I finally un-decked the hall. Skeeter's birthday is January 5th and he (like my mom who got that birthdate first), likes to have the tree up until then. Mark said we should keep it up till January 6th--Orthodox Christmas (that's where we get the 12 days of Christmas, remember?) It was the 7th by the time I packed away everything but the outdoor lights.
I think I counted 35 'joy' ornaments and bits of deco around my tree and house. I'm a sucker for finding those things at stores, and it brings me great, well, JOY to add them to my collection! (Especially when I can find them at 70% off AFTER Christmas!) You can see a green handpainted ornament in our photo that I think was my first. My Aunt Sandy gave it to me years ago. My joy has increased greatly since then. [Pun intended. Sorry]
A few of those JOYS will stay around my house. My mom even found one that has my life's verse on it--Nehemiah 8:10--the joy of the Lord is our strength. I love the reminder that my state of mind has nothing to do, should have nothing to do, with me, my circumstances, or my life. When I focus on Him, it changes my perspective and reminds me that I have every reason to rejoice.
I hope you do, too!
JOY!
