Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

How many of us remember as children playing the “Just five more minutes, please?” card each day, normally before a nap and/or especially bedtime…since children dismiss sleep, nonchalantly, in their tiny world…caught up in whatever passion or interest absorbs them at any particular moment in their childhood development.

We discover quickly, however, that if we win the first round from our request and get an extra five minutes of play time…we are pushing it to ask for a second or third “Just five more minutes please” request… without an increasing chance of retribution from tired, overly extended, now impatient, parents.

Yet, wasn’t there something so satisfying about getting that extended five minutes…which to a child seems longer, but even more importantly, a small victory for a child with few freedoms, in an adult-controlled world. It made the audible permission even sweeter to the ears.

Don’t you think adults should create and then disperse ” Just five more minutes, please?”  playing cards (like a “Get Out of Jail” Monopoly card) to adults on special occasions, like birthdays or Christmas. Maybe bosses and CEO’s could keep some in their desk to dispense to hard-working employees caught up in their personal projects over mundane paperwork requirements.

All of us inhabiting this amazing planet need “Just Five More Minutes, Please” opportunities… to, perhaps, correct misunderstandings or have compassion time to help another going through a personal loss or five additional minutes to encourage a fellow worker or friend down on their luck.

Realistically we all know at some point in our lives…we will virtually run out of time…there will be no more “Just Five More Minutes, Please” permission declarations granted. However, in this last scenario we have on earth…the reason our request is turned down is because God knows we don’t need it any more.

We are going to a place where chronological time no long exists…five minutes means nothing in our next life. We are now in kairos time where our search for fulfillment is finally recognized and we have eternity to be who we always were meant to be…the sound of a clock ticking will never be heard again…we have become time…and as such we live the life we always dreamed of on earth.

We prepared all our life for it…trying to be good stewards of it…consciously or unconsciously… as written in this poem.

I’ve only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it,
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,
But it’s up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give an account if I abuse it
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

God’s Minute
– Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

So until tomorrow…We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.”  – Aristotle

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

This is a pre-Eloise photo…so probably a Christmas photo taken about four years ago…how quickly the children grow. Tempus Fugit.

Dear Reader:

Usually me, myself, and I get along pretty well. I actually kind of like myself after all these years (forgive the pun but I have grown accustomed to myself). I am not as hard on myself as I once was or as judgmental. I have thoroughly learned to  enjoy all the blessed time (since retirement) to finally learn more about myself than I knew in my younger days.

If the title visual is right (and most times I agree with the philosophy of the statement in it)….”You Are Exactly Where You Are Supposed to Be” then I should be able to enjoy myself just “being” and not always having to “do”  to justify my existence.

So what happened to bring on this reverse feeling of boredom with myself…my television stopped working! At 3:40 a.m. December 26 the clock on my computer box froze. I thought it was probably just a power surge and the television (which didn’t turn on that morning) would work itself out.

After several hours I called my cable office and they explained there had been an area network interruption (which told  me nothing) but that most of the homes affected had been restored. I told them mine hadn’t.

Early the next morning I was the first customer in line at their  new office. I found myself having  to sign in on a big screen… giving all kinds of information to them before passing “GO” to the next station (where I finally saw a human being.)

Excitedly  I told her what had happened the day before. How I had called customer service and they had walk-talked me through several scenarios with no luck…even with a re-boot. She calmly said that it appeared I needed cable man assistance. (I thought to myself “You Think?” but quietly said nothing until she told me that the first  slot would not be available until late Saturday afternoon around 6.)

“Whoah…..wait a minute! I have already been without a television for two days and nights and now I have to go another night and day…do you know my Clemson Tigers are playing Saturday night…that is cutting it close if there is a problem that needs a lot of fixing.”

She just repeated the time and asked if that suited. Slumped in defeat I nodded and walked out.

I didn’t want to admit to her or anyone else initially that I didn’t think I could take myself another night and day…the days and nights seemed so long…and strangely eerily quiet. That much quiet was starting to get to me.

I remembered the scripture “Be still and know that I am God.” I reassured God I did know Who He was and truly appreciated Who He Was…but the being still part was wearing thin.

I found myself doing chores I normally put off as long as possible…like paying bills early, redecorating with some of my new Christmas gifts, talking with friends I haven’t seen in ages…craving the human voice contact…cleaning the kitchen from all the festivities, changing the sheets on my bed, etc. To tell you the truth I am exhausted! I have never worked so hard continuously over a three day period.

Finally at nearly 6 o’clock… as  darkness descended last evening…I saw the cable truck. I literally flew out of the house waving my arms in jubilation..afraid he would pull off before coming in. (It is a wonder he didn’t do just that …frightened by the crazy lady  jumping around in the yard waving her arms.)

The nicest guy…he was tired, over-worked, hadn’t eaten since 6 that morning, and had been told to go to another house (45 minutes away from mine) before coming to me. He refused since he was 8 minutes from me. I told him I was eternally grateful…the balked orders and him coming on anyway was appreciated beyond measure.

