Merry Christmas!

We are so very blessed to wish you and yours a very Merry CHRISTmas!

This past month, I saw a banner at a local church that read

 Giving Presence 

I love this simple message.  In a culture that is consumed with giving presents, we focus on the things of Christmas. What would happen to our Christmas traditions if we focused on the gifts of presence?  What would the holidays feel like if we focused on the time we shared with people verses the things wrapped and under the tree?

Jayden's class put on a program for us yesterday by sharing "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" poem with all the parents.  I think that the Grinch points to the need for a change:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”

“It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!”

“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”

“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

And what happened then? Well…in Whoville they say,

That the Grinch’s small heart Grew three sizes that day!

The Grinch was right.  Christmas will come without all the packages, boxes and bags.  And, although, we are very blessed to have gifts (and, I don't think our kids are quite ready for a gift-less Christmas), we are moving towards a Christmas of simply being in each others presence.

As a part of our holiday season of being more present, you may have received a kinda tacky Christmas postcard from our family.  But, I used my normal Christmas card prep time to play with the kids a few games of Blockus and make a new dessert recipe with Emma.  Instead of a big Christmas platter of home baked goodies to send to work with Brian, we watched a few Christmas movies together and walked the new puppy.  It isn't perfect....but, we are working on giving one another the gift of presence not only this season but throughout the year.

May our hearts grow this season of Christmas by sharing the Gifts of Presence with one another. And, we look forward to each and every opportunity that may come our way in 2012 to share your presence here (our home is always open to company!) or bring our presence to you!

To catch up on each of the Roeslers, please click on their name above for their blog page.

Merry Christmas & A Blessed New Year,

Brian, Tobi, Isaac, Emma,

Hannah & Jayden 

Mercy & Grace

Today, I am struck by two words:

• Mercy - the gift of NOT getting what you deserve
• Grace - the gift of getting what you DON'T deserve

These words were re-introduced to me at our Wednesday morning Bible study (BSF) recently.  They aren't new words.  But, it was the first time that I recognized them as partners in the incredible gifts I receive from family, friends and most importantly God.

We are a military family.  We are very familiar with law.  And, law is necessary.  Who was the famous person that said, "Without law, there will be anarchy."?  As a mother of 4 incredible kids, I can assure you that without laws or boundaries, there would be chaos!  There is comfort that comes in having law.  Any healthy child will push until she can determine where there are rules and boundaries.  This knowledge is comforting and creates a feeling of security.  There is freedom in hearing "NO."

However, there is increasing comfort for me in the gift of grace.  Grace comes in the form of an unsolicited request for a hug from a pre-teen son who has sworn off hugs.  Grace comes in the form of a sister making cookies for her brother to take to Boyscouts because he forgot to tell anyone that he needed them until 2 hours before he needed to leave.   Grace comes in the form of a generous check to bridge the gap between what needs to be fundraised for a mission trip and what was actually raised.  Grace comes in the form of a fragile infant in a manger hundreds of years ago.  The infant that would grow to carry my burdens to the cross. 

Grace is the gift of receiving what I do NOT deserve.  When I stop to recognize these gifts, I am humbled by the bountiful blessings.  They are simply gifts that dot my day as pointers to God and His loving presence in my life.

On the opposite side of the coin from grace there is mercy.  Mercy comes in the form of cleaning up your 6th pile of dog poop from the carpet and NOT raising a hand to any one of the three dogs who helped to create the poop piles.  Mercy comes in the form of forgetting to study for a test and the teacher giving you the opportunity to "revisit the test" for additional credit.  Mercy comes in the form of not getting into a car accident after texting while driving for the 100th time.  Mercy comes in the form of the promise of eternal life in spite of my sin-filled life.

Mercy is the gift of NOT receiving what I DO deserve.  When I stop to recognize the number of times I encounter mercy on a daily basis, I am again humbled by the bountiful blessings.  They remain gifts that dot my day as pointers to God and His loving presence in my life.

In this season of gift-giving, I am all to often caught up in the gifts that can be wrapped and placed under my Christmas tree.  Maybe it is the preacher's daughter in me or simply a message that needs to be shared, but I felt called to stop in the hectic pace of this season and share my thoughts.

May your Christmas season be filled with the awareness that you are blessed with gifts of both grace and mercy.