New Years Eve at our house is such a special night for us. It's the one
holiday that we get to spend with a certian group of our family. Our
families have all gotten so big that we decided to get together on New
Years so everyone could spread out in the places they needed to be
during Thanksgiving and Christmas. New Years Eve is also special for
me in other ways. The first thirty years of my life the end of a year just
meant...Thank you Jesus I survived through that one! The last couple
of years though it's become more than that for me. It's become a chance
to be grateful for all God blessed me and my family with through the
year and for all the things he pulled us through in that year. I've never
done the New Year Resolution thing but the last couple years I've set
some goals... mainly graduating college. This year though I've been
thinking about a personal theme for the year. The one word that keeps
coming up is REAL. This is what I came up with last night....
Renewed Encouragement And Love
I used to be so good about (and was known for) sending cards and
notes of encouragement to others around me. When I was in college
the budget was cut way short and so found it hard to buy "just the
right card" for sending. Then college and work started weighing me
down until I didn't have the encouragment in me to send. I just found
myself longing for someone to see that I was the one in need of the card
or word of encouragement...cause quite frankly I was falling through
the crack fast. When encouragement never came I began to feel really
resentful. I mean after all I had done for others surely one person would
return my thoughtful act of kindness. I realize now that God wanted me
to look to Him for my encouragement and honey He didn't fail me. So
for me REAL means getting back to that place of putting others not just
in my thoughts and prayers but getting back to reminding them to hang
on and remember that they are loved.


Here's a piece from the devotional "Streams in the Desert"


"God knows exactly when to withhold or to grant us any visible sign of
encouragement. How wonderful it is when we will trust Him in either
case! Yet it is better when all visible evidence that He is remembering
us is withheld. He wants us to realize that His Word- His promise of
remembering us- is more real and dependable than any evidence our
senses may reveal. It is good when He sends the visible evidence, but
we appreciate it even more after we have trusted Him without it. And
those who are the most inclined to trust God without any evidence
except His Word always receive the greatest amount of visible evidence
of His love." Charles Gallaudet Trumbull


God has truly blessed me this year through all of you in this unique little
community of blogland! If the world outside our windows were more
like the place I find here in this window it sure would be nice. Anyway,
I love you and pray God's special Blessings for a Wonderful New Year.
I can't wait to see what He has in store for us all......

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice...

I sure hope your Christmas was as Wonderful as mine.
Thought I would share some pictures of our Holiday Joy...

Here's Emmy G. singing some of her favorites...

Sharing some Christmas Joy with Grandmother while caroling...
The little Christmas Caroling Angels...

"My" two are the ones in the middle looking at camera...
Okay, this accomplishment impressed me. We
built the cutest Gingerbread House....I think ever.

So far so good....

Couple of Christmas Elves busy at work...or play...

See, not to bad...Hey, I'm just impressed the roof
finally stayed on....


The Kids on Christmas Sunday... couldn't you

eat 'em with a spoon....

Okay, Sharon, you better look fast 'cause this
little picture won't be staying up long ;)
See, I do have legs....=)

My Christmas Hoopla...

Okay, Sharon over at Sit With Me Awile has tagged me. Now, this really
is fun I'm just having trouble coming up with 12. Soooo here goes.


1. List 12 random things about yourself that has to do with Christmas
2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word
3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this
"if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then
nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag
is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating
through the blogosphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be
over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.


1. For me colored lights are a must. My sisters are into the white lights
but I think all the colors are the making of Christmas cheer.


2. I look forward each year to Christmas night. That's when I get to have
"Christmas" with my immediate family.


3. I have a nephew and a niece (if you can't tell by all the pictures). They
have brought sheer JOY to Christmas. Yes, this Aunt knows how to
spoil them stinking rotten!!


4. I love home made hot chocolate. As a matter of fact I plan to make some
tonight. It's finally gotten cold here again.


5. Our (sisters) stockings are the same ones that we've had since we were kids.
My mom still hangs them up on her fireplace every year. Now that the
family is growing she insists on everyone having one hung. Starting to run
out of room. I joke with her if I ever do get married she is going to have to
add on to the mantle.


6. The year before our Papaw past away he started reading the "Christmas
Story" from his Bible. Every year since that's become a tradition that
we do right before we open our gifts.


7. I am all about home made gifts. I love to pick the perfect gift for each person.
I normally do this through out the year.


8. I played Mary once in a Christmas play and my cousin was Joseph. I'm pretty
shy and they had to trick me into doing it. I was so nervous I chewed gum
the whole time and it was so obvious.


9. This year I celebrate my 6th anniversary of overcoming depression. Now that
may seem a little ouch but it's a huge victory that I love to celebrate. To
decorate and feel the "Christmas Spirit" that I call God's love is amazing.

10. My favorite Christmas songs are "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and the
theme to Charlie Brown Christmas.

11. We never had a live Christmas tree but Mamaw and Papaw had one
every year. I loved going to pick out the perfect tree. However, it took us
longer to pick out the perfect tree lot because Papaw would refuse to buy
one marked Xmas.

