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Posts Tagged ‘christmas’

It Has Been

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged Back to work, blessings, celebration, christmas, Christmas Break, counting sleeps, FAMILY, Gift, it has been, John 4:14, Life, one more day, time, time off on January 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As I arise on this final day of a two week long break, I open my eyes to all that has been accomplished, as well as all that has not been completed. images-1

Two weeks away from work, away from school, commitments, pressures and deadlines will end tomorrow (Monday) morning when the alarm rudely rings at 5:55am.

It has been a time of celebrating, both Christmas and New Years. It has been a time of cocooning within our own four walls, with times spent with friends, and times spent with only our Fab 5. It has been at time of intense cleaning, purging and sharing of our stuff with others. It has been a good time.

As the two weeks of celebration and relaxation come to a close, as the New Year is barely underway, thankfulness fills every part of my being. It has truly been a blessed break.

Time is a gift that is so sweet, so very, very sweet. It is something we all have, although often is short supply. It is something that we love to give, something that we give grudgingly. It is something we either have too much of, or not enough, and never the right amount at the exact time we need or want it most.

When our children are young and demanding we desire more time for ourselves, more time away from our children. When we grow old we desire most to spend our time with our children, we dream of the days when the demands tired us, we regret that the busy years are gone.

When we are young we count sleeps (okay, some of us do not outgrow this stage … but, I digress) to the times and events that we look so forward to, when we are elderly we awaken and count the blessing of awakening for “one more day.”

I regret the end of this time of break, yet I have lived long enough to know that I am blessed to have been given the gift of this time. I was also blessed to have been away of the gift that is was before the break began, resulting in a return to work with less regrets and more sweet memories to take into this work week, and new year.

Christmas break 2012, and Christmas itself, has been the sweetest Christmas in my memory. I will leave this house, and separate from hubby and the kids with delightful memories to sit back and ponder with great thanksgiving.

It has been …

… yet there is so much to be, if I can appreciate every day in this intentional, thankful heart of blessing of the gift that this time is for me, for we.

“Your life
is like the morning fog–
it’s here a little while, int
then it’s gone.”
John 4:14

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Do You Hear What I Hear?

Posted in christmas, Guest Post, WONDER, tagged 1 kings 19:11-12, busyness, Charles Swindoll, christmas, do you hear what I hear, guest post, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Listen, quiet, sales, season, Shopping on December 2, 2012| 2 Comments »

images As we begin to adjust to the moving of the calendar to December, we can no longer deny that Christmas is coming.

Truly one would have to live as a hermit in the forest to have not been noticing it for weeks already. Our mailbox is stuffed with flyers, our inbox is stuffed with admail, and our grocery stores are stuffed with more than the usual amounts of food that we should only eat in moderation.

Another giveaway of the impending holiday season is that our calendars, daytimers and schedules are packed with activities, parties, concerts and celebrations.

Since way back on the hottest day in July, when shopping at a wholesale store and seeing that Christmas decorations filled one aisle, I have been aware that the Christmas that I celebrate, is not the one that is loudest at this time of year. I sighed, and began the mental preparations for the noises of the season.

My guest post today is one that I have shared before, but the video that holds the message is different.

It arrived in my inbox one day last week, almost drowned from my inbox by the dozens of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale advertisements. As I hit delete for the twenty-ninth time, I almost didn’t open this message, but decided to check it out.

And here it is, give it a look, no …give it a LISTEN

“… but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.”
1 Kings 19:11-12

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Old to New: The Weight Loss DiaBLOG – Month 5

Posted in Weight Loss DiaBLOG, women, WONDER, tagged accountability, Busy, Change, christmas, diaBLOG, diet, losing weight, Move, myfitnesspal, Old to New, pounds, Reward, Ten Ways to Not Blow the Diet, think ahead, weight, Weight Loss on November 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“ONE is the loneliest number …”
the Beatles

The Weight Loss DiaBLOG – month five! This month has produced (or removed) the hardest fought to get rid of one pound!

The good thing about this one pound loss is that it has put me out of the teens, and I am now twenty pounds lighter! Clothes are feeling so much better, and the ones in my closet that have been gathering dust, due to snugness are now anticipated to be wearable in another five to ten pounds (well, that is just the slightly dusty ones … there are levels of dustiness in my closet that indicate the gradual weight gain over the years like rings around a tree).

So folks, Christmas festivities are just around the corner, and we need an action plan! I am sure that you can agree that we do not want shortbread cookies, nuts, festive beverages and stuffing to ruin our months of effort! So, now is the time, before you are offered, “just one little appetizer,” to think about the strategies you might use to either not gain, or maybe even lose weight in December.

