Merry, Merry Christmas!

                                           Christmas Past

It's 6am on Christmas Eve and my internal Valerie clock went off. I debated over rolling over and sleeping til I heard the children and the in-laws waking, OR roll out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, turn on soft christmas music, turn on the tree, and soak in the silence... you now know which one won! ;)

i never made it to that christmas letter i talked about here. my brother wrote such an excellent one here that he satisfied any need for me to write one. and i also feel like i write a christmas letter every day on this blog. no need for me to recap all the sweet, silly, sad, stinking-hilarious (a jessica mall/flynn term) events of 2010.

however, there is one theme that has been noticeable absent in my blog.. i touched on it here.. but would like to briefly talk about it some more.

if i had one verse to wrap up 2010 it would be the following

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me        
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;

two words stand out.. liberty and freedom. 2010, has been about being set free from bondage. both mark and i would tell you that 2010 has been by far our most difficult year individually, and as a married couple. with those fierce difficulties there has also come such an abundant overflow of unity and blessing.

for me personally, God was so gracious to bring me to a place of being completely undone so that He might heal some deep wounds in my life and reveal Himself in such an intimate, powerful, way. He took tight chains of fear that held me captive for so long, and through a series of mysterious and beautiful events; and through a series of using wonderfully truthful and gentle fellow sojourners.... He chose not to remove the fear, but even better; He taught me where to go with that fear, and how to combat that fear, so that i might have victory!! that i might proclaim liberty... that i might be free...

there are not enough hours or pages on this blog for me to describe it... but it was a LONG 3 1/2 year process of refining. oh, i am not nearly done.. but i am more free, and living with more victory than ever before. and He gets all the glory. He receives ALL adoration for not leaving me alone, for not letting me go, for not giving up on my stubborn soul... but pursuing me with a promise of hope, pursuing me with a promise of peace, and pursuing me with a promise of FREEDOM!!! i am celebrating that freedom with a new intensity this Christmas!

dear friends, i pray that you have a merry, merry, christmas.  thank you for journeying with us on this blog. i look forward to all the things that 2011 have in store for us.

with much love,
sara

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!