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and last but not least
posted 12/1
when i last left off
it was november 23rd
and i still had
seven more days
of thanks to go...
monday 24th
was a hectic day
but full of joy
at the prospect
of our new
employee
who had agreed
to work part-time
to help out...
i am grateful
for this relief
of the workload
which was upon
my shoulders alone...
tuesday 25th
i am thankful
for the smooth
transition of
getting all work
done in time
for our special
trip to see
our friends
for thanksgiving...
wednesday 26th
was the day
25 years ago
that my husband
and i were married...
we had a little
celebration of our own
and exchanged
special cards
before we left...
the trip to pa
was long and
tedious...
we joined many
others heading
out to be with family
on the road...
what should have
been about 3-1/2 hrs
took 7 all told...
but we were happy
and thankful
to arrive safe and
sound and
rejoiced in seeing
our friends whom
we had not seen
for over a year...
thursday 27th
was a joyful day
spent with
marcia, doug and joshua
at a splendid table
full of thanksgiving
goodies and
the blessings
of old friendship
and love...
we each spoke of
our own special
personal thanks
and it was a very
precious day....
friday 28th
i was so thankful
for a day of complete
rest and relaxation...
we ate, drank, played
cards and laughed
until we cried...
saturday 29th
this was a very special day...
a day to celebrate our 25th
and a day for doug and marcia
to celebrate their 30th...
the five of us went to
see the movie australia...
a very touching and beautiful
tale about the forties
and how the war affected
this beautiful country...
entwined with this was
a story about the
sacred rites of the
aboriginee tribe...
i am thankful for this
experience for it truly
touched my soul...
after the movie
it was time to celebrate
the occasion of renewing
our vows....
my husband presented
me with a brand new
wedding ring as my
original one had become
too small for my finger and
i was wearing it on my pinkie...
doug had lost his a while back
and unbeknownst to him
marcia presented him with
a new wedding ring also...
both rings had been packaged
in exactly the same way
and had been bought from
the exact same jewelers...
even though we had not
known of each other's intentions
and live so far apart...
a little bit of whimsy there...
magical and lovely...
son Josh officiated
and it was very touching...
after the ceremony
we all went out for a lovely
meal at a nice local restaurant
and a good time was had by
all! I offer my deepest thanks
for this wonderful day and
for the privilege of having
experienced such love
all around...
sunday 30th
it was time for us
to leave...
it was sad...
such a good time
was had by us all...
in deepest thanks
we arrived home
safely...
the weather
was wet and rainy
but thankfully
no ice or snow...
and the traffic
was kind to us...
exhausted
i fell into bed
and thoughts
of the entire
month went
through my head...
one day at a time...
my special thanks
for all that i have
been given...
both trials and blessings..
it was a wonderful
month
and
i am grateful
for all who have
touched me
and loved me...
humbly i return
it tenfold....
thank you
thank you
thank you
happy december!
posted 12/1
may the blessings
of this wonderful
season
be upon
you all...
Please support THE CURE!Dana Farber's grround breaking MISSION POSSIBLE!
brilliant!
posted 12/6
i love what some people do
to decorate their houses
at christmas...
a very popular one is
the holdman household...
what a display...
just beautiful!
Carol of the Bells - 2007 - Holdman Christmas Display
this is such a beautiful version...
it truly moved me...
and now for something completely different!
(both from marcia - thanks darling!)
She is 88 years old and still drives her own car.
She writes: Dear Grand-daughter,
The other day I went up to our local Christian book store and saw a 'Honk if You love Jesus' bumper sticker. I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a
thunderous prayer meeting. So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper.
Boy, am I glad I did, what an uplifting experience that followed.
I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, and I didn't notice that the light had changed.
It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn't honked, I'd never have noticed.
I found that lots of people love Jesus!
While I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, For the love of God! Go! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, GO!
What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus!
Everyone started honking!
I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those loving people. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love!
There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach.
I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up In the air. I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant. He said it was a Hawaiian good luck sign.
Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii, so leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign right back.
My grandson burst out laughing. Why, even he was enjoying this religious experience!!
A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me.
I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed.
So, I waved at all my brothers and sisters grinning, and drove on through the intersection.
I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared.
