Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was the day I always dread…taking down the Christmas decorations…I love them so! Once down everything looks plain and dull in contrast to all the lights that once shone. I am a person who thrives in an environment surrounded in light.

Still…on a bright note I am slowly but surely getting my strength back again. The pain in my left foot is not only tolerable now…but I am having more moments of time when I forget there has been anything wrong with the left foot.

Friday I return for another check-up and I don’t know what or where the appointment will lead…but I know deep inside that I am starting to feel like my old self for the first time in quite awhile…and that is the most important thing!

When we go from feeling strong and ready to take on whatever life brings to feeling weak and powerless against pain and the physical and emotional restrictions of an  illness or accident placed along our path….it can seem overwhelming at times. I sure have felt this way.

And then one night a special inner light was lit by a strange phenomenon that occurred. I will just tell it like it happened.

My home is bi-level. When you enter you walk down stairs to my “happy room” (den/living room.) In order to get back to the bathrooms and bedroom there is one set of steps on the right. If you want to go to the dining room/kitchen there is another set of steps on the left. With both sets of steps…there is a banister on the right to hold onto going up the steps to the bathroom/bedrooms and a banister on the right to go down to the den from the dining room.

Those first few weeks following the Mohs surgery and subsequent challenging procedures that involved getting rid of the deep infection behind my ankle along with/ the addition of a wound vac machine at the Comprehensive Wound Center… all translated into enduring excruciating pain whenever I put any weight on my left foot.

So having the challenge of steps to overcome, whenever I warmed up food in the kitchen, or went to the bathroom or bedroom, these obstacles loomed large in my mind.

To give you an idea of the layout…here are some snapshots so you can better understand the challenges..

I tried eliminating as many trips as possible anywhere outside the den…and one was sleeping on the sofa since it was so close to the recliner…where, those first few weeks, I was spending most of my time. The toughest challenge  was when I would wake up to go use the bathroom in the middle of the night, especially when I had my wound vac machine. I had to hold onto it and then try to half hop, half slide my foot up on the next step while holding onto the right banister for support.

Because I needed a right banister to hold on to while coming down, also…(with the machine attached) I would cut through the kitchen and come down the dining room steps. I knew intuitively this trip was my most challenging mainly because I was usually half asleep and not as alert as during the day.

It must have been about the fourth or fifth week when I got up during the night, went to the bathroom and started back down the steps….it wasn’t until I had settled back down to sleep on the sofa that I sat up suddenly with a jerk.

I was so tired that night I forgot to cut through the kitchen to go down the other steps in order to have the support of the banister on the right while holding my machine with my left hand…yet I remembered feeling support coming down the staircase with my right hand???

But how?  There is no right hand banister on those set of steps…how did I not fall or at least falter? What supported me?

By the next morning I had talked myself out of this memory and thought I must have just dreamed or thought I went down the wrong set of steps. It wasn’t until I came across this scripture recently that I knew the answer to what really happened that night.

The question wasn’t What supported me that night…it was Who?

Proverbs 3:5

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Amen.

If I can learn that lesson this year I will be a happy person.

So until tomorrow (and every day after)

 Phillippians 4:13

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me. “

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Walsh, Mollie and the children returned from their New Year’s N.C. mountain trip yesterday. John, Mandy, and the children returned from their Disney World trip yesterday. The one big difference….Walsh and Mollie left Sunday to go up to the mountains and had a four-day vacation. John and Mandy left Tuesday, New Year’s Day to go to Florida and returned early yesterday morning…less than a 24 hour vacation…they had planned to return Saturday.

Don’t let these pictures fool you…it was the calm before the storm for the family. The Turners checked in at the Wilderness Hotel….I love that one….I went there with them for Eva Cate’s first Disney experience several years ago…it is fantastic. This time it was still decorated with a huge Christmas tree and gorgeous lights everywhere.

They stopped to watch one of the Disney parades and then rode two rides before…..

Eva Cate said she was too hot and dying of thirst…it was a balmy 82 degrees (but low humidity….perfect day actually) – now as Mandy looked at her Eva Cate was broken out in goose bumps all over her. She had Jake’s “grunge” for lack of a better word and it went down hill fast…a miserable night when no one slept…so they packed up, left Orlando early early morning (4:30) and headed back home.

Very disappointing…with children and viruses…such is life. Though John said he thought they needed to give both children medical check-ups before heading out again…especially taking temperatures…the unpredictability of viruses!

Mollie let me know that they were back from the mountains yesterday and sent photos that made me laugh…looks like they did a lot of hiking and Eloise got her birthday cake….but like the majority of one-year-old birthdays the only one crying is always the one-year-old….though the taste of the cake did stop Eloise in mid-scream…..the cake did console her!

So whether one is going  through good times or bad…life is deliciously ambiguous!  (Gilda Radner)

Dear Reader:

I think one would be hard ‘pressed’ to get much more southern than this title picture…taken straight from my table yesterday.

