No School and Grace that's still amazing...

Dustin and his sister have the best tradition ever! My sister-in-law is also a teacher, and for many years now, whether they were students in college, seminary or in teaching themselves, they would/will call each other before big breaks and yell, "No Schooooool"! I think kids have no idea that their teachers get just as excited. I'm yelling it in my heart and as wiggly as my boys! I can't really describe how good it feels when you enter the last grade for the quarter, hug the last kid, pop a coke open (That's Dr. Pepper in Texan, Lisa Morel!) and start cleaning your room, humming Christmas songs and running on pure adrenaline, since it's been nuts!

I do love teaching and Dustin loves seminary, but the breaks are very necessary. We are MOST excited about going to Texas tomorrow. It will be so fun to see our parents, sisters and brother-in-laws. It will be great to play with our growing nephews. We can't wait to eat GOOD Mexican, MOM food, Boba Tea, Panda Express, Aunt Debbie's fudge, etc. We look forward to re-connecting with any friends we should happen to see or drop by (We have to make them come to us usually, because we don't want to share too much family time, since it's so limited... so come by! Mindy? Betsy?). We'll love seeing Nana, Ninnel and Papaw. Love cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. We'll love considering that little baby, God-in-flesh, who came to die. This little baby came, the "dawn of redeeming grace", to shed blood for sinners like me. To take my place when I should have died. He came to glorify the Father and reconcile dead sinners to Him. A baby who came to die. But death's grip wasn't strong enough. God purposed Him to die, and God purposed Him to rise again. It is finished, was the Victory cry!

I'm trying to more carefully consider the manger all the way to the empty tomb. I have thought about "God with us" before at this special time of year. Or how Christ was the Messiah people had been longing for, hoping for, praying for... But this year, I just keep thinking... we can't stop at the manger. We must "Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born" and also tell WHY!!

I may write some 2008 reflections later. For now, I'll just say it's been a sweet year of marriage, my favorite so far. It's been a sweet year at Third Avenue Baptist. It's been a sweet year of re-learning lessons from stewardship to contentment to waiting on the Lord to evangelism and recalling the depths of my sin and the depths of His grace, lavished, LAVISHED on us. Unworthy us. All glory be to God. He is at work in our lives and in this world. Oh for grace to trust Him more!

So... happy NO SCHOOOOOL and Merry Christmas.