy to the World, All the boy's and girls!

Mondays! Today was a typical back to work Monday. I am starting to get a cold... so I didn't sleep very well last night, in fact if felt as though I did not sleep at all! I awoke with my husband's cry "What?!? It's 8:15am? I thought I set the alarm! I did set the alarm! Why didn't it go off?" Yes, a typical Monday. It doesn't help that we are both sick. I am a little less sympathetic towards him when I feel just as horrible. I did make it work on time and the day just got better and better. I say that because at 10pm tonight I feel JOY! Hence the title of this blog. In the midst of my day God gave me joy! In came in waves. I was so blessed when I received a phone call out of the blue this morning. One of our Pastor's wives called just to see how I was doing, you see she felt it on her heart that something wasn't right. I told her that I was getting sick. In the most amazing motherly way she began to comfort me, and encourage me. She brought a special care package to my desk this afternoon with all the motherly home remedies that she could think of to make me feel better! I am so loved and cared for! My husband came by my desk a little later and the two of us had a good laugh at how horrible we felt. You may think us strange, but sometimes it is fun to pout and share about all the little things that are hurting on your body and to hear someone say a sympathetic "yeah?"... and then to switch roles and become the comforter. I just couldn't help but laugh at my husband as he scrunched up his face and gave a little pout when he told me how his day had been. I felt like he was 8 years old. That moment gave me joy today! After work was finished I was looking not really looking forward to Kickin'Kardio... the best workout program in the city. Thank the Lord that I was the only one in the class... so we decided to just workout harder tomorrow! JOY! JOY! JOY! You may think that my day was done at this... but if you know me, you know that my day has just begun! Jon & I were able to accomplish a part of our project this week (The Christmas Banquet). I was just excited that we had one less thing to do on Wednesday night! JOY! Finally I was able to just sit, relax and do my monthly craft at Craft'n'Chat! This month we happened to make a wreath with the word JOY in the middle. Now, I have attended this craft night before... and to be honest you are so busy with the craft trying to get done by 9pm so that you can take it home finished and not have to worry about it ... sitting there... waiting for you to complete it.. that you don't really have time to Chat. Well tonight I was able to sit with the secretary that I work with, Marci, her sister and a few other friends. I had such a good time. Even though we were busy doing our Christmas Craft we had fun banter and laughter! We even sang a few Christmas songs as we painted and crafted our way to completion. As I finished my craft I sat back and just felt bursting with Joy. Joy for the coming Christmas Season where we remember our Lord and Savior's birth. Joy for friends and family that I have a chance to spend time with in the next few weeks! Joy for Christmas Shopping and the hustle and bustle that is the mall on the day before Christmas! Joy for a co-worker that I enjoy spending time with outside of 9-5. Joy because of the coming events that I get to take part in (Christmas Banquet, Choir Productions, Tree-trimming parties, Christmas By Candlelight, New Years Eve Bash). Most of all the JOY of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord & Savior as He is my Hope and my Salvation. Merry Christmas to all of you. My prayer is that you would experience the Joy of the Lord!