It is Dingle’s version of my idea of the best first meal of the New Year….hoppin’ johns of course (rice and beans) macaroni pie… just because I love it, string beans (as a sub for collards since I like string beans more) and corn bread. My My My!…life doesn’t get much better…add some sweet tea and pecan (pee-kahn pie) for dessert and that is just about as prosperous as I need to be. Life is good!

Like any good southerner we all grew up knowing that we would be eating hoppin’ johns and greens/cornbread on January 1. And if we ate enough greens to satisfy mom….then we were rewarded with a slice of her most delicious pee-kahn pie.)

Whether you say pee-cans or pee-kahns all depends on where you grew up …Lowcountry natives prefer pee-cans.…but upper South Carolina and eastern North Carolina (where I grew up) are all pee-kahn natives.) *From the map you can tell that we pee-kahn people are definitely in the majority in this country.

I have done a little history on the superstitions and predictions about eating hoppin’ johns and greens (with a little cornbread) on New Year’s Day before….but I never knew that our own South Carolina was right in there at the beginning of the story….as far back as pre-civil war days!

My great grandmother, who was a young Charleston, S.C., girl during the War Between the States, told this story about the name ‘Hoppin’ John.’ She said late during the War and after, Southern soldiers would come to the back door and ask for food. The only food available for the most part was rice and field peas formerly used for livestock fodder. These were mixed together in a large pot which the Southern women would bring to the kitchen door and say, ‘Okay, hop in, John [Johnny Reb].’ The poor starving soldier would reach in the pot and scoop out a handful of rice and beans [peas]. (Washington Post)

It’s also uncertain why the dish became associated with New Year’s and good luck. The most likely story is that slaves would often have the period between Christmas and New Year’s off, since no crops were growing at that time. Hoppin’ John was, and still is, often eaten with collard greens, which can resemble paper money, and “golden” cornbread. The peas themselves represent coins. Some families boost the potential of their Hoppin’ John by placing a penny underneath the dishes—or adding extra pork, which is thought to bring more luck.

Here are some excerpts from different South Carolina newspapers about this southern eating tradition to start each new year.

The black-eyed pea which is also known as the cow pea, is thought to have originated in North Africa. It has been eaten for centuries. Some say it was introduced in India 3000 years ago and was a staple of Greek and Roman diets.

The black-eye pea was introduced to the New World by Spanish explorers and African slaves and became a common food in the southern United States.

One of the most popular ways of preparing these peas is “Hoppin’ John”. It is a traditional African-American dish served on New Year’s Day for good luck. There are several theories of how “Hoppin’ John” got its name. One story attributes the name to the custom of inviting guests to eat with, “Hop in, John”. Another story is that it is derived from an old ritual on New Year’s day where the children of the house hopped once around the table before eating the dish. Whatever its origin, it was definitely a staple for many people in the South and remains important today.

Here’s the only detailed recipe for Hopping/Hoppin John, by that name, that I’ve seen in the pre-1865 period, from The Carolina Housewife, 1847:

Hopping John

The Carolina Housewife is known for having regional recipes, based on things the area was most famous for at the time, like peanuts or rice, that weren’t necessarily widespread yet.

Frederick Law Olmsted also mentioned “Hopping John” in connection with South Carolina, in 1855:

“…extensive communities on the banks of the Congaree, in South Carolina… Their chief sustenance is a porridge of cow-peas, and the greatest luxury with which they are acquainted is a stew of bacon and peas, with red pepper, which they call ‘Hopping John.’ “

A soldier writing to the Charleston Courier newspaper from “Camp Gadberry, John’s Island, Saturday, March 14, 1863″ mentioned “I see that it has been suggested for the different camps to plant vegetables, and I know of no place that is more suitable than our camp, especially for cow peas, as every one in the regiment dotes on Hopping John…” (Charleston Courier, March 18, 1863)

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Throughout  a rich history of rice evolving into a staple crop in the lowcountry comes wonderful old stories that over the years gave us an excuse to make a mouth-watering meal on the first day of the new year….looking back on our history and forward to hope in our future.

So until tomorrow…For me this meal yesterday reminded me of by-gone days of my childhood with a family who always made sure we got started each New Year with the right foods for our physical needs and the right prayers for our spiritual ones. Thank you God for my family!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Many of us forget that New Year’s Eve (1862) was one of the most momentous celebrations in American history. The first recorded “Watch Night” service (a church service held on New Year’s Eve) however, was held by the Moravians in Germany in 1732…from there other cultures began adding their own church traditions to this last night of the old year welcoming in the new year with hope and endless possibilities.

Quinn Caldwell (All I Really Want) adds his thoughts on one special historical church service night as African-Americans gathered in churches throughout the land and especially in the South. They were longing for the new year like never before…praying that the confirmation, to be held on January 1, 1863… would take place the following day…that President Lincoln would sign the Emancipation Proclamation (as promised) freeing slaves in the states fighting against the union.

