Mornings bring a little spring to my step and a fresh perspective on the pesky bothers of life. For me, as a morning person, I think that Christmas is the morning of the whole year. I have a little fresher perspective of the problems I face and a little more hope for God's grace and mercy to see us through. The night can be dark and gloomy and long, but the morning renews my belief that redemption is possible in every circumstance. Nothing is immune from the mornings. Nothing is beyond hope for redemption.

And so I love Christmastime.

One of my favorite artists as recently released a Christmas Album and I think she's great. I wanted to share a bit of a Relevant Magazine interview that my designer friend, Linsey, shared with me (she designed this image below).

RELEVANTmagazine.com: There’s a community aspect to your work. Tell me more about that and why it’s important to you.

Rosie Thomas: Making music in community, collaborating with friends and family, helps me enjoy it again like I did in the beginning, when I was only making 20 bucks in tip money … and loving it. It helps me find my roots again. I thought only people like Madonna would need to do that. But you need to do it no matter what level you’re at. I need to ask myself, “Rosie, why are you doing this? Are you grounded? Are you seeking your identity in this?” As an artist, I’m in charge of sharing my brokenness. My job is to be vulnerable. If you saw me at a party, I’m not the girl who’s always in the spotlight, but probably in the corner having a conversation with a friend all night. I thrive around people who want to be just as open and honest as me. We really need community, family, friends, even strangers, to help see ourselves.

I think I need to ask myself this more... "Lindsay, why are you doing this? Are you grounded? Are you seeking your identity in this?" I need to take time to sit back and just be among friends. Take time to listen...to learn other perspectives...to trust that God is working things out in a way that my fretting won't accomplish.

I guess creativity really comes through community and not through my ability to plan and organize my life. Hmmm...more things to ponder.

Have a Merry Christmas Eve's Eve.