Thursday, December 31, 2009

Year's End.....

"...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead..." Phil.3:13

Forgetting those things which are behind.....hurts, misunderstandings, being mistreated,
mistakes, failures, frustrations,...

Things to remember.... renewed friendships, God's faithfulness, love of family and friends,
golden moments...things you've learned to make you a better person.....

Reaching forward....to put others before you, to learn to love unconditionally, to bless a neighbor,
meet a need of someone else, to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, to deepen your relationship with the Heavenly Father and perhaps your earthly father or mother or sister or brother,
to be all that you can be...boldly step out...take that leap of faith that's been tugging at your heart...
to treat others as you wish to be treated, to show mercy....
to live each day to the fullest, making the most of every hour and stopping along frequently to
"smell the roses"....... selah.....

Ending...

Beginning...

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Such a lovely day!

Climbed into my Xb this morning and headed to my first assisted living to teach a Bible study.
Met a new couple...just charming and had a special time praying individually with each
one there and after praying with one woman in particular, I saw her whole countenance change... right before my eyes! God is so good!!!

Back in the Xb and down the road to assisted living #2 to visit my three friends and teach a mini-Bible study. We had such a nice time! How loving and gracious they are!

Home for an hour to have lunch with Mike and then out again.
This time it was to a friend's house to have a lovely visit with a few ladies. We were treated like royalty...crystal, silver, china, toasting with sparkling cider, delicious goodies and just enjoying each other!
Four hours later I headed home only to run in for 15 minutes and then out to our favorite place for Mexican fare.
Then the hunt was on.....where to find our Fre wine....alcohol free, that is, for welcoming the New Year.
Store # 2 had it! Whew! Thought we were going to have to hit every Harris Teeter on this side of town!

Now it's time for sweet dreams .....

What an absolutely lovely day!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Settling down......whew!

Life is getting back to normal...whatever normal means!

We've been socializing since the week BEFORE Thanksgiving and now we seem to be "settling
down for a long winter's nap"...or at least staying home a bit more.

I will work in the house which hasn't recouperated from dragging out Christmas decorations,
in one room especially...known around here as the "black hole". You do take your life into your own hands when you enter...just ask Mike!

Christmas decorations will come down sometime this week or weekend but winter ones will remain...snow villages, snowmen, and the tree on the porch is still quite fresh and I can't bear to take it down anytime soon!

We will welcome in the New Year very quietly. Over the years we have come to prefer a nice quiet evening, just the two of us! We watch a movie, watch the ball drop, kiss at midnight and have our Sutter Home Fre...non alcoholic Merlot, toasting in the new year!

Looking forward to reading by the fire and keeping cozy warm on these upcoming winter nights!
AND of course we're always on the lookout for SNOW!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Emmanuel.....

Emmanuel.... "God with us".....Wow! How incredibly awesome is that????

We don't really know the exact month, day that Christ came to earth as a baby
but this is the time many have chosen to celebrate His birth.

So now I'm reflecting on this marvelous "happening"!

Emmanuel, God with us....the Word became flesh....and dwelt with us...
ON EARTH.....

God with us....here and now....

The Best Gift of Christmas...Jesus...our Redeemer King!

Thank You Father....thank You for CHRISTMAS!

A Tribute To A Great Lady

Dellana Zabel was a unique woman of God! She IS a unique woman of God and now she's with Him on this Christmas Eve of 2009. She just left earth and has gone Home!

Dellana was "a rough and tumble cowgirl" from the West...for real!
She was a strong lady in so many ways. She and her husband hiked different parts
of the Appalachian Trail for many years and she loved doing it.

The very first time I met her, the Lord told me that she was a "diamond in the rough"
and He was right!

She was a prayer warrior and God told her things and those things would come to pass!

She was also a very generous person who gave of her time, gifts and talents, and finances to bless others and that's what she was...a pure blessing.

There were some who never really knew her, who really couldn't appreciate her "uniqueness",
who couldn't get past the "roughness" and those were the ones who lost out on knowing this special lady.

Even though we hadn't seen each other in about a year, we communicated via e-mail at various
times and she realized one of her dreams...she wrote and published a book of her life as a testimony of how God could transform a life. I will cherish that book..........

She also knew how I enjoyed Starbucks and for the past several Christmases, she and Will sent me a Starbucks gift card in the mail...this year's came Tuesday afternoon and I never had the chance to thank her.

