by Emily Howsden | Nov 19, 2018
It’s that time of year again. A lot of people wait until the day after Thanksgiving, but in case you didn’t know, Thanksgiving is this week. You’ve still got time, but I’m just saying, get started before it’s too late!
That’s right, I’m talking about Christmas cards. Last year, my husband and I skipped Christmas cards. But because this year is our son’s first Christmas, you better believe we’re sending out ALL the Christmas cards.
This brings up a very important topic of discussion…it’s near and dear to my heart. I’m talking about grammar. More specifically, Christmas card grammar.
After I sent him the proof of our Christmas card, my husband asked if it should read, “The Howsdens’,” with an “s” followed by an apostrophe. So that is what brings me here today, to help people spread Christmas cheer with proper grammar.
You almost never need to use an “s” apostrophe when it comes to signing a family Christmas card. It should either be “The Howsden Family” or “The Howsdens.” An “s” apostrophe suggests that there is possession of something. If you were to say “The Howsdens Christmas card,” you would be correct. But simply leaving it at “The Howsdens’” is wrong.
Put simply, use an apostrophe “s” to show ownership or possession of something. That goes for singular nouns. It’s another story when you are talking about a noun that ends in an s. For example, my son’s name is Silas. If I were to invite you to his birthday party, I would invite you to Silas’ birthday party.
Believe me, this was a topic of discussion when we were picking his name before he was born…
If your last name ends with “s,” and to write that you possess something, it should be “s” apostrophe. Jesus’ birthday, for example. Get it? Clear as mud?
Each year I see grammar mistakes on Christmas cards, and it’s sad. However, don’t miss this, as big of a grammar enthusiast as I am, it doesn’t matter.
That might seem contradictory since I just spent so much time explaining the proper way to use an apostrophe, but I mean it. What is most important this holiday season is not being correct, but being present and being like Jesus.
I could let improper grammar ruin my day, and even ruin my opinion about somebody, but I have a choice to do otherwise. The same goes for you. You have the choice to choose grace and peace rather than choosing to be right this holiday season.
I know the annoying or difficult conversations will come up with a cousin or family member you don’t often see. That’s just how the holidays are. However, if you’ll choose peace and be meek enough to let it go without embarrassing whomever has done you, or the grammar universe, wrong, you will be able to call yourself faultless and blameless. Phil. 2:14-16 says,
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”
Instead of engaging in an argument, pray for that person. Don’t pray for them because they have a different political opinion. Don’t just pray for them because they downright annoy you, and most certainly don’t pray for them because they can’t use proper grammar on their Christmas card.
Instead, pray that they would see Jesus’ love for them this holiday season. The holidays can be hard for a myriad of reasons. Be kind and love others, regardless of their grammar and shortcomings.
by Emily Howsden | Nov 5, 2018
We are entering the season where we most often gather. Whether we gather for family functions, work parties, “friendsgivings” or any other reason to come together with loved ones, it’s a busy season of fellowship.
This just happens to be my favorite time of year. I love community and all that comes with it—the good, the bad and even the ugly.
As you enter into people’s homes, I want you to look for something. Look for any kind of décor that has to do with, or even says the word, “Gather.”
Have you noticed the recent trend of “Gather” home décor? My husband and I have a large wooden sign in our kitchen with the popular verse Matthew 18:20 printed on it which reads,
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”
This verse is one thing that I advise myself, and everyone reading, that we keep in mind this holiday season.
You see, all of the “gather” paraphernalia means nothing, in my opinion, unless when you gather you do so as if the Lord is there among us. If we aren’t gathering out of love and to lift each other up, than those words are reduced to useless décor.
When we gather as believers, we should gather with the intention that, each time we come together, we leave each other better than we were before we came.
This concept shouldn’t only be applied to holiday gatherings; rather, it should be applied to our lives as Christ-followers.
In the Bible, when Jesus traveled, He did so with the intention of sharing the Gospel. As Christians, we are to be like Christ, and proclaiming the Gospel wherever we go is the biggest and best way we can glorify Him as we gather this season.