As usual the visit took maybe 5 minutes…without even using the remote he hit one button in the back of the set…a couple of more in the front and bingo- I had lift-off. I was so thankful I began gathering left over Christmas sweets and putting them in a bag for him. He was quite appreciative…he was so hungry!

So all’s well that ends well…but I have learned some new things  about me…a little quiet goes a long way with moi, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to exhausting myself from too much home busyness and I am a social “being”…I love being around other humans…especially hearing and conversing with human voices.

So until tomorrow…Blessed be the noisemakers…loud grandchildren, a dash of chaos, and a spoonful of craziness. Welcome to my world and my recipe for happiness!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

12:25 a.m.***Be careful what you wish for it might come true– (Monkey’s Paw) That game last night between Clemson and Ohio State had enough chaos, noisemaking moments and craziness to last me a long time. I figure if my heart kept beating through all that I was good for awhile.

Tommy, Look what the Tigers gave you for a birthday gift-a hard fought victory…it sure didn’t come easy! A birthday you will remember for a long time.

I hung my “Clemson outfit” up intact to hang until the final game. And Sam and Donna…I pulled out my orange nose…I am ready!

I think I need about two days of sleep to recover…Good night…er… Good morning everyone!

December babies rejoice!

Today is my youngest son’s birthday…we nicknamed him “Deduction Dingle” since he came just in the nick of time to claim his “being” for that year’s taxes. 🙂

It is not easy being a December birthday baby…especially after Christmas. Every one is pretty much gifted out and even sweet-toothed out …so usually (when Tommy was little) I took him and perhaps a friend to the movies and some fast food place the children liked at the time and kept it pretty simple.

It was also the time when I came up with the idea of a jar of change to give him…that I had saved throughout the year. Today he still loves his ‘jar of change’…he might be a lawyer now…but finding out how much change is in the jar each year is  an annual highlight. I love it! Good luck! Of course if/when 🙂 Clemson wins…that will be a great present also! 🙂 🙂 🙂 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Reader:

*I wish I could say this was a personal photo of my Sammy who came to visit me yesterday (Cindy Ashley sent it) but Cindy you were actually very close to what happened.

(*I had forgotten to put more bird food in the suet cage while wondering why I hadn’t seen Sammy the Cardinal in awhile.)

When I realized it was empty I ran out and filled it up. Late yesterday afternoon Sammy’s red appearance caught my peripheral vision while typing this post. He was so happy…he kept shaking the suet cage to drop food on the ground, fly down and eat it.

Then suddenly there it was…a peck on the window screen. I jumped involuntarily.. Sammy had flown over and landed on the ledge…for  a second/fluttering to keep his balance…but just long enough to stare straight at me…the look saying  ‘Thank You’ for the food and Merry Christmas...no doubt! 🙂 He always brightens my day.

Then he flew back towards the heavens to await perhaps another message or mission.

One of the old Christmas classics Ben and I watched Christmas Eve was The Bishop’s Wife starring David Niven as the bishop, Loretta Young as his wife, and Cary Grant as Dudley, the angel. It was filmed about a year after “It’s a Wonderful Life” and similar to the earlier movie…increased in popularity with time.

Dudley turns the bishop’s rigid, regulated life upside down…as well as his mis-perceptions of giving… which have gone astray and titters on self-pride and glorification over a new cathedral… an edifice he dreams of claiming as his greatest achievement… in a time when many people are homeless.

At the end of the movie, the bishop (David Niven) reads a sermon Dudley (the angel) has written and left for him to share called “The Lonely Stocking.” The message still speaks to us today.

Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever forget that.

Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share of  loving kindness, warm hearts, compassion, and a stretched out hand of love and  tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

We must take time to remember on this 28th day of December that not everyone is enjoying some holidays off or excited about a new year and opportunities to fulfill dreams, even college football anticipations, or the hustle and bustle of excitement while hitting the after-Christmas sales.

Unfortunately…amid the joy and happiness of this season also dwells sadness and sorrow for many people, families we know and love, as well as, strangers and their families going through multiple crises around  the Christmas holidays.

Most of us have lived long enough to know that life’s challenges don’t stop just because Christmas has come. There is no amnesty called on Christmas day against enemies comprised of serious diseases or inexplicable accidents.

There are “empty stockings” everywhere metaphorically speaking…consisting of loved ones facing the likelihood of feelings of emptiness, isolation with the possibility of the loss of people who have been their lanterns guiding them through life…even giving them life.

Quinn Caldwell was right…The first Christmas didn’t bring complete fulfillment… we still don’t have a world  devoid of strife, disease, war, illness, tragedy or heart-ache. Advent is still with us…we are still waiting, longing for a new world-order governed by God and not man.

I believe this quote is worth repeating:

“Advent isn’t about fulfillment. It is about longings that are not going to be fulfilled for a long time. Christmas didn’t fix everything, but it started the fixing. Now we have Someone to wait with us…we’re not waiting alone.” (All I Really Want)

So until tomorrow…”We’re not waiting alone!” We have Someone to wait with us and most importantly… HOLD OUR HAND on the journey!

