A Christmas Meme

Ali tagged me for this Christmas Meme.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial? No tree.

3. When do you put up your tree? See above - but with Mum & Dad it was always 1 December, their wedding anniversary.

4. When do you take the tree down? Hard to take down something you don't put up!

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it, but the thought of drinking eggs turns my stomach.

6. Favourite gift received as a child? I seem to remember birthday gifts more clearly than Christmas ones, although I am pretty sure my blue bike with the stremers coming out of the handlebars and basket on the front being a Christmas present from when I was about 8.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes. A hand-made one by my creative friend Karyn.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Mum & Dad - they have everything they need and don't like 'stuff'.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My brother - he can always use another Hawaiian shirt.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hotel stationary - you know, the complimentary stuff you get when you stay somewhere, all wrapped up!

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, but probably won't get to sending them this year so an email might have to do.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? I cried during 'Miracle at Christmas' ... hopeless I know!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Generally start during the January sales. It's a habit I get from my mum, who delivered our extended family presents, all wrapped, in March. I think she has already finished shopping for next year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes.

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? I don't really eat most of the traditional Christmas food - no pudding or cake for me, I don't eat turkey or seafood ... but I love the summer fruits, especially Mangoes and Cherries.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? No tree - but clear lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song? This year it is 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'. Although I'll have to say that Emma Pask singing 'The first Noel' with James Morrison on the piano was pretty impressive, but I'm not sure that your favourite song can be somthing you've only heard once.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? 3 yearly rotation with Mum, Dad and Kevin - a year in Qld (last year); a year off (this year, staying in Sydney); a year in Sydney (next year)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes (embarrasing I know!).

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? These questions all presume you have a tree! But if I had one it would be a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I managed to convince Mum & Dad when I was about 18 that if I got home from church on Christmas Eve after midnight that we could each open one present, because it was actually Christmas day ... but really we do all the pressies in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That people seem to have lost the sense that Christmas is actually all about CHRIST.

23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? We always got our stocking as a pillow case at the end of the bed, full of wrapped presents. Kevin and I always got an equal number of presents in total, and the often matched - when I got a book about Sam Riley, he got a hardcover Batman book. But we also always got an orange and chocolate coins. Mum & Dad kept up the tradition of the stockings even after we moved out for a number of years. I remember being most distressed when they forgot the orange one year (I think I was 26 at the time!)

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Reindeer made of lights that go on the top of the house.

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Homey trees.

26. What does Christmas mean to you? Matt 1:21 "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

I'll tag Byron; Michael and Ros

I recommend you read this ...

Many of you may already read Byron's blog regularly, but in case you don't this is well worth reading and reflecting on.

Living Out Scripture meme

I've been tagged by Byron to post "that verse or story of scripture which is important to you, which you find yourself re-visiting time after time".

As Byron said on his post, there are so many passages that I could list. In some ways I have books for 'seasons' - 2 Corinthians is a book I come back to time and time again when I need to be reminded of the comfort that comes from knowing God, whereas Philippians is a book that seemed to chase me for years (in 1997 it seemed that everywhere I turned - uni, church, biblestudy or cell group we were studying it). There are Psalms I love and passages in Deuteronomy about out great God that changed my thinking and continue to challenge me.

But in the end the passage that I turn to time and time again to remind me of who I am, who God is and how I should live is Romans 5:1-11.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we [1] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith [2] into this grace in which we stand, and we [3] rejoice [4] in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Footnotes
[1] 5:1 Some manuscripts let us
[2] 5:2 Some manuscripts omit by faith
[3] 5:2 Or let us; also verse 3
[4] 5:2 Or boast; also verses 3, 11

I'll tag Ali, Ros, BW and Andrew