The holiday hurry

The busy days are still here. Our Christmas was put on hold for a week (flu in the ranks), so I still have presents under the tree. The ingredients for Christmas chili are standing by. I'm still making lists and checking them twice.

In the midst of this busy-ness, I thought about Mary and Joseph... how fortunate they were to live in a calmer time ("all is calm, all is bright", right?) Why, even I could concentrate on important spiritual things, with a schedule like theirs. No hustle, no bustle...

Then I remembered their trip to Bethlehem.

Someone had to make sure that Mary was aware of the latest in natural childbirth techniques (Joseph too!). Someone had to plan the route, pack the donkey, arrange for food, round up clean swaddling clothes, push through crowds, etc, etc, etc.


The times were different. The push to get things done? Ever present.

Mine the choice to keep the King of kings in His proper place.

...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

The Christmas program

Usually, I am on this side of a Christmas program.


This year, long after I thought the coast was clear (read as all parts were filled), I was asked to participate as a reader.

Today, at the final practice, I find myself on this side of the program... looking at the backs of Sunday school kids instead of their faces.


Although I miss seeing the program, and listening unpressured to beautiful music, I have the privilege of reading some of the most significant words of the season...

But He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.

And she brought forth her son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Philippians 2:7, II Corinthians 9:15, Luke 2:7)

It has been a good thing...

A new perspective

I have been away from home. In the past 12 days I have: visited 5 states; watched grandkids "star" (in my world view) in Christmas plays and programs; done my post-op "Nona" duties; cooked, baked and cleaned in other people's kitchens; accomplished some Christmas shopping; discovered wonderful treasures in out-of-the-way antique stores.

One of my antique treasures was buried in a pile of early 20th century Sunday School teaching boards - a copy of a painting, "Arrival of the Shepherds" by Henri Lerolle. I had never seen it before, but it has brought new insight to my view of the manger scene.

Add to that painting the lesson for my 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class yesterday. The lesson described the shepherds searching for the angel's "sign" - a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

I have always pictured the shepherds going straight from the flocks to the manger... not wandering through Bethlehem in search of the one stable that held the promised Saviour. They followed the star that marked the spot (I assumed). How wrong I have been... the star is never mentioned until the Wise Men arrive - many months later.


So, with new eyes, I see the manger scene. With new understanding, I feel the wonder of the shepherds as they finally find the right stable. With greater appreciation, I notice Joseph's surprised face as he discovers rag-tag shepherds observing his family moment.

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift...

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:12

Works in progress

Life is getting seriously busy. Christmas provides the perfect excuse for me to play... it's all part of that list that I'm checking twice (hum a little tune here). But, it does get a bit scary as the deadline approaches and the list is still long, so the play-time gets serious about... oh... NOW!

Because you never know who might be peeking, I'll just show WIP from the last few days.

Trying to perfect a parchment wrapper isn't as easy as it looks.

This is too round...


too big...


getting close...



And the cards. How I love to make cards. I know what happens to cards after Christmas, but it doesn't matter. I just love making cards.


So that you can still act surprised if a box of parchment wrapped goodies arrives at your house, or you get a cHim Prints card... vague photos will have to do for now.

I hope you're having as much fun getting ready as I am.

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Psalm 100:2

Thanks giving

Thanksgiving... it seems that it would be more appropriate if that were two words instead of one.

The family that could, met in Indiana and we used every possible excuse to celebrate something.

Eating...


Aging...



Shopping... in the middle of the night!


It was fun... we should do it again next year!

At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgements. Psalm 119:62

Learning a new language

It's that time of year again. You know, the time when the search is on for the perfect stocking stuffer.

Unlike the stocking stuffer suggestions from most jewelry stores, I seize upon useful, little, homemade items that help fill the stockings right to the brim. (Yes... we still fill Christmas stockings for our kids, kids-in-law, and their kids. It's too much fun to give it up.)


This year, I stumbled upon tawashi. I am so excited! It fills every requirement:

1) practical
2) compact
3) handmade
4) sooo cute!

However, when I started my quest for patterns, I discovered this...


...the best patterns are in Japanese! Thank goodness for Al Gore... the "World Wide Web" provided a way to interpret this gibberish without enrolling in a crash course in Japanese.

What? You don't know what tawashi is? You think I'm going to spill the beans when my recipients just might read this? Ha!

You'll have to search on your own... and my girls are not allowed to look. It doesn't matter how old you are... stockings should be full of surprises!

Give me understanding,and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Psalm 119:34

I'm not ashamed

This has been going around facebook lately.

let's see how many people on fb aren't ashamed to show their love for God and admit that Jesus is their Savior. We need to get God back in America. If you're not ashamed, copy and paste this in your status! I am not ashamed!!!!

I have been slow in joining this wave. Maybe it's the writer in me... but if you ask me to proclaim something this personal - I won't want to do it with a copy-and-paste. So, here's my personal declaration -

When I was very young, every night at bedtime, my family gathered in the living room. Dad read from the Bible and then talked to us about what he read. We finished the time together on our knees, each of us praying our "Now I lay me"s and then off to bed we went.

I remember one particular night like it was yesterday. Dad read John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He explained that our sins separated us from God, but that Jesus died to take our punishment. If we believed this in our hearts and asked Him to forgive us, then the sin would be forgiven, the separation removed.


I don't know how much of this my 4 year-old brain understood, but my heart was convicted. I went up the stairs that night thinking, I need to do this. I got ready for bed thinking, I need to do this. I laid in my bed, waiting for Mom to come in and kiss me goodnight, thinking, I need to do this. When she arrived in the doorway of my darkened room, I said, "I need to do this. I need to ask Jesus in my heart."

That night, on my knees beside my bed, I asked God to forgive my sins. Although I didn't understand the theology of the moment, I knew from that moment on, that I was a child of God, forgiven, soooo loved that He would give His Son to save me. I have been blessed to have known such grace for so many years.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth... Romans 1:16

Will you just look at this?

It is interesting to see what the changing seasons reveal in the yard.

The delicate pink Lily of the Valley turns into red berries.


This fungus appears on an old tree trunk. I'm sure it wouldn't qualify as edible, but it is an interesting combination of color and texture.


This miniature rose is just plain beautiful. It shows off when I least expect a spot of "pretty".


For anyone that lives in an area that only has two seasons - nice and nicer - I suggest to you that you really are missing something wonderful... autumn.

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. Psalm 145:10