Snowflakes and Joy

                                                                                  Thanksgiving is over and the season of Advent has begun. For many Christians it is a time to eagerly prepare and await Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. A time to celebrate the birth of the King of all Kings, Jehovah, Jesus. A time to remember how God came to earth, got His hands dirty and became human, in order to offer salvation once and for all to everyone. In our house we are enjoying Advent, but before we get all excited for Christmas there is a season that comes first, the eight days of Hanukkah. Oh Hanukkah. The Jewish festival of lights, of dedication, of God's provision. No, we are not Jewish. So, why do we celebrate this Jewish holiday? Many in our crazy culture could accuse us of "cultural appropriation" or some such silliness. No, it isn't that. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus celebrate Hanukkah. In order to understand why I think Hanukkah is important, let's discuss wha

At times we go through our day and our normal is just what we are used to. The fact that it is just Snowflake and her Mom is not a big deal. It has been our normal since mid 2013, over five years now. I've been divorced longer than I was married. Most of my parenting experience has been as a single mom. It is what it is and we live our lives. We laugh, we sing, we dance, we cook together, we do life as a small family. Then there are days when it is just discouraging. When I want to throw in the towel, when I absolutely, positively HATE our normal. I hate not having a partner for this parenting journey. I HATE having to make all the decisions alone. I hate it. I just hate it. It is hard. It is scary. It is exhausting. There is a LOT of self doubt, second guessing and feeling like a failure. There is the fear that I am totally screwing up my child. There is guilt. Being a parent is tough. Being a married parent has its struggles (though I'd trade mine for those any day). I sa