What does Christmas feel like?

Not only have I seen statuses on facebook that say it doesn't feel like Christmas, but I've heard it from other people that just because it has been raining or it is not cold, they say it doesn't feel like Christmas. THEY say that it's not Christmasey enough. What the heck are they looking for then? Is Christ not Christmas? Is Christ not Love and Joy and Peace? Are THEY looking for materialistic decorations or an abundance of gifts or maybe even a tree?

So I pondered the question and asked myself, "Well, what does Christmas feel like?" Since we were not there when Christ was born, we can only imagine what Christmas must have been like to a woman who gave birth to a child in a place where animals called their homes, on something such as hay that animals called their food. There were no fancy decorated trees with dangling and sparkling bulbs, there were no strings of lights covering the entire stable where Jesus was born, there were no big screen tv's to unwrap and no keys to a car. There were no wreaths and mistletoe, no eggnog and no wine, and especially no jolly guy dressed in a red and white suit.

But one thing that was there was a Savior who had tons of love to give, so that we can try to be a better people. Too much emphasis is being put on what they didn't buy or how much they can run their credit card up to. What gift have you given Christ? Correction...what gift have you given Christ before December got here? What about Christmas in January, February, March, April and the other months in the year? So to me, it was already feeling like Christmas a long time ago. I don't know what THEY were talking about. Get with the program.
~QUEENBEE~

Grade A Value

The Lord did it yet again...He has showed the slap out but I absolutely love it. He has used me as a vessel to go to work full time, go to school at night taking two classes at a time and make the grades of an A in one class and an A- in the other one. It is not easy doing all this and being a parent and wife too, but the Lord keeps reminding me that this ain't my battle to begin with and that he does things in his own time and in his own way. So I just step aside and watch him do His thing.

All I want for Christmas

My hubby and children has asked me what do I want for Christmas. I keep giving them the same answer which is that I do not want anything and that I have all I need. They say no, what do I want???? Let me put it to ya this way, mostly anything I want that I can afford, I just go and buy it myself. So there isn't really anything I want or need. I am content. Christ is Christmas and Christmas is Christ every day of the year. I can't think of one single thing for them to buy me.....but then I thought about it....I do want something but it doesn't cost one single dime, only a little time....can I have a clean house for Christmas? I mean, can all rooms be cleaned, can the mirrors have a smidgen of windex and can the floors be swept, mopped, and vacummed? Can that black ring around the children's bathtub disappear and can someone, any one of the two will do, but can somebody pick up that piece of tissue on the floor that fell behind the toilet? That's all I want, really! Or is that asking for too much. I already know their response in advance: Who's coming to visit us? Excuse me, I don't have to have people to come and visit in order to want the whole house clean, do I? Of course not. I just want it, simple as that.

Since all of us will be off for the next two weeks, it would be a joy to walk by both of the teenagers room and not see one piece of clothing on the floor or more than one pair of shoes waiting to be pushed into the closet, with one shoe on the floor edging its way under the bed while the other one is wayyyy across the room somewhere. Why can't both shoes sit together? And that is what really drives me insane....everything on the floor is merely inches from the closet. I wouldn't even mind if everything was just crammed in the closet out of sight.

Ok family, yall heard it straight from me. That is my list and I even checked it twice and ain't no need to wonder if I've been naughty or nice. I hope I get what is on my list. We shall see.
~QUEENBEE~

Food for thought

At my home town church in MS, our pastor used to say that we are a peculiar people. I didn't understand that concept in my teenage years but sure enough as I got older, I knew what it meant. We like this but don't like that. We do this but don't do that and we eat this and we sholl ain't gonna eat there. We like certain people because of this and even don't like them because of that. Yeah you are even nodding in agreement. Another thing that stuck with me is this: what if we didn't have a choice and had to just deal with it just the way it is. Here is what I am getting at: We are having a Christmas potluck at work and each person had to bring something to share, whether veggies, ham, bread, or whatever--the entire building is suppose to join in. I asked one lady this morning what did she bring to the luncheon and she said that she didn't bring anything because she don't eat everybody's cooking and that she was going to O'Charley's to eat. I kindly said ok and as she walked away, I silently had these thoughts....

Ok, so you may not trust everybody's cooking but do you know the cooks personnally at a restaurant? I don't think so. Just because it was cooked in a restaurant, there could be some nasty chefs back in the back as well, doing all kinds of stuff. When you drive through a fast food place or buy only organic foods, how do you know that these foods are safe? I will answer it for you...YOU DON'T KNOW!! That is why you have to say grace over food and ask for blessings from Heaven. You don't know where your food comes from, whether you buy it from Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, it doesn't matter. You can even cook it yourself, it still doesn't matter because what if you bought something that was already contaminated and didn't know it. My point is this: I am not going to not go to events just because I don't know who cooked the food, and I may never know and I will continue to say grace and eat, drink(not alcohol) and be merry. Good Eating!!

I am here

I have a friend who lives about 12 hours away and always keep in touch through email just to say hello, and I, likewise, respond with well wishes too. We send each other birthday e-cards through the mail, Happy Easter, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Father's Day and all kinds of e-cards for whatever occasion that may come up. So basically we just keep in touch through e-mail. Well I hadn't heard from him in a couple of weeks so I thought I would send him an email, even though I was the last one to respond. Well even after I sent him the email inquiring about not hearing from him, I still didn't hear from him. Whatever was going on, I'm sure he would let me know in due time so I didn't send another email, I left him alone.

Well a few weeks after that, my friend emailed me saying he has been depressed because he went home for Thanksgiving and his mother, who had been in a nursing home with Alzheimers for some time, doesn't recognize any of her relatives and I was guessing she didn't recognize her first born son either. He went on in the email saying that he was having a few problems and was in search of other employment than where he is now. I could have replied and said that you have me here worrying over here about you, but I didn't. Instead, I just let him know that I was here for him and if he needed an ear to talk, I am here. Sometimes we get the wrong idea when people have a problem, we want to instantly solve it or tell them what they should or should not do, what they should or should not feel or what we have done in that situation to help us get through. All I wanted to do was let my friend know that I was here. I may not can solve money issues but with me being there, even if it is 12 hours away, a listening ear can stretch farther than the widest sea.
~QUEENBEE~

My new space

Well, I have officially moved out of my office into my new office. It is much nicer and bigger too. The new space is somewhat different than the old space. I am so used to people coming in and out of my old office in the other building and now that I have moved, it is much quieter and we don't get as many visitors. I like it, but just got to get used to it. One thing about my old office is that I stayed busy, or looked busy anyway because there was just always so much to do; but in my new office, the work load is much lighter but I am not complaining at all. In my old building, you were either hot or cold but in my new building, there is a comfort level all around. I am getting used to my new space. You must come and visit me SOMETIME.
~QUEENBEE~