Christmas Inspirations...

Black Friday...you either love it, or you avoid it like the plague!  My family falls into that first category though: We LOVE Black Friday!  It's not just about the good deals and that rush of finding the PERFECT gift for someone though.  Nope.  This specific shopping day holds a pretty special tradition for my family members...

My father was a VERY hard worker.  He pretty much worked 7 days a week from very early in the morning until late in the night many nights.  He rarely took days off, but there were a few days he always took off, Thanksgiving and Black Friday being two of the few.  Getting to spend special one on one time with him was a treat, so around fifteen years ago when he asked me if I wanted to go Black Friday shopping with him, I enthusiastically agreed.  I remember it being dark outside when we huddled into our Nissan Stanza wagon and headed for K-Mart to snag an amazing deal on some diamond bracelets.  From there, we went on to Sears, where Daddy checked out all of the tool sales.  Next, we were one of the first to enter Mervyn's and JC Penney to receive their annual holiday ornament freebies.  Eventually, we ended up at Ross where my Dad picked out the most amazing nine west knee-high old-timey lace-up leather boots for me, which I still own:)  It was a full day, and an exhausting day, but it was special to spend time together.  So, thus began the start of our family tradition of Black Friday shopping.  My family had it down to a fine science: someone would go pick up several copies of the newpaper on Thanksgiving morning, and throughout the day we would all scour over the sale ad pages, marking down the finds we hoped to grab and creating a detailed list of where to be, when to be there, and what to get.  It may seem like a silly and almost worldly tradition to some, but it really was so much more than just buying presents.  To me, it was about being together as a family and joining forces to do something together.  We didn't take a yearly summer vacation together, and we didn't even eat dinner around the table together (we rarely got to eat dinner together period), but on that one day each year, we spent it together.  That time meant more to me than any amazing bargain or any gift, and I treasure it.

Lucy's first Black Friday shopping experience, 2007

My father passed away over five years ago, but we've kept up our family's tradition of Black Friday shopping.  We even took Lucy out with us in the wee hours of the morning when she was just a few weeks old (goodness knows we weren't sleeping anyway! LOL:)  I will admit, it isn't the same, but in a way, just going out on that day keeps my Daddy with me through the holiday season, because I know if he were still alive, he would most certainly be there with me.  Sometimes, the grief I have over his loss is so heavy that I feel like I can't even breathe.  I miss his jolly, contagious laugh, his thick, southern (and often exaggerated) drawl, and his silly jokes.  Mostly though, I just miss his presence with me.  Even when he was alive, it was something I didn't get as much of as I longed for...

So why do I write about all of this today?  With the cooler temps finally showing up in West Texas, the feeling of fall is in the air, and as I looked out the window at the leaves flying through the streets as I sipped on my cup of pumpkin spice coffee, my mind raced towards Thanksgiving.  I've been working on a Christmas album and having a really difficult time coming up with arrangements that I'm happy with, but this morning I felt drawn to the piano.  I remember DH telling me the other day, "If you're going to call it 'Christmas Inspirations,' then just think of what inspires you about Christmas."  I've been chewing on his statement for the past several days, and this morning, the answer finally struck me: Presence.  The one thing I longed for from my earthly father so much was his presence, and the one thing my Heavenly Father desires for me is to be ever in His presence.  I cannot experience the presence of my Daddy anymore on this earth, but I can daily experience the presence of my Heavenly Daddy.  Do I take that for granted though?  My prayer is that not just through this holiday season, but throughout every single day I will bask in the glory and wonder of my Daddy-God's presence.  The reason for this season we are coming upon is all about celebrating the most amazing gift we could ever be given: the presence of an almighty God, who loved us so much that He came to this earth to be with us.  Now THAT'S a gift you won't find in the sale ads for Black Friday, but it's one I pray I will take with me everywhere I go...
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Here's a sneak peak at a "rough draft" of one of the songs on my Christmas album:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXzhiaPGOuo