Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, to all those in the blog-o-sphere! Christmas is a joyous time to celebrate our Savior, to celebrate our families. I hope it has been a day filled with family and loved ones, laughs and giggles, and many wonderful new memories.

I spent Christmas day at work. No one enjoys working the holidays, especially Christmas! But, I was reminded today how hard the holidays are for so many people around us. I watched a little boy cry as he rode the gurney to his room. He only wanted to be at home with his family opening presents. Instead he got needles and respiratory treatments and medicines. Yes, Santa came by and said hello. Yes, we gave him a big bag of gifts. I did my best to make it better but he wasn't home with his family and he wasn't feeling well. It reminded me that although the holidays can be a wonderfully joyous time, it can also be a time full of heartache for so many. In the hustle and bustle of our festivities, let us not forget to show love to those around us who are ill, who have lost loved ones, who are lonely...to show love to those with aching hearts this Christmas.



And I hope in the bustle of today's activity, you had a moment to stop in wonder and amazement that the God of all things came to this earth as a baby with the intent to be the Savior of the world! What a glorious thing to remember and rejoice in! I am so thankful that He loved me enough to be willing to do such a thing as live a life on this earth as a man, knowing full well how His journey would end. I suppose He looked beyond the pain of the cross, knowing that it would bring about the true end...the salvation of our souls! And, as much as He didn't look forward to the cross, He was able to endure it because of His love for us! What a great, immeasurable love we have had bestowed upon us!!

Christmas Cards...to be or not to be?!

This year, I have failed. I have failed to send out Christmas cards! To be perfectly honest, I struggled with what to do for Christmas cards and so I got overwhelmed and just didn't do it! I didn't know if I should send a card with a picture...and if I did that, what picture (or pictures) would I use? Or, maybe I should make cards. But, I ran out of time. Maybe I should send out a Happy New Years card instead. Or maybe I should just buy them in bulk and sign them and mail them. But, then that lacks the personal touch that I prefer. So, I decided that I just didn't have enough Christmas spirit in me to go through with Christmas cards this year. Maybe I'll make it a tradition to be fulfilled only in odd years!! So, I suppose I've just committed myself to sending cards to your mailboxes next year! Be on the look out for your card...in about a year!



In the meantime, I'm really enjoying all the cards everyone is sending me! I love seeing the pictures of the kids growing and hearing about what everyone has been doing for the year 2008! So, even though I am not sending any out this year, I absolutely love the excitement of checking the mailbox every day to see what new cards I've received! So, thank you all for that!! :-)

Although I may be lacking enough Christmas spirit to send out cards, I had enough to get my Christmas tree up earlier this month and to get all my Christmas shopping done yesterday! Woohoo! Now I just need to start the wrapping!

A Look in a Book

"This is the message of the Bible, that God has chosen the weak and the base, the nothing and the things that are not to confound the things that are. All God demands of a man is his availability--to be what man was created to be, the human vehicle of the divine life, inhabited by God for God. That God may be Himself--His size in terms of what you are on earth, in your availability to Him. What you are is totally irrelevant--nationality-wise, money-wise, education-wise, personality-wise, and any other wise, if only you will recognize the principle that it is God that works in you, to will and to do His good pleasure. The only ultimate source of divine activity in all spiritual life is God Himself--'Christ in you the hope of glory' (Col. 1: 27c)."

*The Saving Life of Christ, by Major W. Ian Thomas, p 66-67

For the Beauty of the Earth!

The last few days I've woken up in the morning, praying that the Lord would get me safely to work. It's a well known fact that nurses do not get snow days. Rain, snow, sleet or ice...the show must go on! For me, this means waking up an hour earlier....looking out the window to assess the weather and the roads and then watching the 5 AM news to determine the best route to work. Then, I bundle up (scrubs are not known to be warm and toasty in this wintery, blustery weather!), hop in the car and slip and slide all the way to work!

You would then think that once I arrive to work there would be at least 12 hours of relative calm and normalcy compared with the morning commute! But, no! The madness continues throughout the day! So you might understand how wondrous it was to get safely home last night. I pulled into my snow covered driveway and stepped out of the car. Before I stepped into the toasty warmth of my house to enjoy dinner and a cup of tea, I had to take the trash to the curb for pick up in the morning. Normally when I do this task after dark, I'm petrified...scurrying to grab the trash can, drop it at the curb and run as fast as I can to safety. But last night, there was only peace and quiet. There is just something about snow...all of the sudden everything seems so bright in the night...and so calm and quiet. It was beautiful to just take a moment to enjoy that peace and quiet that seems to have overtaken the city...or at least my neighborhood!

So, in the midst of the busyness of this season, the craziness that ensues with the snowfall, and the madness of life, I hope you take a moment to stop and enjoy the beauty of this earth that the Savior of the world designed and created!

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!
Isaiah 6:3

For the Beauty of the Earth
by Folliot Pierpoint

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild.

For Thy Church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love.

For the martyrs’ crown of light,
For Thy prophets’ eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors’ might,
For the lips of infancy.

For each perfect gift of Thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of Heaven.

Refrain:
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

A Look in a Book

"A Look in a Book." Thanks to Jenica for coming up with the name for my new series of posting various quotes and thoughts from books I'm reading. So, here's my first post as we look forward to many more to come!! I hope to enjoy great discussions with you as we "look in a book" together!

The presence of the living Christ, by His Spirit within you, imparts to you all the things that pertain to life and godliness, all that you need to live a life of righteousness and nobility of character....

...He not only reconciles you to God by His death, but He saves you moment by moment by His life; that is to say, He died not only for what you have done, but He rose again to live in you, to take the place of what you are.

His strength for your weakness!
His wisdom for your folly!
His drive for your drift!
His grace for your greed!
His love for your lust!
His peace for your problems!
His joy for your sorrow!
His plenty for your poverty!

This was God's purpose for His people...He desires that the natural man...might become the spiritual man--filled with the Spirit of Christ, alive unto God as an instrument of righteousness, destined for heaven.

*The Saving Life of Christ, by Major W. Ian Thomas, p 40-41

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

I Love Books!!

I've been reading lots of books lately...in fact, if you ask me how many books I'm reading right now, I don't think I even know! When I've got a moment to read, I just grab the book that's closest to me and pick up where I left off. I've bought so many books, I've run out of bookshelf space! I'm now storing books anywhere I can find a space...in the bedside table, in baskets, in my purse!! Books are everywhere!!

I've also taken up the habit of reading with a pen in hand. I used to be sooo particular about my books...no markings, be careful of the pages, etc. But, no more! I am a reformed reader! I now keep that pen near by and I mark all over the place! I underline, I write in the margins...whatever it takes....I do it!!

In light of this book reading habit I have, I've always got thoughts racing through my head about various posts I'd like to write about to share with all of you in blog-land. But, in my perfectionist ways, I get overwhelmed and never actually write! Sooo, I think I'll just start picking quotes in the books and post them...sometimes I might add a thought or two. Other times I may not. Basically, I want to write some of these quotes down somewhere (I've obviously chosen here for for all of you to join in on the fun!) so that I can remember them because in spite of all the highlighting and underlining, my memory still stinks and I know I won't ever be able to "find" these great quotes again without great searching!!

I need your help...Can you help me come up with a catchy name or acronym for these posts?

Stay tuned....a quote will be coming to a blog near you soon....