Caldwell asks an interesting question of all of us. If we knew we were going to be set free tomorrow…would our celebration change?

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Aren’t we all imprisoned by whatever in our lives holds us in chains? It is different for everyone…addictions of every kind…drugs, over eating, over drinking, over spending, over thinking…perhaps fear, our past, a broken relationship or financial stress? If we really thought that whatever holds us in chains…preventing us from being free to really be who we are inside…was about to be abolished…what would we do differently?

Would we go partying or perhaps fall down on our knees in church or at home alone? Would we skip the event we didn’t want to go to anyway and paid too much money for when we couldn’t really afford it and instead call someone we really love and spend a quiet evening together with a friend who has always been there for us?

When we woke up this morning we probably haven’t witnessed anything quite as dramatic as an Emancipation Proclamation…but shouldn’t we still celebrate the chance to change our lives and free ourselves from the chains that hold us back from living a completely fulfilled life?

So until tomorrow….God, stay with me today and teach me to expect freedom. Make me expect a whole new world this new year with endless possibilities to seek and discover in Your Name. Make your vision clear to me.  Amen.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Don’t forget to say “Rabbit” to start off the first day of the first month of the first new year! I posted “rabbit” signs all around so I wouldn’t forget…don’t want a repeat of 2018 if I can help it….all I want in the New Year is good health…with that.. happiness will follow.

And look at the colors for 2019….right up my alley….starting with ORANGE!

Eloise had a wonderful birthday and had her cake moment which is very special for a one-year-old. Mollie sent some more photos of the day and year….it is a special birthday!

*I rarely post on Facebook but thank all of you for the sweet comments on her birthday yesterday ….have missed hearing from some of you and wishing you a Happy Happy New Year! 🙂

Dear Reader:

A year ago today I left my house to spend New Year’s with John and Mandy so I would be there to keep Eva Cate when everyone returned to work the day after New Year’s… except for students who had an extra day of vacation. Little did I know when I left that Sunday that I would not return for almost a week.

I had stopped by Hutchinson Square on the way out because it looked so beautiful…all the trees lit with white lights. Eloise was due at any time and I had a strong feeling, leaving, that it was sooner than later. (Actually it would be later that evening!)

Cindy Ashley had sent me some quotes by Mary Oliver (a favorite poet) because she knew my Word of the Year has always been LISTEN (and still is for 2019) and this is a good quote to remember.

My thoughts went to my latest granddaughter about to be born…she would be breathing a lot in order to make her appearance in the world and I had a feeling she would always be bigger than life. She is….such a happy baby. Photos of Eloise when she was born and Eloise today….her first birthday! Happy Birthday Eloise…(I think Eloise already knows the answer to this other question by Mary Oliver…Eloise will live an adventuresome life!)

I ask you again: if you have not been enchanted by
this adventure-your life-what would do for you?

Walsh said it was the perfect ending to their family now….Rutledge arrived on Father’s Day, Lachlan on St. Patrick’s Day, and Eloise on New Year’s Eve. Already they are all part of life’s benchmark celebrations for everyone….happiness and joy.

On January 2 when Eloise was to leave the hospital the snowstorm hit the coast and what a beautiful storm it was….the boys were snowed in with us at John and Mandy’s home while Mollie and Eloise remained at the hospital.

Walsh would eventually be able to get the whole family home but it was a pretty terrifying drive…. once home, however, it was a memory for the ages…just like seeing my home again in such an unusual surrounding….snow!

What wonderful memories! And now here we are on New Year’s Eve 2018 and we have a chance of breaking a record for the warmest New Year’s Eve and Day in a long time….forecast – 78 degrees. Wow…unbelievable!

Cold and hot, up and down…life is never at a standstill….and like Mary Oliver pointed out…if we make our lives into great adventures we had better take a deep breath, breathe in, breathe out…and attack life with gusto.

So until tomorrow…Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all.”  Let’s make the most of 2019…keeping our eyes open for all the God Winks that surround us in our daily lives, keeping our ears open for God’s voice guiding us, and our hearts open to willingly follow the adventuresome path!

How time has flown Eloise! I can’t believe you are a year old today. What an exciting first year you have had and Boo Boo hopes that 2019 keeps her in good walking/running condition to keep up with you now…and a car to come see you more.

I love you Eloise….”Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.” Love, Boo

• 
• Walsh just sent this picture taken this morning on her official birthday…Walsh, Mollie, and family are joining friends in the mountains to bring in the New Year…so happy Eloise looks like she is over her little bug she had at Christmas time. Happy Birthday Eloise!

Dear Reader:

I distinctly remember the Christmas when I realized that the joy of giving was so much more fulfilling and exciting than the joy of receiving….The children were all small and we were over at Poppy’s and Dee-Dee’s ….there were presents everywhere being given out by some of the older children and younger aunts and uncles.