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is telling us this with the lyrics…“Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy…Oh tidings of comfort and joy …the two go together when we give ourselves to those who need us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

These days I am still catching up with reading emails and texts from Christmas and saw in messenger the following visual from Chris Frazier that she sent me…I know some of you have probably seen it already but I want to share it one more time. In fact I want to memorize this!

*The two “D” gals, Doodle and Dee, did it again! Last year, between the two of them I got red cardinal place mats, coasters…the whole table setting. This year both girls gave me “Sammy” bowls…beautiful. Last night I had soup in one bowl and homemade Doodle bread to accompany the soup. Delicious!  Comfort and joy girls…Comfort and joy!!

“Great minds think alike”.…Thanks Doodle and Dee! 🙂

GO TIGERS!

WE LOVE YOU!

WE SUPPORT YOU!

WE FOLLOW YOU WHEREVER YOU GO… IN OUR HEARTS!

Dear Reader:

After all these years there are two types of Christmas decorators…the one that put their tree up the day after Thanksgiving and bring it down (yesterday) the day after Christmas. For you yesterday was not a day of rest and refuge …though by last night you were probably feeling relieved and proud of putting Christmas behind for another year.

Then there are the rest of us…my tree usually goes up about three weeks before Christmas or whenever someone has time to run pick one up for me. It, along with all my other lit decorations, bring me such joy and peaceful calmness each evening…I am reticent to take it (and all the other decorations) down before the New Year.

So for me…these days between Christmas and New Year’s are catch-up days for me on reading or talking with friends I have missed with all the frantic rushing around preparing for Christmas …puttering around with a few little nature projects…but certainly nothing taxing. Everything has settled back into normalcy…and after all the rushed celebrations and gatherings, as delightful as they were…normalcy feels good.

This period of time makes one feel like enjoying the ‘fruits of one labors’...admiring the twinkling lights of the tree…listening to soft music, fixing comfort food…and just chilling with everything still decorated but put neatly back in place… (from the earlier pre-grandchildren happy invasion Christmas Eve. 🙂

‘Pastor Zach’ preached on the idea of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Crisis” the Sunday before Christmas. Probably by just looking at everyone’s dazed expressions in church…he hit home on a popular problem over the holidays. The Christmas crises seem to  mount chronologically as the Advent Calendar draws us closer to Christmas.

But an interesting twist on this perspective is the idea that a crisis doesn’t necessarily mean something bad. One of the word’s definitions is: a time period when an important decision must be made. A negative or positive outcome depends on how we handle the crisis – the choice we make for change- good or bad. Crisis has the potential of forcing us to change from within and that can be a very good thing…especially at Christmas!

On the first Christmas the whole world experienced a crisis…a change of unequaled magnitude that would effect the world forever…and our response to it…is still on-going. For people of faith who have made the decision to believe in a little baby in a manger…the world has never been the same. ..just better.

So until tomorrow… Take some time between Christmas and New Year’s for reflection. It does the body…and spirit…good!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

With the warm days we have had the last two days…the plants on the porch are responding happily …my mini-red petunias (title photo) are still blooming in abundance to add more festive red to the porch. And look at “Little Big Red”s  bloom now…I was hoping it would bloom for Christmas…but I am kinda thinking…maybe New Year’s? Wouldn’t that be a great sign to kick off 2020? Waiting to bloom in God’s personal light.

Sam Clark sent me the new Clemson Coke-a-cola commercial on messenger recently. I pulled it yesterday and died laughing…it is so cute…feel sure the coke company did it probably for the other three teams in the semi-final national football playoffs also but I can’t imagine that any other is cuter than ours. 🙂

I can’t transfer videos on to WordPress…but I will show you some pictures. Tajh Boyd represents Clemson with the commercial “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (with new Clemson lyrics)- You can pull it on the Tigernet website. It’s starting to feel a lot like Saturday today…the excitement and fun are building.

It is time to put my Clemson Tiger on the Christmas Tree yesterday…right under Ruthie the Angel…and next to some other angels…I figure we can always use the good company and welcome heavenly inspiration and guidance tomorrow evening.

Dear Reader:

As darkness descended Christmas night and crowds of neighbors’ families/friends left with cars moving in and out on our usual quiet little road…it was evident Christmas was ending…I knew it was time to reflect on Christmas 2019.

John and Mandy gave me a box of the extra large Duraflame logs and nothing is more decompressing and anti-stressing than watching a fire slowly flicker… bringing warmth and contentment. “All was calm, all was bright.” 

Christmas Eve Ben and I watched some favorite old Christmas movies…laughing out loud at the same funny lines we have heard repeatedly, but they never lose their humor. They have become ingrained as part of our Christmas traditions.

