After a series of fights and misunderstandings, the hero and heroine realize they are desperately in love and kiss passionately. Birds start singing and the whole world is brighter. 

True Love? 

Well, Hollywood's version of love. 

Unfortunately, physical attraction, obsession, and passion don't cement two people together for long. Attraction is the icing on the cake, but there is a love that lasts a lifetime. 

What is that love? 

What does it look like? 

Well, let me start by describing it. 

Love that lasts starts with mutual respect and admiration. Two people can look up to one another without either one being intimidated or trying to "put the other in their place." 

Not only do two people respect one another, but they want the best for one another, even if that doesn't include the relationship working out. Let me explain. When a man loves a woman, he wants her to walk in God's perfect will for her life, even he is not part of that equation. He cheers her on. A woman who loves a man does everything she can to inspire him and encourage him to grow in his giftings and strengths. Sometimes this requires making sacrifices.  

When my oldest daughter got married, we were able to go into the church and reception venue the day before to decorate. Our decorations were elaborate and it took us hours to get everything ready for the next day. 

For our most recent wedding, the ceremony and reception would all be at one venue with the ceremony in the rotunda (sun room) and reception in the ballroom. Immediately, this eliminated some of the major decorations. My oldest daughter had envisioned a dance floor that friends built for her, but this place already had a dance floor. In the first wedding, we had to set up tables and chairs, as well as put on the tablecloths. In our recent wedding, the venue set up the tables and chairs exactly as requested and the caterer would supply the table linens and set the tables. 

It will be a breeze! I thought to myself. 

Oh how naive I was! 

We still had to set up the welcome table, the wedding favor table, the card/gift table, the photo booth, the arch for the ceremony, the cake table decorations, and all the centerpieces. 

Not as much decorating, but still a lot of work! And we only had an hour to get it all done. Sigh. 

I was so excited when the Lord gave me a plan to include the wedding party and family to help plan, make, set up, and tear down the decorations. 

The plan helped things to run smoothly and let people serve where they enjoyed serving. 

"If things don't go on schedule, we won't be able to get nice photos after the wedding," Jenny Rose sighed. 

Oh, dear, I thought to myself. I don't know of any weddings that stay on schedule. My first daughter's wedding hadn't stayed on schedule. 

But instead of sharing that with my daughter, I confidently replied, "It will. You'll see."

Over the next six months, my faith wavered, though I stormed Heaven with pleas for my daughter's desire for the wedding to stay on schedule. 

I made a schedule that was workable but would depend on so many people. Oh, and did I mention that there were some time-challenged relatives? 

In a practical way, I divided decoration set up so that several people worked together, more people than needed so the job would be completed quickly. I wrote up a detailed schedule and shared it with everyone in the wedding party, as well as those helping out. I let the caterer, wedding coordinator, photographer, and emcee know that it was really important to the bride to stay on schedule.

There. I had done everything I could do.  

Three weeks before the wedding, I got a phone call from a dear friend who kept finding herself praying for our wedding.  She wondered why the Lord kept putting the wedding on her heart to pray. I shared with Felice all the prayer needs for Jenny Rose's wedding and we prayed together. 

Hanging up the phone, I realized that Jesus loves me and my daughter. Our desires matter to Him. He raised someone up to pray for us because He loves us. I felt weepy and happiness spread throughout my being. I am loved! I forget that sometimes, but it's true. Jesus loves me. And my daughter. 

I kept praying for the wedding schedule among other wedding prayer needs and felt peace come over me. 

Christmas is over. The children are enjoying their new toys. Is it time to celebrate the New Year already? It just goes so fast, doesn't it?

Celebrating the new year can often be an afterthought with me. 

I am so focused on Christmas that when New Years comes along, I'm super-tired!

However, we have picked up some traditions along the way that I can share with you.  (Please add your own Christmas traditions in a comment below).

We like to have friends over to celebrate New Years. We play games, sing karaoke, or just chat. Around 11:30, we start worship. Usually Rose leads worship with her guitar. Afterward, we have communion, using sparkling cider or sparkling grape juice.

When it's exactly midnight, we ring in the New Year with shouts, hugs, and kisses. Afterward, we usually pray for the new year ahead.