Inevitably, you will have to tag along to a party or dinner that you hadn’t originally planned to attend, or maybe you aren’t keen on some of the people present. Consider these times your time to shine as a Christian!
Resist the urge to argue politics. Resist the urge to pick a fight with your siblings. Instead, meet every opportunity for chaos with the fruits of the spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).
Gather with purpose this holiday season. Gather as if the Lord is among you and your company.
by Emily Howsden | Oct 29, 2018
I was raised in a Baptist church. I still go to a Baptist church, of which I am not ashamed. But one thing anyone who grew up Baptist knows is that we don’t typically celebrate the “H” word.
What we did do growing up was go to “fall festivals” and all of the other names for events that happen to fall around October 31 that Baptist churches use to masquerade “the devil’s holiday.”
But I’m here to tell you, Halloween should be celebrated by the church! I’m not going to go crazy and tell you all about the origins of the holiday and give you a history lesson, but what I will do is tell you that if your church completely ignores this holiday, a big opportunity for outreach will have passed your church by!
Halloween is one of the most widely-celebrated holidays on the calendar each year. What’s not to love about dressing up as a popular superhero, a character from your favorite sitcom or some sort of fuzzy creature? The sky is the limit when it comes to Halloween costumes. Plus, what parent doesn’t love dressing their child up? The potential for cuteness is huge.
Who doesn’t love a holiday where a primary focus is treats? Whether you have a sweet tooth the size of Texas (guilty) or you prefer savory treats, Halloween is there for you! Popcorn balls are a popular Halloween treat, the perfect marriage of salty and sweet. The holiday falls right in the middle of fall, or as I like to call it, Crockpot season… hello cheese dips! And for the sweet tooth lovers, BRING ON THE CANDY.
Halloween is also a fun reason to have people over for a party. No matter what day of the year it falls, people everywhere stop what they usually do on a weeknight or weekend and dress up to stay in, or dress up to go trick-or-treating with family and friends.
Additionally, we can’t forget the “Trick” part of “Trick or treat.” Who in a Baptist church doesn’t like a good “trick” or prank? Some of the biggest pranksters I know are on church staff at any one of the Baptist churches in the great state of Oklahoma. This holiday could be the perfect way to end Pastor Appreciation Month by pulling one over on your favorite church leader! (I can say that, I’m a pastor’s wife)
If you look at all of the above mentioned reasons why people enjoy this holiday, and you compare the reasons why Baptists normally gather for functions, they are eerily similar! The holiday meets the three Baptist requirements for an event, which I like to call “the four Fs”: Food, fun, family and fellowship.
At my church, we have “Halloween House Parties.” Instead of hosting an event at the church, life groups are encouraged to host a party of their own and invite their neighbors. Life groups have the opportunity to check out bounce houses from the church, which means, in neighborhoods all over the city, there are several block parties thrown by members of our church. It’s a blast and a fun way to meet people in your neighborhood with whom you might not normally spend an evening.
Instead of being “stuffy church people” who refuse to celebrate a holiday, I say we take advantage of, for once, the world coming to our doorsteps, rather than us going to theirs. Halloween is a huge opportunity for outreach.
So I say, throw on a costume, put some cheese dip in the crock pot, some chili on the stove, open your door to the neighborhood and get out there and love on your neighbors!
by Emily Howsden | Oct 22, 2018
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As October comes to a close, Halloween is just next week, inevitably Thanksgiving is around the corner and before we know it we will be waking up on Christmas morning.
Or at least that’s how the holiday season always seems to go, doesn’t it?
My husband and I have a small photography business, and October and November are two months that can best be described as “drinking from a fire hose” in terms of how busy we stay taking photos.
Everyone wants to capture their family at a specific moment in time. Whether it’s for their annual Christmas card or to hang on the walls of their homes, our hopes are that the pictures that we take will be cherished for years and years to come.