So I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away.
Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!!
Will write again soon,
Love, Grandma
holiday stress
posted 12/12
It’s never too late to have a happy holiday
Dealing with stress in the holiday season
by Elizabeth Lesser
Before you continue
reading this, do me a
favor. Put down what
you're holding (in your
hand or your head)—
your shopping lists,
your third cup of coffee,
your date book, the
phone call you should
be making—and sit quietly for just 60 seconds. Take in a full breath, let it pool gently in the bottom of your lungs, and then release it slowly. Inhale deeply again, and exhale with an audible sigh. If you're at work, don't worry what your colleagues might think—this time of year everyone would love to sigh deeply, and often. Inhale again; exhale with a long "aaah." With each exhalation, let your shoulders drop and your jaw relax. Do this a couple of times, with your eyes closed. Let the "aaah" sound emerge from your belly, move up into your heart, and drift out into space as you exhale, slowly, smoothly, steadily… Now, open your eyes, and continue reading.
Helloooo?? Anyone there? It felt good to escape for a minute, didn't it? But come on back—it's that time of year again: the modern miracle known as The Holidays, when into the dark little month of December, we squeeze Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and a myriad of other celebrations, from ancient solstice rituals to the more contemporary rites of school plays, office parties, and community gatherings. Throw into that mix a generous dose of unrealistic expectations, budget-busting shopping, dysfunctional family feasts, airplane flights, darker days, colder weather, excessive eating and drinking, and no wonder that along with "peace on earth, goodwill toward men," we get really stressed out.
But this year you can do something to spin your stress into the gold that is the promise of the season. Here are three ways to light up your holidays:
1. Believe that things can change. Look what happened this year in America! What would have been impossible just 40 years ago—an African-American president elected by a wide majority—is now reality. If a whole society can change its heart and habits, then so too can each of us. This holiday season, make Gandhi's motto your spiritual practice: "Be the change you want to see in the world." Slow down for a few minutes every day and sit in silence. Perhaps down at the bottom of the quiet well of your heart, you will discover some questions brewing in the fertile darkness: Is there someone I need to forgive? Is there something I must say to a family member or a friend? Is my full aliveness being dulled by the fear of change, an old wound, addictive behavior? In the true spirit of the holidays, let the darkness show you what wants to change. The truth will lead you back up to the light, and when the New Year rolls around, your resolution will be tinged with authenticity and power.
2. Recognize that there is no such thing as a normal holiday. Let's start with the word "normal." I once saw a bumper sticker that read, "Normal is someone you don't know very well." This is a good thing to keep in mind always, but especially now, when we assume that the normal people are all having happier, healthier, and more harmonious holidays than we are. We imagine their mailboxes stuffed with Christmas cards and party invitations, their homes decorated in Martha Stewart splendor, and their intact and idyllic families primed for five full weeks of good cheer. I don't know these people, do you? The most effective thing you can do to reduce holiday angst is to wipe the word "normal" from your vocabulary. In my work at Omega, I have met tens of thousands of people from all walks of life. I have yet to meet a normal one, if normal means consistently sane, contented, and capable. And yet most of us hold ourselves up to an unattainable standard of human perfection. The 13th-century poet Rumi called this phenomenon, the "Open Secret." He said each one of us is trying to hide the same secret from each other—not some racy or evil secret, but rather the mere fact of our flawed humanness. We expend so much energy trying to conceal our ordinary bewilderment at being human, or our loneliness in the crowd, or that nagging sense that everyone else has it more together than we do, that we miss out on the chance to really connect, which is what we ultimately long for. Especially during the holidays.
So, here's something you can do this holiday season: Open up your Open Secret. Overcome your embarrassment at being human. Tell a friend that you didn't get one party invitation. Who knows? Maybe she didn't either! Or maybe she did, and she'll bring you along and you'll meet new people—the ultimate Christmas gift. Or maybe together you can go to your local homeless shelter and help the kids decorate the tree—the real spirit of the holidays. Here's another idea: Instead of grinning and bearing your family get-together, finally tell your brother (or mother or father or….) that you're worried about the amount of drinking a family member is doing. Seek support and try to bring some gentle help into the mix. Or how about this? Don't just say "Fine!" when a colleague asks how you are at the office party. Say, "Sometimes all this ho-ho-ho makes me feel lonely." You'll be surprised by the response. Suddenly a mere acquaintance will open up his secrets to you, and soon you'll feel more connected, not only to him, but to the real meaning of the holidays.