Here are my Ten Ways to Not Blow the Diet:

Food Is Not Reward – No matter how well you and I have done in the past year, cocktail wienies are not the prize
Move – Standing at the party is not exercise. If there is dancing, step out on that dance floor … the worst that can happen is that you look like Eilaine from Seinfeld (see below for a little chuckle).
Quality Friend Time – Cream, fat and carbs. are not the vehicles to meaningful friendships. A visit with a friend over a simple tea, coffee or while taking a walk on a street that provides window shopping are great ways to visit without the additional caloric treats. Spend an evening catching up with each other instead of exchanging gifts, and you will both save money too!
Don’t Always Say No – It is okay to SAY YES TO THE DRESSing, if that is your favorite part of the festive feast. Skip some other part of the meal, or ensure that you are more active that day and the next. Eat what you want, just do not risk not getting back into that little black dress!
Write All That We Eat – Whether you are using a computer program, website, app, or paper and pen, commit to writing down everything that will go into your mouth, every day (yes, Virginia, there is the ability to write it all down on Christmas feast day).
Friend Someone – one IS the loneliest number, especially when we are trying to eat more healthy! Find a friend (NOT a skinny one … that would just be depressing!) that is also trying to eat more healthy, and use each other as daily accountability partners. Two is better than one!
Don’t Overbook – trying to lose weight means be alert to the choices you are making. Don’t allow your holidays to be so busy that you have no time to think and make the best choices possible. Busyness can be our biggest enemy to eating healthy and exercising regularly.
Think Ahead – Before you go to that holiday party, before you go to visit your friends and family ~~before you go to the staff room~~ think about your P.O.A. (plan of action). We are more successful when we take the time to think ahead, and plan what we are going to eat.
Less Is Best – Just because those yummy chocolate truffles are on the table does not mean that you and I need to eat the entire bowl full! If you really want one, eat ONE, and enjoy every moment of it! Multiples do not multiply the enjoyment, only the waistline!
Our Bodies Are Our Home – Lets take care of these vessels we were given to live this life in. I am hoping to be youthful and active as I age, but that does not come from living a sedentary life now. Move it, or lose it … that is the reality we live with in the bodies we have!

Have a Merry Christmas!

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A God Thing?

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged a God thing, charity, christmas, donate, fundraiser, GOD, God's timing, homeroom, obligation, Passion, School, skateboarder, Students, transparency on November 26, 2012| 4 Comments »

Sometimes things happen, words are said, events enfold, and the lack of human intervention into how they enfold makes me thing that the events are fully and completely a God thing.

This happened last week.

I have the privilege of co-leading a homeroom at the high school I work with a teacher who is about as laid back as myself. We both want the group of students to feel that it is a place of freedom, of acceptance, of our genuine concern and interest in them. We do not meet that often for homeroom events, but both the teacher and I are intentional at catching up with the individual students when we see them in the hallways.

Recently we had a homeroom event scheduled and I was feeling insecure. The goal of the event was to consider three fundraisers that are happening in our school over the next number of weeks (through a number of videos and discussion), and to commit, as a homeroom group, to a specific fundraiser and goal. If I know one thing about myself, it is that I am NOT a salesperson! And the thought of failing miserably with these very valid, very worthy fundraisers put a true spirit of heaviness within me.

Thankfully, I do not lead this group alone!

The teacher spoke of having a passion for helping others, and of helping others out of that passion rather than just obligation, pressure or guilt (I was secretly ‘amening’ her message). Then the discussion, from the students, went a little downhill … although it was wonderfully honest and sincere. The overall comment was:

“I can easily donate _____ to one of the causes, but it really does not have any real meaning for me.”

So, then the teacher asked them, “what do you want to do to help someone else?”

The door to transparency was opened, and what followed, well, I believe was nothing less than a God thing.

It became apparent that the students were looking for something or someone to help that they could relate to, that they could more personally know to whom their gift, their money was going.

For whatever reason, I mentioned a local family (a single dad and two sons) who was being given Christmas gifts by the staff of a retailer I was taking a student to for Work Experience …

Instantly questions started firing:

“How old were the kids?’
I thought there were two boys, about thirteen and about ten.

“What did they like?”
I wasn’t sure, but said I could find out later that day.

“Did one of them skateboard?”

