Is Christmas Sneaking Up On You…Good! Boo!

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Dear Reader:

Kaitlyn and Tommy have started an annual tradition of having family and friends over for the Mt. Pleasant Christmas Parade…this works well since they are right off Coleman Blvd in Mt. P. (Behind OOPS!) A great location to be able to get good front row seats early.

But a little child can only be contained for so long in a chair…they want to stand to see all the action upfront and personal. Rutledge and his friends were so caught up in the parade that he didn’t see Santa until he felt an arm around him, saw red and white fur on the hand and turned to see Santa himself!

His expression says it all…awe and delight! And isn’t that what Christmas should contain…awe and delight. From the birth of a baby 2000 years ago to the mystery of Christmas today?

For little children it is the magic of Christmas that stays behind in their hearts and memories forever. It is the surprise element in this wonderful holiday that keeps hope alive.

We all have learned, that as hard as we try, planned Christmases never work… they can only take us so far. Christmas takes on a life of its own…and we must learn to roll with the punches.

I realized several years ago…I would never have a Hallmark Christmas…but these days…I am okay with that…“If we can’t be with the ones we love, love the ones we’re with.” Christmas is bigger than numbers of people, or food disasters, the flu, or broken toys, or chaos run rampart…it is simply taking time to hug and laugh and yes, sometimes, cry together. Christmas is love and caring…being there for each other.

…Except perhaps funny Christmas cards that remind us that some things don’t change every Christmas. I had to laugh at the Turner’s Christmas card this year….Um…Now where had I seen this photo before?

*Perhaps it was last year’s Christmas card. (Jakie…I am betting that the third attempt is going to be a charm…a smile will appear…a Christmas miracle will take place!)

Christmas 2015– Santa’s Village-Huntsville, Alabama

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Christmas 2016 – Santa’s Village- Huntsville, Alabama

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*Did you notice that even SANTA stayed the same? Brave Santa!

For Jakie’s first Christmas a photo was taken of him in his cute Christmas cap/stocking and Eva Cate took on Santa by herself at Santa’s Village…then the photos were combined…smart move!

Christmas 2014 – Santa’s Village – Huntsville, Alabama (And oh my goodness…it is the same Santa again…”I do BELIEVE in SANTA”!}

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In conclusion, Santa stays the same…God stays the same…it is humans who change…physically…and hopefully spiritually as the years go by. We grow confident in God’s unconditional love.

So until tomorrow…We are grateful for special surprises that delight and bring light into our lives…and for traditions that give us security and stability in an ever-changing world.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 

 

 

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The Real Christmas Magic in Summerville

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Dear Reader:

Every so often an incident occurs that reminds me why I love my town of Summerville. The people are the friendliest in the world and at Christmas this observation is only increased and magnified…like the Grinch’s heart.

The other day I called Eva’s Restaurant to leave an order for pick-up…  I was running around checking off errands right and left…and was in the mood for some home cooking.

Audrey answered the phone…I told her my name and she immediately responded “I knew it was you Becky…what do you want today?” Surprised, but pleased (Audrey is one of the newer waitresses working at Eva’s now) I gave her my order and then squeezed in another errand quickly.

thumbnail_fullsizerender-5As soon as I got there Audrey announced to me that my order was ready…but before she rang it up…she came over with this decorative mason jar, filled with candy, and said “Merry Christmas Becky” accompanied by a hug.  She must have seen my surprised face…because she said quickly, “I just wanted to give back to some of our special customers and let them  know how much I appreciate their business and friendliness.”

Wow! Here is a pretty, sweet young lady taking some of her time, talents, and hard-earned income,  to give to others for the opportunity to serve them. Sound familiar?  If you haven’t found Christmas yet…go eat at Eva’s and call Audrey over and give her a big hug…and a big tip! Merry Christmas Audrey!!

Like the window decorations at Eva’s (title photo) …this restaurant is always open to kindness and caring…a piece of Summerville history that continues its legacy of providing a place diners can call home. How lucky we are to still have it!