Here are some foods I serve to guests and family on New Years Eve:
Haystacks ( sometimes I use White Chocolate Chips)
Our Famous Curtis Cheese Ball we serve with Triscuits
Tortilla Chips with Bean Dip

Sometimes we light firecrackers or sparklers to bring in the new year after worship. 

On New Years Day, we sleep in, really late for us! For my husband Mike and I, sleeping in means 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., but on New Years Day, we might sleep 'til 9 or 10 o'clock. ​

Why do we love new beginnings? 

Probably because we mess up so much. 

We dream of being the perfect man, woman, husband, wife, parent, employer, employee, son, daughter. 

And we stumble so often. We long for a new start, to get it right. If we just work hard enough, this time we'll get it. 

Alas, our self-control goes only so far and at least some of our New Year's resolutions are cast aside or given up on. 

Every year, I celebrate the start of a new year with hope and expectation. This year is no exception. I am bubbling over with hope, expecting a great year. Not because I have enough self-control to get it right. Nope. I'm celebrating because the source of hope in my life is Jesus! All my failures of last year, an hour ago, five minutes ago--they are all washed away. Every time I confess my sins, I am forgiven and He does a deep work in my soul. His work in me changes me from the inside out. His Spirit is so much stronger than my self-control. And I am confident. Not in my abilities, but in His ability to conform me to the image of His Son. 

In the meantime, as He continues His work in me, I am rejoicing! 

I rejoice because He loves me! I rejoice because when He looks at me, He sees the righteousness of Christ! I rejoice because He promises good to me, not harm, a hope and a future. 

What a wonderful joy fills my heart when I realize that if I blow it, and I might, I am still loved, still righteous in His sight, and still a recipient of all His promises. He will forgive me. He will continue His work in me. 

I live in a win-win situation. 

So I will bring in the New Year with joy! I will celebrate another year to serve Him, to enjoy His love. 

The girls in our homeschool co-op homemaking class made wreaths in December. 

We kept it pretty simple by purchasing artificial pine wire wreaths to decorate. I love the wire because it's so easy to hang up.

All kinds of decorations were available to the girls in the homemaking class. We had artificial gold and red poinsettias, ribbon, red bows, gold bows, pine cones, bells, and tiny ornaments. 

We used glue guns to attach the decor onto the wreath. We were careful with the glue guns, going over safety before we started. We kept them on paper plates when not in use and even kept a bowl of ice water on the table in case of burns. 

The girls had a blast making Christmas wreaths. Each one was unique and beautiful. 

Over the years, my children and I have made many wreaths at Christmas time. Some we have given as Christmas gifts and others still hang on our wall. 

A Christmas wreath says, "Welcome!" to all visitors and adds a festive touch to any home. 

Making and hanging wreaths is a special part of our Christmas. It is a tradition we enjoy!

"Happy Birthday, dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to You," the children sang enthusiastically. We had played Pin-the-Tail on Mary's Donkey and taken turns trying to break the pinata with a stick. 

We have had birthday parties for Jesus as long as I can remember. 

When the children were little we invited a few of their friends over and then went to town decorating the house with red and green streamers. We ordered a birthday cake from Sam's and used red and green plates and napkins. We always hung a pinata from the big tree in the front yard and made sure we had a blindfold for everyone who wanted to take a turn whacking it. After playing party games with Christmasy names, we sang happy birthday to Jesus and blew out the candles together. 

Now candles were a big deal. There's no way to put 2,000 or so candles on a cake, but we did fit on as many as we could. After all, Jesus IS the Light of the World. 

As my children grew up, we started having a Christmas party for Jesus at church each year. We continued the tradition of the games, but exchanged the pinata for ornament making. After all, it's hard to hang a pinata inside a church. 

They are kind of cheesy and we can predict the endings, so why do we love Hallmark Christmas movies so much?

While each movie is different, there are common themes that we enjoy. 

Each movie takes place in a small town where the people are friendly and kind, caring for one another. Most people even have good manners. The small towns are enchanting and make you wish you could live there. 

Good people have strong morals and loving hearts. Bad people can change and often do as a result of loving relationships or a wake-up call. 

Family members genuinely love one another sacrificially, or will before the end of the movie. 

