A Christmas Story

♫Carol of the Bells♫

A Christmas Story

The church bells had just finished chiming the midnight hour across the valley.  It was Christmas.  Snow had been falling all evening and now as Elizabeth walked down the church steps she gripped the railing and carefully placed her foot on each step making sure not to slip.  Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and she could not afford to slip and bruise herself, or something worse. 

Pastor John’s homily kept running through her mind as she walked the few blocks to her home.  He’d said Christ came as a babe and lived among us so that we’d feel he was our friend as well as our Savior.  Elizabeth desperately needed a friend.  She was getting on in years and much of her family was gone now.  She’d never married.  It was just her and her dog and cat in the little cottage.  But tomorrow she’d have a house-full.  It was the day she opened her home to the people in the Shelter—those who were temporarily without a home for one reason or another.  The Shelter cared for them well enough, but Elizabeth couldn’t bear to think anyone might spend Christmas anywhere but in a real home and so offered hers for the day.

Turning the key in her front door she turned her face to the sky for a few moments to take in the night sky.  It was then she noticed the North Star.  It seemed brighter tonight and she thought about that night long ago in Bethlehem.  How Mary must have felt giving birth in such humble surroundings…away from home.  Elizabeth’s house was humble, but she’d made it into a home and hoped those who came tomorrow—no it was today now—would find comfort and hope to meet the challenges that lay ahead for them.

AS Elizabeth lay down in her bed to sleep the few remaining hours of the night she thought about her hopes and dreams.  As a little girl she’d looked forward to growing up and having a family of her own.  Marrying a good man and having as many children as she could were at the base of her dream.  From there she imagined how her life would go with her little family around her….grandchildren eventually as she grew into old age with her husband…..

She awoke with a start!  Elizabeth lay there waiting for her head to clear.  Had she heard a noise?  Is that what woke her?  The curtain was slightly parted and a stream of light found its way across her quilt.  She hadn’t noticed a full moon earlier, so she went to the window to see where the light was coming from.  It was the North Star.  It was much brighter now.  The snow that graced the landscape shimmered in the light.  Bare branches cast long shadows across the back garden.  Elizabeth’s eyes were drawn to an outline of a child standing there.  Who could be out at this time of night?! 

Before she could move from the window the small figure dissolved before her eyes.  Was she just dreaming?  Dreaming….dreams.  She was reminded of her childhood dream and tears welled up in her eyes.  She blinked causing them to spill out and as one lone tear landed on the sill Elizabeth began to feel a certain hope warm her heart.  She thought about the people who would be arriving in just a few hours.  Some would be children.  They wouldn’t be her children, but she could love them all the same, just as much.

Decorating for Christmas

♫Christmas Songs♫

We just got our tree today so I can show you what I've done throughout the house.  My daughter-in-law, Paola, and her sister, Marijose, decorated it for me.  Isn't it beautiful....

Christmas City USA

♫O Little Town of Bethlehem♫

We visited Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, known as Christmas City USA, last week.  The area was settled by Moravians in 1741 and named Bethlehem by visiting Count Zinzendorf, a pietist nobleman from Saxony, who, in 1722, had given them refuge on his estate in Saxony before their migration to Georgia in 1735.  

One of the yearly events is the outdoors market called Weihnachtsmarkt (pronounced vy-naukts-markt) held in the historic section....

More Holiday Decorations

♫Holly Jolly Christmas♫

One of the wonderful aspects of the Holidays is the decorations!  I've been photographing them while out and about and will add more to this post in the next two weeks, so be sure to come back to give a look-see!

Rural Heritage Museum, Boonsboro, Maryland:

Ta-Dah! Week 10

♫Where Your Heart Is♫

#10 - Tolerate More, and Give Thanks Often

This is the last week for the ten Ta-Dah!s Loretta LaRouche wrote about in her book "Relax--You May Only Have a Few Minutes Left".  She ends with saying that optimists live longer and suggests ways to become more optimistic:

     1.  Anticipate that something unexpected could happen     
     2.  Accept some things as they are
     3.  Live your life with meaning
     4.  Live mindfully
     5.  Set realistic goals

She reminds us to reframe things using humor and to take time for manners.  

What I love about the song I included above is that it reminds us to "chill out" about the differences that exist between us--whoever "we" are.  If you stop passing judgments and quit thinking only your opinion matters, you'll be on the road to being more tolerant and in a position to incorporate LaRouche's 5 ways to become more optimistic....because optimism is actually HOPE.  And HOPE is the conduit for LOVE.

TA-DAH! Week 9

♫Free to be You and Me♫

#9 - Try to be Different

"Unconventional people do not take themselves too seriously" and eccentrics are healthier according to Loretta LaRouche.  She encourages us to step outside the box in which we've put ourselves.  She suggests things like wearing a tie or scarf with a bit more flair or underwear that is unique, if we're not ready to make a change everyone else can see.  She has some wackier suggestions, but I'll let you think of your own.