12. Drum roll please....My favorite part of Christmas is that even though in
all the hustle and bustle of the rush time just stands still. It is such an amazing
time to reflect on the year and all God's done in it.

Ok, I'm for sure tagging Stacey over at Given Grace and anyone else that would
like to join in on the fun! Merry Christmas....

Oops....

Ooooopps sorry guys.....I didn't even consider how this sounded.
I did not write "The Simple White Envelope". I don't even know the
author of it. It's always so late when I post that I didn't consider saying
Author Unknown. Sorry!

Christmas Blessings

This morning I discovered that the new magnetic sticker I bought for my

car was missing. It read "Keep Christ in Christmas". I was very upset about

realizing it and quickly blamed someone for taking it. I thought that's

why I don't desire to fool with people anymore. Mind you it's been a very

stressful season at work....so ready for a Christmas break. I worked with

the teens...feels like they never listen. Try so hard to tell others about

Him and they don't listen. What's the use of talking till you are blue in the

face. This was His response... Now you know how I feel. How He must

have felt when the time came for His life to end on that cross. Why should

I have to worry and fool with them. Praise you Jesus....you did it anyway.

Then on the radio they shared my favorite Christmas "lesson" and I would

like to pass it along to you.

SIMPLE WHITE ENVELOPE
It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree.

No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches

of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband, Mike,

hated Christmas -- oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial

aspects of it -- the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute

to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts

given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing

he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties,

and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration

came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling

at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there

was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be

the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in

their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the

match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without

headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a

luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended walloping

them. We took every weight class. And, as each of their boys got up from the

mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street

pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his

head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a

lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league

football, baseball, and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came.

That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an

assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to

the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree,

the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from

me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in

succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year

sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game,

another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned

to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope

became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened

on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new toys, would s

tand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the

tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more

practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't

end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas

rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up.

But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree,

and in the morning it was joined by three more. Each of our children,

unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.

The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our

grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching

as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit,

will always be with us. May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the

season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

When I arrived at work I pulled the box of Christmas cards I had just

purchased out of the bag and carried them in. See, I remembered the

Christmas Blessing promise I had made. Wrote the name of a special

family on the envelope and placed some money inside with a Christmas

wish and no signature. I had a "secret helper" deliver the card with care.

I chose this family as my Christmas Blessing this year because they are

a family with 2 sons who have Autism. They pour every dime into those

kids. I hope that gift will help with Christmas and maybe give them hope

that God is still there. If I have to talk till I'm blue in the face...I'll never stop

sharing about Him. May you take the time to bless others with a

"Simple White Envelope".

He Walks with Me...

Ok, it's 10:45 p.m. on the coldest night we've had yet. According to the

weather channel it's around 31 degrees. My Dad calls me...meet me out

I need you to hold the light while I work on deer feeder. Yes Ma'am I am

from the country. I pull my jeans on top of my pj bottoms, tee shirt,

sweatshirt, long sleeve corduroy shirt, my jacket and toboggan

(now Sharon there's you a picture...and I'm working on one...country girl

no digital camera). Anyway, much as my body really didn't want to go....

I witnessed the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while. Dad is

complaining because he can't get things put back together and at some

point I just look straight up into the sky.

In the crisp night air the black background of the sky and among the now

naked Oak tree branches were the brightest stars I've ever seen. It

looked like a Christmas tree with white lights all across the sky.

It reminded me of times in the Woods with my Dad. As scared and fearful

as I can be there has never been a time in those woods (yes even that

one time we were truly lost) that I've been afraid. I know that my Dad

knows those areas like the back of his hand. It hit me that's how I should

walk everyday of my life...not afraid because my Father...the creator of

those beautiful stars knows every area of my life...like the back of His hand.

Memory Verse Monday

Karen over at Karen's Ramblings has started a Memory Verse Monday!

The aim of "Memory Verse Monday" is to:
1. Memorise a passage (or passages) of scripture.
2. Share why you have chosen the verse or verses that you have.
3. Encourage one another with what God has been saying to you through this verse.
4. Share the ways in which you find remembering verses works for you.

This weekend I started Max Lucado's book "It's Not About Me". I've only

brushed the top of the second chapter but wow this is an amazing book!

A verse in the book caught my eye and I would like to make it the verse

of the week for me. In the first chapter he talks about the moon and it's

role. The moon does not give off light but merely reflects light from a

greater source. How much we are to be like the moon- that we are to be

a reflection to others of the greater source- our Savior. Lucado says,

"God does not exist to make a big deal out of us. We exist to make a big

deal out of Him. It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about Him."

Here's the verse-

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,

are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing

glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

2 Corinthians 3:18

I want you Ladies to know that God has used you to reflect His love to

me in such a special way. May we never be content unless we are

positioned in such a way that God's glory radiates from us as we stand

in awe of Him.