I like to imagine each family, years down the line, at Christmas or another holiday gathering, remembering the exact day we took their pictures.
This is something I LOVE about taking pictures. Pictures capture a moment in time that we can look back on and laugh at the fashion choices that were made, moms and dads can look back and see how tiny their little ones once were, and extended family members can admire their loved ones they might not get to see regularly from afar.
Photographer Aaron Siskind once said, “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
You have to be incredibly intentional when taking photos, both as the photographer and the people being photographed.
Dates are circled on calendars, coordinating outfits are selected, and then there’s the “day of” scramble, where everyone hopes and prays nothing catastrophic happens before the hours or so mapped out to take pictures.
On the photography side of things, sometimes the best photos are the “in between frames” type of photos, where organic smiles and laughter ensue. Additionally, I try to be intentional by talking to the people, while taking their picture, about something they enjoy, whether that be their family, a hobby or something else. People’s eyes light up and smiles are genuine when they talk about things they love.
As for me, I take photos of the things I love. If you were to look on my phone camera roll right now, you would find hundreds and hundreds of photos of my son Silas, my husband Casey, my pets, our home and our families. I take these pictures, so I can go back later and reminisce.
Last weekend was the four-year anniversary of my brother Joel finding out he had a brain tumor.
Four years later, I can happily report that he is alive and well, and thriving nonetheless. During his hard times, a source of joy was looking back at old pictures of our family before the chaos of cancer struck. The pictures were glimmers of hope in what seemed like otherwise dark times.
I say all of this to encourage you friends to be present and be intentional with the time you have with the people you love. Take “too many” photos, capture those moments in time, and then be present and enjoy the holiday season with the people you love.
Take no day or holiday for granted!
by Emily Howsden | Oct 15, 2018
I was recently asked what my planning process is like when I am working. I don’t know about you, but I have two ways that I like to stay organized.
First, like to write down my daily work tasks in a physical planner. Second, I have things as far as a year-out planned on my phone calendar.
Why do I like to do this? Because when there is a concrete plan in place, there is less room for error. Or at least there used to be. Since becoming a mom, now three months ago, I’ve learned that I have to sometimes let go of my plans.
This was something that God was teaching me before I ever became a mom, but He really drove the point home with the birth of my child.
Over the weekend, I planned to do all the laundry, put it away, clean the house and get some cooking and baking done that I have been meaning to do.
Because I have a child now, however, I had to seriously adapt those plans, and I had to be okay with it.
All laundry was done; however I had to bargain with myself and at least make sure all hanging things were put away in the closet. The clothes that need folding would have to wait.
I got the necessary cooking done, so there is are plenty of leftovers in the refrigerator, so my weeknight evenings aren’t spend preparing and cleaning up after meals. But I didn’t get any baking done – that would have to wait.
In both scenarios, before my sweet baby Silas, I would have been extremely bothered to not mark all items off of my weekend checklist. However, the Lord has been working on me (a constant work in progress) and helping me realize that my plans aren’t always going to come to fruition.
His plans are so much greater than any amount of planning I could ever do. He has shown me that time and time again in my life. It hasn’t always been something as small as cooking or cleaning. In fact, it was something way larger my sophomore year of college.
I had determined to go to college at one school and had not done much praying about it, or even considered if this were in God’s plan for my life. It was my heart’s desire, so of course He would be on board, right?
Wrong. It took transferring schools and an extra semester of college to make up for said transfer for me to be where God had planned.
Can you think of a time in your life when your plan for your life didn’t turn out how you hoped? I could provide a million more examples, both big and small. You would think by now I would know that, while my plans are futile, God in His omnipotence has a bigger and better plan.
We may not always know why He does what He does, and we may not always see a positive end result, but that’s okay (Something I have to remind myself over and over again).
I offer you no great words of wisdom. I can only share and hope to encourage you to keep seeking His will for your life over whatever plans you may have. And when plans inevitably go south, say it with me in solidarity, “Just let it go.”