This is really a post for tomorrow to start off the new year but I have to be honest, January 1 to a college football fan leans real strong to watching TV all day long. And since my team will be playing, I will be parked there with chips, snacks and good ole southern sweet tea. Go Dawgs!
But once the game is over, we have the rest of the year to contend with. This is only day 1 so what are we going to do for the 364 remaining days. Well I have an internal challenge for you. Its not a challenge you will share each day or week but one you will keep track of in your heart. It is more of an action by you and sort of a “how you gonna do it” to God – not that God needs a challenge but its fun to put your prayer life into action and then sit back and watch God do His work.
This started off on FB as a 30 day challenge but I know we can do better than that so I challenge you to do this once a month. With a different person each month.
How awesome is our God
Then a year from now, look back over your year and see what all God has done. Some you may not see much and some may be obvious. In the life of those of us who love Jesus, we need to be lifting each other up in prayer. Some you now need it and some will hide their hurts deep down, not show it but still need it. This is an internal challenge not for sharing out but for praising in as you see God do His work.
So on the first of each month pick a new person and pray for their happiness, just their happiness. God will move the things around to create that happiness. I currently have 75 followers on my blog. If all 75 do this, then in a years time, 900 people would have been prayed for. What a blessing not only for us but for the recipient.
And if this is just not your thing, then always remember to be kind. Even that is a small prayer as it is sharing of God’s love. Kindness is a gift from you to another being and it reflects God’s love for all of us.
Comparison of the end of a beautiful day and the end of a interesting year,
Colors don’t show how the sky looks on fire
My house sits on top of a hill, so from my back yard I get to see the sun set as it closes out each day. Today’s sunset reminds me of how tomorrow we will close out another year. Today was a bright sunny day ending in an exquisite fiery flame red sunset against distant clouds. Our year is ending, seemingly on a high note but are their distant storm clouds ahead? Who knows? Does it do any good to worry about the possible storm clouds? No. Are you surrounded by storm clouds now? Possibly. Try to focus on the hand that is reaching down through those storm clouds to hold you steady.
When things seem at their worse try to focus on the blessings you have, even though they change daily. It will help your perspective.
Today:
Do I have family and friends that know what I am going through to encourage me?
Do I have food in the house for me to eat?
Do I have a roof over my head keeping me out of the cold and rain?
Do I have running water to drink and wash with?
Do I have fresh air to breathe?
Do I have a savior who knows what all I need and loves me more than I know?
Jesus tells us not to borrow troubles from tomorrow but to focus only on today. Be thankful in the many small blessing you see as they will bring into focus the things you forget you have every day.
As we get ready for the new year, remember to focus on the beauty in life. Yes, it can be very hard but their is always beauty if you look for it. The beauty of a bird as it flies branch to branch, never working, always trusting and knowing it will be provided. Sometimes that provision comes from an unsuspecting squirrel as he too jumps branch to branch seeking and knocking down seeds to the ground for that to bird can get.
Provisions sometimes come for outlandish sources but if you look, you can see His hand at work providing your needs – maybe an angel in disguise.
I bid you all a most wonderful new year with more joy, less pain and brighter hopes. And as I always remind all of us – Be kind. Sometimes your pain or sadness can be lifted by being kind to another person or creature. Kindness is the Love Food of God.
The fear and wonder the shepherds must have felt to see the heavens open with bright light and creatures they had only heard stories of but have never really seen. They knew from the prophets that He would come as a child from the lowly town of Bethlehem.
I wish you all the joy, wonder and love this season can bring us. A reminder of what did come and a foreshadowing of what is still to come. May you feel His love, peace and comfort and carry it with you to share with others as you go.
Matthew 6:22 – The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light.
Nothing is quite as precious as the sparkle of a child’s eyes or the giggle of their laugh. These are my children and grandchildren. Yes all boys. But they are precious.
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Nancy Merrill photo a week challenge is eyes. Come join in on the fun and enjoy each others photos.
Remember the joy of laughter of a child and carry that joy and smile with you as you go sharing that love with kindness freely. It make bring the same joy and smile to one who needs it.