The hero is a genuinely good guy who cares deeply for the heroine and is trustworthy. There is a romantic sparkle that is endearing. The couple want the best for one another. Most of the romances are pure with a passionate kiss as far as it gets. 

Christmas is seen as magical and highly worth celebrating. The "spirit of Christmas" is viewed as intangible and valuable.  

A Hallmark Christmas movie is satisfying. It gives us the change to relax and escape from the pressures of life, to be lost in the story. 

So why do all these things mean so much to us?

Well, it's because without realizing it, we are created to crave these things, well actually very similar things. Let me explain. 

Every magazine's December issue has a gingerbread house that looks beautiful and delicious. Little candies are transformed into roof shingles, trees, windows, doors, and sidewalks on snow of frosting. My heart always thrills at the sight of these photographs. 

"How hard can it be?" I used to wonder. 

After years of gingerbread housing with very young children who have no idea how inept I am at this, I can safely answer my own question: "Very hard!"

It all started back in the early 2000s when my friend Laura would go Christmas shopping at the last possible minute. It totally stressed me out to think about it, especially since I had all my shopping done by Thanksgiving. Laura loved it, stuffing cash into her pockets and socks. Her kiddos stayed with me and I decided to do something fun that my children and her children would love. 

A gingerbread house! 

So, I bought a simple kit from the nearest department store and we made our first gingerbread house. 

That first year I learned the following: 

• There is not enough frosting in the kit
• The candy is mostly yucky candy in the kits. 
• The house doesn't stand up on it's own. You have to put it together. 

Brown-eyed Susans, sugar cookie rolls, and butter cookies with cherries in the middle were favorites I made with my mother. We rolled out dough and cut out different shapes, sprinkling them with sugar. My grandmother's specialties were snickerdoodles, haystacks, and lace cookies.

I loved those cookie baking days with Mom and Grandma. I can still remember the wonderful smells and the delightful conversation. The memories are so precious to me. 

Of course, I have carried on the traditions of baking cookies with my own children. 

We have our own favorites: snowballs, gingerbread men, toffee bars,  pecan tassies, and molasses cookies. Of course, we still make my mom and grandmom's cookies too. 

Like in days of old, we roll out the dough and cut out all kinds of shapes. And as I pull out Mom's old cookie cutters, there is always a stray tear or two. 

We love to make cookies and package them to give as gifts, but our first batch of Christmas cookies is always made the day we decorate the Christmas tree. 

Here are some things I've learned to make cookie baking fun and festive: 

• Play Christmas music while you bake and decorate
• Relax and prepare for mess and spills. After all, it's just part of baking with the kids
• Decorating sugar cookies or gingerbread? Set up a decorating station with everything you need on the table AFTER you have covered it with newspapers or a plastic tablecloth
• Get out all your cookie ingredients out the night before, except for those that have to be refrigerated--put those on the same shelf in the refrigerator. That way if you need to run to the store you can do it early in the morning before you start baking
• Wear clothes that can get dirty, as well as making an "All Bakers Wear an Apron" rule

Now, where did the tradition of baking cookies at Christmas come from?

In Denmark, they have a tradition of holding hands and dancing around the Christmas tree while they sing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. 

What are carols?

Well, the English word "carol" comes from the Greek word "choros" translated "dancing in a circle" and the French word "carole" translated "a song to accompany dancing." 

Christmas carols are songs about Jesus and the time of his birth. Sometimes they are sung while dancing or walking.

In England, carolers would go from house to house singing carols to neighbors and friends. Some carolers sang on the street corners. 

In the Curtis house, we have a tradition of caroling each December some time the week before Christmas. We carol through our neighborhood, singing one or two songs at each house. Sometimes we carol alone and sometimes friends join us. It is a special time each year. 

Afterward, we come home and eat cookies and drink hot chocolate. Occasionally, we invite neighbors to come back and join us. 

Would you like to try caroling in your house? 

Everyone has their special Christmas traditions. We do lots of baking at Christmas time, even washing off the dusty rolling pin to make cut-out sugar cookies. 

With the cupcake craze, we decided to add a new tradition: Christmas cupcakes!

Cupcakes are so easy to make, easy to decorate, and easy to serve. 