We left at nine Christmas morning to attend John and Mandy’s family Christmas brunch in Mt. Pleasant…an opportunity to watch the grandchildren open the presents I got for them and hear what Santa brought. We had a large crowd consisting of family and friends…and boisterous children.

*I don’t think Jesse’s tree has anything on us. Humans and animals gathered together in remembrance of Jesus’ birthday..just like the first Christmas…bringing presents.

Delicious brunch, wonderful fellowship…all the trimmings for another great family Christmas tradition gathering…Eva Cate was delighted to get “little Pinkie” since she always wants to snuggle up in mine when I spend the night. So now we have Big and Little “Pinkies.”

Doodle’s home is always so beautifully decorated…and nice to see other members of the family we don’t have a chance to see as much…the weather was perfect to walk outside and enjoy Christmas 2019. Five of the six Dingle siblings (Bill was missing) were all together in this Christmas photo.

When I got back…while Ben was watching television I promptly fell sound asleep. When I woke up…it was 6:00 and dark…I sat up in puzzlement as to the day and why I was sleeping this time of it. Ben came in off the porch and told me to hurry and come see the Christmas Star. It was beautiful…one lone star shining brightly down on the yard. This (photo with my limited iPhone abilities doesn’t do it justice)…but the star gave me chills.

Many of our momentary desires were probably met in retrospect yesterday but don’t we always have an inner wish that the ‘big ticket’ items could have been given, not just to us, but everyone. A cure for cancer and other potential serious life-altering diseases, be allowed to see a loved one who has passed away-if only for a moment, fix a broken relationship, or overcome depression.

Pick up a newspaper and not read about wars and more wars, political conflicts, examples of extreme poor stewardship of our precious planet. The list could go on and on…all “Big Ticket” items that will take more than a credit card to fix.

“Advent isn’t about fulfillment. It is about longings that are not going to be fulfilled for a long time. Christmas didn’t fix everything, but it started the fixing. Now we have Someone to wait with us…we’re not waiting alone.” (All I Really Want)

So until tomorrow…Thank you God for waiting with us…and while doing so…holding our hand. Amen.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

*We now have in our family the “Little Drummer Boy.” Rhodes got a drum set for Christmas and was tearing it up yesterday!

Meanwhile his kissing cousin, Eloise, is still getting smooches from two big brothers…a lot of loving going on…but isn’t that what Christmas is? Love!

Look at this creative Nativity Manger I got from Walsh and Mollie…the figurines are made out of oyster shells.

I hope one and all… you had a wonderful Christmas and together as fellow inhabitants of Earth we can find a way to bring the large ‘ticket items’ to reality for the next generation!

Dear Reader:

This year (for the annual Christmas Eve story at my church) I adapted the last short story my friend and author, Gloria Houston, wrote as part of a Christmas anthology she was asked (by an editor) to participate in.

At this point in time… Gloria’s health was declining but she accepted and true to her lifetime mantra  …” I am first, last, and always…a teacher”  she wrote about the special relationship between student and teacher that lasts forever.

Specifically this is a  Christmas story about a retired teacher pulling  out her ornaments each Christmas Eve to trim the tree while remembering each student with a certain ornament made by them.

Like all Gloria’s stories..there is a warm mixture of laughter and tears and enough personal reflections to stay with us for a long time.

Here is my personal adaptation from Gloria’s special story of her close relationship between herself and her students… that lasted her whole life.

*I open the story with a familiar age-old question…”I wonder, does my favorite teacher still remember the ornament I made or gave him or her…and does she remember me each Christmas when she adds it to her tree?”

In a small town by the name of Irwin Ms. Mac (“Ms. Mac” had been her nickname so long no one even remembered her real last name except maybe the postman)  had been the music teacher for more years than anyone could remember…having taught generations of students. She was quite popular, esteemed by all, and loved by everyone.

*(The story told last night was a personal adaptation tweaked for storytelling purposes from the original story: Ms. MacAdoo’s Christmas Guests– Gloria Houston.)

It seemed to the local citizens that she had taught almost every single person in  town…even the present mayor who she taught to toot his own trumpet. (which, of course he did , as a politician quite well!)

By now she had taught almost every teacher in school and principal…. even the fire chief, Fred.  “Poor Fred” Ms Mac thought with a smile tugging at her lips. When he was 13 he had a solo in the Christmas concert and right in the middle of “O Holy Night” his adolescent voice decided to change and the “O” jumped up about five octaves. Sadly he had never lived it down.

Even after all these years a practical joker classmate from long ago…would walk by the fire station…if it was a nice day Fred and the fire dog Sparky would be sitting out front on the lawn. The ‘troublemaker’ would start small talk with Fred and then “innocently” ask if there had been any action lately about a “FIRE (high octave) “FIRE!”

Fred’s face would turn red…Since he had put on some weight over the years and couldn’t run as fast as before..he would sic Sparky on the trouble-maker…usually resulting in the prankster having to get a new pair of pants.