… this is where one of the students became passionate. Not a student who I would have expected to become passionate … one who spends more time with administration that with classroom teachers. His tongue was loosed … “I’ve got lots of skater t-shirts, and even new jeans that I don’t wear,” and on, and on he went.

The resulting conversation was that I would get the details for everyone, and see if we could piggyback on the retailer’s staff gifts. The students (and teacher and myself) agreed to bring in $5-10 each, and gifts for these kids would be bought. The students left the room … excited, passionate!

The teacher and I were pumped! And oh, how we hoped and prayed that one of the sons was into skateboarding!

Well, the store agreed to allow us to join in … and maybe even join in the delivery of the gifts.

I was wrong about the family …

It is a single father, but there are three kids:
a seven-year old boy (who loves baseball),
a nine year old girl (who loves things frilly),
and an eleven year old boy … who “loves skate shoes, skateboarder clothes, skateboarding …”

I believe it was all orchestrated by the hand of God …

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A Conspiracy

Posted in christmas, life, WONDER, tagged advent, Advent Conspiracy, Christ Mass, christmas, conspiracy, conspiracy theories, consumerism, International Justice Mission, Living Water International on October 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have to say I love a good conspiracy theory! I truly believe it shows great creativity of mind to think that the way things are may not be how they could be.

There are many conspiracy theories, but my favorite is probably that JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis are all together, alive, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Maybe Princess Diana is there too!

A conspiracy does not have to be about famous people, or about deaths (or, presumed deaths). A conspiracy is simply a plan to do something out of the norm, strange, unique. For instance, our kids are constantly conspiring to get their dad to say yes to a cat (I, of course, would NEVER be in on that sort of conspiracy 😉 ).

There is a conspiracy that comes up each year about this time. It is a conspiracy to do something different, very different!

Just two short months from now is Christmas Eve, and you don’t have to celebrate it to know that it exists. From now on, every time you go to the mall, the grocery store, listen to the news, or open a newspaper Christmas will be the topic of the day. The only thing is it is not the Christ Mass (communion to celebrate the birth of Christ) that the day (or season) was originally about.

Christmas, as society celebrates it, has little to do with the babe born to the virgin girl, as sacrificial offering for the redemption of our sins. It has more to do with buying, busyness, baking and booze (I love alliteration). This is so far from the celebration mass for the babe in a manger! This is so far from anything that God himself would want for His children.

Advent is the season of anticipation, the season of waiting and preparing for the Messiah. It is a season which culminates in worship.

The following video is one I seek to watch, and inspire myself each Christmas season (for the past five or six). I encourage you, and me, to do Christmas differently … for the sake of ourselves, our families and others (who are so much more needy) around the world.

The Advent Conspiracy works with two organizations:

International Justice Mission in its efforts to bring rescue to victims of slavery (including sexual exploitation), prosecute the perpetrators (under the laws of that local country) and to change the justice system worldwide to protect individuals.

Living Water International seeks to get clean water to some of the 884 million people worldwide who do not have safe drinking water. This absence of clean, safe water means disease and death for so many. Something we take for granted, is so easily available to us, is gold to much of the world.

Consumerism does not equal:
Happiness
Memories
Meaning

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Survived

Posted in life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged christmas, goals, laundry, lunches, new school year, routines, School, summer break, survival, survived the first week, Thanksgiving on September 7, 2012| 8 Comments »

So, that 6am sky is darker, and the air is chillier when I let the Beast out for her morning ablutions. The bags under my eyes are baggier and my coffee need greater. The laundry basket is fuller and the refrigerator is emptier. The energy is s o m u c h l o w e r and the to do list is so much longer.

The fall routines of back to school have begun, from earlier wake ups, to lunch making, to mounds of laundry (what exactly does everyone wear in the summer that causes the amount of laundry to double once school starts?), and now we are all eagerly awaiting the best part of the first week of school … the weekend!

When students and school staff walk out of the school doors this afternoon, when moms and dads bring their minivans full of childhood or adolescent bodies home, when parents park their vehicles on Friday evening, a sigh of relief will echo across the land.

This afternoon marks the end of making lunches (and driving them to school midday when they call to tell you they forgot it at home), the end of early mornings, the end of papers to sign, and an opportunity to relax and take a breath from the marathon that is the first week of school.

Truly, if we still have the energy and ability to read this post, lift our delivery pizza to our mouths, and flip the TV channels we can say that we have survived. I’m not talking thriving, just surviving!

The newness of pencils and papers, shiny running shoes, and finding out who the teachers are for the year have all come and gone, and next week it’s all just the regular routine. And, I have to admit, I like it. I fall into this routine so quickly, so easily, so naturally. It has been the routine of my life, minus my baby birthing and rearing season of life.

