December thoughts on a light filled night!

Mary Did You Know?

December 6, 2011  ...  Countdown to Christmas continues.  Can you believe it is December 6th already?  I'm glad that I decorated the little casa before I left for Florida.  I will be ready to turn on all the lights and cook up a storm when I get home.  I just love this time of year and don't want to miss a beat!!

We ate dinner out on the lanai.  I am still learning to use my new camera and am always on the lookout for something or someone to take a photo of.  I happened to catch Oscar waiting for his meal to be served.  Oscar loves me and I love him.  The trouble is ... I am very allergic to cats.  Even with allergy meds, my eyes still itch and, oh goodness ... the dark bags are quite ... well, unbecoming.

  

Anyone out there besides me that has challenges with all (technical) things new and different?  As I said, I am learning to use my new camera.  These new cameras are great (just like the new phones) but the learning curve is quite taxing.  I think I should be able to pull something out of the box and wham bang be an expert ... doesn't work that way.  I have to be careful that my frustration level doesn't get the best of me!  Luckily, my camera came with a tutorial so that's my next step.  I know I need a new phone 'cause my old one of seven years is wearing out and that I hate that ... all I want to do is make and receive calls.  I much prefer talking in person ... a lost art, I think ... now it's "texting" that keeps folks connected.  I'm all for KIS (keeping it simple).

The night air in Florida stirs my soul ... it is cool enough to make me want to pull on a sweater yet warm enough to be out and about.  Being an outdoors person, I am in pig heaven!  I hear it is quite cold back in Texas so I will be in for quite a change when I go home next week.  Tomorrow night I plan to do a walk through the neighborhood and get some photos of the beautiful lights.  I feel like I am taking a walking tour of a Winter Wonderland just stepping outside and walking a few blocks.

I have been busy wrapping Christmas gifts for my daughter.  I love to do it and it has helped her out with her busy schedule.  I am a sucker for beautifully wrapped gifts ... in fact, a sucker for all things "pretty" ...   I have my tub of "decorator picks," ribbon, scissors, glue gun and a variety of papers.  I create quite a mess and burn my fingers a few times but, it's worth it when I see my creations.  We've gone through a mountain of wired ribbon this Christmas ... wish I had a quarter for every bow I've made!!

Ever watch the show The Biggest Loser?  I never have but watched it tonight.  I was so amazed at the transformation of the people on the show ... not just their bodies but their mind set.  The trainers at The Ranch must double as counselors 'cause they sure get into the meat of the contestants issues of why they gained so much weight.   Don't know if I will watch it again but it was worth a peek.  Funny, everything I've been reading lately and watching lately as pointed to "truth" ... truth may not be pretty but it is what it is and once truth comes into the light, it loses it's power except to propel us forward staying in the light.  As for me, I refuse to go back into the hell hole of darkness.  NEVER!!

I gaze up into the heavens wondering what Mary and Joseph were thinking as they made their way towards Bethlehem.  They hadn't called ahead to make reservations nor had Mary consulted her obgyn before getting on a donkey and traveling a long distance on a dusty bumpy dirt road.  Talk about trust and obedience ... they knew where they were going and just moved forward trusting the Lord with their fates and the life of their unborn child.  I wish I could have been a fly on the back of one of the cows at the manger.  I have this vision of the total awesomeness of that night.  For a few hours, just Mary, Joseph, the newborn Jesus and the animals in the stable ... peace, love, joy.  What did Mary feel knowing that she gave birth to the man who would one day save us all?  Did she know the pain her son would go through?

I had a Christmas baby and he came home from the hospital in a Christmas stocking.  We had looked forward to his birth for nine long months ... I had taken fertility drugs to get pregnant so we knew within days of his conception.  The afternoon we arrived home from the hospital, I wrapped him snugly in a soft blanket and set him under the Christmas tree.  We were in awe ... here he was.  We would gaze upon his small face for hours, cradling him in our arms.  I think I know how Mary felt ... my heart was full of love for my baby son that Christmas 1974.

My blog has taken the form of a diary of thoughts often times moving quickly from subject to subject.  Isn't this the way we think though, our thoughts moving here and there recounting our days and solving the issues at hand?  My prayers are like that as well ... there are times when my heart and mind light up with snapshots of those brought before me.  Sometimes, I don't even know the people but I see them.  I covet the times of a retreat ... time spent only in prayer and listening.  Maybe I will do that when I return to North Texas.  The little casa offers that peacefulness...

Night has come ... the light flickers in my room casting shadows here and there.  It is time to rest knowing that tomorrow will arrive soon enough.

May your thoughts turn to our blessed Savior born that night at a stable in Bethlehem.  What gifts would you bring him knowing that He would die on a cross for you?  As we come together this Christmas, let us sing praise for the gift He gave us!!

Always remember you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!  If you're reading this and are wondering if anyone cares, be assured, God does and he puts you on the hearts of prayer warriors.  You are never alone!