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.
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.
On February 2, 1941 was a normal day in the USA and a wonderful day for my parents. It was the birth of their 1st child, a sweet girl who grew to learn the salesman’s techniques so well she could have sold a freezer to someone living in an igloo.
Coolest bed ever to keep mosquitoes out
Ten months after her birth, on December 7, the USA was rocked by the devastation of greed and destruction from another country who thought this was their path for world power. Why does anyone think this is a good choice to prove their dominance by killing many innocent people.
Such a waste
We as a nation, honor this Day of Remembrance, those servicemen and women and all current military for the protecting our country. We have many remembrances of this day still sitting on the bottom of the bay floor.
Evidence of horrific times
If all people of the world would realize the beauty of all of life, of all people and how we could all work together accepting each others differences and how to use them to make this a better world….wow. What a wonderful world this would be. Maybe someday…
Until then, I salute all of our military personal from the USA in hopes that they know how much they are appreciated and hoping that as this season approaches, many of them get the opportunity to get home, if just for the holiday.
And for other countries military personnel, may you all be safe this holiday season also with a chance to be with family.
If I could have my one wish for Christmas it would be the classic beauty pageant request for world peace, where we all live in love, gentleness and profound kindness. I am reminded of the wonderful concept of “RACK” – Random Acts of Christmas Kindness.
As you go through the season remember this concept and make someone smile.
Do you ever really wonder what the Bible is? Where did it come from? Is it real, is it true? I have very strong, foot standing my ground beliefs to all of these questions and I think all of us need to think on these questions to figure out where we stand individually on these questions as it balances us on where our priorities lay.
My answers are – The bible is the very word of God, given to His prophets by God and the disciples to tell the world who He is, what His plans are, the history of His people Israel and how to prepare the entire world for His abundant love.
The month of December I am reading through the book of Luke and trying to stay to one chapter per night as there are 24 chapters which carries you to Christmas eve. On Christmas eve we as a family always read Luke chapter 2 to praise the birth of Jesus.
To help me not read too far ahead, I also add on the study notes at the bottom of the pages as they give you a way to wrap your head around what was happening then and how I can apply it to today. I use the NIV study bible, studying first the word and then referencing the study notes to help me understand what I am reading. And for me, each time I read the same passages I have read many times before, I get different insights depending on what is going on in my life at the time. The bible is a living document, ever teaching and ever loving.
Chapter 5:36-39 of Luke has the parable of the old wine skins verses the new wine skins and while I vaguely understood what they were saying I went to the study notes to see what they could explain to help me correlate to today. What the parable tells us is not to put new wine in old wineskins as they will burst spilling you wine onto the ground. We all understand that things get worn out but lets study that for a second. Wineskins were goat skins where the edges were tightly sewn together to create watertight bags. As the bag ages, the skin becomes hardened and less pliable. The aging process of new wine requires expansion from the gases created so you need a pliable bag, therefore, you need a new bag. If you put new wine in old bag, it will be stiff leaving no access or room for expansion and the bag will split spilling it contents.
What Jesus was teaching with this parable was the comparison of the Pharisees being too rigid to accept His new teachings of Christianity. The old teachers of the Law could not turn lose their traditions and rules to be able to accept the new approaches and structures Jesus was explaining to the people. How does that apply to us today? Well, we as Christians must always follow the word and be careful that our hearts don’t get so hard and rigid with our traditions that it prevents us from from accepting the new way of thinking that Christ brings. We need to keep our hearts soft and pliable, always ready to accept His teachings of life changing messages. You can never tell when he may drop an opportunity to share Him in your lap. Use wisdom, discernment and love in applying His truths so that others may want to come and learn.
Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us that God’s love and showing of His love to all is compared in my mind like sweet succulent grapes hanging from the vine for all to enjoy and share with others – the Fruits of the Spirit. The top of the list is of course Love. Why love? Because God is love. My favorite of the fruits is kindness. To me you cant give kindness without love, so I always close with encouragements of kindness – for those needing it and for others to remember to share it.
Kindness can be a small as a smile
Fruits of the Spirit = Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control
OK, its time for some Christmas humor. Most everybody loves Christmas decorations, except for the Grinch and Scrooge. Hope you are not one of those ass I have been blasting my love of decorations here since November. For those who may not know, I am healing from foot surgery and am currently not able to walk. I don’t sit well without something to do and as much as I love the Hallmark channel, there is only so much of that I can watch. So I pulled out the possible Christmas projects and wreaths to see what I and the glue gun could come up with. Also for those who may not know I also am a face painting clown – real clown – not circus clown but Christian clown using this medium to help spread cheer and the love of Christ. I explain all of this so you can understand my mental age is …12… on a good day. It will help you appreciate where I came from on this project. I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest with a small wreath and the letter J and Y – to make a JOY wreath. I painted the J red and the Y green and the O is a straw wreath. The I saw a small house like my village houses and thought I could make a cute scene inside the O.
So the plan was going great until assembly time. That’s when the mischievous Elf show up. This is what he did to my JOY wreath. I call it now “The Elf of No Help” wreath.
Thanks for the help Elf.
Combined with the beauty of Christmas lights, we must never forget the laughter and JOY of the season. Sorry for my beat up door – Mimi is very protective.
As you spread the JOY of Christmas, remember the kindness a hug can bring. The gentleness of love and kindness during his season can brighten anyone’s day.
We have now crossed over to December so it is a perfect time to add more pictures of my over zealous indoor Christmas. I do hope it is not a total bore to you. Since I knew my surgery would prohibit me from decorating in December, I got to get ready by the second week of November. So I have been enjoying my 3 trees already along with my village and other Christmas cheer. I will display some that you may have seen and some new.