After all, a school year allows you to make countdowns …

only eighteen school days until Thanksgiving weekend
only fifteen weeks until Christmas break
only nine and a half months until summer break …

What can I say, goals are one of the keys to survival!

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Are We There Yet?

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged are we there yet?, awaiting, Be Still, christmas, Control, presents, Psalm 46:10, there on June 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

I have many memories of spending hours and days in preparation for a long distance trip, by car or plane. Then, just minutes after leaving our home one of our children would cry from from the backseats, “are we there yet?”

It is the most familiar cry of family road trips. It is acceptable, and even humorous to us, because it comes out of the lack of awareness and experience of a child’s understanding of place and time. If our twenty-something year old were to ask that same question, in the same context, it would not be as acceptable or humorous.

That is how it is with how we deem something to be an age-appropriate response or action. We consider the maturity level of the person.

A burp or toot from an infant is ‘cute’ but anything similar from your hubby is inappropriate and distasteful.

We watch our toddler race toy trains, planes and automobiles, encouraging them to ‘go faster’, but a new teenage driver who participates in street racing is ridiculous, and should lose their license.

These are the double standards of moving forward, of maturing, of growing up.

Are we there yet?

It is also our innate, human cry. Our bodies cry it from our first breath, until our final exhale.

We spend most of our lives trying to identify, trying to find ‘there’. We are like the child in the back seat, too young, too immature to understand distance or time. We just know that we are going, and we want to be ‘there’ so that we can discover what it is.

‘There’ is like a present, placed under the Christmas tree too many days before the due date to unwrap it. It sits, and waits for the mysteries inside to be revealed. We do not know if we want what it contains inside, we just know that we want it to be fully revealed to us, but it is not time for that.

Waiting for the right time is not something that I do well, or naturally, and I do not think that I am alone in that.

Like that child awaiting the right time to open the gift, I just want to get on with it … whatever ‘it’ is.

Being of advanced years, I am starting to learn something about the season of waiting. I am learning it is not empty time. It is not a waste of time. There is a purpose in this season of waiting and anticipating.

In the season of waiting, there is opportunity to to not be that child in the back seat, but to be one of the maturity to notice the beauty along the way. We can learn that age-old lesson to “be still.”

Somehow, to we mere mortals, “be still” sounds like a demand, and, for the impatient like me, it sounds like a punishment.

There is more, though, to that age-old lesson. The lesson comes from the Psalms (Psalm 46:10).

It says:
“Be still, and know that I am God”

When I read beyond those first two words, I sense not a demand or punishment in it’s message to me, but an opportunity to let the chips fall where they may.

It is like someone giving me money to play the slots. It did not cost me to play, so, win or lose, I get to pull the handle and still walk away without having had to gamble.

Unlike that child tortuously awaiting the appointed time to reveal the contents of the beautifully wrapped box, I can enjoy the presents of today, knowing that God has not only the appointed day in control, but also what is contained in the wrappings.

Are we there yet?

No, but each day of anticipation is an opportunity to trust in the God who already knows what is awaiting me.

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The Star in the East

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged christmas, The Star, The Star in the East, The Story, The Wise Men on December 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Being in the East, where the cities and towns are smaller and less inhabited, I have the opportunity to see the stars in the night sky so much more clearly. The sky here does not have enormous trees, sky scraper buildings and gargantuan mountains to shrink the size of the sky.

My family here gets fatigued of hearing me say, “the sky here is so big … it goes on forever.”

The Bible speaks of the star in the east, leading the way to Bethleham, where Jesus, the Messiah, was born. This star was an astronomical wonder, and it was the unexpected messenger of the so very expected message for the Jews, of their Messiah.

The ‘wise guys’, the Bible tells us, were so captivated by the changes in the sky that they took the most excellent adventure in the Middle East. They were men of science, they were men of books, they were highly ‘crainial’ guys who saw something in their study and measurements of the sky that was so unique, they had to leave their observatory to see what this was about for themselves.

They were not content to wait for the journalists, or market researchers, or social media types to tell them about it, second hand. No, they were knowledgable and wise enough to know that they needed to see it for themselves. They sought out the truth for themselves.

As Christmas is in our thinking, why not research for ourselves? Why not investigate the story of Christmas? Why not see for ourselves the story that is still being taught, more than two thousand years later?

Follow that star … it might lead you to the most beautiful place of wonder, this Christmas season.