Another student, Ed, who had the best Christmas tree lot in town would deliver Ms. Mac’s beautiful balsam every Christmas Eve. She would let him put it up in the stand but that was all…she wanted to decorate it herself. She told him not to worry she had plans that night and visitors to help trim the tree. Every year she turned down an invitation to have the communal Christmas Eve dinner with the town folks.

It always seemed strange to the town that they never saw any extra cars or sounds coming from the house except from an old record player where Ms. Mac’s former students …from long ago school Christmas concerts… had been recorded. The music now played  throughout the evening.

The first thing Ms. Mac did was string the lights round the tree and then make an imaginary toast to Thomas (one of her former students who was singing on the record) …silently thanking him for returning again this Christmas Eve.

Then she took out a beautiful gold, red, and blue box filled with ornaments. The first one on top, all wrapped in soft tissue was a doll with silver wings made by the tiny hands of Angie. Ms. Mac always, traditionally, placed the angel on top of the tree.

What a beautiful voice little Angie had but the school only got to hear her voice once… because soon after the Christmas concert that year… her mother told her that she and Angie had to move because she didn’t have the rent. Ms. Mac prayed that somewhere out there Angie was singing that night and sharing her God-given talent as a gift for others.

Next Ms. Mac unwrapped a small box and lifted a tiny egg covered in costume jewelry. She began smiling to herself…she remembered first opening it and exclaiming to the children around her that she couldn’t accept it..it looked too expensive. But Patty had assured her it was from the whole family and then little Boo sealed the deal…when she added proudly “Our daddy’s the garbage man and he found a whole box of these…and said we could take one to you since we all love you so.” Trying to hide her grin…Ms. Mac replied:

“Oh Patty, Bobby, Troy, Margaret, and dear Little Boo…then, of course I must accept this lovely gift from all of you!”

The next article in the box was a newspaper clipping with a red bow…Ms. Mac’s eyes misted over…the classes that year had bought a page advertisement in the local paper wishing her Happy Birthday and Mother’s Day since her birthday fell on the other holiday.

Shaking her head sadly…Ms. Mac removed a ceramic candy cane. It was misshapen and crooked but oh so special. It was the only time Charlie Bob was able to sit still long enough to complete anything that year. It took place in the art room because he so badly wanted to give his Christmas gift to Ms. Mac. He had never felt safe his whole childhood, always nervously shifted from foot to foot…  but just for her he had sat still to make his candy cane.

“If only if he had sat still on the bank window sill when he was caught robbing the bank… Ms. Mac thought to herself…perhaps I would still have Charlie Bob around. Looking up…Ms Mac prayed that wherever Charlie Bob was …that he now felt safe and loved.

A red ribbon attached to an airline captain’s wings greeted her and Ms. Mac’s eyes danced in glee. Herbie, the President of the choir, had taken her to dinner to celebrate the day he made captain…at dinner he gave Ms. Mac his wings to keep. “Wherever you are, Herbie, flying around this great big world…never forget me” Ms. Mac whispered in prayer.

One by one Ms Mac placed the rest of the ornaments on the tree. She “visited” with each one until the room was filled with memories.

*And then the magic came…six minutes of new light since the Winter Solstice…six magical minutes to spend with the past. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and when she re-opened them…she saw them enter the room.

Angie, Patty, Bobby, Troy, Margaret, and dear little Boo; Charlie Bob, Herbie, Thomas…and Fred. They gathered around her old covered chair…she felt their tangible presence. Everyone hummed Christmas tunes and stared at the beautiful lights twinkling on the tree.

“Everyone think I am lonely on Christmas Eve” she told her invisible friends gathered around the tree. But how can I be lonely with so many children to visit me. Thank you children  for leaving a part of yourselves behind, when you left my classroom,   for me to cherish forever.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

*So in response to our question before the story….”I wonder if my teacher remembers the ornament I gave her and who gave it to her” I think I can confidently reply for most (if not all) teachers everywhere… a resounding “YES”! You are not only remembered but cherished! Merry Christmas Everyone and God Bless all of us this beautiful Christmas Eve!

So until tomorrow….”Kindness is seeing the best in others…even when they can not see it themselves.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

After all the cold weather and then torrential rains …Christmas Eve cleared up around lunch time and was absolutely gorgeous…in the sixties…bright and beautiful. We ended up spending most of our time out on the deck. We played games, snacks, and opened the stockings. Eloise is still very comfortable with Ben and spent a lot of time showing him all she got in her stocking.

Eloise is a true southern lady…feisty and goes no where without her pearls!

Then it was on to the Christmas Eve church service…and the telling of this year’s story…( included in the post.)  “Some Enchanted Evening” should have been playing at the end of the service  as Rhodes and especially Eloise found her cousin quite debonair- she decided to let him know just how she felt! Once their eyes locked it was love at first sight…”kissing cousins.”

Dear Reader:

It is a bit of an oxymoron when we attend Christmas Eve services to listen to Luke’s Christmas Story…settling in quite comfortably and peacefully in our pews to hear the reassuring familiar words read again.