All I wanted to see was the expressions on my children’s faces as they opened their gifts from grandparents, aunts and uncles and lots of cousins. Every time someone would give me a gift I would stick it under my seat so I could go help one of the children open theirs. By the end of this gift opening pandemonium… all my presents were still under my seat.

I wasn’t alone…other adults were doing the same thing…playing with the children’s toys or helping them put some toy together. It wasn’t until some of the relatives asked how I liked this or that present that I realized that by not opening my gifts…I was taking away the joy of others who wanted to see my expressions of joy upon receiving this or that gift.

Giving and getting…it is a delicate tightrope balance, isn’t it?

Psychological Science  has discovered that people experience joy for a longer period of time after giving someone something than they do after getting something themselves. ( Nicole Lyn Pesce-December 24, 2018)

Previous studies have found that customer satisfaction from material purchases decreases rather quickly; that’s why you have to upgrade to yet another new iPhone each year, or a kid loses interest in a new toy within days (if not hours.)

This is known in academia as “hedonic adaptation” — the happiness we get from a particular event or activity decreases each time we experience it, which encourages us to try new things and acquire new resources instead of settling for the same-old same-old every day.

Psychology researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business conducted one study on the giving vs. getting phenomeneon. 

“This experiment gave 96 university students $5 every day for five days, and had half of the participants spend the money on themselves every day, while the other half had to spend it on someone else, such as making an online donation to the same charity every day, or leaving the money in a tip jar at the same cafe each morning. The subjects shared their spending experiences and reflected on their overall happiness at the end of each day.

And while both groups started off with similar levels of self-reported happiness, those who spent the cash on themselves reported a steady decline in happiness over those five days — but the joy people felt in giving that $5 was just as strong on day five as it was on day one.”

One theory suggests — whether a gift or a (bonus) salary — can be easily compared to what someone else gets, which can lead to dissatisfaction with what we have.

“In comparison, a kind gesture such as donating to charity often draws less focus on comparison, and instead lets you experience the act of giving as a unique, happiness-inducing event. Plus, science suggests that giving to others reinforces our sense of social connection and belonging, which always feels good.”

Giving of your self…your time, as well as your resources, can, also, lead to health benefits.

“An earlier study from the National Institutes of Health revealed that giving to charity activates a region of the brain associated with pleasure and connection — producing a euphoric “helper’s high.”

And another study from Unitedhealthcare and VolunteerMatch found that volunteering for just 2.5 hours a week can boost your health… as 75% of 2,705 volunteers said pitching in made them feel “physically healthier,” and more than one-third found it helped them to better manage their chronic illnesses, compared to those who hadn’t volunteered in the past year.”

So if we want to give the gift that will keep on giving…then we need to give ourselves..you and the recipient will both be joyful longer …with health benefits to boot.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I know that happiness is defined as a temporary state where joyful is long-term and more enduring…but to tell you the truth…I am feeling really joyful about Clemson’s win over Notre Dame. And I really hate to admit this…but I tend to get more superstitious as the season goes on and the stakes grow higher.

Yesterday when it seemed like both teams were somewhat mired in the first quarter… not doing much with offense…I checked to see if all my Clemson  paraphernalia was in its rightful place. Clemson needed to pick up the pace. Not only was everything set up and ready I had even added a cotton wreath with the Clemson necklace my Ya’s got me for my birthday. *And Tommy and Kaitlyn gave me the knitted Clemson banner!

The Tiger (rubber ball) fell out of one of the grandchildren’s Christmas stockings apparently…I found it while sweeping…it is a great de-stresser…during the first quarter I squeezed and squeezed that tiger ball.

Another thing I added was a photo of me with a orange pumpkin instead of a head…I have come down with the head cold/sinus drainage virus going around…so far just a light case but enough to make me feel like I am walking around with a big pumpkin on my  head…but still the color orange worked well yesterday!

*Then I remembered what was probably amiss….we have had rain and gusty conditions on and off for the past few days…I bet my Clemson sign had fallen off the oak tree…the last time it happened we almost lost to Syracuse! Oh no! This must be remedied immediately!

Sure enough…it was on the ground buried in debris and pine needles…I shook it off and put it back on the hook…by the time I got back inside… the second quarter was clipping along and the Tigers started scoring goals one after another. Lesson: Make sure all the pieces are in place before your beloved Tigers hit the gridiron.

It’s the least this gal can do for them….’cause she ‘sho’ loves her Tigers!

Dear Reader:

When we have time to reflect back on our lives…hasn’t most of it been  spent rowing...struggling to move from one situation to a better one? Sometimes our struggles have produced an improved change in life….but usually, for most of us, we continue to feel the struggles confronting  us like pounding waves continuously hitting the beaches. Life is never still…life is continuous movement and change…and with that always comes problems.

