"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

Today, Randy and I went to the party store to find stuff to make a piñata for the Children's Christmas party at church this weekend. While we were there, I was able to find Christmas plates and napkins! My favorite find of the day was snow fluff. I was so excited to get home with it and decorate the tree. I have been trying to think of something to add just the right finishing touch to the tree and that was it! While the children were in Thai class and the "babies" were playing in their room, I made it look like it had snowed on our Christmas tree. The children were absolutely thrilled and so was I to see the reaction on their faces. They have been "down-in-the-dumps" about not having snow for Christmas. This was what they needed to uplift their spirits. Needless to say, so was I! I also bought spray snow and sprayed the cabinet door windows. You can almost "feel" the cold when you walk into the room. NOW, I think our living room is ready for Christmas. Thank you, Lord, for the little blessings You send our way JUST when we need them!

Of course, there is no snow on the bottom of the tree as I was afraid William would try to eat it!

"All I Want For Christmas Is ..."

"... a Christmas tree with ornaments!" That is what I told Randy several weeks ago. And, I got it!!! Early, of course, and it obviously has made it "feel" more like Christmas really is this month. This year, I already have in mind what I would like to get the children for Christmas. Since the Christmas holiday is not officially celebrated in Thailand, the children don't see all kinds of advertisements on the television about "Christmas toy gift ideas." That's been kind of nice because they haven't been selfishly saying, "I want that" or "I HAVE to have one of those!". Although this Christmas will be very different for us, we rejoice in the fact that we have the CHRIST of Christmas living in our hearts. The sad truth this Christmas is all around us - people who don't have the joy of knowing Christ as their personal Saviour. So, the real question shouldn't be "What do I want for Christmas?". Rather, it should be, "What does HE want from me for Christmas?" The only person who can answer that question is you. Only you know what Christ wants from you. Maybe it is to change something in your life or some bad habit. Maybe it is greater service for Him. Maybe it is a greater love for the unsaved. Or for someone, maybe it is your heart. Whatever the case may be, He wants something from us. Not just because it is Christmas, but because He IS the King of Kings and we should celebrate His birth every day.

"It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!"

The Ashcraft house has the look of Christmas in one room with the heat of summer! It's looking like Christmas and feeling like the 4th of July! I have never cared much for the cold unless there was snow on the ground. However, this year, I have a new appreciation for the cold winter air. I would love to feel it! It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit when the temperatures are around 90 degrees outside.

Tomorrow is the King's birthday in Thailand which means it is Father's Day here. Everything is so decorated in honor of him and there will be a huge celebration tomorrow. Most everything that is decorated does look like Christmas. They have lights strung everywhere! There will be a river parade and fireworks tomorrow night.

As I was shopping for our Christmas tree, it was amazing to see all the holiday decorations everywhere! Christmas trees that decorate the outside and inside of the malls, taller than I have ever seen. And, wouldn't you know it, it was the one time I didn't have my camera with me! I will definitely have to go back.

I found a quote today from Nate Saint who was the missionary pilot for Jim Elliot. Two weeks before he was martyred by the Auca Indians, he said, "As we have a high old time this Christmas may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurdle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha." I think many times we get so caught up in the festivities of the season that we honestly don't think about the Easter to come. Yes, Christmas is a time to be enjoyed but it is also the perfect time to be able to share the "Reason for the Season." God did love us and continues to do so, but our job, be it single lady, wife, Mother, business woman, housewife, or missionary, is to share that love with everyone we come in contact with. We need others to see there is something different about us. That person getting in line in front of us or pushing us out of the way to get to something we would like to purchase, or the one that is just obviously in a hurry, is like us - one breath away from eternity. Does their eternity hold the same blessings as mine? IF I show them one act of true Christian love and smile, will they remember that and wonder why I was so kind? You never know what may turn a person's attention to the true meaning of Christmas - to the babe in the manger who lies in the shadow of a cross.