Christmas and God's Gifts to Parents

It felt like Christmas today....I got home from a big event to promote my home business and found a gift from my company in the mailbox...a beautiful watch:) Thinking about how getting a little surprise can put a smile on my face and a giggle in my heart, I starting thinking about how excited my kids always were on Christmas morning....the anticipation, the Christmas lists that kept changing as they saw new toys and gadgets during the holiday season. Often we hear that Christmas is for the children, but for me, Christmas is the gift of children.

When our children are small, Christmas is watching their faces light up as they rip through the paper and bows, unwrapping surprises and desires, but when they grow up and have lives of their own, Christmas seems to be a time to remember and count your blessings. Those precious gifts who once had the wide-eyed wonder on Christmas morning sometimes face problems that can take the joy out of a joyous season.

That was the case a few years ago on Christmas morning when I wrote to my husband in my journal......."as for today my love, Merry Christmas. I am so happy to be here with you, so happy to have you in my life and so happy that God has blessed me with you and our family. At the same time I am sad that life happens so fast that sometimes we don't have the chance to enjoy the present before it becomes the past. It also saddens me that things are not perfect in the lives of our children, but I keep reminding myself that we are not in control and we have to leave it in the hands of the One who created them. That is not an easy task for a mother who's heartstrings stay attached long after the apron strings have been severed. So I will trust that there is a purpose for the trials in our children's lives and feel blessed that God has entrusted us with healthy, intelligent gifts and He is not finished with them yet".


As I write this post, I can't remember what was happening at that time. Evidently the trial passed, something was learned and joy returned to us all. I have been truly blessed~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas to me!

My Kind of Weekend

This has been a great weekend after a long work week and non-stop commitments last weekend. Saturday morning was spent relaxing on the porch with a cup of tea, then strolling down Main Street, Dickson browsing in the neat little shops after having breakfast at a new diner we didn't know existed until then. Ace Diner, my new favorite place to eat.....we have not spent a day like that in ages and we really enjoyed the slower pace....could this be a taste of what it will be like when I join my husband in retirement and I am not controlled by my employer's clock??? I could get use to ......waking up when I'm finished sleeping, taking my time nursing my cup in the morning while I decide what I will do with the rest of the day.....aaahhhh, yes, I could get use to that. In the meantime I will get up in the morning, go to work and try to make it through another Monday.......I hope no one asks me to make a decision tomorrow because it is Monday and I don't handle Mondays well......

But it isn't Monday yet, so I will take a deep breath and keep it slow for a few more hours.

                                          lake scene from Paris Landing, Tennessee

Childhood Memories

Have you ever heard people say, "I am so bored with my life" or "my life stinks", or "I hate my life"? I see these comments quite often on face book and more often see it on the faces of people as they rush through their day, filled with stress and tension.
Life is a "Gift from God" and a gift to be treasured. God expects us to value the life He gives us and to use our lives to glorify Him and fulfill the purpose for what He created us for. I was born to a mom and dad who lived their lives as an example for me and my three sisters and loved us with a love that is only second to the love of God. We were not rich in material things, but we were rich in love. Not long ago, the second summer after we moved to the farm, I wrote in my journal about my childhood summers in relationship to the kind of day I was getting ready to have during my summer break from work..........

June 21, 2005- the first day of summer. Such a wonderful time of the year and a day expected to be sunny, hot and humid....right on cue! My memories of summer days as a child were filled with excitement and anticipation of playing with my sisters in the makeshift playhouses constructed with planks, cans and dirt. The days were never ending as our imaginations took wings and we were transported into faraway places with exciting adventures, our dreams soaring with the fluffy white clouds in the beautiful blue sky. We were always secure in the fact that Mama was nearby, usually on the porch swing reading her Bible or singing her favorite hymns. We were not rich in earthly possessions of expensive toys and games or manufactured play equipment, but we had an imagination that was priceless and a mama and daddy that treasured and protected us beyond any price tag.

Today my plans are to play in the dirt (plant flowers) with planks and cans (garden decorations and flower pots) out in the yard ( mow the grass) and tonight I might even run and play in the cool breeze and catch a few fireflies as I listen to my Daddy tell a few stories on the front porch.....well, maybe I'll just sit and watch the fireflies light up the evening and remember four little girls, a mama and daddy and let my imagination run wild.........These are the kind of memories I want for my children ......a childhood filled with laughter, feelings of security and most of all, unconditional love....