It was while I was juggling my pocket book, sweet tea, and bagged lunch…while crossing Exxon’s Express gas station on the corner (besides Eva’s) that I looked down and saw it…a smashed penny…a lucky penny. I almost didn’t stop and pick it up because of my juggling act…but something in me just couldn’t leave a lucky penny staring up at me in the parking lot.

Just at that time the town Bell Tower rang out 12:00…it was noon and it sounded so beautiful. I grabbed the penny and scurried back to my car. When I got inside and examined the coin…it looked more like buried treasure from a sunken ship than a lost penny in a gas station parking lot. It must have been there for quite awhile and probably been subject to gasoline and oil stains accompanied by lots of car and truck wheels that had flattened it out. The result: an object of beauty! Front and back!

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What was the best thing to do with it? Make a Christmas ornament! Inside the candy mason jar that Audrey gave me… there was, also, a bluish-felt snowflake with a tiny snowman…So with a few dabs of glue and some ribbon…a lucky penny has become a memorable ornament…a way to remember each year a special act of kindness during the Christmas season in Summerville- 2016.

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But it didn’t end there…I should have known that lucky penny had another magical trick of kindness up its sleeve for me. Friday (for the Christmas story I am telling at the MS luncheon and a week later…the Christmas Eve Service)…magic is going to play a major role in it.

My “Magic Coloring Book” (which I planned to use as an introductory prop) was literally falling apart from years of excited children trying to figure out the magic inside…the cover had come off and several other pages were loose.

So I took it to Staples and found Krista…my latest Christmas angel! She pondered the problem for about five minutes and then said “We can remove the loose staples keeping the book somewhat together and instead spiral bind it to secure it for future presentations.”

fullsizerenderShe called me just over an hour later and said it was finished…come pick it up. By then she was very busy but still had a smile on her face and she told me she tested the “magic” to make sure it was still there and it was.

In reality, the magic, was Krista, with her pretty smile and “go to” attitude. Merry Christmas Krista!

So until tomorrow…Let’s all look for the real magic around us this Christmas in the faces of friends and strangers. Not only will you find it…but you will feel it.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Saturday I collected a few magnolia limbs from my yard and my neighbors…added some baby breath and filled in the empty planters beside the photo cabinet my brother David built in high school a long time ago. Except for a little more greenery around the mirrors and paintings…I am finished with decorations. Inside and out.

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Walsh and Mollie have been re-modeling (reconstruction) the inside of their home for the past few weeks and now they are re-decorating …a wonderful Christmas present for themselves! So much more space…everything looks wonderful!

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And oh my goodness…Look carefully…I do believe an elf has crash-landed in the Christmas tree!

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Letting the Past Peek in at Christmas!

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Dear Reader:

Yesterday I dropped by Steve and Lassie’s house to drop off a package for Lassie. After I parked the car I just sat a little longer in it… admiring the Christmas decorations on the porch. I could feel myself ‘tear’-ing up at the memories of that old house.

image-87193_212635Today is Poppy’s birthday and perhaps it was this realization that put me in such a nostalgic mood. Happy Birthday Poppy…hoping all the angels (including Dee Dee) bring you the biggest, best birthday cake ever! May you now remain forever young!

Steve and Lassie bought this house from Dee-Dee and Poppy after they decided it was just too much up-keep with retirement looming and so, they decided to move into a rental house they owned close by and fix it up.

But oh…the celebrations that were spent there were so special…from the famous Dingle Easter Egg Hunt for the children each spring… to the mouth-watering Christmas dinners …the memories of which lasted longer than any gifts. This house was my children’s second home and they loved it…as did I. It was a home where you felt love and ‘loved’ from the minute you walked in.

I remember being so happy when Steve and Lassie bought the house and kept it in the family. It would have been heart-breaking to ride by and see “outsiders” living there. Instead…How lucky we have been to be able to ride by all the years and know it is still there…and more beautiful than ever! Thanks Steve and Lassie!

