Christmas Prayer

Here's a prayer/blessing from our church's Christmas Eve service that I thought I'd share.....

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!
Praise God, all creatures here below!
You are the shepherds telling the story
We tell it in the streets and across the land.
You are the wise ones worshiping with thanksgiving,
We worship with gifts of song and service, talents and treasures.
You are the angels announcing peace.
We live with joy and go now in peace.

JOY

JOY!

It's a word that we don't use very often in our everyday language. We use the word joy or rejoice often in speaking and singing about Christmas and Easter. Christmas, a time to celebrate Jesus the Messiah's birth and Easter, a time to celebrate Jesus the Christ's resurrection. Joy is not just a word to describe birth or re-birth, it's a word to describe our lives everyday. If we choose to do so. How many of us can say that we live our lives joyfully? It doesn't have to mean giddy, smiley, thrilling or high all the time? But is that not what we often think of when we hear "joy" (i.e. joy ride)?


Joy means "a condition or feeling of high pleasure or delight; happiness; gladness; An expression of manifestation of such feeling." How many of us can say that we live our lives everyday with happiness and gladness? Oh, we all have periods or maybe just moments of joy throughout our day, week, month, or year. Joy is not just a gift of feeling delight, it's an action, an expression of such feeling. How many of our family, friends or co-workers would say about us, "He/She is a delight to be around."?


Living a life of joy does not mean that we will not face obstacles and challenges. However, can we take those obstacles and challenges and convert them into opportunities to share our joy? Sharing is an action, a giving of ourselves... our time, talents and treasures. Why not try to live your life "joyfully" this Christmas? Maybe even into next year? A Joyous Christmas to all!

Dear Santa

I was just reading an article in Real Simple magazine with Letters to Santa. The letters were written by authors as they may have written in their younger years and even one letter to Santa as the author may write in the future. It brought to mind a letter that I wrote when I was 8 years old..... 1959


Dear Santa Claus,
I want some clothes for my doll. Here are the clothes that I want. A bride dress, some home dresses, pedal pushers, and a coat. And some pairs of high heels. She is 11 inches tall. She is 2 inches wide. I hope you will bring them for me. I will say thank you now because you will bring them for me. And this will be the only chance to say thank you. I love you Santa Claus.
Love Rayna, and her doll RoAnn

The letter was saved by one of the "North Pole" postal worker's wife. Yes, I named by doll after my baby sister, RoAnn, who was 2 years old at the time. It got me thinking of what I would have written to Santa at other times in my life....


1968, Age 17 years
Hi Santa,
I know that I have to say that I believe in you for the sake of my six sisters and brother. I'm the oldest and have to set a good example. Yes, Mom had another baby... actually twins were born in June. They sure are cute and they are starting to be fun! But, they are a lot of work, getting up in the middle of the night to feed them a bottle; going into town to do loads of laundry and dozens of diapers. I resent having to do that especially now when it's so dark and cold out at night, but it beats staying home and trying to do my homework in the noisy house. I know, I'm a complainer. Santa, just help me get through my Senior year in high school so that I can go to college next year. You can bring me a letter from the college saying they accept me. That would me nice. Help Mom and Dad find some money to get some nice presents for my sisters and brother, they need it. We're so poor and Dad drinks too much. Could you help Dad to stay sober on Christmas Eve? Anything you can do to help would be wonderful. I know that you don't really exist, but I just had to get my feelings out. Rayna



1979, Age 28
Dear Santa,
Well, I've been sober for about three weeks now. Taking after my father, just like my mother yelled about me for years now. But it's OK, I feel better admitting that I've been drinking too much and I can't control it any longer. Once I get started drinking, I don't stop. It's going to be a different Christmas this year, without drinking. But I don't really feel deprived as I'm excited about taking a trip next year. I'm going to wander off and see the country of the western United States for awhile. I have a job waitressing to make extra money. Santa, help me to make good tips and to have the determination to stay sober and really go on this trip. I need this!
Rayna



1988, Age 37
Santa,
Paul & I just need some things to make our first home together more cozy. For one thing, we need a window air conditioner in the bedroom. It gets so hot here in Georgia and that window air conditioner will help us sleep better. This place is an old house (about 70 years old) with virtually no insulation and a tin roof. It's quaint and we have painted and fixed it up the best we can. A new couch would be nice to replace the old, lumpy one we are using. Oh well, that's life and I'm so glad to have some decorations to brighten this place.
Rayna (and Paul)



1998, Age 47
Dear Santa,
This is our last Christmas in Georgia, we're moving to Wisconsin next year! I'm so excited to be moving "back home." We found land on lake up there and we're going to build a house or cabin. We're going to have friends over to our place on Christmas Eve as is our tradition, so as you are making your trip around the world, we'll be celebrating. Can't think of anything that we need this year.
Rayna



