After a couple of weeks of engagements and Christmasing up north, I awakened in my Florida bed missing the"cozy" that can only come from cold weather.

A friend and I had a discussion about this while I was visiting. We decided that you can't really use the word "cozy" unless a fireplace and a cold winter wind (and preferably, snow) are involved. Floridians have fireplaces (which I still find weird), and the temperature can approach freezing at extreme points, but it just isn't the same. You need the true passage of seasons to make "cozy."

"Cozy" was sleeping in the bedroom I had as a child and hearing the wind whistling, seeing the Christmas lights twinkling outside on the front porch. "Cozy" was all our family opening presents together in a living room that used to be huge and now seems small. "Cozy" was my best friend and I ending up in a downtown Starbucks with our frozen ears and hot lattes after watching skaters on the Cincinnati downtown rink. "Cozy" was my husband and I in a restaurant on the Ohio river, watching the Cincinnati skyline and eating a special holiday meal, and snuggling in a taxi to head to a surprise (for him) Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert.

"Cozy" was enjoying homemade potato soup and a crackling fire after a speaking engagement in the house of a family full of stories about the mission trips that have changed their lives. "Cozy" was a Christmas tea with 300 moms and daughters from the American Heritage Girls, all dressed in their holiday best on what seemed like the coldest night of the year. "Cozy" was sitting at my in-laws's house in housecoat and slippers on a frosty morning and having traditional tea and toast with Grandma for breakfast. "Cozy" was meeting a friend I have't seen in years in a little restaurant in Lima, dashing to the car afterwards to avoid the bitter wind.

"Cozy" is what I'm trying to recreate in the Florida sunshine. Friends have told me that they turn up their AC on Chrstmas Day and put on sweaters to make it feel more like a northern Christmas - I don't know if that will really help in my case.

My thought is that I will continue to close my eyes and remember the "cozy" memories I just made up north as we head into the holiday. They will be more real than fake snow or blasting air conditioning. No matter where you live, "cozy" has to come frm people you love.

I wish you all a "cozy" Christmas season this year! May all the hustle and bustle be overshadowed by the love and joy of the presence of Jesus and the gifts of family and friends.