There is one big, tall Christmas decoration on the porch that takes my breath away each year and makes me “covet” (yes “covet”) it. Take a look! A grape-vine Christmas tree.

 

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Steve filled me in on some of its history. He said the “tree” is almost twenty-five years old. Lassie saw a grape-vine tree somewhere and came home all excited about it. She asked Steve if he thought he could make a frame for it.

Steve did think about it for a few moments and then replied “Yes.” He told me he “hog-wired” the frame which wasn’t easy… but the hardest labor came with twisting the grape-vine branches around and around…making each size smaller and then connecting the branches together. As you can imagine it was a long and arduous task…but one made with love.

*Lassie emailed me just a few minutes ago (last evening) and filled in some more history of the grape-vine wreath Christmas Tree for me.

Steve and I made that tree the first year my shop was in Cauthen’s.  I needed a tree that didn’t take too much of my floor space. I’ve always enjoyed it’s unique look. Been using it on the front porch ever since I closed the shop.

(I thought Lassie had just started with the biggest grape-vine wreaths, then the smaller ones, and then the smallest piled on top of each other…but no…there are/were no individual wreaths…the “tree” is connected by intertwining each grape-vine branch with the next and the next and so on….impressive!)

Now, 25 years later, it still stands proudly on the front porch each Christmas reminding them and the family of the time when they first built it. A beautiful past memory that still lives on today.

The beautiful Christmas tree inside was filled with oodles of hand-crocheted lace snowflakes. Steve said his mother and grandmother made these ornaments for years. He remembered both women starch-ironing the final products.

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Today….some people call them “snowflake dolies.” The homemade ones are time-consuming, but like the grape-vine tree…made to last a lifetime.

Here are some pictures of snowflakes I have on my tree…some old, some new…along with cotton ball angels, handkerchief angels, and pine cone angels.

I love ornaments made from nature and creativity.  And isn’t that what Christmas brings to us each year…a rendevouz between past and present?

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So until tomorrow…May we bring the best of the past to the table of the present and give thanks for those who came before us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 

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Creating Christmas Crannies…It’s Magic!

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Dear Reader:

As I just typed the date of this blog and realized we were entering the double-digit numbers now in December…Christmas suddenly became larger and more imminent in my mind. (If I don’t have my usual number of views today…I will know that you, too (not only awoke to the 10th of December’s realization) but threw on your clothes and dashed out the door… to go shopping!)

I love crannies, always have, even as a child. If I could find a secret corner of a room in which to play I was a very happy child. It always felt like I was in a secret hiding place…all to myself and it was a exhilarating feeling for me.

As an adult I am drawn to crannies for decorating purposes…particularly on holidays.

*As you can see in the title photo…I have added on to this particular cranny…(doesn’t the word cranny look funny by itself…it begs for a “nook” to precede it.) I took an old dried up (literally) dried arrangement and added some festive decorations to brighten it up, placed a beautiful poinsettia on the floor, put one of my favorite Christmas stories in the book holder- The Gift of the Magi-set a decorative empty Race for the Cure  wine bottle (that Mollie gave me a few years ago) with pink ribbons and pink bows on it, along with a wooden plaque spelling HOPE in front of it…and finally added mini-bottle white lights to the tree decoration.

Mother Nature provided the magic glow as the sun’s rays were slanted and coming in through the front blinds hitting the poinsettia casting white lights on it and the tree lights bounced off the shiny white cabinets setting the whole corner aglow. And…does anyone else, along with me see one single ray of light purposefully falling on the word HOPE?  Yes…nooks and crannies are still magical to me.

Here are a few more corners I have decorated: I thought a whimsical clock ticking the time away to Christmas would work!

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An Advent Candle against a shining star ….(Lassie gave me this Advent Candle from Mepkin Abbey and I love it every year!)

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And finally behind the Christmas Tree Santa Claus hides among the beautiful poinsettias….waiting for his time to bring joy.