As I write this through my tears, I am one to say that she will be greatly missed and that my life was made a bit more "richer" because of this one special lady.
I thank God for bringing her into my life for a season and yes, I will see her again when my work is done and our Father calls me Home.

Monday, December 21, 2009

What Dream Angels do in their spare time....


Bet you didn't know that Dream Angels play Nintendo DS!
Our Dream Angel, Makenna is the one on the left in each picture!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Winter Musings.....

The Nutcracker sweetly sleeps, for us, until Herr Drosselmeyer works his magic to awaken
him once more...next December!

Of angels and mice, flowers and sugar plums, Snow Queens and Snow Kings with their entourage
of dancing snowflakes...these are beautiful visions that bring a warmth of
memories on a chilly, frosty night.............

John Boswell says it so well...
"Winter...is a time to gather golden moments,
embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour."

Each performance was truly a "golden moment"....

So many golden moments just waiting to be gathered!
Winter is just beginning!
Won't you share those golden moments you're gathering?

Thursday, December 17, 2009

I heard....

"I heard a bird sing
in the dark of December

A magical thing
And sweet to remember."

Oliver Herford


This is how my early morning began!

Couldn't sleep...downstairs for coffee...piled back on the bed
in the lights of Christmas while darkness lingered at the windows... and it seemed as if the bird
was sitting on my window sill.

Truly "a magical thing and sweet to remember"!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

It's Nutcracker Week!

The Union County Youth Ballet performs the Nutcracker Friday and Saturday with two casts.

Our oldest granddaughter will be a "Dream Angel" this year. This is her fourth year to be a part of this very special production!

I especially have enjoyed being a part...running her to practices, performances.
It's something I look forward to every year.

Last night April and I sat for over three hours watching the dancers "dance their hearts out"!
Several times I had tears in my eyes.

This is yet another way we celebrate the Christmas season...a very special tradition!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Spontaneity!

What a wonderful word, for the most part!

During this Christmas season, while many festivities are planned, some for weeks even,
"spontaneity" still works!

On the spur of the moment we met dear friends at a movie, then a restaurant and then
we went next door to a Starbucks, making for a late but perfectly delightful afternoon and evening. As we visited, sipping our coffees, I thought to myself...this is exactly how this beautiful season of Christmas should be celebrated...being with dear friends and family...those you love...
just enjoying their company..."good conversation" as our friend, Brian would say!

Another special event was a neighborhood get-together and it was so much fun...fun seeing neighbors you rarely see, fun meeting new neighbors and then a dinner with more dear friends.

What a perfectly delightful weekend!

We're enjoying the Merriest of Christmases! It isn't about the gifts...it's about the people...about the love of friends and family...love that God gave to us in Jesus and how that love spills over onto all we open our hearts to and those hearts receiving this priceless gift!

Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Not THIS Morning!

Okay...have to admit!
I DID NOT have my morning coffee on the porch....28 degrees...

However I did enjoy my coffee before a lovely warm fire...so cozy!

I even had to bundle up to feed Miss Darcy and the birds and haul wood.

Needless to say I've been in most of the day!

BUT.... I DO love this weather! Come on SNOW!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

"These are a few of my favorite things"

A few of my favorite things......

early morning coffee on the porch when "baby, it's cold outside" and the sun begins to shine on my face....

late, chilly afternoons when the sunlight streams through the den and living room windows, resting on the sofa where I sit....

dusk....need I say more?...just dusk, a magical time of day...

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wednesday's Winding Down

We made our weekly or bi-weekly trek this evening-the continuing saga of "the Christmas light expedition" !

Neighborhood after neighborhood beckoned us and we winded our way down street after street.
Beautiful homes, some simply decorated, others brilliantly shining.
Since I maintain a child-like take on life, for the most part, I love the ones with thousands of lights and we found the perfect one tonight! Every window and every part of the house was outlined in white lights-front and back, bushes, trees! A carousel of reindeer riding elves was pure delight! As we approached the lights spectacular I found myself "lighting up"!
I'm still at the "oohing and ahhing" stage of life...plan to always be in that one!

It was a wonderful way to wind down.....ahhh.....

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Simply beautiful...

Andrea Bocelli's Christmas special tonight was one of the most moving, inspirational concerts I have ever experienced!
He seemed to encapsulate all the "specialness" of Christmas in this one program.

