Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Have a beautiful, memorable and meaningful holiday with your loved ones.

Christmas for me is a reminder of God's faithfulness, goodness and forgiveness.

It is a day for restoration, reconciliation and faith

It is a celebration of victory, let earth receive her King.

Christmas is a holiday of love, hope, renewal and faith in Christ Jesus, 

who came to this earth for you and I,

to live abundantly in His purposes,

to live in freedom by His grace.

It is also a day to cherish with your friends and family!

Pray together as a family (my favorite),
Read Some verses about Christmas, whether you agree-like it or not, it is Christ's day :)

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

Make a memory that will last forever,
not just focusing on what presents you will get or to get others for Christmas.
It is fun and all, but it is NOT the purpose of this day.

We tend to commercialized everything,
selling-buying-profit,
then make it all about Santa Claus,
corny Christmas movies that has NOTHING to do with Christ,
mostly about how desperate a woman is to bring a husband to a family dinner,
a workaholic man/woman,
Santa saves Christmas,
 finding a husband for mommy, etc.
LOL
We ruined the meaning of Christmas!

Be a blessing to someone,
especially those who has nobody to celebrate the holiday with,
even strangers.
If you see someone in a supermarket, street, etc,
wished them a Merry Christmas, a smile, a helping hand, share something!

Spend time with your loved ones,
I miss all of my family and my memories with them on this holiday,
those memories makes me smile and I will pass it on to my children someday.
Take a lot of pictures,

Eat a lot of foods,

Laugh,

Love,

Hug!

Hope your day be MERRY and BRIGHT!

;)

xo,

Lindsay

My Christmas Tradition

Christmas is my favorite holiday of all time! I love the tradition my family used to do when I was a kid, I love the decorations, I love the Christmas songs, I love the weather, the cookies, hot chocolate, seasonal coffees, sales on stores and people seemed to be happier during this holiday season.

My Family's Tradition 

I grew up in Manado, Indonesia, where the majority of its people are Christian, even though we are located in Indonesia, the largest Muslim population in the world. But, in Manado, people with different religions lives with peace, love and harmony. 

Anyway, starting December fifth, the children are getting ready to meet a very special person on Christmas season: Santa Claus and Zwarte Piet  (click on it to find out more about them). Zwarte Piet is from the Dutch language, they are Santa's helpers. Manado has a lot of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, British and Japanese's influences due to our history. Therefore, our names, languages, foods and cultures are influenced a lot by those countries. The Zwarte Piet was known as a black person, so in Manado, because our skin is not as dark, those who "played" the role as the Zwarte Piet must put on some body paint all over their bodies to make it very dark. 

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But, unlike Santa's helpers in America, in Manado, the Zwarte Piet are very scary and they make all the children afraid of them (you will not get your gifts if you are naughty lol). So, the parents usually enrolled their kids to some churches or organizations who did the annual Santa Claus season and write the list of what to tell their kids (their best and bad behavior). The goal is to make the children understand that they will get gifts when they do good and when they are bad, they will not get what they wanted. We must earned our gifts, so December is the month where all the kids are behaved and afraid to see the Zwarte Piet (over there, their role is to scared the kids so they will not be naughty for the whole year lol). The parents will choose to either invite Santa and the helpers to their house or to go to the place where it is being held (mall, church, school, etc). 

I remember, I used to be afraid when I heard the Santa's car coming to my neighborhood and have this loud microphone to tell you which houses they will visit. I, personally, think that the idea to make the kids behaved well is good, but the way they presented it, is not healthy for the children. But, the presents are always a huge reward for us back then lol.

When I was older, my mom decided not to invite Santa anymore, instead she was being very creative created Santa into our own house. So, on the night before Santa "supposed" to come, my mom will tell me to go to sleep and when I woke up in the morning, she created the house has a grass trail and a little mud here and there on the floor (because Santa's reindeer were there lol) and I will followed the grass trail and found my gifts wrapped beautifully under the tree along with a note from "Santa". And yes people, because of that, I was a believer of Santa Claus when I was a kid, my mom is the best! :)

In Manado (at least when I grew up), people started to bake the cookies since early December, so the smell of fresh homemade cookies are everywhere. People are starting to decorate their houses with Christmas trees, lights, ornaments, fake snow lol, it really feels like North Pole, even though we live in a hot, sunny Asian country (usually on December, it rains a lot so it is not as hot as summer time).

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You will find jars of cookies like that picture in almost every house in Manado. Let's eat!