Well its been and interesting 6 weeks since my last surgery but today I was given permission to get out by myself and maybe go driving. How marvelous since I have been house bound other that my daughter taking me to Dr. visits.
Watch that first step!
Intellectually I knew this was short term and having gone through it before in August I knew the drill. But it is still nice to know you are healing enough to get out again and today is a pretty day. The sun is bright against a clear sky but there is still the residual snow linger from 2 weeks ago, but roads have been clear since the Monday after the 14″ Saturday.
Due some more possibly over the weekend and maybe white for Christmas.
So where to go on my first day of freedom. Hmmm. Looks like the birds are telling me I need to go back to the store, so I guess I will go to Lowes after lunch.
Yard entertainment
The kitties next door watch the birds as they feed. Mimi watches the birds, the squirrels and the cats in the window. I watch Mimi and the birds. So I guess its a community watch of sorts.
Enjoy the beauty around you. There is always something in nature and life worth watching, you may just have to look for it. And remember to show kindness in all things, whether it be a kind word, a gentle touch, or even a bright smile. That may be just the thing someone needs to lighten their day. May the end of this post make you smile and remember all of natures smiles with you.
It has been proven that a smile can turn a frown totally upside down. Smile often. To some it makes then smile back at you and to some it makes them wonder what you are smiling about, which makes them smile because then they think of thing that make them smile. It’s fully contagious.
Christmas is right around the corner. A lot of us are still zipping around and getting ready with gifts, food preparations and house readiness for family and visitors. Sometimes we forget this time of year is a time for quiet reflections on the past year, the coming year, what is happening in the world, in my country, in my town, in our individual lives. Nathanpatrickroach made a profound statement in his blog The reason for the Season and why Jesus had to come in the first place. Its worth the read if you have not seen it. Gives you a different perspective.
This morning we sang O Come, O Come Emanuel, which is one of my favorite songs this time of year. The Piano Guys version of this song will put chills down your spine, at lease it does for me. I could not figure out how to post it here.
The last verse really resonated with me this morning and I thought I would share it with you.
O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heartfelt mind.
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease,
Fill all the world with heavens peace,
Rejoice, Rejoice!
Emanuel shall come to thee O Israel. Amen
For all of mankind to come together in one heartfelt mind with heavens peace. May we all come together this season in love, peace and kindness.
GC and Sue W have created a prompt that is so up my alley. The joys and traditions surrounding Christmas are my most favorite of the year. See their prompt below to join in on the fun and share your photos.
For me and my daughter, we start preparing the week before Thanksgiving but this year we started the 1st week on November as I was due for surgery the second week and I was not going to miss out on my decorating. We are also major college football fans, so every year there is an off weekend where our team does not play. That is the designated day for Christmas decoration shopping day. Sometimes we find something and sometime we don’t but it has become a yearly tradition we look forward to with love and fond memories.
When I decided to move from the deep south to the midwest for a new job, my daughter wanted to come. He job was going nowhere and her last relationship had crashed and burned. So we moved together. We were fortunate to find the perfect house with a walk out basement and a kitchen on both floors. So she is downstairs where it stays cooler to her liking and I am upstairs. Close to each other but separated as well.
My daughter and I are both suffers of the same…”illness?!?” – YCHTMC – An acronym for “You Can’t Have Too Much Christmas”.
Upstairs I have are 3 full size trees and 3 table trees. Down stairs my daughter has 3 smaller full size trees and 1 table tree.
Dining Room Tree / VillageLiving Room TreeBedroom Tree with Santa and Chris Moose
Below are the downstairs trees in her large living area.
I have 6 multiple pieced nativity sets in various styles, colors and sizes with many single unit nativity scenes.
My biggest set has individual lights for each house and my smallest is actually a fountain.
My daughter has 2 multiple pieced nativity sets and several single unit scenes.The reason I have more is I have been doing it longer. It is a sickness I inherited from my mother and I have several ornaments that were hers. It is a family affair. With my sons, their wives keep them in check.
