Sane, Simple, Sacred: Christmas Cutouts

Christmas Cutouts

For many years, these cutouts from a magazine insert

lay in a cubbyhole of a vintage desk of ours...

Unsure of exactly how I'd ever use them,

they remained flat and forgotten

until I discovered them a couple of days ago.

I handled them fondly

(almost reverently)

as I searched for a place for them.

Our small, sparsely ornamented white tree

seemed like the perfect spot.

Maybe next year I'll place them in an "orphaned" stable

from an abandoned nativity set.

For now, these simple cutouts serve as silent reminders

of several things I've cut out of our Christmas activities and decor

to accommodate the changes and realities in our life and family

as well as to honor Him whose birth we celebrate.

How about you?
Any "Christmas cutouts" at YOUR house?

6 comments:

DeeDecember 14, 2016 at 8:44 AM
a cute vintage look and a nice reminder of the past...I have cut out a lot of things...the biggest one is shifting family Christmas get together's to my children's homes. It feels odd but I am able to enjoy everything and everyone I feel less stressful.
ReplyDelete
Replies
SandiDecember 14, 2016 at 6:57 PM
I like them! Sweet! :)

ReplyDelete
Replies
Nellie's Cozy PlaceDecember 15, 2016 at 6:34 AM
Hi Rebecca,
Love your adorable lil cut outs, they are so sweet, and bet they made your tree
look very cute. I know as we are getting older we are cutting out things too,
last year I sent all my Christmas mugs that so many folks gave me to Goodwill, as it is just to time consuming packing away the everyday ones and putting out
the Christmas ones and then doing the reverse after Christmas....lol
and have also given away to my daughter or to GoodWill a lot of Christmas
decorations. I have so much stuff, a lot of it given to me over the years cause people know I love Christmas and decorating, I rarely do any baking anymore, the
closest I come is to making some quick pretzel candies, and I only send out a
few Christmas cards, I usually send mostly ecards now, and I don't decorate the
tree very much, just a few ornaments, beads and snow and of course, it has
lights on it......hubby does that part, and a lot of shopping gets done online.
Have to say I love having a pretty much stress free Christmas.........once I
experienced that there is no turning back. Wouldn't even want to think about it..........lol
Hope you have a Merry Christmas hon,
Love and Blessings,
Nellie
ReplyDelete
Replies
Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogDecember 16, 2016 at 12:10 AM
Those are really darling. I think they look great on your tree!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

"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 Cutouts

6 comments:

Writing a Song a Week #3