For a Year That Is New ~

a warm hand

to

guide you

 a kiss

to

delight you

a trusted friend

beside

you

a

little bliss

to

surprise you

a

heart of gratitude

and

of course

a

smidget of chocolate

~ ~ ~

may

your New Year

be filled

with the treasures

that

make your heart sing

~ ~ ~

JO'S BOYS

by

Louisa May Alcott

the inscription

reads

"to Dr. Conrad Wesselhoeft

this very inadequate tribute of affection and respect

is gratefully inscribed

by

his friend and patient,

the author"

~ ~ ~

for those of you who live in temperate climates

the gloves worn here

are

fingerless

to aid in text messaging and the like

some of us

who keep our thermostats

set a bit lower

find them useful when reading or typing

to keep our hands warm

{somebody please tell me I'm not the only one who does this!}

the truffle

is

a Hershey's kiss

the "Bliss"

is also by Hershey's

Simple Silence ~

 The frost performs its secret ministry

unhelped by any wind.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

 

 

Prepared ~

[click to enlarge]

according to the label
this is good for the immediate relief of:

chocolate cravings

love sickness

exam pressure

mild anxiety

and

extreme hunger 

Directions for use:

tear off wrapper

break off desired dosage

and

consume

~ ~ ~

I definitely sense an impending emergency

one that will require
more
than one
dose

Silence ~

{click to enlarge}

Desiderata

Mercy ~

"and

as the snow

comes gently down
its soul

intent to reach the ground
to

cover scars

the world still feels

perhaps to give them time to heal

 for as men invest in money
and

professors

in what they know
God invests in mercy
like winter invests in snow"

~ ~ ~

TSO

The Wisdom of Snow

For You ~

May your day

be

filled

with beauty and peace.

Cradled ~

His love

humbled for us

in

a cradle

~ ~ ~

may that mess

with

your heart

in

a most wonderful way

today

and

everyday

A Christmas Prayer ~

peace

on earth

~ ~ ~

and the angels

sang

Luke 2:14

Father's Hands ~

 Cradled in my hands
I soak in
once again

the warmth

of

his heart and life

 

Large

  they were

Gentle

  carving, creating, crafting

Hands

  that labored

  soothed

  guided

  helped

Father’s hands

  I feel them

  warmly

Embracing

  wood, forest

  quietness

  family

  friend

My father’s hands

  instruments of love

~ ~ ~

my father took up the hobby

of carving

the

last ten years

of

his life
~ ~ ~

This is a repost from December of 2009

in

memory
of him

and

his quiet gentleness

Wonder ~

Only those

who

look with the eyes

of

children

can lose themselves

in

the object of

their

wonder

Eberhard Arnold

Hope ~

For those who live with loss and pain of any kind, the Christmas season can be a difficult one. It's been on my heart to share this letter with those of you who are reaching out in hope in your difficult circumstances. It is a letter that I had written to a friend a couple of Decembers ago when we were discussing hope and what it entails. I apologize for its length ... it is my hope that in some way you will be blessed.

~ ~ ~

Dear Friend,

Being neither a writer nor a teacher, I can only offer these thoughts and trust that in some way you can integrate them into your revelation on hope and faith.

There is a family story that has been recounted on various Christmas Eves throughout the years. The story involves my brother, who was about 7 at the time, and a much longed-for bicycle. He had it in his mind that he wanted a bicycle for Christmas that year. He wanted it with his whole heart, but he also knew finances were short and that there was a good possibility there would be no bicycle under the tree. There were many practical reasons for him not to hope. But still, he hoped. 

It was the custom in our family to go to church on Christmas Eve where my brother and I would participate in the children’s Christmas program. Afterward, the church people would hand out stockings to the children. The stockings were usually filled with oranges, apples, peppermints and peanuts. These were a real treat in the late 40’s and early 50’s. When we arrived home, we would have a special supper of ham, rice pudding and various other goodies. Then, and only then, the gifts that were under the tree could be opened. On this particular Christmas night, my father had put that longed-for bicycle under the tree between the time we left for church and the time we arrived home. Parents do those things, you know. Here was the bicycle that my brother so desired. Could he see it? No, for some reason, the object of his expectant longing was hidden from his eyes until that moment, that fullness-of-time moment (gift opening time) came. And then, the joy of seeing the object of his hope! It had been there all along. Such excitement ... he wanted to take that bicycle out on that cold December night and ride it immediately.

So, why this story. According to one definition hope means: To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future. We ask in faith - hoping, believing, expecting - for that which we do not see. The answer is there - just as the bicycle was there. But we don’t see the answer until the time is right. The man that sat by the Gate Beautiful had been sitting there for quite some time. Why at this particular moment did he hear those life-giving words, “Such as I have, give I thee. Rise up and walk!” And immediately ... imagine the thrill of that moment, the thrill of not just hearing but actually seeing, the wonder of the strength that flowed into his body and raised him upright on his feet. He was asking, begging as it were, for alms - how much more he received instead. The word “beautiful” that is used in this particular verse means “the fullness of time.” It probably didn’t seem immediate to him, he had been sitting there for what seemed like forever. And consider God’s beloved Daniel. He had been praying, seeking, asking, and finally the angel showed up, only to tell him his prayers had been heard right from the start. 

