[incidentally, i know the rule that when you are quoting someone, you always put the punctuation marks on the inside of the quotation marks. For example, last night my baby brother said, "Mom - sometimes i think you are just a c-*-*-k tease." But what do you do when you are just quoting one term at the end of a sentence? For example, at least my little brother spelled "c**ktease". Put the period inside- it doesn't make any sense - the quote is not a sentence - it deserves not a period - and if it were in the middle of the sentence, it would have nothing other than the quotation marks. But that period looks quite lonely, and frankly incorrect, outside of the quote marks. Aaaahhh. I hate when I don't know or understand a grammar rule. Any help out there?]
[true story about my brother and my mother. crazy little brother. What are you thinking? plus, ada brooks can spell...i had to frantically distract her from the entire event with ice cream. I can hear the sounding out now...aaahhh]
[please note my switch from long parentheticals to long bracketed statements. I think it works better. I've been wrong before, though.]
This is my favorite time of the year. I SHOULD be blogging all about it. But I've no time, i tell you. And when I do have time, i should be doing something else. So, i'll simply leave you with today's, Christmas Eve's, to do list, but first, a brief Reason for the Season exegesis.
People, rightfully, get frustrated that Christians often seem to forget (and certainly those people who celebrate Christmas with no thought of the Christ or the Mass part of the word) that we have this holiday because of Jesus. Sweet Baby Jesus in the Manger, who was, we believe, the Lord Incarnate. They get so frustrated at all the material goods that go into the holiday. It's not about gifts, they say. It's about God.
Okay, valid criticism. But a bit gnostic, if you ask me.
We don't have the gifts and the wine and the feasting and the pictures and the Christmas Cards that make us Cuss, because we've forgotten about God. We have them because of God. And it's not just the way we've chosen to celebrate Christ's birth. No, it's the way Scripture instructs us so to do.
["so to do" - one of the better phrases that litters the Book of Common Prayer, contained best in the Rite One Eucharist,
Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And with thy spirit.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up unto the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
People: It is meet and right so to do.
awesome i tell you. absolutely makes you feel like real church. So To Do just sounds holy.]
We feast. The Israelites feasted. Often with specific instructions. We carve the roast beast. Because God said so. What day should be bigger, please tell me, save perhaps Easter, than the coming of our Lord? Shouldn't there be gifts - and tons of them - to celebrate the greatest gift ever given?
For God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son.
And we try desperately to show that love, to celebrate that love, to give our gifts. We can never equal, but we are trying, ideally, to point to that.
So, reason for the season -kiss my tail. Yeah, He's the reason all right. The reason it should be as big as we can afford. The reason we should buy the nicest cut of beef we can, and fill our tree skirts with the nicest things for those we love.
He's the Reason for the Extravagance. Rejoice!
And a copy of the Forster Family Christmas Card. I'm tired just thinking about it. Even uploading it to the blog was unnecessarily complicated.
Christmas Eve Schedule:
Quick trip to buy mason jars and a few last minute stocking stuffers. (just had to delete and retype "stucking stoffers" - come to my house - it's CRAZY around here).
Put homemade pickles in mason jars.
Deliver around neighborhood. Hope dear friends that live outside a three mile radius forgive day-after-christmas-pickle delivery.
Cook sauce for tenderloin for supper.
Cook cranberry pound cake for christmas morning breakfast.
Cook grits for same breakfast.
Be thankful i cooked my christmas afternoon responsibilities yesterday and froze them.
Clean house furiously in preparation for christmas eve dinner guests. Be glad I'm not making all the sides as well as the meat and dessert.
Wrap furiously.
Remember to Thank God the Father for sending his Son, thank his Son for becoming incarnate, and thank the Holy Spirit for his whole holy role in the process.
Wonder about the theology of the incarnation.
Dress entire family for Christmas Eve Service. Be there at three thirty to ensure a seat. Try to keep children from climbing over balcony rails. Try to keep mother from killing me for making a stand about 2.75 year olds needing to come to church on christmas eve, even at HER church.
Rush home, put meat in oven, finish sauces for meat, whip up bread pudding (this better not be started after church....aaaah)
Wrap furiously.
Enjoy supper and not too much wine.
Because then... put together bicycles. And we don't want drunken bicycles. Incidentally, when i was seven, my bike from santa was missing a pedal. Not because of drunkenness (i don't think) But it did end the whole Santa myth once and for all.
Shhhhh.... Don't tell the kids they are getting bicycles. And little men for Ada Brooks.
Laugh with husband. Be thankful for christmas pjs. Crawl in bed, exhausted.
Hold off children in the morning for as long as possible.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Will take tons of christmas morning pictures and record many amusing anecdotes. There may even be video.
Happy Christmas to All and to All a frantic last day of advent! Rightfully so, I tell you. Rightfully so.