I am also an angel collector and most of those stay out year round; they just get located in a different location allowing other and numerous table decorations. Plus there is the village that grew this year and now has a section located in a different spots which houses the country scenes and the Christmas tree village.
There are traditional decorations, whimsical decorations and some just silly decorations but laughter and the love of Christ is what Christmas is to me. Through November I have displayed some of my pictures so I will repost a few but you are interested you can review my other post from November.
I sincerely hope you all have a marvelous Christmas regardless of your religious affiliation. It is a season of love hope and caring and we must always be considerate and kind to each other, especially at this season. There are many hurting during this time of year and will need and extra hand of kindness shared with them so please share kindness when you can.
I have Christmas all over my house, even in the bathroom. No room left undecorated.
The woodland forest in the bathroom with it’s pine cone hedgehogs cuties.
While Christmas giving has gone way overboard in some cases and in my belief the true meaning for Christmas revolves around Christ’s love for us, there is the fun side and history surrounding the fat guy in the red suit. So today’s fun story is about good ole Santa.
According to history, in 280 AD they was a young man born to a well off family. They lived in Patara, Asia Minor now known as Turkey. His name was Nicholas. While he was still a young man, his parents died and left him quite rich. But Nicholas was a gentle soul and was aware of those less fortunate than he. So he would secretly give gifts to those in need. Now in research I was uncertain if he was a monk or later became a monk but regardless he was christened as St. Nicholas and was favored by children and sailors. Not sure how all that happened but he was prayed to for safe journeys on the seas with many legends and stories of his help and appearances.
During the 16th century in Northern Europe the stories, legends and traditions became unpopular but they still wanted a deliverer by which presents came at Christmas. So the UK came up with Father Christmas or Old man Christmas and France had Pere Noel. Other countries like Austria and Germany had Christkind which was a baby with golden hair and wings that represented the baby Jesus. Early settlers in the US used the Christkind idea but revised the name to Kris Kringle. Later Dutch settlers in the US combined the old stories of St. Nick with Kris Kringle and he became Sinter Klaas which later became what we now use as Santa Claus.
In the 19th century the poem The Night Before Christmas was written making him an elf with 8 tiny reindeer. Coca Cola has always had wonderful pictures of full size Santa on their cans.
This is a very special time of year where good laughter, great love and cheer is spread to all. So in the Ho Ho Ho laughter of Santa I wish you the very happiest Christmas. And in the love of Christ of this wondrous season I wish you peace and good will. I have an ornament on my tree that shows even Santa shows a love and gentleness to baby Jesus.
Gentleness of Santa, Love of Christ
May you share the gentleness and love of both of these Christmas joys and share them with others through the gift of kindness, the best gift of all.
My mother’s mother was a real southern jewel. She was a beloved 2nd grade school teacher and even on her meager salary she would find a way to help buy one of her students a pair of shoe or winter coat if needed. As pitiful as we pay our teacher today, back in the 40’s I can only imagine. She retired when I was in early high school when she said she turned 65 but we all knew she was probably older but refused to admit it. The courthouse that had all the birth records of her home town had burned down along with many records of the area. But her retirement was a big shindig where all the school attended along with former students, the local paper and of course family.
Her name was Charlotte but everyone called her Lottie or Miss Lottie, even her grand children. But she was NOT a grandmother. Don’t get me wrong, she loved her grandchildren and called us her grandchildren but she was not a grandmother. “The very idea!” I think that was her favorite saying. She had lots of great sayings but coming from the south, we do come up with some interesting ways of putting things. Sometimes words didn’t even need to be said, you just got “the look”. How many of us remember “the look”. I don’t think I ever mastered it, my kids could see right through me. But Miss Lottie’s was so strong you could feel it from the back, your hackles would rise. You didn’t even have to see it, you just knew you were getting it. Such fond memories.
Well, I am here to tell you that you don’t discount those memories you had with you grandparents as you never know when you may need one of those memories. One that tickled me the most were her clothing sizes. When she was young and thin I am sure she wore a size 12 but not in her grandmotherly state. So when we bought her clothes, we cut the tags out and told her they were size 12. And as we get older our feet spread and we gain a little weight, our shoe size changes. It’s part of aging I guess, at least that is what I have noticed, but I spent 40 years on a concrete manufacturing floor which probably didn’t help.