I get excited when I read Romans 15:13 in the Message Bible - “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” The color green denotes life and growth. So it should be with hope ... continually growing, producing more life.  

Let’s look forward with hope, with eager anticipation to the manifestation of those things that we pray for. Let’s be thankful as we wait on the Lord and see the working out of Romans 5:1-6 “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us - set us right with him, make us fit for him - we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. 2 And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. 3 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, 4 and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. 5 In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary - we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 6 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway.” Message Bible

Faith, hope, love. These three - a threefold cord can’t easily be broken. Don’t throw away your faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God. Don’t throw away your hope, for it has great reward. Don’t throw away your love, for it is the greatest of these. And perfect love casts out fear.

Envision ~

vision

is

the art

of

seeing

things invisible

Jonathan Swift

Dream ~

if one dream

should fall

and break

into

a thousand pieces,

never

be afraid

to pick

one of those pieces

up and begin

again

Flavia Weedn

Even Though ~

Though the fig tree does

not blossom

and

there is no fruit on the vines,

[though] the product of the olive

fails

and the fields yield no food,

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and

there are not cattle in the stalls,

yet

I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!

The Lord God

is my Strength, my personal bravery,

and

my invincible army;

He makes my feet like hinds' feet

and

will make me to walk

[not to stand still in terror, but walk]

and

make [spiritual] progress

upon my high places

[of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!

Habakkuk 3:17-19

~ ~ ~

these words stand

framed

in

my home

a

reminder

that it is not

about

what

but about

Whom 

that

my heart rejoices

~ ~ ~

 Peter Pollock

is

hosting

the blog carnival today

the

chosen word 

is

REJOICE!

 

Wings ~

when

your wings

might

fail you

 

His

will uphold

and

protect you

~ ~ ~

For You have been my help,

and

in the shadow

of

Your wings

will

I rejoice

Psalm 63:7

Borrowed For A Challenge ~

to

borrow a phrase

from

Neither Use Nor Ornament

I

would

entitle this

"Watchful Waiting"

~ ~ ~

there were 17 other pairs of feet

present

13 pairs of them belonged to the bell ringers

that

came from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

to

share their Christmas joy

~ ~ ~
in response to a B/W photo challenge

by

Claire Burge

on

High Calling Blog

Hershey's Knows ~

we're all

kissed by angels

but

some of us 

never think to pucker

  Terri Guillemets

 

may your week-end

be filled

with

sweetness and Light

Called to Be Light ~

On the Eve of A Morn ~

Shuffled footsteps echoed in near empty hallways

as a nurse delivered meds

to

the four patients who remained

and a doctor stood

perusing orders.

All others had been discharged

in anticipation of

the

Christmas holiday.

It was rumored that at this particular hospital

a miracle occurred each Christmas Eve.

Speculation ran high among the staff

and

the four patients lay hoping.

Of the four

two were middle-aged loggers with large families.

They had become the victims of felled trees

that had missed their mark.

One was a young woman

recently paralyzed

expectant with

both hope and child

her first.

The fourth

was a teenager

with a head injury

who had words left unspoken for months.

So on this night

when a star speaks direction

and angels sing good news and peace reigns

there was great hope

hope that was no stranger to great despair.

As the evening

slowly slipped away,

anticipation hung heavily in the air.

Would there be

and

who would it be?

Quietly the word began to spread.

two words

Christmas words

first words

since his young finger

had

squeezed the trigger

that

he had hoped

would end his life

of

desperation.

despair … anticipation … hope … miracle

All on the eve

of

a Christmas morn.

John Greenleaf Whittier ~

"Snow-Bound"

The sun that brief December day
Rose cheerless over hills of gray,
And, darkly circled, gave at noon
A sadder light than waning moon.
Slow tracing down the thickening sky
Its mute and ominous prophecy,
A portent seeming less than threat,
It sank from sight before it set.
Of homespun stuff could quite shut out,
A hard, dull bitterness of cold,
That checked, mid-vein, the circling race
Of life-blood in the sharpened face,
The coming of the snow-storm told.

~ ~ ~

to view this poem

[written

by

John Greenleaf Whittier]

in 

its entirety

please visit

here

~ ~ ~

this

is not

a black and white

photo

it is the color

of

the day

Wherever You Go ~

"Go in peace,"

the priest replied.

"For the Lord

is

watching

over

your journey."

Judges 18:6

An Opening ~

"all the windows

of

my heart

I

open

to the day"

John Greenleaf Whittier

this is the day
the Lord has made
let us rejoice

and

be glad

in it

Psalm 118:24 
 ~ ~ ~
linking with Cassandra's window views

Upon A Night ~

The following is in response

to

Dave's Noel Ghosts

and

giveaway

{click to enlarge}