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So until tomorrow…Stay warm in every nook and cranny, fix your favorite hot drink, and spend time with friends…time well spent!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

thumbnail_fullsizerender-2Speaking of “time well spent” Gin-g stopped by with a “Ho Ho Ho” ….a beautiful Christmas candle and journal titled: Life is Better when you’re Happy.

We got caught up some…hope to get in a Christmas lunch before Christmas and Gin-g then helped me take “Big Red” inside on the other side to stay a couple of days until the nights get above freezing again. Can’t take a change on losing “Big Red” thumbnail_fullsizerender-2now…so close to Christmas!

 

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The Importance of Christmas Family Rituals and Memories

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Dear Reader:

Isn’t it easy to get caught up in the nostalgia of Christmases past and secretly wish those days and customs still existed? Like the picture in the title photo a lot of people love the idea of going to the woods to cut down the Christmas tree and pull it back home on a sled…or at least to the car.

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Christmas Vacation (2/10) Movie CLIP – The Griswold Family …

 

 

51kbu3tzvrl-_sx258_bo1204203200_My favorite example of the custom of cutting down a Christmas tree for the local church’s Christmas Eve Service lies within the pages of Gloria Houston’s The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree. With father away fighting in WWI it is left up to the mother and daughter to find the tree her husband  selected before being drafted. One of my favorite illustrations in the book is that of mother and daughter hauling the special Balsam tree back down the mountains, on a sled, under a full moon, singing Christmas carols. A beautiful scene in my mind that never goes away.

all-i-really-wantLast year I used several  Christmas reflections/devotionals by Quinn Caldwell…it was and is one of my favorite Christmas books. Anne found one reading she really liked and sent me…I knew I didn’t use it last year and liked it too…hope you do, also.

 

 

 

“…See your children gathered from west and east…for they went out from you on foot…but they will be brought back, carried in glory, as on a royal throne….The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.” – Baruch 5:5-6, 8-9

Parents who, like Israel, want fragrant trees to shade their households with joy this time of year will find this passage very familiar. You go out into the tree lot, the children running with delight, you following along behind with the sled. A while later—after much deliberation; maybe an argument or two about long versus short needles, tall and skinny versus short and fat; after somebody has knelt in the wet with a saw, snow slipping off branches and down the back of somebody’s neck as they hack away at a trunk—the group comes back. And now, the children that went out on foot are being dragged back in the sled, tired but happy (or maybe grumpy), as on a royal throne.

Then there’s the tying of the tree on the car, the setting up in tree stand, the wrestling of boxes out of the attic, the unraveling of miles of lights. 

And all for what? They that put themselves through the work of such rituals do it for one reason: delight.

They do it so that the children, or so that they themselves, will experience a taste, just a taste, of the delight that Christmas promises and portends. They do it so that they, or their children, will get good at recognizing joy when it arrives, so that they have some practice under their belts at recognizing the good and the beautiful when it shows up in their lives.

We do it to call that goodness into being. It’s work, no doubt about it, this practicing for God, this learning to recognize the signs of God with us. It’s cold feet and frustrated grunts and blown fuses, and sometimes you’re right on the edge of declaring, “Never again.”

But then, you turn off the house lights, and plug in the tree lights, and everybody uncovers their eyes. And there it is: glory right in your own living room. And life is full of delight, and the house is shaded with joy, and you’re all just a little closer to the realm of God.

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The more I thought about this reading…the more I understood the deep-seeded message within…the toil of bringing joy and delight to a “weary world.” God did this by sending His Son…and now so many of us try to keep the joy and delight alive with our own little family rituals…hoping that one day the traditions will continue to live in the next generation.

So until tomorrow…Prayer: “O God, I remember this. Oh yes, I remember this. Thank you.” (Quinn Caldwell)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*If nothing else…my family’s Christmas memories/traditions will be recorded in photos and moments spent in preparation for the BIG DAY on this blog!