My grandmother loved this type of house slipper that looked very similar to a Japanese style slipper. I remember they were dark blue in color with darker swirls in the fabric and it was the only kind I saw her were. But she insisted she wore a size 7, yea, no. She was easily in an 8. But she would buy the 7, they would be too tight and bind her feet. So she would take her brand new slippers and cut them to allow room for her foot. I remember asking her one time(and only one time) why she did that. Her answer was that her feet swelled at night and she needed the extra room for the swelling. I returned with the question of why not buy the next larger size. Well, not only did I get “the look” I got “The very idea! Then how are they going to fit when my feet are not swollen?” Indeed, I thought quietly to myself as I nodded approvingly to her statement.
I laugh at myself now as I remember this story because I am using her “technique” until the swelling goes down in my right foot. After my first surgery, I was fitted with orthopedic inserts for my shoes to start using once I started walking to add the extra support I would need for my feet. The inserts do take up room and it is no issue with my left foot as it has minimal swelling left. But the right one is still pretty swollen and my foot would not fit in the shoe. So, Miss Lottie, I am using your method and it seems to be working fine. I removed the laces and the tongue and then slit the top just like she use to.
Need new shoes anyway
So the moral of the story is don’t fully discount the stories of your grandparents as they may be beneficial to you one day. Life is always a journey and memories sometimes are the things that help us make it through.
And in closing I remind you of the joys of laughter in helping you heal. Share your joy, laughter, kindness with others this holiday season. This can be a difficult season for some so always be kind. Reach out with a gentle touch to show others you care. It may be the only kind thing that person gets that day.
We have always heard that the measure of beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nature has a beauty all its own
There are many forms of beauty from nature, or art, or music, or people, or animals…even in life itself.
Take for example any living thing and the ability of today’s technology to break down anything to a single cell…and the parts of that cell, the amazing beauty of creation. I have had conversations with people who don’t see this or who don’t see the reality of creation as I do. I even had one gentleman tell me he didn’t do the “G” word. I had to bite my tongue to keep my composure with someone who gets offended in saying “God”, really. How very sad. It is my opinion that God is very real and the creator of all things. It is also my opinion that He created all humans in His likeness to also be creators in the many forms we love to express and show the beauty of all creation. And I believe all of this to be a profound truth.
There is great beauty in truth. While this may be dipping into the philosophy realm a bit, truth like beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder as well because the world has muddied the waters of truth so to speak. For me, truth is perceived by each individual’s perception of what truth is to them and that is the basis on how they run their life. For me, I base all truth on God’s word. In the bible, John 37:37, Jesus said “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And Pilate asked Him “What is truth?” Clearly not on the same page as Jesus but on the side of the muddy waters.
I am not eloquent with words or a great biblical teacher but I do study the word of God and believe it to be the truth. We are now in the Christmas season, whether you believe it or not the season’s purpose is to celebrate Jesus’s birth…and our salvation from death. Because without Him we are forever doomed. He was born for a purpose – us – and he died for a purpose – us. It has always been about us, the people, the believers in God. We are God’s beautiful creation but we are not allowed to see God so he can’t come help us. So God sent us His son who can help us. He stands between us and God as a buffer. I ran across a picture of beautiful piece of art that explains the relationship between man and God so well that I felt lead to share with you here.
Jesus is kneeling in the arms of the cross while hanging onto God’s hand as He reaches down to us who are drowning. That is a truth we all can live by. We can’t get to the father without the son. And they both want us to succeed in reaching for the hand of salvation. I encourage you to celebrate the season of His love as God sent this gift to us and for us.
Us and HIM
As you enjoy the love of the season, remember to be kind. Being kind to someone who is also being kind is easy. We need to remember to be kind to those who may not be showing kindness at that moment probably because this is also a season of deep sorrow. Reach out with a word of kindness, a hand of kindness, or maybe a gentle smile. You just may brighten someone world. I enclose my favorite smile. It makes me smile every time.
For the Love of 