This is my Christmas present to you :)

Pure. Worship.

I have been so moved by what happens in this food court that I just can't not show you.

(If you've already seen it....watch it again!!!)


It's not just that I'm a music person....it's that we ALL are created to worship and the God of the bible, the Gospel, all these great truths we hold on to is the God of MUSIC, ART, DANCE and all creative expression.


He's artsy and creative and musical and brilliant because He is THE Artist and THE Creator and THE music and all the ideas behind it.


And frankly, it's pretty awesome to see Him show off like this. :)


Enjoy!!!

(actually, just click on the title since my blog wants to cut it in half. :))

Tour De Ornaments!!!

Our tree is fake. It's us-lit...not pre-lit. There are lots of places where you can see the actual pole in the middle. And the ornaments? They are a complete hodge podge of colors, shapes, sizes, styles and ages....no theme whatsoever.

But we love it.


There is MUCH sentimental value in it. And I'm sure most of you would say the same about your tree. I love decorations that have history. A story. I think they should bring up joyful memories that we will treasure in our hearts forever.


So, I thought it would be kinda fun to show you a few of our ornaments that mean so much to us....and get ready cause I want to see yours too!


I have quite a few of these....my great-grandmother crocheted them. She was a spunky, fiesty lady, the mother of one of my most beloved people on earth, and I love having something that came from her hands.



I also have a lot of these cute, retro, wooden, hand-painted ornaments. My Mom painted these for my parents' first Christmas together. I love them!

This one brings tears to my eyes. It's probably my favorite of all our ornaments. Yes, I know it's just a McDonald's straw stapled together, but it's symbolic of God's faithfulness to my parents. When my parents got married, they didn't have money to go buy ornaments for a tree so my mom used straws from McDonald's to make their first ornaments. The Lord has provided in amazing ways for them....and us.

My first ornament. :)

Then, when I was two and my sister had just been born, my mom painted this for me. She also painted us dresses (that she also made) and shirts; had her own wood saw that she used to make and paint goodies that she gave as gifts and sold at a craft store; and sewed, stuffed and painted our own baby dolls.

What do I do? I blog about it. That's what I do. Hope you're proud, Mom.

Made by me at age 11. I'm surprised mom could get me to stop thinking about boys and New Kids on the Block long enough.

This was one of my favorite gifts we received when we got married. I make sure it gets a very prominent spot on the tree each year.

Bought in a street market in Nassau near our cruise ship. An AMAZING honeymoon. I can still hear the steel drums when I look at this.

4 years ago we had a little baby and so we did what every new parent does at Christmas. We stripped him down and stuck his foot in white plaster over and over and over again until we captured that little foot print just right. Today he wears a boys size 13 shoe.

2 years ago we had another little boy with an apparent fondness for Spock. Live long and prosper.


So there you have it. I've showed you mine and now I would like to see yours. :)

I really love hearing other people's stories behind their treasures and since we can't all go to each others' living rooms let's have a virtual peek! Show as few or as many as you like!

Please feel free to leave a comment OR, if you feel so inclined, leave a link to your own post so we can see it!

Let the Tour De Ornaments begin!

How will we die?

I just finished watching this man preach his heart out.

He asks over and over, "Will we die in our religion or will we die in our devotion?"


I can't unpack this sermon for you and it's a time commitment to watch it (35 mins), but every single minute is WORTH IT.

I don't have much to say right now. I feel like God, in one way or another, has been asking me this same question. This blog, though wonderful for many things, can be a huge temptation to write about things and not live them.

I hear a refrain in my head over and over and over asking the question,

"What if no one could see you, Dana?
What if no one was there to give praise and approval?
What if no one was there to hear you and possibly criticize in their hearts?
What if no one had an opinion?
What if no one knew about your sacrifices?
What if they knew you didn't sacrifice?
What if the only people affected were you and the ones you were reaching out to?
How would you live?
Would you still do it?
Would you even start doing it?"

David Platt: SBC Pastors Conference 2009 from Todd Thomas on Vimeo.

A quick announcement of cheer and joy

Hi, there.

How YOU doin'?


I've been on the couch the last 2 days with various mugs of hot tea and a roll of toilet paper because my nose and sinuses hate me, but I'll be back soon with a post and pictures of our Thanksgiving weekend...you won't believe how fierce of a football player I am.



But that's not why I'm here. I wanted to drop by real quick in between nose blows and sinus washes to let you know that my friend Carrie aka

is doing a GIVEAWAY for my shop today over at her blog Little Llamas!!!!


Carrie and I have known each other since college (I think we met in '98) and even spent a summer in South Africa together so it's really cool to me that she's doing my first giveaway. She's got an adorable blog over there so go check her out and enter to win your own lovely and a great discount!

I even made my own button!!!





So, here's your proverbial slap on the behind....go get 'em, girls!!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!