Imagine how the disciples felt when Jesus told them to get in a large row boat and wait until he came to them….a terrible storm arises, they are struggling to stay afloat, darkness descends, and no Jesus. Where was he and what was he doing?

In his article “Miracle at Midnight” Max Lucado points out a different way of looking at this famous story in the New Testament…and how it applies to us today…why our expectations of Jesus’s responses to scary situations in our lives are (initially) still just plain bewildering at times…like what the disciples felt that scary night.

...”Perhaps the disciples had the same expectation. They only did what they were told. Jesus told them to get into the boat, so they did. They didn’t question the order; they simply obeyed it. They could have objected. After all, it was evening and darkness was only minutes away. But Jesus told them to get into the boat, so they did.

What was the result of their obedience? John’s crisp description will tell you:

That evening Jesus’ followers went down to Lake Galilee. It was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The followers got into a boat and started across the lake to Capernaum. By now a strong wind was blowing, and the waves on the lake were getting bigger.— John 6:16-18

What a chilling phrase, “Jesus had not yet come to them.”

The question at this point in the story is same as everyone else’s who reads it….”Where IS Jesus?”

Lucado continues the story with these personal insights:

“It’s bad enough to be in the storm, but to be in the storm alone? The disciples had been on the sea for about nine hours. John tells us they rowed four miles (John 6:19). That’s a long night. How many times did they search the darkness for their Master? How many times did they call out His name? Why did He take so long? Why does He take so long?

I think I hear the answer in the next room. As I write, I can hear my ten-year-old daughter playing the piano. She has just begun her second year. Her teacher recently upped the ante. No more rinky-dink songs; no more nursery rhymes. It’s time to move on. Now the rhythm varies, the notes sharpen, and the key changes. It will be pleasant to the ear… someday.

But today the notes come slowly and the fingers drag and Jenna would quit if given the chance. Am I a cruel father for urging her to continue? Am I unfair in prodding her to practice? I’m not oblivious to her struggle. I can hear it. I’m not blind to her tears. I can see them. I know she’d be much happier swimming or reading or watching television.

Then why do I let her suffer? Because I love her. And I know that some struggle today will result in music tomorrow. 

It reminds me of the often-told story of two maestros who attended a concert to hear a promising young soprano. One commented on the purity of her voice. The other responded, “Yes, but she’ll sing better once her heart is broken.” There are certain passions learned only by pain. And there are times when God, knowing that, allows us to endure the pain for the sake of the song.

So what does God do while we are enduring the pain? What does He do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this. He prays for us. Jesus wasn’t in the boat because He had gone to the hills to pray (Mark 6:46). Jesus prayed. That is remarkable. It is even more remarkable that Jesus didn’t stop praying when His disciples were struggling. When He heard their cries, He remained in prayer.

So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what the disciples did. We row. The disciples rowed most of the night. Mark says they were “struggling hard” to row the boat (Mark 6:48). The word struggle is elsewhere translated as “tormented.” Wasn’t easy. Wasn’t glamorous.

Much of life is spent rowing. Getting out of bed. Fixing lunches. Turning in assignments. Changing diapers. Paying bills. Routine. Regular. More struggle than strut. More wrestling than resting.

What we mustn’t forget however is:

God comes at the right time with the right explanation. In the right way, He appears. So don’t bail out. Don’t give up! Don’t lay down the oars! He is too wise to forget you, too loving to hurt you.

When you can’t see Him, trust Him. He is praying a prayer that He Himself will personally answer.

So until tomorrow….(as Eva Cate and Rutledge ended the Christmas Eve story with)…”I trust in love, I trust in love, I trust in love.” When we trust in love, we trust in God…love and God are one and the same.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday it was Friday which meant it was raining. It has gotten to be some kind of joke that statistically rainy Fridays (foot wound appointment day) have become the norm…I think of all the Fridays…there have only been two that were dry.

But apparently rainy Fridays continue to bring me good improvement news …with the holidays most of my “team” has been out on the past two Fridays but I am hoping that everyone will be back next Friday and we will see what the verdict then will be. We are getting close to filling in the wound…and for me personally the pain from the normal pressure of walking has almost dissipated…I know when my foot has had enough…and I don’t push it…but just the idea that there is the very real hope that I can walk again without pain is exhilarating! I have had to be patient…but I am now seeing God’s prayers at work….as well as his disciples’…all of you!

Today is Tommy’s birthday “Deduction Dingle” …so Mandy and Eva Cate went with me to let the dogs out for a run and potty break after my appointment (at their house)…as well as leave the jar of coins collected for Tommy over the year 2018. It is a long-standing birthday tradition and one not to be broken!

…and you know I wouldn’t forget this little game today. GO TIGERS!

Dear Reader:

I read an excerpt from Quinn Caldwell’s Christmas devotion ( All I Really Want) about the role of Mary in Jesus’ life and it made me pause and think about this epiphany more studiously. Basically it was the fact that lots of men and women knew Jesus and were a part of his life for a short or extended period of time…but it was only Mary who traveled the whole distance with her son.