Wednesday night I spent the night with Eva Cate and Jakie so I could get to Rutledge and Lachlan’s house quicker in order to keep them yesterday….some memories to remember.

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fullsizerenderJakie wanted to wear his hat to school today….quite debonair young man!

Then I was off to keep Rutledge and Lachlan….thank goodness the sun came out Thursday and the clouds slipped away…by the middle of the afternoon, in the sun, the weather felt good…but the clock is ticking down on this seasonal weather…Old Man Winter is planning to visit this weekend. Burr! Grab your coats, hats, and mittens!

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*I have come to the conclusion that the best gift I could give my grandchildren would be to put a bow on a park outside and just let them go at it for as long as their heart wishes…Merry Christmas!

thumbnail_img_4470*Both households have the elves taking over the wish list, as well as, the good/or bad behavior itinerary. Eva Cate and Jakie found “Buddy the Elf”  inside a toy bus on the floor in the children’s den yesterday morning. They squealed with delight!

Rutledge showed me the little elf entrance that has popped up in his and Lachlan’s bedroom. (Apparently  this particular elf is keeping a close watch on the boys…even while they are sleeping.)

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Memories of Chocolate Christmases

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Dear Reader:

Haven’t you experienced a time when you were missing a loved one who has passed on and then something happens to bring them back to you… in your memory?

Honey and I were talking about this on the phone a few weeks ago…she said it basically happens with her mother. Whenever she is going through a tough stretch or simply missing her mother at one holiday or another…a little God Wink appears to let her know that her mother is still looking over her.

Honey said this phenomenon often occurs when she is distracted or stressed and looking for something in a drawer or closet and suddenly she pulls out a picture or a piece of jewelry or a letter from her mom and suddenly peace re-enters her world. She feels the connection and love again of a mother and child.

With mom and me…it was chocolate! We shared a mutual love of  plain Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars. One Christmas I decided to give her an “Advent” Hershey chocolate bar… in the sense that it was a “giant” one ….(like I am holding up at Cracker Barrel’s while eating breakfast there yesterday) and would last until Christmas with a bite for each day leading up to it.

Mother loved it but she said it was still too big for one person to eat by Christmas so our sneaky tradition (Starting December 1) was to wait until the grandchildren were asleep (my kids) and each of us would break off a piece of that delicious chocolate and let it melt in our mouths…you could just feel the stress of the day melting away too.

When I walked into Cracker Barrel yesterday and saw the giant Hershey Bar I immediately thought of mother and Christmas time. ( After she died and I was cleaning out her side of the house I discovered all kinds of candy hidden away in her desk drawers in her bedroom…”Good for you mom”…I thought… with a smile on my face.

Then yesterday afternoon what pops up on my computer but a “Mysterious GuidePost” story strangely similar to my story and my mother’s…another great God Wink. Enjoy!

GUIDEPOST: Mysterious Ways –  “Christmas in the Parking Lot”

Rochella O’Neil

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Christmas just isn’t Christmas without sharing a giant chocolate Hershey bar with Mom , I thought wistfully, looking at the display of bars on sale at the grocery store one cold December day.

It’s not your usual holiday tradition, but it was for me. I’m not sure how it started, but every year for as long as I could remember, as a way to welcome in the holiday, Mom and I would run to the store to buy a giant milk chocolate Hershey bar. We’d keep it in the refrigerator at home and would break off little pieces in the days before Christmas, sometimes even dipping them in peanut butter. It was a guilty pleasure we loved sharing together.

Mom had passed away just a couple of months earlier. No, no chocolate bar this year , I thought. Not without Mom to share it . I turned away from the display of chocolate and headed to the checkout line to pay for my groceries.

As I pushed my cart toward my car, I kept thinking about that Hershey bar. Should I go back in and get one? No, I shouldn’t eat all that chocolate myself .

I put the groceries in the car, then climbed in and closed the door. I turned the car on and let it idle for a minute, waiting for it to warm up.Lord, I sure wish I could feel Mom close by this Christmas season , I prayed. Let her know I love her and that I hope to see her again someday .

