Good Tidings

It's been a good week here in Sunny so far. On Monday I had breakfast with a friend named Patti. Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend named Patti. I may need to form some sort of club as I realized I have quite a few Patti's in my life. That's a good thing, as they are all wonderful women.

The traffic has been horrid here since we've had a smidgen of rain. Southern California does not handle rain well. We go a bit loopy. And it's so stinkin' cold! Down in the 60's no less...

O such trivial matters... This past week has been so heartbreaking with the tragedy in Connecticut. First being spellbound to watch the news, now it's almost unbearable. Knowing children died was hard enough ~ but seeing their faces and hearing their names is sadness beyond belief.

Our prayers have been and will be with all the families affected for many months to come. Their pain is unimaginable. Their grief will follow different paths and eventually they will work through it. But that is not the same as getting over it. How does a parent ever get over losing a child? Or realize it was your cousin or brother who was responsible for all the devastating horror?

In the midst of it all we have Christmas. God with Us. The Prince of Peace.

No Whining Zone

If you've eaten at this restaurant, you'll recognize it immediately.  If not, well, I'm not going to get caught up in the whole advertising-on-a-blog debate...

I'm here with my cousin Bob and my very good friend, Claudia.  We've each had some fairly rough years recently.  But in the midst of it ~ look at those smiles!  Just look!  Some seasons of our lives are like that.  "Like what?" you may be asking.  Times when you're just not sure if getting out of bed is worth it.  If making dinner matters.  If wearing clean clothes is a good idea, because you can save time & effort on laundry if you wear those jeans just one more day.

Life has its ebbs & flows.  (The only person I knew who ever used the phrase "ebbs & flows" now resides in heaven.)  Good seasons come and bad seasons follow.  But regardless, God is with us.  There's never a better time to remember that than during Christmastime.

Long ago, God came to Earth in human form.  Mary wore pale blue.  The angels sang and the cows moo'd.  And then far too few years passed, and the Baby was hung on a tree.  Not a beautiful Christmas tree with garland, lights and ornaments. It was a rough, dirty, scandalous tree.  And on our worst days, in our worst seasons, during our worst times, none of us can imagine what it was like.  The pain, the agony, the horror.  All to give us a future and a Hope.

And because Christ came, because He loved, because He Is ~ We can make it.

~



Angels on the Tree

An amazing lady came over to see me yesterday to check in and enjoy a cup of coffee.  She's been there for me - for years.  And now I want to be there for her.  Her son is facing a rough battle, but we're confident he'll make it.  That's probably enough said at this time.  Will try to keep you up-to-date as he walks through it all...

Regardless ~ we were discussing angels and worship and music and dance... O it was such a wonderful afternoon!  Then we began looking at my Christmas tree.  I realized that above all, angels are the most common type of ornament on the tree.  I wonder why that is?  Is it like that in your home? 

Music is and always has been a huge part of my life.  You'd think I'd have a lot of instruments, treble clefs or singing elves.  They're there, of course, but not like the angels.  There are short ones, fat ones, skinny, heralding, ceramic, glass, tin, homemade, Precious Moments, cheap-o from the drug store ones.  All helping to announce the birth of Christ.  Just think.  That's right.  A lot like us.  We come in all sizes, colors, types, varieties and such ~ but to Baby Jesus, we were all the reason for his journey.

That's kind of hard to wrap my head around.  Some days (and today might be one of those days)  I can't imagine being worth much of anything to anyone, especially Baby Jesus.  But I am.  And. So. Are. You.  Imagine. 

You are loved.

Merry Christmas!

We know from Scripture that some angels are large and powerful.  Think of Michael or Gabriel, for example.  We know some have wings, but do all of them?  I wonder if an angel ever needs wings.  When Christ came back to Earth after  his resurrection, He just appeared in many places.  (Mark 16)  He didn't need to "fly" or "transport" at all, He just was.  He was there.  And there.  And there.

How amazing that must have been for the disciples to see Jesus appear to them instantly.  Imagine their world.  They'd never even heard of Star Trek and the ability to have Scotty beam someone up.  Most things moved at an incredibly slow pace.  Just collecting water for your camels could have taken a week.  It all depended on how far you lived from the water well.

We can't honestly relate, can we?  Reading the Christmas story in the gospel of Luke, I try to imagine what the angels sounded like on that hillside making their announcement to the shepherds.  Was it like Handel imagined when he penned the score to "Glory to God" or the familiar "Glo-o-o-o-ria" we sing in church during the Christmas Eve service?  What my mind can dream may be only a very poor picture of what it really sounded like that night. 

I like to put a cow or two next to the angel in our Nativity scene in our home.  Don't you wonder what the animals thought about that night?  Don't you wonder if they knew Who they were hosting?  I think the littlest angel told them; little angels can rarely keep secrets. 

Angels Watching Over Me

 

 

Oh the memories this picture brings ~

 

I had this print in my bedroom as a young girl.  My mother loved it.  Frankly it scared me to death because I thought the kids were ready to crash into the waves every time I looked at it.  Isn't it amazing how differently we see things based on our perspective?  Mom took comfort; I was ready to call in the troops.

 

Now that I'm a grown-up, I tend to take more assurance that there is a large angel somewhere near me and hopefully he is watching out for me.  Some days I wish my angel would close his eyes, but most of the time I'm extremely glad to know angels are part of God's creation. 

 

Have you ever felt like an angel was right there with you?  I'd love to hear from you this week if you have.  Let's share stories.  And maybe an angel or two will get their wings. 

 

 

Enjoy today ~

Oh Dear Sister Sheri...

Thank you so much for asking about how Max helped me cook our Thanksgiving meal.  As you can see, he's quite the assistant in the kitchen.  When I need say, a stock of celery or perhaps a carrot, he's right there helping me find it in the refrigerator.  "Look Mom!  It's right next to the cheese!  Our fabulous cheese!!"  Or perhaps searching for an onion ~ here he comes running...  "Look Mom!  It's right in the cupboard next to my box of treats!  Wouldn't this be a fabulous time to give me a treat, Mom?"

Oh such silliness.  But in the midst of smoking a turkey for 8 or so hours, setting the table with the finest china, making sure everything was coming together beautifully... When Max stood up like this to check on the mashed potatoes, I had to grab my camera.  And yes, the potatoes were the best part of our dinner, blessed with extra love and laughter!

Now if Max learns how to pick up the wooden spoon and stir things, that will be an entirely different post Sheri!

Time for a New Start

Is anyone here?  It's been 13 months since I've visited Grace Today, which is far too long.  The random question Blogger posted to me as I was updating my profile was about mud mixing with dirt and asked me what I thought clay was...  That's easy. 

Clay is an opportunity to be molded again and have  a fresh start.  It's been that sort of a year for me.  I'm no longer on staff at the church working with the wonderful creative artists that were my dearest friends.  I'm no longer popping in on my son and his lovely wife, Honey.  Last February they moved up north about five hours away.  We're so proud of them.

But Master Max is still here.  He thinks he's definitely in charge of our house now, and honestly, he probably is.  He helped cook the Thanksgiving meal, keeps all critters out of our yard and is trying his hardest to stay away from the Christmas tree. 

Life is full of new adventures and I'm searching to find the best way to find the best ones.  Is anyone else in this stage of life right now?  Anyone else wondering exactly how God is going to answer their prayers? 

We do know this.  God sees.  He hears.  He listens.  And He does care.  For today ~ that's enough.

~