Tag: Christmas

Christmas, More Than A Day!

Wikipedia defines Christmas as “an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ”. I can tell you it is so much more than that!

Yes, there probably are festivals in some places. A lot of people do get caught up in the traditional things like music, parades, pagents, lights and gifts but that is not the “why” we celebrate.

We don’t even really know when Jesus was born. We just know he was. Wikipedia says December 25 but if you really read the Bible it suggest that may not be when he was born. Ultimately the date is unimportant. The traditions and celebrations we enjoy are unimportant compared to the event itself.

You may or may not know that Mary also was a virgin birth. Her birth in no way has the significance of the birth of Christ but may be a link as to why she was chosen to carry God’s son. Even though her place in society may have been insignificant at the time in God’s eyes she was very important. She held a place of honor among all women. Still, she was just a women.

It was a normal birth but not a normal event! God so loved the world that he gave a part of himself to humanity. He survived on earth as a man but taught us so much about life and spirituality. He gave us the tools of salvation and suffered for us. He was no ordinary man! His birth forever changed the universe. Whether you are a believer or not the reason we celebrate Christmas is not that he was just born but that his entry into our world was to save humanity.

This Christmas while you are enjoying the traditions of Christmas make sure you include Christ in the reason you celebrate. Have a wonderful Christmas.

God bless you all.

Christmas Shennigans

We did something different this year. We decided to go to view a local floatilla. While there were no bands or floats this was the best kind of parade. We were able to sit in a great location and watch the boats glide along in front of us. While unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any pictures I can tell you it was very colorful.

I am trying to find different things to do this year to make the most of the season. While I am not a shopper I have done my share recently. Normally I might would buy online but with the frequent shipping delays you just have to ask yourself if it is worth it!

Trying to be budget friendly I watch for sales and try to buy things that are practical not whimsical! Don’t rule out those auction finds either. It is a great way to find odd things or antiques for that certain someone in your family that just goes wild over vintage glass.

This season don’t forget to either donate money or better yet your time to a local charity. And don’t forget about our veterans.

In the new year I hope to post more, do more photography and be more motivated to create and share my adventures in camping with you. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you.

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Christmas Greetings

My Christmas Corner

While the picture is not clear and lacks definition, the meaning is clear. There are gifts galore amidst a less than perfect tree. I too am less than perfect. There is a little village like Bethlehem town and a manger too where shepherds gathered round.

The last two years have been tough on all of us. While some are without jobs and some have lost loved ones, I feel particularly grateful.

My heart goes out to the families that have had a loss. Also to the families hit by the tornadoes while your loss may be great, you are still here.

While the evil in this country tries to tear us apart we will now and forever stand firm in our faith. As we get ready to celebrate with family and friends I hope you really enjoy each and every moment as time is so precious.

Despite the covid threats, don’t be afraid to be with loved ones. The time you spend with them is more important than the virus you may or may not spread. It is time to stop living in the “what if” and start living in the “right now”. The moments you lose cannot be replaced.

I wish you all joy and much happiness now and throughout the new year. Thank you all for following my blog this year and hope you continue into the next.

May God richly bless you and keep you safe.

MERRY CHRIST-MAS!

Beast of Burden

When you think about Christmas what do you think of? For most people it is gifts and lights and family celebrations.

So many people seem to have forgotten why we celebrate Christmas. I want to take you back now to that cold night. Mary, was riding on the back of a donkey. A simple beast of burden carried this most precious of cargo. He had not eaten or rested, but was proud to perform his duty this winter night.

When it came time for her to be delivered, the donkey was amazed at the sight. Instead of his usual beastly cry he spoke for the first time “Truly God is now on earth”. Even he was shocked. The cows and the lambs bowed down before the holy child whose head was now adorned by a halo of light.

It was a magical night. A night that would never be forgotten. This was not the last task for the donkey however. Some thirty years later one of his sons would be called to duty for another important task. This time it was to carry Jesus to his final destination. That Sunday when palm leaves fell at his feet, was he aware that was Jesus’s last ride? Did he speak a final farewell to our Lord. That answer we will never know.

While there were a lot of people that crossed Jesus’s path, it was the donkey that played a role in both his birth and his death.

