Happy Friday! Does it seem to anyone else that Thanksgiving was AGES ago, not merely last Thursday? Whoa. I saw someone post something earlier that 3 Friday’s from now, Christmas will be over. What!? Where is time going? I wish you all a productive December, however, even more than productivity, I wish you a December filled with His peace, presence and the joy of the season.

I heard Louie Giglio talking on the radio this week and he said “From the beginning, the Christmas story has been one of fulfilled longing. It reaffirms our faith and gives us reason to celebrate the faithfulness and goodness of God. Sadly, the frenzy we call the holiday season is a mad dash of tinsel and toys, driven more by consumerism than anything else, creating a perfect storm of anxiety that can easily cause us to miss God’s voice. Christmas is about waiting and hoping in God. My hope is that this Advent season will encourage and fortify your faith so hope may bloom again.”

That is my prayer for us today. It can be so easy to miss God’s voice when we become too busy, racing to make the next appetizer for that party, find the right outfit for this event, wrap the gifts, stress about affording everything, so on and so forth. I want to press pause. I want to press pause and remember that it will all be okay and that my upmost priority this season is to celebrate the faithfulness and goodness of God.

Time for Friday Favorites! In order to savor the richest of the season, it will be my last Friday Favorites of the year (but not my last post), so enjoy and then watch for them to be back in January!

Favorite Way to Shop: Online! Why haven’t I taken advantage of this earlier? You can Google tons of extra promo codes, like free shipping and discounts, which make it even more reasonable and practical. Plus you can watch Hallmark Christmas movies while doing so and snuggle with your pup and some coffee. Win!

Favorite Photo: We caught Cali Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving. HA! Oh this silly pup.

Favorite Movie: Loved MockingJay Part 1! We got to enjoy a date night with some friends on a collllld wintery night, indulging in Chick Fil A beforehand. (Their grilled chicken nuggets are great for my gluten free ladies!) Can’t wait for Part 2!

Favorite Christmas Movie: I LOVE this time of year on Hallmark. Christmas Under Wraps was such a cute movie this year with Candace Cameron-Bure. A perfect one to DVR and watch as you wrap presents! (And they are replaying this alllll the time so you should be able to find it again!)

Favorite Church Series: Our church kicked off a great series last week, Crazy Love, and the first message was called Crazy Busy. It was perfect and timely and a fantastic reminder to trust God to fill the holes when we need to pull back; to pull away and take care of your soul; and to practice elimination so that we can excel at what we should be doing and not trying to do it all. If you want to check out the message, here is the video link! The message starts at minute 4:00.

Oh and our kids programs are doing a great Unfrozen series, so of course we had to take advantage of the fun! I get to volunteer with the BEST team!

Favorite Pinterest Image: Love this.

Favorite Love Note: It’s always fun to work out with your husband. It’s even more fun when he sneaks a little note in your car door afterwards. :) He’s the best!

Favorite Family Picture: Of course we couldn’t let Thanksgiving pass without a family photo!

Favorite Funnies: Here are a handful of new ones and some of my favorites from the last year! Enjoy the giggles!

 

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Alright friends, that’s a Friday Favorites wrap for 2014! See ya next week for more of my random ramblings.

Oh, and just in case you haven’t already clicked to help me out on my new writing gig … here you go! http://www.fertilityauthority.com/blog/chelsea-ritchie/2014/12/03/i-have-infertility-i-am-just-you I have a 30 day window but that doesn’t mean you should delay … or shouldn’t reread it. ;)

XOXO!