The Message in My Christmas Tree

I thought it would be fun to snap some photos and share with you some of the ornaments on my tree. They are filled with sentimental value, so I thought it would be fun to share.

Ok in reality, it is probably not as much for my blogging friends as it is for me.  I thought it would be fun to get it down on paper, before I forget exactly where some of them came.  Though I have tried to keep records, I’m sure I have already forgotten a few.

Maybe you will enjoy looking at some of them.

This one is my favorite. My husband and son bought it for me several years ago. It has a place for a photo of our son, and a recorded message from him that says “I want you to keep this ornament forever.”  I could tell they had worked hard on getting the message just right. It was made when Matt was about 9 or maybe 10…of course it becomes more precious each year.

This one is probably my second favorite.  It was given to me by my mom in 1978.  It has my name and the year on it.  I absolutely love it…probably because it was one of my very first ornaments as an adult. She had bought one for every member of the family with their names engraved somewhere on the ornament.

Later she found this one for Matthew…all those years later! She wanted him to have one as well.  I couldn’t believe she found one. It was about 20 years later...and though you can't see it in this photo, his name is engraved on the bottom as well.

This one was given to us by my sister…an angel proclaiming the Good News. It is made from a clothes pin. My maternal grandma had taught us to make clothes pin dolls as children, so it has special meaning…there is a story about that, but that is for another time. Doubly special since my sis took the time to make them for each of us in our family and then hide them in our trees.
 

 

Every year I selected an ornament for Matthew that would represent something he had done or accomplished specifically in that year...something to remind us of the events of that year. This one I selected for Matt for this year.

 

This is Matt’s first ornament.

 

This is his first ornament from his Grandma M. She made it herself; it plays Jingle bells when you press on the little bear's belly.

 

 

These are representative of Matthew's love of trains when he was little. Matt’s paternal grandma and aunt were very good about getting him a train ornament each year.
 

 

These are from when Matt was fascinated with firemen. He was so sure he wanted to be one when he grew up…oh wait a minute! I guess some things never change!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two are especially meaningful to me because my niece made them for me when she was only about 6 or 7 years old.  She is in her 40's now. The little tree was once covered in colored sparkles, they are almost all rubbed away with time. 

 

 

And this one was made by my Auntie Norene...everyone in the family has at least one of these. She would forget that she had given you one and often give you another one in a Christmas card or when ever she saw you. I believe they are actually book marks, but I ended up with so many, I decided to use them as tree ornaments.

 

For Sam/Daddy...one of his nick names being Yosemite Sam!

 

One from each of my siblings over the years.
 

 

 

One to represent our patriotic beliefs. Matt picked this one out several years ago.

 

 

 

And of course the true meaning of  Christmas.

 

 

"For unto you is born this day, in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord"

Luke 2: 11

 

How cool is that!

Merry Christmas!!

 

Jan

 

 

Change of Plans

I should have known my plans would be changed today. I knew the weather man had predicted overnight snow. Matt came home and said he heard we were supposed to get 19 inches over night.  Having been born and raised here, I knew full-well that was possible…but in the back of my mind I thought, “Oh, he must have meant in the mountains.”

Not so. We woke up to an unofficial report of 14 inches overnight. At least 14 inches I would say!!  We already had 10 – 12 inches, so needless to say we feel like winter has arrived.

Our Navajo Princess

I had plans of staying in, building a fire, finishing my Christmas cards and wrapping the last of my gifts.  I had hopes of doing a bit of house cleaning, and then maybe curling up by the fire with a good book…Maybe Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol; or maybe I would simply put in that old movie with George C. Scott, that I have had intentions of doing all season.

I might still get to all of that, but there are obviously some necessary interruptions, first.

When I went out side to feed the horses this morning a wave of nostalgia came over me.  The air was fresh, but still filled with snow flakes; the drifts made the two feet snow even deeper in some places. Ahhh, this is the calm after the storm. I couldn’t help but reminisce:  This would have been a no school day, and just for a second or two, I remembered exactly how that felt.  Pure treasure!

"And Here We Have Idaho..."

The horses were mellow this morning; it was as if even they felt the peace of the newly fallen snow; the quiet that it seemed to bring. Bella was in heaven, frolicking and begging me to play. Snap a few pictures, I told myself…you will want to blog after-all.

But, after the 20 minutes or so, of enjoying winter, reality set in.  I had better get to work. I went in and woke Matt early. He would have some chores to do before heading off to work in the city. 

 

Photos will tell the story best. And I have a lot more work to do if I am going to get to that movie by the fire.

 

 

My newspaper found the snow plow.

 

Our Winter Wonder Land

While I'm taking a break to blog and share my photos with you, I decided I would also share this photo of my African Violet...actually my sister's African Violet...It seems to like Christmas:

 

Oh and the Candy? Little Elves brought it to us the other day. It is absolutely the best I have ever eaten! And that is no exaggeration. Matt agreed.

 

Bythe way...it's still snowing!