I put my car into gear and looked out the rear view mirror, ready to back out of the parking spot. Something shined brightly from the baby seat on a grocery cart in the spot across from me. Did someone leave their purse? I put the car in park and scanned the lot to see if anyone was around. No one. I walked over to see what was in the cart.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and laughed out loud. There sat a giant Hershey bar, just like the ones Mom and I always shared!

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So until tomorrow…”Mom…I think I will be leaving a giant Hershey Bar out for “Santa” this year! Enjoy!”

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

*Mollie sent me these precious pictures of Rutledge and Lachlan getting in the Christmas Spirit literally…at least through the wreath! Merry Christmas from the Dingle Duo.

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The “Ballast” in our Lives…Finding our Balance

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Dear Reader:

Many of you will be traveling elsewhere for Christmas …to families, to see the grandchildren, or perhaps spend a quiet Christmas elsewhere at some vacation spot. Traveling at Christmas time is a large part of the Christmas season today.

is-2But then, when we think about it, traveling “afar” has always been an important part of The Christmas Story.

We have Joseph and Mary traveling to Judea to pay taxes and Mary (ending up) giving birth to Jesus in a manager because there was no room in the inn at Bethlehem. (Today, of course, Mary and Joseph would have been delighted to have had delivered Jesus before the end of the year for deductible reasons!)

is-4Then there are the Magi, the Wise Men, who follow the star, telling of Christ’s birth, coming from the Orient…definitely from afar.

So like today, there were short trips and long trips involved in the Christmas Story…along with a few necessary detours for safety reasons.

When I came across Anne’s and mine favorite Irish poet, John O’Donohue in (Awakin Weekly) and re-read the beautiful poem ” For the Traveler” certain lyrics made me stop and reflect on their meaning.

“For the Traveler”

Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.

New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.

When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:

How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.

When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.

A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.

May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.

~ John O’Donohue ~

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This particular line in the poem brought back a memory of a recent family conversation.

A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast

img_4448To free our hearts of ballast.” Wow! Over Thanksgiving weekend when Ady Grace was climbing the Bradford Pear she suddenly jumped down off the limb and began gathering little stones around the base of the tree. She was so excited about them and asked if she could take them home. Ben and Bekah were shaking their heads in puzzlement. I told Ady Grace she certainly could take as many as she wanted…they were left over pebbles from a potted plant that used to be there…and were used as decorations.

I reminded Ben and Bekah that there are no natural rocks in the lowcountry so lowcountry children are fascinated when they see them. The only true rocks we have were imported along with trading imports (cargo and goods) in the form of ballast rocks.

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These rocks were used as ballast in early sailing vessels. In the colonies, the market for manufactured goods from abroad was limited. On the westbound voyage, ships needed weight to lower them in the water to keep them from capsizing; large stones filled the ships’ hold, but after they arrived this ballast was thrown overboard to be replaced by products from the colony.

Soon these dumped British ballast rocks became an environmental problem for the colonies…clogging up harbors and nearby port lands…so landfills were built farther out for the disposal of ballast rocks from English trading vessels.

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Today the idea of throwing away “ballast” is a metaphor for letting go of anything that weighs us down. Don’t you think “freeing our heart of ballast” would be a great thing to ask Santa for this year?

Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when we confess our sins and feel God’s forgiveness? It truly is like throwing ballast off the ship and lightening our spiritual lives. What a wonderful Christmas present to ourselves that would be…then we could definitely get in the Christmas “Spirit.”

So until tomorrow:

 May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

fullsizerender*Eva Cate gave me my Christmas gift early Sunday… my portrait…I love it! Looks just like me!

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* My neighbor Vickie does have a beautiful rock in her front yard…and there is a story behind it. Now we just have to wait until she slows down enough to get it from her…until then the mystery continues.