2008, Age 57
I suppose you don't get too many letters from 57 years old ladies, but what the heck? I'm young at heart or at least I like to think I am. I guess I am younger than most of my neighbors, who would have thought I'd be living in an over 55 community? This year, I'm not going to ask for anything for Paul & I. I have a good job and Paul has a good retirement; we have a house full of furniture; we have a church to go; and we have friends to visit. I would just ask that you bring my parents, that are both still alive, good health and safety. They are still independent. Yes, we kids sometimes think (and say) "stubbornly independent." But all in all, I'm so thankful they're alive and well. Help them stay so, will you Santa?
Rayna

Girls!

Well, tomorrow the girls come to Texas! Yup! My six sisters are coming to Texas for our tenth annual Wild Women's Weekend. I don't think we will be dressed like the bottom picture and wearing cowboy hats, but then you never know what might happen. Last month or so, I shared a picture I had taken of seven beach beauties. That picture was hanging outside the ladies room in a marina in Wisconsin. This picture of seven cow girls was hanging outside the ladies room in a hotel in western Texas. The top picture is of my sisters and I taken four years ago at My Sister's Place, a restaurant in northern Minnesota, on our sixth annual WWW. We always make sure that we get pictures of the seven of us and I'm sure this weekend will be no exception. Well, until the festivities are over (which will be too soon), I will be ignoring this blog as I party hardy and celebrate Wild Women's Weekend Ten!

MEXICO

Hubby and I went to Mexico today to browse around, scout it out, get some booze for my upcoming Wild Women's Weekend.... eleven days and counting! Brought my camera because Mexico must be another word for color! The dresses in the the top picture show the deep colors and rich lace. The bottom pictures shows the colors of a lively funny bunch of frogs. (I wonder how many other people bring their cameras into stores and take pictures of the merchandise?)

When we go to Mexico, we're wimps! We park on the Texas side and walk into Nuevo Progresso. So for saying we've been to Mexico, it's only about 1/2 mile from the border. Many of the signs are in English, yet the bartering and begging is totally unlike the states. Yes, in some cases, a half mile can make quite a difference.

We didn't buy too much, but we went to a restaurant that was suggested by neighbors. We were the first ones there for lunch and had the place to ourselves for some time. We treated ourselves to "two-fer-one" priced margaritas. Neither hubby or I are big margarita fans, but thought we best check it out for #2 sister who likes them. There were OK and then shortly after lunch was brought, the waiter brought two more. We kindly told him, "No, we didn't order another one." He says, "On the house." On the house, alright! The second one must have had a kick to it, more than the first because I felt it kick-in! Anyway, since the place was basically deserted, I was not sure what the atmosphere was like on a daily basis. Was it rowdy, noisy? Or was it a quiet, subdued place for lunch? So I asked the waiter, "If I bring my six sisters in here, is it OK if we laugh and be loud (which is quite typical of us) or do we need to be quiet?" He said, "Let me ask manager." Not a good sign, I think.

Well, he came back to our table and said, "Fine, fine, you bring your sisters here" or something to that effect. I had two margaritas under my belt so I think that's what he said. :) Anyway, I am really getting excited about my sister's trip down here to Texas for WWW X! Whoo-hoo! We will make our own "margarita-ville" in the southern tip of Texas! Come on down, sisters!

Memories

Yesterday, my sister lost a dear friend to cancer. She wrote in her blog about the "hole in her heart" due to the loss. I have been so fortunate to have NOT lost anyone extremely close to me. Both of my parents are alive. Even though their loss was felt, my grandparents died at an elderly age. In response to my sister's writing, Mrs. Rahn, someone I don't know, commented on her blog and I share this profound wisdom today with you.

"Although the hole doesn't completely disappear, it gets smaller and begins to serve as a well of memories instead of heartache and tears."

Wow! I really like that! The above picture is one of my favorites as the flower has the shadow on it and it has a mystery about it. Flowers also serve as wells for moisture, bugs, bees, ants and pollen. Flowers symbolize many memories for me, thankfully, no heartache and tears. I pray that your day today was one of memories.

Grand

The Grand Tetons. I will never forget seeing them for the first time last September. The mountains just pop out of the earth in a string of spectacular grandeur. The lake in front of them only makes it more picturesque. I wish we could have spent more than a day there, as it was at the end of our trip. Some days, actually many days, I wish for retirement so that in our travels we could spend an extra day or two someplace that interests us. But with the way the market is going downhill, it will be awhile before I can retire AND have money to spend traveling. Until then, I guess I'll just look at pictures like this and dream.