Because if we think about the words and passages in the story, it is not an innocent child-like bedtime story… but a  story filled with conflict;  the Christmas Story has a little of everything in it…pastoral scenes disrupted by loud ‘alien’ noises coming from the heavens, mystery, intrigue, murder plotting, political scheming, plans for lodging gone array, exhaustion and fearful bewilderment, pain and joy merging together, etc. It makes National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation look carefree.

Quinn Caldwell, theologian, pastor, author reminds his Christmas Eve congregation ahead of time that if they came to the Christmas Eve service expecting a tame story…they were in the wrong place. Caldwell continues with a “BUT”… if you came because:

...”You think that unwed teenage mothers are some of the strongest people around.

If you came because you think that the kind of people who work third shift doing stuff you’d rather not do might attract an angel’s attention before you, snoring comfortably in your bed would.

If you came because you think there are wise men and women to be found among undocumented travelers from far lands and that they might be able to show you God.

If you came to hear a story of tyrants trembling while heaven comes to the peasants.

If you came because you believe God loves the animals as much as the people and so made them the first witnesses to the saving of the world.

If you came for a story of reversals that might end up reversing you.

If you came for a tale of adventure and bravery, where strong and gentle people win, and the powerful and violent go down to dust, where the rich lose their money but find their lives and the poor are raised up like kings.

If you came to be reminded that God loves you too much to leave you unchanged

If you came to follow the light even if it blinds you.

If you came for salvation and not safety, then ah, my friends, you are in precisely the right place.” 

So until tomorrow…Change us God to be the people we should be… Open to Your Word and accepting of others…a Child of God who is loved equally and unconditionally by YOU with all Your other children ! Give me Your understanding that surpasses all other understandings.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Happy Christmas Eve!

Dear Reader:

Like a domino effect, the God Winks started innocently enough Saturday evening when Bill Dingle, my brother-in-law, texted me to say that his oldest daughter, Emma, a freshman at Western Carolina, was browsing in a crafts shop (Tunnel Mountain Crafts) in Dillsboro, North Carolina and discovered something unexpectedly.

My niece stumbled across Honey’s “Mountain Mangers” (pottery) and beside the figurines was a poem I wrote in 2010 explaining the mystery behind the art work…simply called “Mountain Manger.”

My niece took some photos and showed her dad when she got home. Bill promptly texted with this message:

“Your poetry is in a shop in Dillsboro, NC. Emma was excited to see this. Hope all is well. We love you and miss you. We mention your name most nights when we pray with the children. Merry Christmas!

Bill then sent this photo Emma took inside the shop:

I immediately called Honey and told her she wasn’t going to believe what happened. We had just been talking about the “mountain mangers” (when Honey came over for our gift exchange) and wondering just how long ago it was when she made the “mysterious” figurines for the first time. (When I initially heard her story behind the creation of this art work I was so mesmerized  I immediately sat down and wrote a poem to accompany  the “manger” …telling the story behind the story.)

*Honey holding the original framed (with painted graphics) poem at her shop in her mountain home.

I wanted buyers to know the mysterious story behind the special artistic endeavor Honey experienced .

*When I went back through my blog posts yesterday…I had done an “update” on these manger scenes in 2014 as a follow-up to the original story in 2010. The creation is almost ten years old!

Here is an excerpt from the 2014 remembrance of the story.

...”It is time to stop and step back in time to help our new readers catch up with some of the “benchmark” stories that have taken us to where we are today.

I have decided to start with the Christmas seasonal “Mountain Mangers” story. Honey attends workshops on pottery constantly to learn new ways to sculpt and mold. From out of one of these workshops she learned how to take some clay and mold Joseph, Mary, and Jesus… all from one piece.

The original “Mountain Mangers” were large and Honey decided to make hers miniatures. She then  gave them the name “Mountain Mangers” because the heads of Joseph and Mary look like silhouettes of  mountain tops from a distance.

Honey began practicing and practicing…but for some inexplicable reason…after she  molded Joseph, then Mary- using her thumb to make their faces – and left them by the kiln to dry…she recognized a strange pattern developing.

As she formed the clay figurines…Joseph and Mary were ramrod straight…gazing off into the distance. But every time she returned to check on them before placing them in the kiln)…Joseph and Mary were bent over…staring down at the Christ Child. It continued to happen over and over.”

At first Honey was simply puzzled…looking at it as a sculptural design mistake. Finally, however, it dawned on her what was really happening…she now saw the “problem” through different eyes…not a mistake…but a blessing!

 (Joseph and Mary would not have been looking outward…but downward at the Son of God…the Savior of mankind.)

I had chills when she first told me the inexplicable phenomenon behind the artistic creation of the “mountain mangers.” In fact I was so moved…I sat down and wrote a poem about the incident…in five minutes. I later told Honey I have never written a poem that quickly…without having to revise it…

*From Emma’s photo of the poem….(Thanks Emma…. You saved me  time from having to re-type it :)…here it is.