I was moved to tears in his singing of several of the old carols...the very heart of Christmas
spilling out all over the audience and coming into our den.
It truly was a holy moment as I felt transported right before the Throne of the Almighty God!
And then all I could do was whisper His name...Jesus, God with us.

I even cried when Natalie Cole sang "The Christmas Song" with him. I could see her father and remember how I loved hearing him sing that very song.
(I was raised on Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby...etc......it's in my blood!)

His rendition of "Jingle Bells" with the Muppets was priceless!

He ended with "White Christmas" and as he sang, "snow" gently fell all over the stage...
a perfect ending to a perfect evening....

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Christmas with the Treasures


Our Christmas party went very well Friday afternoon. Men, women, youth and kids from our church and some friends from another church came out to bless the Treasures!
At the table are three of my very special friends... from left to right is Doris, Pearl and Jackie! We had five tables of Treasures.
They ate and sang and laughed!
It was quite a delicious afternoon!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Traditions

The holidays are full of traditions. Traditions handed down to us...traditions we've started.

Putting up the Christmas tree or lighting it on Thanksgiving is a tradition we've had for many years.
As a little girl, many years after our Thanksgiving dinner, we would go to the Carousel Parade.
Then later that evening our parents would take us back uptown to see all the lights!
How we enjoyed the magical windows of Belk's, Ivey's, and the rest. How we loved driving under the lights suspended over the streets of Charlotte!

Another tradition is the Advent wreath. Ours is in the middle of our dining area table, surrounded by greenery. I no longer use the traditional colors but have chosen white candles
instead. To us they represent the purity and holiness of Christ.

Driving around several times a week to look at the lights is another tradition Mike and I began.
We're like little children! We travel our favorite neighborhoods and see who has decorated. We've done this so long that we know how most of the houses were decorated the year before!

One of our favorites "hosts" Rivendell or so we have named it! A small cascading waterfall and architectural lights scattered about makes for a magical scene no matter the time of the year.
We especially enjoy it at Christmas! We turn down our Christmas music, roll the windows down and just listen to the waterfall. Heavenly...quite heavenly.

We've others but they are for another day!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"Let Heaven and Nature sing!"


This is my favorite tree in our house. It really reflects me...who I am.
I love the woods, the birds, squirrels, deer, the rabbits...
I love nature...I always "feel" especially close to God outside...on a porch, deck, at the ocean, in the mountains...walking through woods.
It all declares His majesty...His awesome majesty!
I come out early in the mornings with my peppermint mocha coffee and just bask in
His presence...in the beautiful gifts He has given me.
I come out at dusk, my Christmas mug full of warm tea or coffee and do the same.
I become "lost in wonder"..."lost in His love" as the song says.
Yesterday afternoon I filled bird feeders and put out food for the deer. I hadn't seen them in
quite a while but knew they had been coming since the food was always gone.
I briefly thought how I had missed observing them and went about my work.
Supper was cooking on the stove and I came out on the porch with my Christmas mug full of peppermint mocha coffee and sat down...just to gaze at the tree...once again
becoming a little girl who could sit for hours it seemed, just enjoying the magic of colored lights, reflections of decorations and the fragrant tree that graced our home each year.
I even drifted back to trees of my grandparents'. I could see them in my mind.
And then I looked up...and saw our three deer. I smiled and quietly thanked the Father for sending them earlier for me to enjoy.
Coincidence some would say...not me... for I know my Father God...I know Him very well and I know how He just loves to give His children little surprises...each and every day!
Get ready! Be watchful! Look and see how He will bless you...each and every day!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Delectable December!

How I enjoy........

the fragrances of Balsam, Fir, cinnamon, scented candles, the freshness
of the air, Christmas bakings....

the sounds of Christmas music- all kinds, the sounds of laughter, of people
greeting one another, the tinkling of bells...

the sights of colored lights and white lights adorning trees and bushes and houses,
the manger scenes, candles in the windows, Christmas tree lots, wreathes...lots of wreathes on doors and windows, smiles on the faces of most everyone I meet, the beautiful store decorations,
all the greenery that dresses our homes...

the gatherings of families and friends...

the quiet meditations while seated near the tree- almost magical...

reflections of such a Holy time for those who believe...

it's "the most wonderful time of the year"!