 

 

   

 

He Knows

“He knows.” he quietly told me. “He knows.” It was all that my dad said, but it was enough. My heart pulled in those comforting words and I let the comfort wash through me which ended with a small, satisfied smile on my face. I could tell by the look on his face, with tears beginning to well in his eyes, that he was moved.

It was my own secret of importance. No one else knew, or needed to know. I had invited my folks to Christmas Eve service at my church a few years ago, but my dad had come down with a cold and we thought it best not to go.

 

“It’s ok, I told them. “We can listen to the sermon on the radio at home.” So from the comfort of their kitchen, we listened. Dad and I sat at the kitchen table as Mom busied herself about the kitchen. She was listening, but this enabled her to get some last minute Christmas preparations done as well.

I love my church and I have every confidence in my pastor’s teaching, but for some reason I was also eager to hear what my dad thought of his teaching. I knew my pastor was known to be a gifted teacher, and I had long absorbed every thing he taught, but for some reason I wanted to know what my dad thought. My church, with a worship band complete with guitars and drums, is a bit more modern than what my folks are used to - their church and upbringings being formal, and well...“old-fashioned.” I had warned my folks, “My church is just a tad bit more modern than what you are used to.”

Throughout my life, I had always used everything my dad had taught us as kids as a moral compass for my adult life. He has always been my filter. What did Dad think about this, or what would Dad say? I would ask myself.

In conversation a while back with my youngest sis, about our dad’s spot-on discernment, I had said with a laugh, “There is only one time I disagreed with Dad on this [a certain issue] but when everything finally played out, I found out he was right after all.”

My dad sees things through the light of truth and he walks a circumspect path that rarely leads one astray. Now, I am not putting him on a pedestal…ok, well maybe just a little; he is my dad after all. But I do know he is not always right; no one is or can be. But my dad is a very wise soul and what he thinks on any number of issues has always been of utmost importance to me.

My secret on this evening wasn’t necessarily about me wanting confirmation on whether my pastor was a good pastor or not, I already knew that. This was simply about wanting to share my church with my folks and hopefully hearing my dad’s approval. On this Christmas Eve, what was important to me was to learn what he thought of my pastor’s teaching. I knew I was in a rock solid church, but I guess I wanted him to know.

On this special evening I understood (because I understand my dad and sometimes it’s as if I can peer into his heart) that it wasn’t simply the age old message that he had heard for over 80 years now that had brought those tears to his eyes. It was about the fact that there was someone – and that yes, his daughter had found someone even though amidst worship with guitars and drums – still preaching that age old Gospel message; complete with an old-fashioned altar call.

He never said a word about the “just a tad bit modern worship”. He never said a word about the oft times joking and the casual way in which my pastor delivered his sermon. He only looked at the
heart-felt, “spot-on” message. There would be no judgment here. No unwarranted criticism of things one might not be used to; not as long as there was an accurate Biblical message. No, no predetermined judgment when one can "peer into a heart" simply by hearing a Spirit-lead message.

He knows. My daddy just knows.

            "The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the Children of God:"
                                                    ~Romans 8: 16

A Quiet Evening

Thoughts on a quiet evening….
 

• I’ve grown rather fond of Tobi…Matthew’s new Paint.
• It is only 20 more days until my favorite day of the year...December 22…when the days will once again start getting longer.
• I am so thankful for this warmer than usual November and December, as I can still use the hose to fill the troughs.
• An interesting quote: “The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.” ~ Native American Proverb
• My annual Christmas letter will not come easy this year.
• Sometimes, but rarely, I enjoy tea more than coffee.
• I have lived long enough now that my childhood friends have come full circle. And I am learning things about them that I failed to understand in youth.
• Honey holds my thoughts a bit more than I thought would happen.
• Along with my Bible, I pick up J.C. Ryle a bit more often these days. His direct, yet eloquent writings, soothe when the world is harsh.
• There is such comfort in caring properly for one’s animals.
• I love getting a peek at one’s soul through the expression of one’s music.
• Joy settles in and only rarely radiates.
• There are a few, who like me, do not believe it is a time for bunkers, but rather a time of hope through diligence.
• Bella still loves me more than any other being on earth.
• The longer one lives, the more one understands how faithful the Constant.
• Another quote: “There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.”  ~ Helen Keller
• My nephew wrote 50,000 words in one month; sharing 7. That's a writer.
• December is a busy month.
• Juliee is displaying dominance, and I believe for the first time in her life…it does not seem to come naturally.
• Surely the Lord loves us; he has once again given us neighbors with hounds…5 of them.
• A Navajo Princess gets a “thumbs up”.
• Though I know he isn’t perfect, I still believe in President Bush and he always makes me smile.
• Train whistles are loud during the day, but only mournful at night.
• Forgiveness is often required without hearing “I’m sorry”. Sometimes it requires 70 x 7; but it never requires condoning.
• Pumpkin pie is my favorite…I only learned that this year.
• Of course Black Friday numbers are up, when you begin on Thursday night.
• I think Ben and I would have understood one another:  “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I learn. Involve me and I remember.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
• "A true Christian is one who has not only peace of concience, but war within." ~ J.C. Ryle
• Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost….Amen