3. Be aware that the holidays are about awakening joy in times of darkness. All of the religious parables at the heart of the holidays are about this mystery: how hope can be born out of hopelessness; how home can be found in exile; how celebration can come after grief. Joy is the gold we mine on the spiritual path, but that path traverses all sorts of uncertain and difficult terrains. For guidance along this path, turn to the spiritual teachings of Hanukkah, Christmas, winter solstice, and the lesser-known December holidays. You probably didn't know that December 8 is Rohatsu, which commemorates the day in 566 BCE when the Buddha attained enlightenment. Like Mary and Joseph who found no welcome at the inn, and birthed the baby Jesus in a manger, and like the Maccabees who reclaimed the desecrated temple and the miraculous light of Hanukkah, the Buddha awakened his joy after a long struggle, under the Bodhi tree, alone and hungry. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan Father writes, "Truth and goodness are not always found at the top, but often on the edge and at the bottom. Not in the center of empire, but in the backwaters of Bethlehem." Let the stories of the season help you find friendship, sanctuary, and light in the darkest month of the year.
Thanks for this very helpful tidbit Marya!
general complaints about life!
this was sent to me by dorothy - a friend on facebook - great food for thought...
Zig Ziglar teaches people all over the world the fundamentals of sales and success. Here he tells a story of a woman with a negative attitude who hated her job, shifted her attitude and changed her life.
This video is from his Ziglar Inspire Podcast which I highly recommend you visit. Go here for more info.
shouldn't we all be having this much fun?!
thanks for the reminder Marcia!
Santa and Sarah
posted 12/22
i've been remiss...
so much to do
so little time
to accomplish
it all...
i'm sure i'm not
the only one
saying this...
it's christmas
and a busy time
of year...
but it should
not be so busy
that we forget
all the miracles
that happen
around us...
and i, for one,
am just as
guilty...
though i do try
to be less stressed
less hurried
and less impatient
on such
a wonderful
holiday as christmas...
it is, after all,
the time of the birth
of jesus
and it is important
to remember
all that he taught
us...
it was good advice
back then...
and it is still
2008 years later...
this very touching
story came to me
via email from marcia...
i checked it out via
snopes.com...
and although they
were unable to
corroborate the story
definitively
they did find out
that a person
by the name of
mark leonard
was santa at
this mall for years...
the story originates
from his wife
and was published
in Christmas Miracles
a 2008 compilation
from Guideposts Books...
even without certain proof
i still feel it is
well worth
repeating...
because i really
do believe in miracles
and the gift that god
gave us all...
the ability to heal...
so here it is...
i hope it inspires
you as much
as it did me...
Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at the Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.
"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. “Your friend? Your sister?”
"Yes, Santa,” he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.
Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
"She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed.
"She misses you," he added softly.
Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.
"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.
"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but .." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors.
"The girl in the photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa? Any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."
Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon. He knew what he had to do.
"What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," He thought with a sinking heart, "This is the least I can do."
When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children’s Hospital.
"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.
Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day.
"C'mon.....I'll take you there." Rick said softly.
Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall. Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed. The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day.
A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with a weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.
Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!"
"Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV tubes intact. Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug.
A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.
Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.
As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "Thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.
Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.
As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels.
"Oh, yes, Santa... I do!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you." he said. Laying one hand on the child’s head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease.
He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night.... all is calm, and all is bright..."
The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.
When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own. "Now, Sarah," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!"
He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could – not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.
"Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.
Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed.
Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to Santa's side to thank him.
"My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.
One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.
"Hi, Santa! Remember me?!"
"Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.
"You came to see me in the hospital last year!"
Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy – much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.
That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus. He had witnessed –and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about – this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered,
"Thank you, Father. 'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!"
happy christmas!
posted 12/24
our family will all be together
this christmas
and i have much
to be thankful for...
may your christmas be
as blessed and may
all your wishes come true...
with love to you all
wisdom for the new year
posted 12/30
Missing Child
Cedrika Provencher