On Christmas Eve, we usually gathered in a family member's house to pray and eat some Christmas foods, my mom and grandma made some special dishes only for Christmas, so we waited the whole year for those dishes LOL. Sometimes we went to church on Christmas eve, which is one of my favorite holy moment. It was just so beautiful, peaceful and amazing. At 12 A.M on Christmas Eve, we will pray together as a family to start the Christmas day. Then we will eat tons of foods and go around the city where they held a lot of fireworks, music, and yes you can visit ANY house started December 24th all the way to January 3rd. HA! Yes, people, my hometown is the real deal when it comes to Christmas! There really is NO other place like Manado when it comes to celebrate Christmas. Where else can you visit any house to eat, even stranger's house, from Christmas eve to January? Only in Manado!! ;)

These are just a glimpse of Christmas in Manado:

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December 25th and 26th are church time! So, since AM to PM, you will see people are wearing beautiful dresses going to churches together and then after church, we will eat again, either at our own houses or visiting families and friends all over the city. We also like to visit graveyard, bring flowers to our families/friends who are in heaven by now. It was a sweet time, not that we worship dead people, it is more likely to remember their lives and gathered together with our family to remember the good ole time we had with those people who are no longer with us. Flowers always look nice on a graveyard anyway :)

Manadonese LOVES to cook, eat, party and very family oriented. We know everyone in the city and we love to invite everyone to have a party. It is in our culture to help each other, eat, dress up and party! So, we have a lot of varieties of foods, from Asian dishes to western dishes and of course local dishes. We have a lot of homemade cookies as well, from cheese, chocolates, caramel, peanut butter, strawberries-pineapple-any berry on earth, etc. In almost every house you will eat appetizers, main menu and desserts (cookies, puddings, salad, fruit cocktails, cakes, pies, etc).

We also love to dress up and look nice everyday, especially on Christmas time, so sometimes it could be stressful for those who do not have money to keep up with the latest trend. I was NOT one of those people, I thank God that my parents taught me to live well, loving God, others and not worry of having new things on Christmas day. My mom used to literally pushed me to go to stores and buy something new for myself, because I am one of those kid who do not wanna put burden on my parents shoulder to buy me new gifts, even though we are not poor. I am a believer of contentment and my mom always tell me that she is forever grateful to have me as a child..LOL..!

So, Christmas in Manado is all about JESUS, family, feast, friendship and celebration of love, faith and  hope. So, what is your favorite holiday? What is your family's tradition? Tell me..tell me :)

Matthew 1:21 

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Matthew 1:23 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 

My husband and I at Union Square, San Francisco, last Christmas Eve (2011).

Ho..Ho...Ho...

xoxo,

Lindsay

-REST, RELAX and ENJOY-

Hello Readers,

How was your Christmas? I hope you had a great time with your loved ones and got to do some things that you could cherish and remember forever! Christmas is still my favorite holiday and I cannot wait til next year, LOL.

Anyway, on my previous post, I was talking about what I want for Christmas. I finally figure it out yesterday. Well, its a little too late for Christmas gift, but I got what I wanted, needed and loved for this Christmas. I got to REST, RELAX and ENJOY my life with my loved ones. No work, no stress, no waking up early, no workout, NOTHING! Just REST!

It sounds like I am the laziest human being on earth. But, I am not lazy and I deserve it all ;)

Sometimes we forgot what really important in life because we are too busy pursuing things that actually are not the most important in life.

Yes, we must work to provide and survive. Yes, we must workout to have a healthy body. Yes, we must be productive with our job and etc. But, it is also important to take a time off from all the craziness, ritual and robotic life we have. By robotic, I meant "an everyday the same routine" life. We wake up at certain time, dragged our feet to the bathroom, made/eat breakfast, go to work, on the same car/carpool/bus at the same time from Monday-Friday, work, lunch at certain time with certain people on the same spots, work, get off work, bus, home, dinner, shower and sleep.

Sometimes we are alive, but not living.

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We have to love our own body and give it the time to rest, relax, heal and restored. A tired body will triggered a lot of unintentional words and actions. Many of them leads to a useless conversation, confrontation, ideas and depressing moments.

Take some days off, not just a day, but SOME days off! It will benefits yourself, those around you and your work as well.

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I got to enjoy things that I have not been able to enjoy with my loved ones due to our workaholic syndrome, schedule and life. It is sad that we waste so much time for other people than with those that we love the most. I enjoy this Christmas so much because I found peace, healing, restoration, relaxing moments with my husband. I also got a lot of great gifts ;)

Well...take some days off...REST, RELAX and ENJOY! Put it in your 2012 resolution or bucket list :)

                                                                    

xoxo, Lindsay, Ryan and Luke

What Do You Want For Christmas?

Christmas is almost here! GASP! Yay or Nay for you?

I find it quite frustrating when we are not done with the Christmas cards, shopping, wrapping the gifts, to do lists that seems impossible to do it all (but it needed to be done), guest list, what to cook, what to wear, what to give, will they like my gift or not, how much money do I have in my account now? and the list goes on and on.

Christmas suppose to be fun and jolly and enjoyable. These days, our own "tradition" kills the joy of Christmas itself. Yes, it is ALL suppose to be about JESUS as the reason for the season! But, lets admit it that Christmas is also a time of the year when we want to see whats under the tree for me? or some homemade food? or family time? (the drama included)! We ALL want something in Christmas time. Its overwhelming when we make it that way. So I will try to share little things that I have learned over the years!