“They call her the queen of Heaven. She earned it. She’s the only one. She’s the only one who was there at both the beginning and the end. Joseph wasn’t. Peter wasn’t. Judas wasn’t. The shepherds and the wise men and the animals weren’t. 

Not Caesar, Pilate, Caiaphas, the Centurion, the thieves, or the crowds. She was the only one who was there for his first breath and his last. The only one who went all the way with him. 

Do you think she knew? Do you think she knew when she cried out in labor what other cries she would cry? When she wrapped him in bands of cloth, do you think she knew she would tie his winding sheet as well? 

When she held him in her arms on that first silent night, do you think she could see the day when she would hold him in her arms on another one…and if she did, why did she do it?

There’s nothing so terrible as the death of one’s own child. It appears to go against the order of the universe. It is such a terrible thing to even contemplate that we don’t even give it a name. People who have lost their spouses are widows or widowers; people who have lost their parents are orphans. But for those who’ve lost a child, we have no name. We fall silent in the face of tragedy of that magnitude.

God knows what it is to lose a child just as surely as Rachel does. Nothing this side of heaven is going to take away the pain for those whose children have died, but at least we have a God who knows what it is like. It might not be enough. But it’s something.” 

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for the people in our lives who go the distance with us…not just when things are going well…but when they aren’t. Thank you for people who “show up” for life…good or bad.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

It’s time to plant the pansies…the wonderful little bright flowers that bring color to winter…Luke helped piece the barrel back together again…another spring I will need to look into finding another one!

Dear Reader:

Isn’t it true that some writers create such memorable characters in literature that they remarkably take on an identity of their own?

If you look up the word “GRINCH” you notice it didn’t come into existence until Dr. Seuss wrote the story of a creature who hated Christmas…partly due to the size of his heart….2 and 1/2 times too small.

Grinch: a person who is mean-spirited and unfriendly.

Etymology: Merriman-Webster Dictionary

When Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957, he probably had no idea that in 20 years “grinch” would enter the general lexicon of English. Like Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge (whose name has become synonymous with “miser”), the Grinch changes his ways by the story’s end, but it’s the unreformed character who “hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!” who sticks in our minds. The ill-natured Grinch, with his heart “two sizes too small,” provides us with a lively symbol of someone we love to hate, and his name has thus come to refer to any disgruntled grump who ruins the pleasure of others.

To this day, whenever I have those unfortunate situations where I have to make small talk at a social situation, across from a stranger who does nothing but complain the whole evening away, I think of the “Grinch” and secretly smile.

I chastise myself for letting the person get me down too…and instead I try to build up some compassion for this whiny, complaining individual whose one pleasurable goal in life is to bring others down to his/her own unhappy state.

I simply picture the Grinch with his small heart, grin inwardly and not allow myself to get “grinched” away by another. Remember: “Never let anybody steal your joy!” (not even a Mr. or Ms. Grinch!)

Our second word today goes straight into the dictionary, also, from another memorable character from Christmas literature….SCROOGE!

Scrooge: A stingy person with money

Etymology:

A scrooge is a person who is stingy with money: scrooges would rather do anything than part with a buck. The novels of Charles Dickens have contributed more than a dozen words that found their way into everyday language. Scrooge, the chief character from A Christmas Carol, is perhaps the best-known of them all.

Auld Lang Syne, the Scottish expression that Robert Burns gave us in  prose, is typically recognized as the expression most sung at New Year’s Eve around the world… yet no one actually knows the lyrics very well to it.

On the  Koda and Kathi Lee Gifford Show yesterday…they were giving away a hundred dollars to anyone in the crowd who knew the meaning behind the expression…no one won.

The actual expression means:

“Auld Lang Syne” is the title and key phrase of a 1788 Scots poem by Robert Burns, typically sung on New Years Eve around the world. The phrase “auld lang syne” literally translates to “old long since,” and basically means, “days gone by.” The original, five-verse version of the poem essentially gets people singing, “lets drink to days gone by”—an appropriate toast for the New Year.

So until tomorrow…  Once again….our theme of time returns in this expression….”days gone by”.... a time to remember the past and even though 2018 was medically  challenging I will remember the overwhelming kindness bestowed on me by so many wonderful people. From the bottom of my heart I thank you!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Jo…thank you thank you thank you! I, especially, waited until today to unwrap your present…I wanted to savor the moment and keep the beautiful wrapped gift under the Christmas tree as long as I could.

After my brother left I promptly fell into a deep sleep…not waking until to around 2:00! And there it was the last package under the tree…when I opened it up I squealed with excitement…the most beautiful butterfly solar lantern! A symbol of new life…renewed, re-energized, and flying solo again with my new “wing wheels!”