So until tomorrow…Now you have it!…There are Christmas God Winks out there that take  every day mysteries and turns them into inspirational, awe-inspiring signs of God’s presence in our lives…especially nearing His Son’s birthday!

***Today contains another special birthday…for “Kringle Dingle”, Walsh, my oldest son and Pap…one of my “Dingle sisters”…Pap and Walsh share the same birthday…December 23!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many memories associated with Walsh’s birthday and returning home Christmas Day…I have never had another special gift quite like this one on Christmas Day! Lots of craziness but then again..that is Walshiness…he makes the world smile.

Happy Birthday Walsh and Pap! A thought for you on this special day.

Blessed be the mind that dreamed the day
The blueprint of your life
Would begin to glow on earth,
Illuminating all the faces and voices
That would arrive to invite
Your soul to growth. (John O’Donohue)

Aunt Pap and one-year-old Walsh on the sofa with me and mother.

How could it not be my favorite day with these two birthdays on it?

Happy Birthday Walsh and Pap!!!!

* Planning ahead…I texted Honey to ask if readers were interested in purchasing the mountain mangers…how would they go about doing it? She replied:

…“They can contact me by email after December 30. They are still $9.00 plus shipping ”  *(Honey was going to check and see if she had any left at her home in Summerville and let me know.)

*Her email is: [email protected]. She welcomes direct communication with her and will get back with you as quickly as possible. 

Dear Reader:

How many times have we sung “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and wondered about the second inferred reference with the words “Draw nigh, O Jesse’s Rod “…

1. Matthew 1:23: “A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him…Immanuel- meaning “God with us.“

2. Isaiah 11:1  “Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,       and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. ”

I always sensed that Isaiah 11:1 dealt with Jesus’ family tree and his genealogy but that was about as deep as my understanding went. From working on my own family tree through ancestry.com …genealogy is tricky and sometimes we learn more than we perhaps wanted to know.

Such is the case with Jesus’ family tree too. It all started with the “Begats” which reminded me of an incident from my childhood.

I remember during one summer vacation Bible School week…the teacher asked us to bring in a verse that started with the first letter in our names. I had never been more grateful for my B in Becky. The Beatitudes themselves would have gotten me through the five days easily with room to spare…but by Friday I decided to shake it up a bit and spruce up the most boring part of the Bible…“The Begats!”  (After about a minute the poor vacation Bible School teacher told me that the class ‘got it’ and that was sufficient.)

The reality is very few people, with the exception of some historical theologians, ‘get it’…because most of us fall asleep before getting to the end.

Quinn Caldwell, pastor and author, comments that if you do hang in there awhile…the names popping up out of the family tree makes one sit back and pause. Jesus definitely had more than his share of skeletons hidden away. Here are just a few Caldwell mentions:

Jacob– tricked his brother out of his inheritance and then ran away

Tamar- pretended to be a prostitute to sleep with her father-in-law and become pregnant with the sons her husbands didn’t give her

Rehab– a foreign woman who betrayed her own people for the Israelites

David– had a child with Bathsheba after having her husband killed so he could have her to himself.

(And you thought your family was messed up? )

“Jesus wasn’t born into some unsullied house, perfect of pedigree and noble of history. He was born into a human family, one at least as complicated as yours, just as full of rifts, betrayal, and shameful secrets.

If God can pull salvation out

of that family, then surely God can do the same for yours.”

So until tomorrow God, if you can make a child of that family the savior of the world, then surely there’s hope for this child, too. Thanks for not letting my beginnings be my destiny. Amen

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

As Christmas speeds up…more pictures and gifts are popping up from family and friends sharing their adventures.

Walsh and Mollie took the children to the Brookgreen Gardens outside Pawleys Island…“Nights of a Thousand Candles”– Walsh said it was frigid cold but beautiful.

*Lachlan definitely won “the ugliest Christmas sweater or cutest”…it is all in the eyes of the beholder!

It just wasn’t cold in Myrtle Beach for Walsh, Mollie and the family…the mornings and evenings here in Summerville are chilly too and will put a ‘giddy-up’ in your step as you run to warm up your car.

*Apparently some sympathetic visitor to Hutchinson Square thought the sculpture of Polly Chisholm Brooks looked especially cold…so a scarf and hat were provided! 🙂

Since we were talking about the Pine Forest Inn in yesterday’s blog post…I remembered that I put one of the Summerville historical ornaments (depicting the inn) on my tree. It catches the light and is just beautiful…thanks so much Honey…what a great gift! I love it!

Yesterday, December 21, was my longtime neighbor and friend, Jane’s birthday. I told her I was taking her out to breakfast since it was the shortest day of the year and light was in short supply. 🙂

We went to Alex’s where her friend Joy waits on her when she goes there and I got a picture of both “J” gals together…Joy and Jane. Jane is easing into being a nonagenarian for a couple of years now…or as my friends my age say… simply a miracle person to be around and not just around but watch still kicking! 🙂

*Today is my mother’s birthday…I love you mom and still miss you in my life…I miss you being around to talk to when things are sad…but even more so when I have happy news and want to share it with you.