Here are some tips to make Christmas easier and simple for you:

1. Next year, make sure the Christmas cards are out by the second week of December. BUT, just in case you are extremely busy., we can always call them on Christmas day, email them or tagged a Christmas card/pictures on Facebook ;)

2. Start making a list of gifts since October/November. Who and what to buy. List their names and ideas. Buy them weekly, that way it wont be overwhelming if you buy them all at once (less stress on your body and bank account). Know the person's character, likes/dislikes and hobby to make it easier of what to buy them. Gifts Cards always an option!

3. Last minute shopping should always be the "not so important" gifts. In other word, this gift is not the star of the show, but the more the merrier (and it wont hurt your financial as well). If you make the last minute shopping as the star of the show, you will go crazy! You've been warned!

4. Decorating the house should start on the second week of December (or earlier if you LOVE Christmas time, like ME!). Clean up the house 2 days before Christmas, that way it will give you time to relax and enjoying your days off, family time, cooking, and church time without overwhelming with the cleaning, cooking, entertaining the guests ALL in the same day.

5. Make the list of what to cook (if you are planning on cooking), at least a week before Christmas. Start buying the groceries at least 2 days before Christmas. You do NOT wanna stand in line for hours with panic people in the grocery stores..on Christmas eve!

6. Cook it on Christmas eve or you can wake up early morning and cook. Depends on what type of food, time to eat and how many dishes you are planning to cook. Slow cooker is always a great option, no mess and yummy foods (google it online for recipes)! Dessert..hmm...you always have an option to simplify it by buying it from the bakery stores LOL!

7. Make sure you have enough time to rest! Enjoy your day off, food, family and remember Jesus Christ!

What do YOU want this Christmas? Make a wish and pray. Remember the first step is faith, hope will keep you going and love will help you embracing the life!

Images are taken from google.

Be Merry, Be Happy

XOXO,

Lindsay

Christmas is the merriest and loneliest time of the year

Christmas decorations is all over the city. Christmas carols is all I have been listening to lately. Christmas gifts' list is almost done. But somehow, I feel lonely and sad.

The Christmas season is killing me. I am not a Christmas hater, in fact I love Christmas with all my heart. Its just that I miss my family so much and they are all the way in Indonesia. I have nobody here and holiday season is starting to affected me in a negative way. You know when people says that Christmas can be a merry, happiest time of the year and also the most depressed, loneliest time of the year. I am one of those lonely and depressed person during Christmas time.

Christmas is still my favorite time of the year. I love the tradition, the decorations, snow, food and family time. I come from Manado, Indonesia, and in that city, Christmas is a HUGE deal.

We started baking our homemade Christmas cookies since October and Christmas carols is starting since October as well. On Christmas eve, people usually gathered with their family in their house, pray, eat and go to church. The 25th-26th are going to Church day as well. Then you can visit anyone's house in that city to wished them Merry Christmas, eat and just enjoying the holiday moment.

Christmas started on the 24th night and ended in January 2nd LOL.

Every household will have at least 4 kinds of cookies, all homemade. Each household will cook a lot of foods to entertained whoever visited their houses. Mostly families, friends, relatives, and neighbors. But, our doors always open for strangers as well.

When I got here, Christmas has become a "shopping" season and lost its meaning as a day of joy, hope and Christ as the King. It has become so commercial that people is more concerned about what to buy than the moment of hope itself. People dont even say MERRY CHRISTMAS anymore. It has becomes the day of gift exchange, santa, the day of sleep because work awaits on the 26th, the day to get drunk, a day of loneliness for some people. It is a totally different experience for me and it kills me, slowly :(

I do love the gift exchange and all, but I also want to go to Church and see some family members. Too bad for me, I don't have all of that in here. Now, I understand why some people chose to spend their Christmas working late or getting drunk.

The fact that you are alone while some people "seemed" happier than you with their loved ones. The fact that nobody care enough to wish you a merry Christmas or to invite you to their house, is not a fun feeling in holiday season. The fact that you have to work the next day is also not fun LOL.

I am still excited for Christmas even though it is not the same anymore. I keep my eyes on why we have Christmas itself. It is a day of celebration. Its the day to remember why Christ came to earth.

He came for us to receive Him, to get saved and to have hope in Him. It is more than just a day with family, friends, gifts and all that. It is a joyful occasion. Do not let anyone or anything take that hope away from your heart. I am talking to myself as well :)

I just want to remind all of you who have a family member in here to cherish the moment. Enjoy your time with your family and love ones, because for people like me, that is the most wonderful moment of Christmas that I will always remember forever. I wish my family lives closer to me, but since they are so far away, I can only close my eyes and remember every moment I have with them in Christmas time. It puts a smile on my face :)

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xoxo,

Lindsay