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“Big Red’s” Christmas Present to Me…

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Dear Reader:

When I went to open my front door yesterday morning….the first three buds on “Big Red” had burst open and I thought to myself…’Christmas has arrived.‘ What a wonderful gift from Mother Nature! It brought a smile to my face…my amazing, “magical” geranium!

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Six years! Six years “Big Red” has sat on my white bench…twice it has been removed for a “white paint” job on the bench and a few other times for overnight stays inside when the temperatures are in the twenties for a length of time…but outside of that…Faithful “Big Red” welcomes me out the door each morning!

 

When I returned home on May 29 2010 from my first mastectomy there was the geranium sitting on the porch. I remember it had been such a crazy day (with the children running around, picking up food, and then picking up me from the hospital) that no one knew or ever saw an attached card identifying the giver of the plant. To this day it is still (for me) a special life mystery.

Little did I know that this “magical” plant would still be by my side six years later as my greatest “Hope o’Meter.”  It has survived frost-bite requiring every limb but the main one to be amputated to try to save it (which miraculously worked); It has survived drought when I have been away for a few days and forgotten to ask a neighbor to water it…and pestilence in the form of little bugs that it slowly over came. It truly is my miracle plant….and my best front porch friend.

Today “Big Red”s health is still rather tenuous…its limbs look weak and break easily…but despite all the obstacles facing it…”Big Red” lives on…and not only lives but blooms! It blooms for me at Christmas!

464518Big Red” got its name from a children’s book that I had used in a social studies workshop (for fourth graders) a couple of weeks before Mandy’s wedding and my diagnosis. It is the story of a family traveling west during the Gold Rush to make a new home and start for themselves.

The mother is very sad about leaving  home back east and at the last moment decides to take one memento of her life there… carrying a big red geranium in the covered wagon.

The little boy in the story knows how sad his mother is…leaving family and familiarity behind. When they soon begin facing obstacles and dangers (floods, droughts, famine) the boy shares his water with the plant and rescues it again and again from certain destruction…because he now has come to believe that if the red geranium survives…so will his family.

I have felt these same feelings, myself, watching “Big Red” struggle to survive the different seasons, for six years,  each season and year supplying its own set of potentially life-threatening hurdles. I gather strength from watching my ‘friend’ fight so valiantly for life…continuously.

…And so another Christmas has come….I am here, “Big Red” is here, and love is all around us. Who could ask for anything more?

So until tomorrow…Christmas arrives in all shapes and sizes…but for me…it comes in the form of a beautiful, proud, magical, red poinsettia. Merry Christmas “Big Red”!!!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 

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Christmas IS Hope!

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Dear Reader:

As I was putting my creches around the decorative light ornament I received, as a gift, several Christmases ago…I thought again about how much I loved my HOPE manager scene…with the O containing the manager scene within it. That creche says it all…Until Christ entered the world there was no hope.

download-1The lyrics in “O Holy Night” best explains the predicament facing our world at the time Jesus entered it. Read the stanzas slowly and listen to the significance of the lyrics within….

O Holy Night

O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder brinks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees

O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night, O night divine

……………………….

“The soul felt its worth” …I love that phrase. I have experienced episodes in life when I, too, was pining desperately for something or Someone to make my life feel worthy, to let me know that I was/am an important part of the universe and as a child of God loved unconditionally.

That is what Jesus’ birth gave us…hope, directions, and guidance on how to achieve a note-worthy life to the people around us….friends, family, and even strangers…perhaps most importantly strangers.

Longevity of life doesn’t promise a worthy life…just think of the famous artists and musicians who died early but left us music that still touches our souls….Mozart, Chopin, Gershwin, etc.

15055608_779231082218302_548036237475693112_nWhen I came across this story the other day I was saddened but as I watched the photo again and saw this child’s face (Clara Ray) light up in wonder and sheer delight at snow and life…I knew that she had taught us all a lesson in living… a worthy life of hope to everyone who saw it. No matter what our age, status, health, or brevity of life…we can all give back to the world in our own unique way.

