Friday, December 23, 2011

Something Sweet

The holiday season - filled with sweets of all kinds! Fudge, candy canes, frosted sugar cookies, and even graham-cracker houses, such as the one below:

I made this graham cracker house (actually a church, in this case) at a friend's home the weekend before finals. Friendship is such a sweet gift, and spending some time with dear friends decorating graham cracker houses, watching It's a Wonderful Life, eating delicious food, going to church together on Sunday, and more was a very special treat! With all the stress of the last couple weeks of the semester, the laugh-a-lot, talk-a-ton weekend among friends was just what I needed.

One of the sweetest things about this season is the emphasis on relationships. We send cards to friends and relatives. We plan parties with co-workers or fellow students. We dream of the joy of spending Christmas day with family, because "there's no place like home for the holidays."

And we celebrate the sweetest gift of all time at Christmas. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, came to Earth as a human baby in order to live among us and ultimately offer us reconciliation and salvation through His death and resurrection. There is no greater friend than the one true God of all!

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
~ Matthew 1:23

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you my friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
~John 15:13-15

Dear friends, may you hold close the blessing of something sweet this Christmas - not just the sugary desserts, but the relationships you have with friends, family, and most of all God.

Have a very merry Christmas!

10 comments:

Hutt-Write Voice said...

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and may joy, peace and love go with you into the New Year!

Christina B said...

Hi Amber!

I just recently came upon your blog and have enjoyed getting to know you through it. I'm a fellow book lover, so it's been fun reading your reviews and various posts. Hopefully we can connect again soon. :)

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Casey said...

Lovely picture Amber! And you've done something I've always wanted to do--make a gingerbread house! Have a great break with your family!!!

Amber Holcomb said...

Linda,

Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year, as well, my friend! :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Christina B,

It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm so glad you're enjoying my blog - thank you for following! :)

I should hopefully have some "Countdown to 2012" posts next week, and then it will be a new year, so I hope we can connect again soon, too! :)

Wishing you and yours a merry Christmas, as well, and God bless you, too!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Casey,

Aww, thank you! :)

Decorating gingerbread (or graham cracker) houses is really fun - I hope you get to enjoy that sometime with your family or friends! :)

Please tell your family I said "hello" and "Merry Christmas!" Here's hoping we can meet up again sometime in the new year!

~Amber

Amanda Stanley said...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAR AMBER!!!

Gosh, I know it's been forever since I've stopped in but I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to a dear friend who is never too far from my thoughts :) Your friendship has certainly been a sweet gift to my life and I cannot thank you enough for your prayers, encouragement and understanding with all I've been through this past year.

You look so pretty in that dress and that graham cracker church is adorable! Great to know you're having fun amid all the schoolwork ;)

Oh, and AMEN, Jesus Christ is the sweetest and greatest Gift to celebrate this holiday season and all year through!!

God bless you, my friend, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Amanda

Amber Holcomb said...

Amanda!!! :D

Merry Christmas to you, too, dear friend! At the risk of sounding like an echo, your friendship is a very sweet gift to me, as well. :) Thank YOU for your prayers, your support, and your kindness!

I'm sorry you've had such a rough year, but your continued faith is a beautiful testimony. God bless you and your family, and may He surround you with the truth of His love and grace and peace in the new year and always!

~Amber

P.S. Glad you like the pictures, and thank you for the thoughtful words! :) And thank you so much for the beautiful Christmas card!!

Tales of Whimsy said...

You are so right. That's my favorite thing too. I love that during Christmas we focus on family, friends, and reaching out to the less fortunate. I wish that spirit carried on year round.

Amber Holcomb said...

Juju,

Agreed! I love the "Christmas spirit," too. :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

~Amber