MEET ASHLEY

My first GUEST...Welcome...Meet Ashley from The Happily Ever Afters of the Lancaster's!

I am very happily married to my wonderful husband Kurt, and I am now the extremely proud mommy to our baby girl, Evy! She is the most incredible thing that's ever happened in our lives. Some main interests of mine are Disney, Christmas, and celebrating home and family, and my blog covers all of those topics and more. I love my husband, my baby girl, my home, and most of all the Lord!
See why I loved her...she mentioned Christmas and Disney in the same sentence.

Where do I begin in expressing my love for Christmas? Everything about it makes the season my favorite time of year. The sights, smells, and sounds---all of these wonderful elements of the holiday season should point us to one thing: The Savior!

Sights: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" John 1:29
To "behold" means to "see or observe (a thing or person, esp. a remarkable or impressive one)." What beautiful things we see around Christmastime! Houses beautifully decorated, wrapped in warmth and joy. Strangers greeting each other with kindness. Exchanging the perfect gifts. Christmas lights adorning homes and trees. Candlelight. Snow. A nativity scene. A charming wreath. A table set perfectly for a holiday party.

The most important thing we can behold in our lives is the Person of Jesus Christ. In John 1:29, John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah by exclaiming that He is the Lamb of God. But John doesn't stop there: He is the One who takes away the sins of the world! Have you beheld Him? Make time---during Christmas and every day of the year--to behold the one who has washed away YOUR sin.

Smells: "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15
I always know when I smell Christmas for the first time each year. Usually it's in the fall, when fireplaces or leaves are burning. Can you relate? What is your definitive "Christmas smell?" Pine cones, cinnamon, pumpkin pie, peppermint. The perfect Christmas candle. Your family's delicious traditional holiday meal. Hot chocolate, and scrumptious apple cider!
Smells linger with you, don't they? They can transport you to a certain time, place, or in this case, season. A lot of times, we associate something with a smell, just like I do with the smell of burning leaves. In the verse above, it's clear that if we are Christians, we are the aroma or fragrance to fellow Christians AND those who don't know Him! That's so important to recognize--our ministry is not only with one group of people or the other. We are to be relevant to both. In our efforts to decorate our homes, make the perfect meal, or host the perfect gathering for the holidays, we must remember that our whole purpose is to be the fragrance of Christ to those we come in contact with. I'm going to try something this season: every time I light a yummy candle or bake cookies, I'm going to pray for those I need to be ministering to!
Sounds: "Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!" Psalm 150:3-4
There's a reason I listen to Christmas music all year--it just makes me happy and calms me! I love the sound of a full orchestra playing a Christmas medley, or a simple guitar playing "We Three Kings." I so enjoy a flute playing "What Child is This?" or the brass section playing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It's all perfect to me!
The underlying theme of our holiday season (and our LIVES), should be praise. I am constantly having to work on this, because it's hard to praise Him when things aren't easy! Stress levels can get high, things don't go the way we want them to, the Christmas card picture just doesn't look right....you get the idea! There will always be something to distract us from praise. The enemy desires nothing more than to take away our praise and our joy in the Lord. Even when stress levels run high during the holidays, maintain your praise! The whole season is dedicated to praising God for what He has given us in His Son---Salvation! The out-of-tune adorable singing of caroling children = praise! The ringing sound of someone yelling "Merry Christmas!" across the street = praise! The clinking of your change in the Salvation Army bucket = praise! Listen for it this season.
I'm praying that you BEHOLD Him more vividly, exude the FRAGRANCE of Him more strongly, and PRAISE Him more constantly this Christmas season and all year!

Merry Christmas!
Ashley

What a great post to start your holiday preparations.  Thanks Ashley!...Now go  visit her blog and leave her a comment at
The Happily Ever Afters of the Lancasters!
Let me know you did and you will get 2 extra chances at this NEXT GIVEAWAY....Sorry for the same picture...could not find any clip art that was as pretty as my ornaments..

ANOTHER ORNAMENT GIVEAWAY