I See A Star

I see a star! I am but four and it is Christmas morning. With my father holding my hand, my two brothers, one sister and I take a morning walk down the road by our house.  He tells us to look up and he points out the Morning Star shining brightly in the tropical sky. 

It is a scene I will never forget, the oldest memory that I have, blessing and warming me every time I think of it.



I looked out my window one morning last week and noticed that same (same!) Star, shining so brightly and clearly in the beautiful, cloudless early morning sky...a cold North Carolina one. The almost-sunrise horizon fades into a deep blue and that Morning Star hangs there. Brilliant and captivating, it seems to say "Remember how God used a bright star on that first Christmas night? I am here to remind you to think of Him, our Bright and Morning Star."



I see a star! I see a star!
 I see a heavenly light!
Beautiful star! Wonderful star!
 It shines on a Babe tonight.
My friends the angels are singing:
 "Joy to the whole wide world!
Peace be unto you!" they sing,
 'neath heavens with stars unfurled.
                         -Hilda O. McMillan

"I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star." (Revelation 22:16)

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

December Scenes

No words needed for these, just some scenes and objects that have caught my eyes this month...and that of my camera. Some are Christmasy, some are not, but all are to be admired for one reason or another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll probably add some more later. December isn't done yet!

These are busy days. Do take time to meditate on the many wonderful, heart-stopping, mind-boggling and soul-warming truths of the Christmas story.

 

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given..." (Isaiah 9:6)

 

His Comfort For Our Comfort

We are all sharing in the heartache and grief of the families and friends of the 26 victims in the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. No words can describe the thoughts and emotions regarding this unspeakably senseless act.  Having been committed at this time of the year when those thoughts and emotions are (or should be) centered on the beautiful Christmas story...seems even more tragic and senseless.

To the people of Newtown...

We cry tears, hot tears, for your pain.
We give you warm mental hugs in our effort to comfort you.
We pray fervent prayers that you will somehow find peace and comfort in these hours when such things seem way beyond your capacity to find.
And we offer to you the following verses from the One who knows best how to be by your side through it all...
 

My Favorite Christmas Songs

I love Christmas carols! There are my oldie-goldie favorites of "What Child Is This?", "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" but my current new ones (although they've been around for several years) are "Mary, Did You Know?", "Joseph's Song" and "Breath Of Heaven". (I do not necessarily endorse all of the singers.)

I should put these in a playlist so that they'll automatically play for you here while you read this, but for now just click on each of the above titles for it to open up in another window while you look at these photos that I have made (or will make) into Christmas cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory,

the glory as of The Only Begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

I Am Not Ashamed

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I am not ashamed of the true Christmas story!

 

Although I know that the true meaning and story of Christmas is seen and heard less and less every year, it does not cease to be very disturbing and sad to see this. When I went to the mall last Saturday, I did not see one Christmas decoration that had anything to point to the birth of Christ. Not surprising, I suppose, since those things seem to be prohibited in public anymore.  And when I was looking on netflix for a Christmas video so that some grands could watch it, I only found two (out of 72) that had anything to do with the true Story. One of those was SO old the quality was terrible and the other was mixed with the secular story so...yeah, the choices were less than desirable.

Well, I am only one person and we are only one family on this huge planet called earth...a drop in the bucket among the 7,057,663,328 people that are living here (as of this writing).  But we are doing our teeny, drop-in-the-bucket part to let the world know that we still celebrate Christmas for the REAL reason that it began to be celebrated: the birth of our Saviour and Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. (You can read more about it here and here and here and here-for starters.)

 

My husband has been giving out some different kinds of evangelistic tracts during this year. Here is his most recent one, a button to pin on something. I chose to put one on my purse, in plain view where anyone can see it...

He also ordered this sign to put in our front yard...

(You can order the above items from here.)

   I also make "fotocards". If you are one of those (few) real people who still send real Christmas cards via real mail using real ink, real envelopes and real stamps (sorry, I had to rub that in), you know how difficult it is to find cards that have something in them that refer to the true story of Christmas. 

I like the fact that I can promote the Story of which I am not ashamed! I am also thankful that I live in a country where this is still allowed (to a certain degree). Some of you who are reading this, because you live in "certain" countries, do not have this liberty...but God has allowed you to have internet (yay!) so that you can read this. THAT is one of my special blessings!

 

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe

wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

(Luke 2:10-14)

 

I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. (Psalm 119:46)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...(Romans 1:16)

A Morning Person

 

 














It's amazing, that no matter how difficult yesterday was, one is refreshed by a night of sleep and renewed strength. Perhaps some people work in the opposite way, having more energy in the evening hours, but I find more of that in the morning. Not to mention the motivation that goes along with it!

 

Knowing that, the Lord speaks to me quite clearly (and sometimes loudly) in my first hours of being awake. My prayer is that I will always be sensitive to that.

 

 I want to hear Him and know His heart and His thoughts towards me. They are the precursors to a willing and happy obedience on my part.

 

Pretty Pansies

 

 

PANSY
Round, joker faces that dance with the moon,
Lilting and tilting a flower song tune.
Warm summer sunbeams captured for all,
By round little flowers, so sweet and so small.
Bright pansy colors, a study in light,
Reflecting the moonbeams that dance in the night.
                                           -unknown author
_______________________________________
So it's that time of year again when pansies thrive. Cold wind, frost and snow doesn't seem to faze them in the least. In fact, it seems I hear them saying "Bring on the cold weather! We love it!"

So I bought these indigo-colored big pansies (seen above), placed them in the two pots at the end of the front steps and now rest assured that they will still be blooming throughout the next several cold months (although I won't be staying around to see that). Then a few days ago a daughter bought an assortment of plants...



...and told me I could plant some of the pansies. These are smaller but, oh, so stinkin' CUTE! Some of them have little ruffly edges. How gorgeous is that?! These smaller ones are sometimes called violas but they are both from the same family (or genus for you botanists).
So I picked out four plants and placed them in the basket that hangs on the front porch (remember my petunias from this post?)...



Out with the old, in with the new.

 

Frost in the background. I told ya'!

 

Besides these "red" ones, there are also blue and yellow ones in this crop.

I'm all about close-ups.

 


Did someone say close-ups? Look at that precious fuzziness. Look at those colors!

 

Even the underside is lovely with the sun shining through as she faces the sun.

No matter which color, size or angle you look at, these pansies are a thing of beauty. When the cold winds blow, they shine and are strong. I would like my life to be like that. That "no matter what", people will see beauty and light and strength. Because of Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:17)