Giving Thanks at Christmas

I can finally post some pictures of my Christmas party on 11 December. 20-30 people came along and we had a good time. We had two trees, the little one Esther is standing next to and the big one Aunty Val (my step grandmother) and I are in front of. I love to decorate, and it was fun to have a fresh pine tree.













Some friends I had not seen for a while came - including Julie and Genevieve. Julie (the one in the skirt) was one of the people I asked to share something she was thankful for from the past year. I also shared some things I was thankful for. These include how God enabled me to graduate from university in August, and secure a three day a week job in Launceston as a teacher's aid for next year. He also enabled me to learn more about his sovereignty, and the importance of being thankful, honouring my parents, and church. As well as this thanksgiving slot, I asked my friend Phil Ninness to share a short message about Christmas. He gave a five minute message on Luke 1. He has posted some of the content on it on his blog, and you can read it here The talk was very good, although it did cause a German exchange student to ask her host family "Is it normal to have sermons at Australian parties?".


I was grateful to God that I was able to make my party a spiritual time, as well as a fun time to eat lots of food, chat, and enjoy the beautiful garden my parents have created. It was a hot summer day. I also handed out small gifts of a wrapped cake and a card to my guests. I wanted to express thanks to people, so I wrote little thank you notes in most of the cards. I love the USA tradition of thanksgiving, and seeing my need to develop more gratitude, I wanted to have a theme of thanks at the party. God is so good to us - we need to express that more!

Soon I will post about the happy Christmas Day I spent with my family! I hope you had a happy Christmas too.