the story of your gypsy uncle.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light..."

I keep coming back to those words.
Its been a difficult season, and oftentimes I feel like I'm trudging alone through the darkness.
But the lovely thing about Christmas is that I'm constantly surrounded by reminders of God's grace and salvation. With every nativity scene that I see, I can't help but think about the great Light that came into this sad and dark world. And, despite my best efforts to remain sullen and depressed, the realization of the Christmas story changes everything. There IS hope in the darkness. And this is a good thing to remember.

As for me, I'm home in Portland with the fam and it feels good just to be quiet (and bake. I've been doing a lot of baking...). The world always seems right when I'm with my family. Tomorrow, we'll open presents (we'll be joined by Danielle's boyfriend and Reichle), I'll attempt a gourmet Christmas dinner, we may see the new Ben Stiller flick, and we'll deliver presents to the Somalis. I'm looking forward to it. I truly love Christmas in Portland.

So, to all of you, wherever you may be -- I wish you the merriest of Christmases.