Sane, Simple, Sacred: Party Time

Party Time

My fellow clubbers arrived at the home of our hostess for our Christmas meeting

this afternoon.

It's an annual tradition, this December meeting at Sonnie's house.

Just inside the door, this life-sized snowman greeted all of us!

The main Christmas tree was beautiful--I just didn't get a good picture.

There was plenty of beauty everywhere

Below, one of the three tables at which we enjoyed a wonderful buffet-style dinner.

Each of us went home with a bag of lovely gifts

and a box of home-made turtle candies,
thanks to our amazing hostess.

I'm realizing how many circles of friends I am blessed with.

Although there is a little "overlap" among a few of them,

my friends represent a wide variety of ages, interests and backgrounds.

I'm VERY thankful and count these friends dear --

especially during this beautiful season.

♫ Faithful friends who are dear to us

Gather near to us once more... ♫

10 comments:

FABBY'S LIVINGDecember 6, 2011 at 6:19 PM
Oh Rebecca, what a wonderful party you had. The home does look gorgeous along with the beautiful decor. I can just imagine how delicious the buffet must have been and the table looks so beautiful, in the holliday mood. Thank you for sharing sweet lady.
Merry Christmas. FABBy
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Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogDecember 6, 2011 at 7:32 PM
What fun!

You are blessed to have such good friendships!

Deanna
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Janie FoxDecember 6, 2011 at 8:14 PM
Fun! I love going to friends' at Christmas and seeing their decor. Turtles, oh man!
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Jacquelyn StagerDecember 6, 2011 at 9:56 PM
just lovely!
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ButtercupDecember 6, 2011 at 10:11 PM
What a lovely party. I, too, feel so blessed to have circles of friends.
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EileenDecember 6, 2011 at 10:51 PM
Sonnie's home looks warm, comfortable, and inviting. And I'm not surprised that you have such a wide variety of friends, having you for a friend is spiritually uplifting, and you promote such a feeling of kinship with God.
'Makes one want to cultivate their own Heavenly garden. And that is something that has no boundaries and it goes way beyond age, and background. It attracts people from all walks of life.
Love and Prayers,
Eileen
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Cheryl December 6, 2011 at 11:05 PM
Rebecca, I am just catching up with some blog reading...like most everyone else, I have been busy with lots of things.

Looks like you had a lovely party today, and I agree with you about the blessing of friends.
But what has really struck me tonight as I have perused your last few days' posts is your contemplation of a Christian's celebration.

I'm afraid I also fall into that category of wanting to create a warm and festive ambience. One thing I have found that centers my thoughts, however (besides His Word, of course), are the glorious words to the Christmas carols. Oh, how those words and thoughts draw my heart to my Messiah!
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Cheryl December 8, 2011 at 12:13 AM
Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing the link from "Letters From Midlife." Lots to think about...
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DeboraDecember 8, 2011 at 1:11 AM
What a festive table setting! Faithful friends are certainly a treasure. I'm sure they value you as much as you do them!
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MoDecember 12, 2011 at 8:26 AM
I loved this post! It is a great blessing to have friends, and lots of them!
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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

Party Time

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Writing a Song a Week #3