The third and final tree in our home is a table top tree, approximately 4 feet tall and very narrow. It is a special interest tree that sits in the window of our home office. It started several years ago as an outdoors themed tree that my wife decorated with some of my fishing lures and a few special ornaments like a fishing Santa, trout fishing bear, and a construction worker that pays tribute to my career in architecture/construction. Now it features family interests that include Lucy, a camera and a train engine that honors my father’s career with the railroad.

At the base of the tree you have seen Santa, the Sooners coffee mug and 1994 Razorback carton of Coca Cola. A new addition this year is a ceramic pup that looks like our cocker spaniel, Lucy. Let’s see, my wife does three trees, I still can decorate the exterior with lights, we read the Christmas story from Scripture, and we love spending time with the family. I guess you could say, “We do Christmas Like We Mean It”.

I don’t know how many more years I will be doing the exterior of the house. I limit my ladder time to just the icicle lights on the gutters. I built the three white trees and my wife found the stars that go on top. I have found that when it comes to lighting the house, flood lights are your friend. They actually make the house a part of the display and eliminate the need for covering shrubs in lights. Since virtually all the lights are LED, it only takes one controller to light almost everything. The wreath, tree, and door garland are separate because their power is coming from a different outlet. There is an outlet in the soffit above the garage door that takes care of those icicle lights and they have to be controlled manually. It takes about four hours to get it all done, including testing the lights before install. I will install the lights in early November while the weather is still nice, but I don’t turn on the display until Thanksgiving night. It our signal that it’s Christmas time.

There are three trees in our home each year. The main tree is in the living room, there is a small tree in my office and this tree resides in the den. It is our favorite tree. The ornaments on this tree are photo ornaments of the grand kids at Christmas from age 1-18, so there are a total of 72 ornaments that we rotate annually. This is not just a decorated tree; it is a family history filled with precious memories of Christmas past and I captured virtually every one of the images. This is a tradition that I would encourage anyone to begin. Twenty years from now you will grateful for the memories.

A Christmas Tradition

One Christmas tradition we have is that we open our presents on Christmas Eve. Prior to opening our gifts we read the story of the birth of Christ from the second chapter of Luke, we give thanks to the Lord for His mercy, grace and priceless gift of a Savior. I started reading the entire story, but as the grandcrew began to read I would let them read a few verses. Now, one of the family members typically reads the entire story before we open our gifts. It helps us remember exactly why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus is truly the reason for the season. On a cold winters night life was changed by a baby boy. Have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year.

Our first Christmas Ornaments 1974

The main tree sits in the living room next to the fireplace. Several years ago we downsized from a 9′ tree to a 7-1/2′ pre-lit tree that is a little easier to handle. My wife changes the theme almost every year. The theme of the decorations have been gold, silver, clear, red/green combination and the ribbons always compliment the theme. This year is a pretty festive tree with decorations that span our entire marriage and you can see a heavy dose of gold and white. There are a couple of ornaments that have been with us the entire 50 years and one new ornament that celebrates our 50 years together. We wish you a Merry Christmas.

Scholars tell us that Joseph was a young man and Mary was a teen when she gave birth to the Savior of the world. The first chapter of the book of Luke tells of an angel of the Lord visiting Zacharias to let him know that he would be the father of John the Baptist and then appearing to Mary to notify her that she had been chosen to birth the Savior. Joseph and Faced challenges during her pregnancy and they were very much alone in their journey. Given time to ponder the situation, you have to wonder if Mary was truly aware of what was about to take place. Mary, did you know?

What about Joseph? People advised him to end his relationship with Mary because they thought she had been unfaithful to her betrothed. Joseph trusted the Lord and his fiance. Some difficult days lay ahead of this young couple because the world did not understand all that was happening. After all, it wasn’t his child.

You may recognize this Santa from an earlier post. He was part of a Coca Cola promotion in the mid/late 50’s. A friend of my parents worked in the Coca Cola bottling plant in Ada, OK and secured this item for my mother. The six-pack of Coke is a collector souvenir celebrating the University of Arkansas winning NCAA Championship in basketball.

Now if the image had been captured on film and set in the closet for thirty years, it might look something like this.

I love Photoshop Elements. Have a blessed day.

Promise Made:“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty god, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Promise Kept:“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14)

Bonus Track: Friday night we attended the Gaither Homecoming Christmas concert in Tulsa, OK. The season 12 winner of the Voice, Chris Blue was a featured guest. He is an amazing vocalist. I did a little searching and found this show stopper. There is so much truth in this song. We are asked to prove our worth in this world by keeping our resume up to date on all of our accomplishments, with the hope of climbing some ladder to the next best thing. The truth is, everything I have ever done is simply a testimony of what God has done in me and through me. Christ makes it very clear in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abides in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing.” At birth, God breathes the breath of life into us and apart from Him we are incapable of inhaling and exhaling. “I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand”. Have a blessed week.