Joan Turner called me yesterday….at first I missed her call…but later when I walked to the mailbox…I found a large manila envelope… with not just the annual Christmas card (which I look forward to and love each holiday season) but two more beautiful paintings of glass bottles and the eternal hope of spring…along with a Hope book marker.

Thank you Joan so much! I know this year is bittersweet with the passing of Lucy, the mother dog. But what a joyful fun scene this is…a light shining for mom, in remembrance, hanging down from the little deer’s antlers!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I left you hanging about a remarkable incident that took place at the end of the Christmas Eve Service….the service in which I told an old German fairy tale…a story about a clock-maker and his love for a beautiful peasant girl in a small German town…titled “The Christmas Time Stood Still.”

I was busy gathering up my belongings at the end of the service and talking with several friends and family members when a woman approached that I didn’t recognize and introduced herself. She said she just had to find me before I left because of the delight she felt when she realized what story I was telling. She had not heard it since hearing it first in the German town famous for the legend when she was a little girl… one Christmas Eve long ago. (She was here spending Christmas with family and so delighted they had chosen this service to attend.)

Many times German town names arose from the name of the nearest castle in the area…in this incidence BernKastle-Kues. They are famous for their market squares throughout the town.

Apparently one Christmas Eve Father Christmas walked around the square and told stories…one of the which was The Clockmaker’s Legend or sometimes called The Bernkastel Legend.. She had never forgotten the excitement of the story. To hear it again brought back many almost-forgotten memories.

Now what are the chances that I see a scene from a Hallmark Christmas movie that catches my attention as a young antique dealer tells the story of a magical clock that could stop time? And what are the chances that this woman would end up in Summerville, South Carolina for a Christmas Eve service and hear this story again… first heard by her as a child in Germany? A Christmas God Wink!

I reckon I should be used to God’s wonderful God Winks by now…but they never cease to leave me in wonder and awe at the mystery of the universe God created so lovingly.

Yesterday Ben rode with me in my “new” car to Mt. Pleasant for John and Mandy’s Christmas brunch…always merry and bright. Except…this year little Jakie came down with a bug Christmas Eve and couldn’t come to Boo Boo’s house with his cousins or attend the church service…he was still pretty pitiful yesterday…even surrounded by his favorite toys. Mollie missed out on the brunch too because Eloise, also, didn’t feel well Christmas Day.

Walsh, Lachlan, and Rutledge (kiddingly) all came in with their medical masks on…to supposedly keep the germs from sister Eloise and cousin Jake away….the masks came off fast enough (and stayed off) when it was time to eat! 🙂

I had to stop after I had gone completely through Summerville…from my house to the town square without meeting one car yesterday morning on our way to Mt. Pleasant.

The dogs were dressed in their finest holiday attire.

Then it was on to Doodle’s house for lunch…it is the best food you have ever put in your mouth…simply…it is not Christmas without that mind-boggling delicious spread Doodle puts on. She also has the most beautiful nativity scenes from all around the world….here are just a few samples…

Christmas 2018 had perfect weather…cool and crisp…but not too cold, delicious food, exceptional company, lots of laughter and much thankfulness….Best Christmas Ever!

So until tomorrow….An Irish Christmas Blessing…. “May the Good Lord bless you as your dear ones gather round. May your laughter be hearty, and love and joy abound.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

When we got home yesterday afternoon Honey called and said Ashley was coming to drop off some casseroles and extra food she had left over with some outfits for the girls….she and Mike were heading back to the mountains this morning….but before Ashley arrived…another elf appeared…Stephanie…bringing a Gingerbread Mickey Mouse from Disney World with a Gingerbread candle. Too sweet and cute…and delicious!

And Honey…your time clock pendant was perfect to wear yesterday…the theme this Christmas was definitely about time…and what a great time this Christmas was!

Dear Reader:

I never know when and where the idea for the next Christmas Eve story will come…but I always know it will. I suppose I have my foot to thank for the Christmas story last night. While in my chair/ recliner, daily, with my foot propped up on several pillows I started watching a lot of the Hallmark Christmas movies starting throughout November…and still continuing.

One afternoon (one particular Hallmark Christmas movie) zeroed in on a young girl who was an antique dealer. She was showing her boyfriend a beautiful antique clock with painted panels that told  the love story between a peasant German girl and a master clock maker that had become a German legend over time…with a fairy tale quality about it.

I was immediately intrigued. I looked it up. Like most legends the tale has been told and re-told… changing story lines upon each re-telling…but the theme always come  back to center around a castle known as the Bernkastel.

In the movie the legend was told without using any names for the main characters so I did some adaptations to make the story more personable with names and expressions.

So with all that said….here is a summary of the 2018 Christmas Eve story….”The Christmas Time Stood Still.”

Once upon a time in a small German village there lived a peasant girl named Anna who was beautiful beyond description…with long dark hair and azure blue eyes. She was not only stunning-looking but she was just as beautiful inside…kind and generous.

