There are so many different aspects of the season that make it special. The food. The music. The parties and opportunities to get together with friends and family. The gifts.
One of the smaller parts of the season that has become very important to my wife and I are the ornaments.
Most people have at least one tree to celebrate the season. Each family has different traditions for the tree. Do you have a live tree or artificial tree? Does your family use tinsel, garland, or nothing? What types of lights do you include, white or colored? Constant or blinking? What do you use to top the tree?
Along with these different decisions, each family has a set of ornaments that they use to decorate the tree. Christmas tree ornaments are made for every situation and interest.
There are ornaments created for your favorite characters, including cartoon characters, television personalities, and super heros (Marvel or DC).
When there is a special event in your life, there is an ornament to celebrate and remember for years to come. This ornament is almost 30 years-old, celebrating our marriage. I can always expect a kiss, when this is put on the tree.
Our Christmas trees also become a type of memory book, reminding us of different locations that we have visited throughout the year. Wherever you go, there is likely an opportunity to purchase an ornament to remember the trip. You can tell one of our vacations from this ornament.
The ornaments that we choose to put on our tree express some our internal priorities. What we decide to show tells about what is important to us. As we regularly discuss, who we are (identity) determines what we do.
The question that I have been thinking about is what is the most important ornament on our tree? What does our tree say about who we are?
My wife and I have been collecting ornaments each year to add to our tree. Our first tree was very bare, with a lot of generic ornaments. But, as the years have passed, the tree in our home has become full with different ornaments, where no two ornaments are the same on the tree. Each ornament has a story.
If I had to select the most important ornament, it would be like selecting my favorite grandchild. (Yes, there are ornaments for each one of our grandchildren on our tree.) Each ornament was selected to remember something special.
My wife and I have loved each year finding specific ornaments that remind us of the true meaning of the season. So, many of our ornaments have special meaning because they remind us of what is of greatest importance both during this season and in our lives.
Stephanie's Favorite (2016)
Eric's Favorite (2006)
Above you can see the ornaments that we selected as our favorite on the tree. When Stephanie was thinking about it, this was her favorite, but the one that was the most sentimental is one that says "SAM and ME" from our first year together. I love this ornament because it shows the different names of Jesus, which describe who He is.
As you consider your tree and what it communicates about you. What ornament on your tree is your favorite?
We would love to hear from you. Put your favorite ornament in the comments on our Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube page to continue the conversation.
When we were at Yellowstone, I was taking a picture of one of the many amazing scenes, reflecting on God's creation. The photographer that was with us showing us the part, tapped me on the sholder and instructed me to stand in a different location. That simple change in location provided a completely different perspective that showed so much more of the scene and where the light was much better.
A truth from this situation is that a simple change in perspective can reveal new observations, if we are willing to explore a new point-of-view.
We are going to add a new type of episode as part of our HE so I project podcast, called "Reframed." In each episode, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from a recent message or sermon with a new perspective using Redeeming Identity.
This first Reframed episode will look at Ephesians 3, from a sermon that Gary Hamrick from Cornerstone Chapel, in Leesburg, VA. This is an excellent sermon on this passage from a great pastor. What we want to do in this episode is consider what this sermon might have been if it had included the perspective of identity.
We will also be adding other episodes about Redeeming Identity, as we approach the release of the book in January. Please look
for these special episodes and participate in the conversation.
If you have not subscribed or follow our podcast, please take a minute to do this. The search engines look for podcast that are gaining followers, so we need to have everyone who watches or listens to the podcast to subscribe or follow. Thank you for helping us in this simple way.
Book Update and Request
As a reminder!
The official release of Redeeming Identity will be Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
We have special webpage for information about the book.
Along with the newsletter, this will be a great place to get new information about the book.
We are looking forward to sharing the actual cover art in the coming week. We have already reviewed preliminary cover art and are waiting for the updated version. This will be one of the last steps before sending it to the printer and getting it ready for release.
The PR campaign has begun, but this is where we need your help!
Really!!! We need your help with this part!
We need to build a strong launch team that will help us share the news that Redeeming Identity is being published and released. For publishing a book, this means building a strong email list and Facebook following to keep people informed of the impending publication and release of the book. This is extremely important, because the more people following us, the more likely we can get the book into stores around the country.
You can help us in this process in some specific ways.
Please share this email with people and encourage them to sign up to receive this email. Not only will it build our email list, they will get access to the amazing content we create to encourage them to know God.
If you can't share the email, just send people to our website: redeemingidentity.com. When there, they will have the opportunity to sign up for the email, while exploring all the content we provide.
If you are on Facebook, please do two things. (1) Follow us so you can get our posts. (2) When you get a post, please share it with your followers. This helps get the information about the coming book and what we are doing out to more people. Also, the more followers and likes it receives, moves the posts up in Facebook's process.
We will be doing some specific work building towards the release of the book, but we would appreciate your help, our friends, family and supporters, to share the news of the book and the message that it is communicating.
If you need anything from us to help as you share the news of the upcoming release of the book, Redeeming Identity, please let us know.
