Yes, I know, Christmas is only a week away. I had high hopes of posting picture of our home decorated for Christmas much earlier....sigh. I have not been sitting around eating bon bons....a few Frangos here and there, maybe. All I can say is the house is decorated now....want to take a peek? We live in an old craftsman style house with beautiful box beams and built ins....so fun to decorate around at this time of year. Here goes....
Read MoreSome years ago, the movie, "The Nativity Story," came out. When I saw the movie, one of the things I loved was the face of an old shepherd when he approached the creche where Jesus lay. The word that came to mind as I watched the expression on his face was "wonder." During this Advent season, I want to seek and practice a sense of wonder. One translation of Luke 2:18 says, "All they that heard what the shepherds said wondered at those things." In Job 37:14, Job invites us to meditate on the "wonders of God."
Read MoreSeveral weeks ago I was standing in line at Bartell's Pharmacy, and I heard the woman in front of me tell the cashier, "Well, this is the last Christmas gift I need to purchase. I'm all done!" I stood there in shock and a little bit of awe...or maybe it was envy.
Read MoreDo you send out a Christmas photo card every year?
Though we missed a year or two in the early years of our marriage, we have faithfully sent one out each year since our first child was born. Some years choosing a photo for the card was easy…maybe from a family vacation, or an impromptu family picture that was actually good of everyone, or a “milestone” moment, like a graduation. Other years, I went into a slight panic mode in November and we staged a family photo shoot somewhere around our house. My sons and husband, fortunately, tolerated this fairly well….as long as the photo shoot did not last very long and we were not changing to multiple locations.
The weather often turns gnarly in November in the Puget Sound area of Washington. The grey clouds descend; the rain seems to fall sideways, pushed by the wind. The power flickers and goes out, usually right around Thanksgiving Day! Yet, our pastor encouraged us to look for things to be thankful for each day this month. Having read Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts, a while ago, I’ve been intentional being thankful, recording even the minute and commonplace things in a journal.
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A blog by Gracia Gilbertson, owner of Gracious Offering, an interior design company.
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Last weekend my cousin, Kirsten, and I journeyed to Idaho to attend the Memorial service for one of our dear Aunts. As we took the back roads through Duvall and North Bend to avoid the Friday morning work traffic, we reminisced about family reunions with our large extended family.
In anticipation of Norway's Constitution Day, on the 17th of May (Syttende Mai), I decided to bake a Verdens Beste Kake...World's Best Cake. Apparently in 2002, Norwegians voted this cake be their "national cake", beating out the famed Kransekake (Norway's Ring cake). If you've ever tasted Kransekake, you know this was quite a feat!