We like to make decorating the cupcakes festive, so we use tubes of frosting to try all kinds of fancy touches and then use sprinkles or colored sugar. You can also go simple with the frosting and make little faces or designs on the cupcake tops with candies. 

Start with 1-2 dozen baked cupcakes in paper liners. 

Pass out one cupcake per child. Give them frosting and decorations. 

When they are finished with one cupcake, they can make another one. 

Finished cupcakes go on another platter. 

Christmas cupcakes make a lovely addition to any Christmas buffet, a special dessert after Sunday dinner, or a festive treat at a Birthday Party for Jesus.  

he holidays are here once again and it's time to attend parties, plays, cookie swaps, and decorate the Christmas tree. 

What will you wear? 

Should you buy something new?

I go shopping every year for a new holiday look. Where do I shop? In my closet! 

Each season brings new trends and, best of all, old styles come back in style. I love that! 

The fur-collared shirt that seems so dated the rest of the year can seem festive at the holidays. 

Adding a touch of sparkle, pairing red and green together in a new way, or throwing a red jacket over a pair of jeans and T-shirt goes a long way in looking festive this season. 

In the picture I have on a loose white blouse and black slack, a normal everyday outfit, but once I add the Christmas vest--tada! I have a Christmas outfit. 

Adding gold and silver shoes, jewelry or scarves can also perk up an ordinary outfit during the holiday season.

Anything furry, fuzzy, velvet, sparkly, sequined, glittery, or shiny looks festive. Plaids, especially predominately green or red plaids, always say "Christmas."  

Somewhere in your closet, there are treasures waiting for you to find them. Then you can mix and match them with clothes you wear everyday to create a brand new holiday look.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and to be honest, by the time it arrives, I will already be decorating for Christmas. Yes, I go all out for Christmas, but I don't completely forget decorating for Thanksgiving. 

I mainly focus on decorating the table for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Years ago, I made my mother a very long Thanksgiving tablecloth and with the same fabric, I made myself some napkins with my serger. 

I have now inherited the tablecloth which matches my napkins. This makes our table festive when it's my turn to host the holiday meal.

I put a cornucopia in the center with gourds and fall leaves. Or I use a basket of pine cones, gourds, and fall leaves. Another idea is a flower arrangement in yellows, reds, and oranges. 

That is super-simple, but definitely gives us the Thanksgiving feel. 

Sometimes the children and I do Thanksgiving crafts like a thankful tree or making our own Thanksgiving placemats. Oops I almost forgot the pine cone turkey crafts. All of these make cute additions to the table.  

Here are some ideas for decorating from our house to your house. 

The Puritans wanted to purify their nation's church, the Anglican Church, or Church of England. 

To the Puritans of the 17th Century, the new Church of England was too much like the Roman Catholic Church they had broken away from during the Reformation. They also saw corruption in the leadership and immoral living. To the Puritans, obedience to the Lord Jesus was the most important thing. Their ideas of freedom would fuel the independent spirit and love of liberty in America. 

​John Winthrop (1588-1649), a devoted Puritan, left England in 1630 to create a godly commonwealth in the New World. John had a beautiful vision of a colony completely centered around Jesus and His Word, a City on a Hill.
 
A wealthy Puritan lawyer, he was creative in his financing and founding of the colony. First of all, the New England Company was granted land between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers. A year later, this company received a royal charter and a name change: Massachusetts Bay Company. The group of Puritans who were moving to the New World became stockholders and bought up all the stock. You had to be going to the New World to own stock. So the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the only colony in the New World that was not subject to a board of trustees or governors back in England. Isn’t that neat? In 1630, John led a group of settlers to the mouth of the Charles River—Boston was born!

Before boarding the ships, Puritan Pastor John Cotton preached to the departing folks. His sermon, "God's Promise to His Plantation," urged the departing Puritans to be a shining light in the New World, preach the Gospel to the Native Americans, obey the Lord, make the Lord their strong tower, and enjoy the blessings of God who has sovereignly led them to settle in a new land. 

Eleven ships sailed from England with their flagship Arabella in the lead. These ships carried almost 1,000 Puritans along with livestock, possessions, supplies, and food.