Secretly she and Hans, a master clock-maker in the village were madly in love and  dreamed of sharing a life together.

One day, however, by a stroke of bad luck…a distant cousin (Duke Sweinstagger) to the king (who ruled over Bernkastel Palace) happened to see her walking along a crowded street and immediately decided he must have this ‘object’of unsurpassed beauty for his bride.

He tracked down her parents and told them his desire…her parents were overjoyed…a peasant, a commoner marrying royalty…now when does that ever happen? 🙂 The parents could hardly wait to spread the good news.

You can only imagine Anna’s distress when her parents told her about the meeting…she told her parents quite defiantly that there was no way she would marry him…she was in love with Hans the master clock-maker.

The parents immediately notified the Duke of their daughter’s reaction and the Duke knew he must remove her from the village and the clock maker until the day of the wedding…Christmas day.

When Hans heard the news of what had happened… he was heart-broken and prayed fervently that somehow their love could still win out…in the meantime he decided to build a clock so magical, so intricate, that her parents would be swayed into giving him a chance at her hand.

By the time he finished the clock, however, it was Christmas Eve…the wedding set for the following day. He had to get the magical clock to Anna that day…it was their only hope for happiness.

And then a miracle happened…the lady in waiting  to Anna at the far away castle (where Anna was hidden) had heard the muffled sobs and seen her tears …so she took a love letter from Anna to Hans…and on Christmas Eve knocked on his door.

Hans was overjoyed…he told the servant that it was imperative that Anna read the directions he was sending her… placed in a secret compartment within the clock. His last message was- Tell Anna “Trust in love.”

Anna was overjoyed when the servant returned with the clock…quickly she searched until she found the secret compartment. The instructions told her to set the chimes to ring five times… soon after the wedding ceremony began…then to hide the clock in a corner of the Bernkastel chapel, to repeat three times while slowly, very slowly walking down the aisle…”Trust in love, trust in love, trust in love.”

Hans ended his letter with a mysterious prophesy…if you do all these things…time will stand still when the chimes ring out. Quickly  grab the clock and run out of the chapel before the fifth chime finishes ringing…time can only be “stilled” for a minute.

So the next day -Christmas Day…Anna hid the clock in a dark corner of the chapel, she set the chimes and whispered a prayer for deliverance.

As the music began Anna slowly, very slowly begin to walk down the aisle towards the evil Duke of Sweinstagger. She couldn’t bear to look at him so she turned her eyes downward under the veil and began to whisper…”Trust in love”…another step…”Trust in love” and the last step “Trust in love.”

Suddenly the most beautiful, melodious sound crossed the chapel as the first chime rang out.  Anna looked up in surprise…she now understood the magic…everyone was frozen in place…time was standing still…

*Bring Eva Cate and Rutledge Dingle up to pantomine some of the characters in the story and the ending to the story

Anna first glanced at the groom… Duke Sweinstagger….he was scowling fiercely with his arms crossed…irritated by her slow pace down the aisle.

1. Anna then looked at the famous soloist Baroness Von Trouver… who had her arms outstretched and her mouth positioned in a perfect “O” for her solo…”O Holy Night.”
2. The minister had been shaking his head and staring down at his watch…also impatient for her to pick it up going down the aisle- he had Christmas dinner waiting for him at home.
3. The last person Anna saw frozen in time was her mother sitting up front by the aisle. She had turned around and was smiling so big it looked like her face would crack…with her hands clapping by her cheek. ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Quickly Anna grabbed the clock and started running out as she heard the fifth chime begin to sound…Hans was waiting with the finest steed she had ever seen…smiling he pulled Anna and the clock up on the horse and they galloped off…  never to be  seen again

Over the years. however, tales trickled back and stories were told that Hans and Anna lived happily ever after  throughout their long, happy life together.

Each year they performed an annual tradition. On Christmas Day at 5:00 they would stop…face each other…and while holding hands…say “Trust in love, Trust in love, Trust in love.” (3 times) * Rutledge and Eva Cate finish up with this scene

Tonight we once again wait expectantly and trust in the love that arrives  in the form of a little baby in a manger. Simply put…God is love, Jesus is love and the spirit of Christmas IS love. The very best gift of all…and our challenge to keep that spirit for every day of the year!

So until tomorrow…May the Spirit of Christmas be with you tonight and for every day of your life…the gift that keeps on giving if we are willing. Merry Christmas!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

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It really was a crazy fun afternoon but miraculously the 5:00 Children’s Service went extra well…unexpectedly quiet and relaxing…all the children “hung in there” quite well…the best yet!

The children were so excited to get their Boo Boo stockings!

***One of the strangest things happened tonight at the end of the service….but I must wait and tell you of this amazing ‘God Wink’ tomorrow ….my eyes won’t stay open….I must get to sleep… Santa is coming!