Merry Christmas Eve!

It's Christmas Eve! Already. How did it get here so quickly? I LOVE this day...almost as much as tomorrow. I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas Eve!

(1) As a child, we always attended Christmas Eve services at church every year. It was always so festive and really prepared our hearts for the coming Child. That tradition continues today. As a matter of fact, we're attending two services today - one at our home church, and we're also taking my mother and grandmother to a service at my mother's church later this evening.

(2) One of the funniest stories that gets told about me as a child happened on Christmas Eve - many years ago. When I was still a wee thing (but wanted to be older than I was), I was allowed to hold the candle during the Christmas Eve candlelight service. All of sudden, my mother smelled something burning. She looked around trying to determine where the smell was coming from and then shockingly looked at me and noticed my burning hair was creating that smell! No harm done - just a little fried hair. :-)

(3) When I was in the 6-8 year range, we used to go to a neighborhood open house after the candlelight service. There were always so many people there, and to this day - I'm not sure I've ever seen so much food in one place in my whole life. Yummy!

(4) In our family growing up, we would open stockings on Christmas Eve and our gifts on Christmas Day. Yes - Santa would come twice to our house - once on Christmas Eve while we were at church (I still haven't figured that one out) and then again on Christmas morning.

(5) In more recent years, we began a tradition of allowing everyone to open one gift on Christmas Eve - pajamas! We wear them to bed and then wake up picture ready on Christmas Day!

I pray this finds you feeling very blessed in spite of any difficult circumstances you may be facing this year. Please take time to reflect on the greatest blessing that we've ever received - the One whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow!

Be blessed this Christmas dear friends!