MomminginMinistry

  I have a confession to make. I've been watching formulaic mass-produced Christmas movies. You know the kind. Like the ones made by a greeting card company which shall not be named. And not only that but I've READ (or rather listened to) these stories too! There's just so many of them free on Audible! I usually want to read things that challenge my mind and perspective, that teach me something new or surprise me. But in the midst of December chaos my mind has just been begging to not be challenged so very much, and, well, stories about returning to a small town to predictably fall in love with the old high school boyfriend who's cooler now is just what the doctor ordered.  Funny thing, though. Two of my favorites from this list of mind-numbing holiday bliss involved the tradition of sending a Christmas letter One book starred a character who made her living writing other people's Christmas letters, and using the right words to make their boring lives sound fascinat...

It seems like yesterday. I was buzzing through the cramped aisles of Sprouts. Somewhere between the gluten free flours and the case of meat-like products. I remember I had limited time before I had to pick up Moses from school, and in the meantime I needed to purchase some safe treats for one of the dozens of holiday parties that week. I think it was the class party. Or maybe the speech party, or youth group party, or December family birthdays. Who knows. My cell phone rang. I hesitated. Should I answer or just focus? It was my mother-in-law, Susan. I picked up. "I decided what I would like us to do together," she skipped the introductory phone call rituals and dove right in. "Um...ok..." I said, tilting my head, as I reached past someone for the Enjoy Life non-dairy chocolate chips. We had decided that each of the siblings' immediate families would do something special separately with Mom and Dad Williams this year leading up to Christmas. And this felt a littl...