Dear Reader:

Today is the Winter Solstice…the day when darkness prevails… culminating in this meteorological phenomenon  ‘dubbed’ nowadays as the ‘shortest day’ of the year. Man, in ancient times, understood this annual occurrence but feared the day because of the extended darkness. Many believed that darkness and evil ran rampart on this day each year.

Some ancient societies even held sacrifices or observed sacred rituals to keep evil spirits away and protect families…most of whom stayed inside (communally) until this day had passed.

In modern times, however, most of these superstitions have vanished and new positive spins or perspectives have emerged celebrating this day as the benchmark that ends the last day of darkness and marks the beginning of light and life that will grow in length and intensity from the Winter Solstice forward.

The length of light is extended approximately 2 minutes a day for the first few days following Winter Solstice. So think about it…by Christmas Eve we have all accumulated a wonderful gift from Mother Nature (TIME)…six more minutes of light. Now the question is…how do we use this special gift Christmas Eve. (*Stay tuned to my Christmas Eve story to find out what one woman did each Christmas Eve! 🙂 )

Last week Summerville, on December 17,  celebrated its 172nd birthday (1847) when our little hamlet became incorporated officially as a town. Looking back on our  history…this was probably the most exciting Christmas of all for Summerville.

Our town historian, Barbara Hill, tells us the true story of this special Christmas town and community celebration year.

Our town, once again, just celebrated our natal day, Dec. 17, 1847. It was 172 years ago, that Summerville was born — as an official town, though it had been settled some half century before.

The incorporation process began five months earlier as village leaders feared that their rich pine forest was being depleted by mass construction, not only of new homes for the growing population, but by the burgeoning railroad system which began during the previous decade.

Summerville was settled because of her pines. Thick pine forests like ours then, grew in our sandy soil which drained well, thus no standing water and thus no malaria.

And thus plantation owners and others living in low lands near the water (Charleston and the barrier islands) came to “maroon” here during the sickly season, the malaria season from May to October, and the settlement, then the village, quite naturally became known as Summerville and their homes referred to as ‘summer homes.’

Village residents were hoping for the incorporation to be their community Christmas present that year! Santa came through…they just made it in time!  News arrived by telegraph on the last day of the last session of the South Carolina legislature, as official papers were ratified, and Christmas preparations were stepped up for the holiday celebration.

According to our official history book, “Summerville,” backyard kitchen buildings began heating up early in the month for the baking of fruit cakes and ginger cookies. Women checked their stores of wine, gathered the best cream and chose the best receipt for making syllabub for toasts on the 25th. They also garnered fresh pine, cedar and magnolia branches for home decorations.

The men hunted wild turkeys to star as Christmas dinner entrees and children anxiously awaited going into the woods to pick the perfect tree. Many were pine, but lots of others were holly as these already came decorated with red berries. They didn’t go up until Christmas Eve and were decorated with handmade ornaments like paper chains and strings of popcorn and berries.

What a celebration that first Christmas (as an “official” town) must have been. As I rode by the entrance to the Pine Forest Inn, decorated with wreaths, yesterday… my imagination ran wild wondering how this magnificent inn must have looked…all decorated and celebrated at Christmas too.

*I feel sure it would have made the cover of Southern Living …but as hard as I looked…I couldn’t find any Christmas photos of the inn…especially from the turn of the century until the twenties.

Here are some antique postcards, however, of the Pine Forest Inn from the past…it will give you a sneak peak into the glory of ‘The Grand Ole’ Dame.’

…And now Summerville is once again gearing up for Christmas …Hutchinson Square is filled with fairy lights and community Christmas trees!

So until tomorrow…Don’t forget today is not only the Winter Solstice..but the day of hope when light begins to accumulate and spread slowly but steadily over the land and our lives…what a wonderful Christmas gift! Let’s use it wisely!

Christmas arrived yesterday for me…The Lowcountry Apple Tree centerpiece is up ….thanks to Honey’s annual tradition. She brought greenery to add some flair around ‘The Happy Room” And some unique ornaments for the tree!

A ‘Sammy the Cardinal” ornament made from a gourd and an orange “Clemson” angel now hangs from the tree…what special novelties!  Thank you dear Honey!

***I spent yesterday morning delivering some gifts…and took a picture at Steve and Lassie’s house of their grapevine Christmas tree…I absolutely adore that indigenous idea for a tree.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Yesterday marked my one year anniversary with “Surcie” (my much adored and beloved “new” car.)

*I can still remember my excitement driving it off the parking lot…after months with no car ( The “Green Vue” was stolen-twice… remember?) complicated by a foot surgery gone array that kept me off my foot & also from driving.

I was beyond excited in the picture above… feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. A ‘thank you’ to Surcie for a year of perfect performance…and oh how I love those heated seats…especially this week!