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

This year has certainly been one for the books. Dispite all the negativity I have tried to remain positive, devoted my time to the arts and my spirit to my Lord.

My wish for you is that you and your families will remain safe and well and that the future will be full of hope.

More importantly, keep Christ in Christmas.

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Christmas For Pets

You know I could not resist the temptation to create something for my dog, Rocoe. While it is not the best design I have come up with I did it in less than thirty minutes so what can you expect.

He was all snuggled up in his quilt when I disturbed him to try this on.
While he was less than excited about his new attachment, he tolerated his Mommie’s desire to be crafty.
His very large ears make it not easy to wear conventional hats.

While this was done in humor, do not forget your pets during Christmas. Provide them with an extra toys, snacks or even hats. Rocoe was very sleepy when he modeled this but was very cooperative.

Do something special for your pet today! They deserve your love and respect. In addition to the hat, Rocoe got lots of his favorite treat.

The Christmas Star

In anticipation of the magical event the media predicted, I took my camera and went out into the field behind my house. I got these shots of the sunset.

The interesting events were at 4:30 EST it was still very cloudy with no blue sky to be seen. At 5:00 when I went out the first time to set my camera up the sky was completely clear.

There was no planet alignment seen until about 5:38 EST. It was underwhelming to say the least. You may still be able to see it for a few more minutes depending on where you are. While in the field it suddenly appeared when it had not been there even minutes prior. If you looked at the center of the horizon and then halfway to your left and a quarter of the sky up, you could clearly see a planet. I was undecided as to whether or not that was it until my husband said, “see there’s another one beside it”. Sure enough when I looked again I could see a shadow of a ring on the right hand side of it.

It was not nearly as bright as I had anticipated but I still thanked God for the opportunity to view it because I am certain it must have some meaning that I am not aware of.

I am sure you will get a better view on your local news as my camera was too small to get a picture of it.

Happy star gazing.

And Then There Was A Tree

It’s not very pretty and is very small. There are only a few ornaments on it and a few I made.

My former coworkers would be proud of me because this is the first tree I have put up in almost thirty years. Oh I tried a couple of times only to turn right around and take it down!

The problem with me and Christmas is that a tree and gifts is not what I celebrate. When my son left home as a young man I was devastated. He didn’t just move down the road, he moved several states away. I opted not to put up a tree because I had no other children and no grandchildren that were close enough to celebrate with.

Over the years our relationship became more strained and eventually nonexistent. I went through the motions with my family but enjoying celebrations of faith meant more to me than a tree and commercialized Christmas.

This year has been so different. Two weeks before Thanksgiving my son contacted me. Already my miracle of Christmas has happened so I decided putting up a tree could not be so bad.

While my main focus of Christmas is still celebrating Christ’s birth, guess I will try to now add a little tinsel to my life.

Keep Christ in Christmas!

Christmases Past

Parades
Family and kids galore
A Father’s Love

Our Christmases of the past make me wonder what this Christmas will be like, for sure nothing like the last.

My Mother always enjoyed Christmas and last year was no exception. She laughed and ate well but somehow I knew it would be her last and three days later she did pass.

The parades we may have no more. As a family we have decided to take a risk and still get together. Family is not something we are willing to comprimise on or have the government tell us what to do. Families shape us in a way nothing else can. They define our moral structure, they support us when we are in need and celebrate us when we succeed.

After all, in sickness or in health our Heavenly Father still joins us. He still supports us and still celebrates with us even if our earthly family is unable to. Even if you do not have family, reach out to help someone to have that special Christmas.

This year is particularly hard. We have had many losses. Our Mother was our greatest loss but we have also lost our freedom to show our face, our religious rights and the right to an honest election. The old saying “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” is true for the most part. While we struggle to regain our footing, our faith is something that will never waiver even if we can’t attend church. I carry my faith with me. I am not ashamed of it and will always protect it. I am very vocal about my rights and desires to live a normal life and do not apologize for that. Dispite the evil in this country, I still stand for American and what our forefathers fought for.

Whatever your plans are this Christmas, keep Christ in your plans and hold your family close to you even if that means being six feet apart!

God bless you all.