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Through the Eyes of a Child

Posted in christmas, FAMILY, WONDER, tagged Amazement, Be Still, Children, christmas, Christmas Lights, Five year old, Psalm 46:10, Wonder on December 20, 2011| 2 Comments »

Being on the East Coast allows me the opportunity to see family I rarely get to see, and I’ve had this privilege twice this year.

This past weekend I got to see my youngest nephew. He is five years old (that is a handful of fingers for those of you who have not had the honor of receiving a reply from a five year old, to the question “how old are you?”). He is cute (as a button … what on earth does that mean?), never sits still ( 🙂 love that part), and totally brilliant (and, if you were to ask his grandparents … do NOT do that … a very long monologue will be in your future … and you are not the one talking).

My favorite part of spending time with him was when he said ‘yellow’ … pronounced ‘Lellow’. Could there be anything more preciously perfect than a child who mispronounces words? I love it! How is it that pronouncing a word wrongly could create such delight in my soul?

Everything is exciting for this little guy (and, by the way, I would NEVER refer to him as a ‘little’ guy to his face … he thinks he is an adult). And he even has future plans … romantically. Apparently he has a girlfriend in daycare who he is planning to marry, and if that doesn’t work out, there are other possibilities. Gotta love a guy with options!

While he was at my parents he eyed a snowman decoration (I’ll Be Home for a White Christmas) that he was more familiar with than me. It was a simple, ~~tacky~~ cute ( 😉 ) beaded snowman. And when Little Mister picked him up, and pushed a button, the snowman lit up, in colors that faded from one to another like the colors of a rainbow.

Then, the real magic began.

Little Mister stood there, delighting in the color changes, and the shining of the beads, for the longest time. It was a moment of joy, amazement and wonder. He was captivated by the simple beauty that he created by pushing the right button. So simple, so beautiful … not the snowman, but the reaction of wonder that it caused. He was still.

What captivates me? What makes me stare in amazement? What causes me to wonder … to really wonder to the point of stopping all that I do to be amazed?

This is the season of wonder. This is the season of amazement and captivation. This is the season of miracles and a gift giving so grand that the celebrations have lasted for a couple of thousand years.

But, do we stop long enough to be captivated in wonder? Can we, like that delightful nephew of mine, be still long enough to see the beauty of the light that came down at Christmas time? That is the challenge.

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I’ll Be Home for (a White) Christmas

Posted in canada, christmas, WONDER, tagged christmas, Christmas Decor, Christmas Tree, East Coast, Home, Mother, Nativity, Snow, Snowman on December 19, 2011| 3 Comments »

Woohoo! I walk out of a quickly filling big box store, just nine sleeps to Christmas day, and snow flakes are starting to fall from the pregnant clouds. I am in the right place!

I have been humming “I’ll be Home for Christmas” since my son and I boarded the plane on the west coast, heading for the east. And now I get to hum “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” (okay, confession time, I have been humming that since November first … but, I digress).

It is so good to be here, at the home of my birth, as the Christmas season is in full motion. I get to see my parents, my brothers and their families, other family members, friends and old familiar places.

I am discovering that the one way that my mom and I are not the same is Christmas decor. She LOVES it! I usually twiddle my thumbs all Christmas day, hoping my family will let me take the tree down on Boxing Day (it often comes down around the New Year … sigh).

For instance, there are snowmen EVERYWHERE around her house! They are in every room (the bathroom could be called the snowman room (kind of makes you wonder if that is where snowman ‘poop’ came from. She could have a store, and make a mint, just by selling her snowmen.

Then there are the Christmas dishes (sets, mugs, glasses, serving dishes) that fill her china cabinet. There are not enough family members to utilize all of them.

Then there is the tree … I feel inadequate just sitting in the same room as her Christmas tree. It is … perfect! It looks better than any tree in any store that has been professionally decorated! I would not even post a pick of mine on the internet!

I do love how my mom hangs on to things (some things). My mom has on her refrigerator a nativity that she has been putting on her refrigerator for (we added it up) over thirty-five years. It was on a bag of “Ben’s” bread. Mom used her sharp eyes to cut each piece out perfectly (she is the queen of the line, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right the first time” … therapy is the only cure for that one … just sayin’). Then she wets each piece and presses it to the fridge, in a perfect line.

All joking aside (otherwise my mom might send me packing for defaming her 😉 ), the time here will go quickly, I am sure. It is such a blessing to be able to be here at this time of year. Nostalgia is reigning in my mind and heart! Now if the snow would just hurry up and show my son what a real snowstorm is!

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