Sane, Simple, Sacred: Christmas WAS...

Christmas WAS...


One of the nativity-related ornaments on our Nativity Tree

After posting "Christmas Is" yesterday, I decided to follow it up THIS way.
Christmas WAS...

Sunny.
Cold.
Very windy.
Joyful. Our morning worship service was well attended and filled with sincere greetings, smiles, and celebratory spirits.
Simple. I took a crockpot meal of sweet/sour meatballs with onion, green and yellow peppers, pineapple chunks, and potato slices to share with my parents. (I also took cranberry relish, having missed it at Thanksgiving somehow.) My sister and her family joined us. She brought taco soup and a cauliflower salad and snacks for the afternoon.
Fun. We sat around the table and played Balderdash for a l-o-n-g time. We're a game-playing family.
Family. Our children called from IL, Mexico, and KS. We plan to see them this weekend except for the Kansas contingency. Our daughter is recovering from gallbladder surgery and they (wisely, I think) decided not to make the trip.
My birthday. Yes. I turned 63. I keep repeating that number with incredulity! Where HAVE the years gone?
Reflective. As per my usual birthday habit, I listed people, events and "things" I have been thankful for over the past year to match the number of years I have lived. Every year it takes more time to compose because of the added year! Some items on the list never change from year to year. Particularly I am thankful for the grace and mercy of God that saved me and give me hope. There is GREAT hope in His Name!

"A bruised reed he (Jesus Christ) will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.

In his name the nations will put their hope."

Matthew 12:20-21

9 comments:

Janie FoxDecember 26, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Happy Birthday!! Sounds like you did it up with the ones that matter and will celebrate with the rest soon. Enjoy!
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Cheryl December 26, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Happy birthday, Rebecca! I love your birthday tradition of numbering graces along with the years...I think that I will adopt that tradtion myself!
Your Christmas day sounds lovely...
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elaine @ peace for the journeyDecember 26, 2011 at 4:26 PM
So now we go... move on and take the truth of Christmas with us into this week and into the new year. You and I have a year to live in the knowledge of fullness of Jesus Christ. Your 63rd year, my 45-46th! What treasure we hold, dear friend. Keep to it.

peace~elaine
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MoDecember 26, 2011 at 5:34 PM
We played Balderdash also. !! Happy Birthday.....63 is young. I like the sound of your Christmas Food.....very different. Sometimes I'd like to shake things up....skip the turkey.
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EileenDecember 26, 2011 at 6:07 PM
Beautiful post! I'm glad you enjoyed such a Special day surrounded by love, and joy, and family! Perfection!
Love and Prayers,
Eileen
PS ~ Ours didn't go at all as planned, as so many family members were sick with colds and viruses. Those that did make it here had a good time though and we all joked about how it sounded like a 'sick ward' here! SO MUCH coughing, wheezing, and sneezing going on! But through it all there was love, and joy, and family here too, so, I guess, all in all, PERFECTION!
PPS ~ My verification word is 'bless'!! How wonderful!
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SandyDecember 26, 2011 at 6:38 PM
Belated birthday wishes, Rebecca! It sounds like you had a wonderful family Christmas. I look forward to all that the Lord has planned for His people this year. I believe He is going to show more and more that we are His lights in this dark world. Others will see the peace we have and want to know the God we serve.
Blessings~
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Nellie's Cozy PlaceDecember 26, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Well, Rebecca, Happy Belated Birthday!
Keeping that lil secret quiet there and tried to sneak it passed us, huh!! lol

Sounds like it was a good one, and what an honor to share the birthday with Jesus. How neat is that.
My hubby and sons fav game is balderdash, not so for me, I don't mind playing tho, unless there is tons of people playing, cause then it takes soooo long,
and you have to repeat stuff. That gets to me after a bit.............lol

Sounded like a nice stressfree fun time.
Good for all of you!!

Blessings and Happy Happy birthday.
63 is not so bad, your still just a spring chicken, if 60 is the new 40, then you are only
43, so there, doesn't that make it better!! lol

Take care hon, Nellie
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PamelaDecember 27, 2011 at 12:11 AM
So thankful your day was blessed with family and a joyful time. Our service was a blessing and the whole day seemed to be blessed with God's presence.
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Crown of BeautyDecember 28, 2011 at 2:49 PM
Rebecca,
I loved reading this post... Christmas was. It is concise, but says so much. First, belated birthday greetings. What a special birthday you have... Christmas day! You get to have a really great celebration each year. Second, thank you for sharing the crock pot dish. I will copy that idea and make it for our New Year's Eve family dinner. Yay! All of my children will be home and we will be complete again! I'd be grateful if you could share the recipe with me, also for the taco soup...

With prayers for a meaningful year end...

(Yes, year end. I want to acknowledge how this year has been, before letting it go.)

Much love
Lidia
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Christmas WAS...

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Writing a Song a Week #3