If you would like to read more about her serious heart condition (born with two holes in her heart and she wasn’t supposed to live long enough to be born alive)…the story behind the story…here is a link.

Baby Who Survived Birth Defect Sees Snow For First Time (PHOTO)

coiled-rope-1964260So until tomorrow…the next time we feel the coils of life tightening around us….let’s remember it was Christ who provided us ‘the thrill of hope’ and the promise of a ‘new and glorious morn.’  For me…that is a life worth fighting for…worth living for…hope always sees us through the hardest times…I simply can’t imagine a life without it.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Anne flew to Washington, DC over the weekend to meet  with two of her sisters and found the sculpture of the kneeling Lincoln at the National Cathedral which she texted me. Sculptor Herbert Spencer Houck’s bronze of Lincoln was inspired by a story his grandfather told him about seeing the president kneeling among the leaves near the fields at Gettysburg.(courtesy photo)

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img_4437-2Yesterday I stopped by Mandy’s to drop off a few things and go with her and Eva Cate to meet Kaitlyn/Tommy to bounce off some ideas for the reception after the wedding….it is going to be so special…simply because of the two wonderful people who are uniting in marriage. It was breezy overlooking the marshes…but Eva Cate braved the elements.

 

 

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Now is the Time…Love Your Life!

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Dear Reader:

Isn’t it a wonderful “aha” moment when we take time to pause and think aloud ” I love my life!” (Especially meaningful… when life is not going  according to our own planned benchmarks, as defined by societal success.)

Instead we are just loving life for the sake of being alive…what a gift…the greatest gift of Christmas…the gift of life both here and eternal.

Kate Wolfe Jenson had this beautiful message in her blog today and it just hit home for me…wanted to share the thoughts with you.

 Now is the Time

there may be times
my loved one ( son, daughter, friend, sibling)
when the path grows dark
and cold winds of fear
cyclone ’round your heart
the road may be littered
with boulders of hatefulness
and pebbles of casual insult

remember, then, who you are
and what you carry
within you

you were born
from the womb of the earth
and the seed of the stars
let no one disrespect you

you are made
irrevocably sacred
and boundlessly creative
never doubt your worth

you may be tempted
to curl in on yourself
and fashion walls of
nonchalance and distance
to protect you

knock them down

breathe into life
choose joy
celebrate gratitude
find beauty

let these things
make you strong
then reach out
connect with another

this is the time
now more than ever
that you must open
and pour yourself
into the world

love yourself
love your life
love each other

now is the time…

…………………….

Right now is the time isn’t it? And what a joyous time I had yesterday. Tommy and Kaitlyn called to say they were coming to help me get my Christmas tree and had brought along two helpers….Rutledge and Lachlan…they were babysitting. I told Tommy we could use all the help we could get….and boy did we get some.

At the lot Lachlan had fallen asleep (sleepy little tiger) but Rutledge had already picked out “the tree.” Tommy and Kaitlyn helped get it out and home and we were on our way. I stopped and picked up lunch for everyone…trimming a tree takes lots of energy!

But you can’t put a price on elf help!

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Success! Drum Roll please: The Dingle 2016 Boo Boo Christmas Tree! The Perfect Christmas Tree ( I am a  sad that this is the first Christmas without my friend, Gloria Houston, author of this most wonderful Christmas story in the world…Gloria will live on forever in the hearts of children and adults every Christmas!)

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Knowing that Tommy and Kaitlyn were coming this weekend to help me trim the tree…I got busy and started decorating…still a little left but I am pleased with getting Christmas started “just this very moment.”

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I spruced up the old mantle wreath by adding more pine cones, popcorn, and berries.

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I got this painting that I hang on the wall in the Happy Room each Christmas at Tuesday Morning probably ten years ago and it still makes me smile every holiday season…it just puts one in the spirit!

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So until tomorrow…Love your life and love it now…imperfections and all!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

It was certainly my favorite night!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TIGERS!!!!!!!

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