Throughout my life I've been drawn to these sorts of people--people willing to go against the trend.  Tasha Tudor, in the above photo, was one such person.  She celebrated life and found joy in hard work, eschewing modern devices for a lifestyle more akin to the 19th century even though she lived into the 21st century.  Because she was also a recognized children's book illustrator/writer her eccentric lifestyle was an asset.  For those of us without a particular talent we must compromise in order to gain acceptance from our peers.  Unfortunately, this can cause a great deal of unhappiness since we may feel pressured to abandon who we really are.  Hence, LaRouche's comment about unconventional people not taking themselves too seriously explains how those who dare to be different are able to be so.  

Your assignment this week is to throw convention to the wind if it allows you to be and do what you truly feel led to be or do....then deal with any uncomfortable feelings by reminding yourself not to take yourself too seriously.  Just to be clear on what that means, I found this wonderful definition on-line:  "When someone says you "take yourself too seriously" they may mean that you worry too much about yourself and you're maybe a little bit self-conscious/have a bit of an ego. It's hard to put into words...but in a nut shell it means uptight/lacking a sense of humor about yourself (lacking the ability to laugh at yourself/let loose)."  

TA-DAH! Week 8

♫I Love to Laugh♫

#8 - Tap Into the Universe of Humor

My youngest son constantly made faces for the camera when he was little.  So much so that as I was making his "This is Your Life" video for his high school graduation the theme for it became apparent early on since every video of his growing up years showed him making a face.  I often said he was given to us for our old age (I was 38 and my husband 42 when he was born)--the son that would keep us feeling young.  

Loretta suggests we should keep a Groucho Marx glasses and nose/mustache handy to don when we're really feeling stressed.  I can picture my family coming into the kitchen and seeing me standing at the stove wearing such a get-up.  That would surely break any tension in the room, don't you think?  Her other suggestions are:  look in the mirror and ask yourself, "How serious is this?"; do something nice when someone least expects it; write down your favorite profanities and assign them a number, then when someone gets on your nerves just say the number; adopt an attitude of playfulness--keep your mind open to silly, irreverent, iconoclastic thoughts; and lastly, a sense of humor sees the fun in everyday things.

That last one sent me to the Internet to look for sense of humor tests.  Just Google "sense of humor" and see what you find.  You may find you need work on yours.  This might solve all your problems.  ☺  Be sure to let me know if you try one of the above suggestions and what happened.

TA-DAH! Week 7

♫Rivers of Love♫

#7 - Tidy Up Your Life

This week's Ta-Dah! is about forgiveness.  Loretta says, "It's healthy to identify what has caused you pain, to gain insight, and, it is hoped, to move forward."  She adds, "However, if you've been emotionally wounded you may need help to move on...parts of the brain seem to function differently in those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder."

I was looking for one of my photos to illustrate this post and the only heart I could find was the above.  It was only later that I realized the significance of the heart being a stone.  What a perfect illustration of what so many of us do to our hearts by our unforgivingness.  We allow our hearts to harden.  It's the way we deal with the pain at the moment, only to find out that we eventually no longer feel anything.  This is not the solution.

Loretta offers these suggestions for dealing with the effects of someone's negative behavior:  be direct and gently but firmly discuss the situation; change our attitude toward it; or just let it go. 

Here are some ways to let something go:  think of the things that turned out well with that person/situation; imagine what's troubling you as an ogre perched on your back and yell out loud, "Get off my back;" find a surrogate to fulfill a missing part of your life; create a value system for your life so that you'll do things from a positive position rather than a negative one, i.e., rather than trying not to be like your mother/father, instead focus on what you would like to be; write your eulogy and epitaph.

And while you're at it, she says, clear out the clutter in your life.  Often we hang on to "things" or go shopping as a substitute for what's missing in our lives.  The early Quakers strived for simplicity in their lives with their possessions because they believed in being good stewards in all that God gave them.  They did not want to have more than they could properly care for.  Some of the best Clutter consultants will tell you not to bring anything new into your house without getting rid of something first.  But first, we have to tidy up our lives.  Perhaps this week's assignment will be to declutter one room in your house....and while you're doing it examine your heart for any unforgivingness that you need to sweep out the door as well.  Let me know what happens.

TA-DAH! Week 6

♫Imagination♫

#6 - Turn on Your Imagination

Children have no problem using their imaginations.  During their growing up years my three boys were at various times Superman, the Hulk, Star Wars characters, "workermen", spies, race car drivers, pilots, and a host of other characters.  They used their imagination to create little worlds of their own to act out their new identities.  For me, it was playing Mom to all my dolls or I'd imagine being on the Mickey Mouse Club and singing along with the Mouseketeers. 

Loretta writes, "Our subconscious minds can't discern what's real and what isn't, so your imagination can help you fake it till you make it.  Close your eyes and picture yourself jumping for joy, smiling, whole and content." She also says, "Worrying is like viewing a bad movie over and over."

She lists several suggestions of what we can do to turn on our imaginations.  One is to ask yourself where in the world you'd go if you could?  What would you do once you got there?  Because I journal the one that intrigued me most was "Keep a journal and write only fiction in it."  If you decide to do this I suggest you preface it as such in case someone finds it after you're gone!  Let me know how you used your imagination this week.

If you are just now finding my Blog, look in the Archives under October to find my Week 1 posting about Loretta LaRoche's TA-TAH! suggestions.