The first pic is my tree on the dining room table with my 40+ piece village beneath the tree. The second pic is the tree in my bedroom bump out window. Santa and Chris Moose had different opinions on how to hang lights on the tree. The last one is the tree in the living room. So you see I have lots of enjoyment surrounding me. Next week I may be walking(sort of) and I will get that small trees up in the kitchen and bathrooms – no room left unattended. But with all this decoration, is there a favorite? I dunno – maybe each tree has one, but not really. I do know some are favorites as they bring special memories to mind. For instance, my bedroom tree is the fun tree which holds my silly ornaments and ornaments my children made when they were young. Of those my favorite is the clothes pen angel my oldest made when he was 3. (He turned 40 this year) And of course this tree has all the S’more ornaments, over 30 of those. You can see the angel S’more behind Jimmy’s angel.
The first ornament placed on this tree
The other 2 trees are harder to find a favorite as they are all wonderful. Each year I try to find 1 or 2 special ornaments that are different or extra special. So I will give you a few samples from each of the other trees. The tree on the dining room table is all white, glass or silver.
The tree that is in the living room is the so-called formal tree but my idea of formal probably differs from other ideas of formality as I am a pretty laid back type person. Since I was an art major in college, some of that bleeds through on this tree.
As the month goes onward, I will also share my nativity scenes. Yes, there are more than one, not including all the nativity type ornaments hanging on the tree that represent the true reason for the season.
Even Santa knows that true love comes from the manger
In the gentle mindset of the holiday season remember the value of being kind. Even Charlie Brown understands the gift of kindness.
If you have a favorite ornament or like sharing the Christmas decor from your house, do share. I so enjoy looking to see how others decorate. Have a marvelous week.
There are many beauties we see daily in nature that give us a glimpse of what Eden must have looked like. Adam, as he named all the creatures, seeing that some were more beautiful but realizing each specie had it purpose in creation that blended with the circle of life as intended for all to be harmonious with each other. Working together as a unit of divine creation and then….man ruined it. I read an article recently listing the most dangerous creatures in the world and man was listed as one of the worst. How could we, the beautiful creation that representing God himself, strayed so far from His purpose. But this story is not about what man has done but to refocus back on the beauty of creation itself. Specifically, birds. Since I am somewhat temporarily disabled, my mobility is challenged and I have really become very fond of the birds that visit my feeder.
Yes, even the pesky squirrel is part of nature although neither I nor the birds appreciate his appearance. But the few that I admire the most are the woodpeckers and the red cardinals. With the ground now covered in snow, their bright red feathers really are beautiful.
Dad and Mom
I had remembered my sister saying that cardinals represented loved ones recently lost but I don’t really buy into that but in research I did find some interesting facts. With cardinals, they are mates for life. They don’t mind the cold weather so that is why their bright red plumage shows up so well against the snow covered trees.
In many cultures they are thought to be messengers from the spirit world. Their bright red feathers represent love, boldness and passion. Their resilience of harsh weather can bring hope for hard times. Cardinals are appreciated as good fortune bearers and they remind the followers of Christ of His red blood that was shed for us. They are also symbols of Christmas, the celebration of Christ’s birth. They bring joy, song, harmony and happiness to people’s homes and lives. I have one that sits on my tree in the living room.
The cardinal
As you go out in the world, open your eyes to the beauty of creation. Even the tiniest of flowers can bring a smile knowing that God placed it there for you to enjoy.
Single daisy
And always remember the value of kindness. Like a single bloom that makes you smile, a single act of kindness can bring sunshine to someone’s gray day.
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In following along with Linda G Hills One Liner Wednesday, we add the cute monkey that represents Peace, Love and One Liner Wednesday.
Christmas is filled with religious meanings and family traditions that echo our love toward the season and mankind. There are many stories or ideals we all share that originally came from myth or folklore and then get sprinkled with embellishments that make us love the story or the tradition even more. One of these for me is the candy cane.
peppermint candy canes
There are so many stories about their origin of this coming from a Christian perspective but they always seem to get debunked as untruths. Lets go through a few of these myths and at least enjoy them for the tale that they are.
In Germany over 250 years ago a white straight stick of candy was created for the supposed holiday season. There was some stories that were told the the white symbolized the purity of Christ but that evidently can not be substantiated. Then in 1670, in the USA, in the state of Indiana, a choirmaster made similar candy using the same symbol of white for purity but he added a “J” shape to the cane to represent the staff of a shepherd and the “J” of Jesus’ name. His thought was to give the children something to remember about Christ and to help keep them quiet during the nativity play.
It was not until the 1900’s that the stripes and the peppermint were added and the Christian meanings/myths were increased and are believed as true.
The white represents the purity of Christ. The “J” still represents the shepherd staff for us lost lambs and for his name as well. There are two types of stripes on the candy cane, a large thick stripe and three small thin stripes. The small stripes represent His scourging for by His stripes we are healed. The large stripe represents His blood that was shed on the cross for us. The peppermint represents hyssop which was used as purity in biblical times.
I don’t understand why someone wants to worry so much about proving the factual truth of a wonderful story concerning Christmas instead of enjoying the beauty it represents today. At the end of the day it is a candy cane. Especially when people use this to look for extra reason to show their love of Christ or find was to energize the imagination of a child to help them understand the intricate details of the meaning of Christmas. It a joyous time of year. Have a candy cane.
And remember this season of thankfulness as it springboards us in the joyous season of Christmas. Its a time of year where we can share extra doses of kindness to all creation. Remember that no act of kindness is ever wasted but can create a ripple effect that spread across the world.
For the Love of 