Westward leading, still proceeding...

...guide us to thy perfect light....

Three Kings Day Party

Amy found this great activity list for Epiphany on Living Montessori Now. Take a look at all the great links and Three Kings Day ideas there.

Poking around I saw this adorable party concept on the blog Watkins Every Flavor Beans

Everyone dressed up in crowns and capes (towels or sheets). We played a game where the 'kings' all followed the star I had on a stick. They ran around the house looking for baby Jesus. Jonah played his own rendition of this game until we had to take the stick from him when the game became wild enough that I began fearing for our dishes and Christmas tree's safety.

I wanted to make a cake in a loaf pan and decorate it like a treasure chest... that didn't happen. But we did have carrot muffins with gold coins on top, and raisins and oranges in silver and gold papers. Gold, frankincense and myrrh!



Wish I'd started this when my kids were younger... would be fun to do with my Kindergarten Sunday school class too!

Christmas and the Cross

My niece Abigail has great vision (her eyes and her spirit) and this is how she sees Christmas. This is a nice extension of the song yesterday, so glad she shared!

In the beginning was the word was with God and the word was God. God created the heavens and the earth, and man in His image. Man sinned. Man could no longer walk with God and they would now die. But, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.But, Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world, but so that through Him the world might be saved.

The angel came to Mary and told her she would have the baby who was Christ. When the time came for her to deliver, she wrapped him in swaddling laid Him in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And the angels told the shepherds, “ I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be to all people, for born to you this day in the city of David is a savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you, you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. The Shepherds made haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. After Jesus was born wise men from the east came to worship Him, and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

It is said, that Christmas is not about a man in a red suit or presents or candy or parties, but rather it is about the baby in the story above. I say that is true. But if that was the whole story, there would be no reason for Christmas. I mean even Muslims believe that Jesus was a sinless man born of a virgin. However, Jesus was more than that. Jesus is the Son of God. I believe it is sometimes easy to forget that Christmas is not about a baby, rather Christmas is about the Cross. The Cross that bore the son of God. The Cross that bore my sins. There is no true life without the Cross. There is no reason for Christmas without the Cross.

So, as you pack up your Christmas decorations and return to life as normal, remember why we celebrate Christmas. Think about the Cross. Think about what happened at the Cross. And praise the Lord that your life is new because of the Cross.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~Galatians 6:14

Lives are Changed Forever Because...

...a little baby loved.

Check out this brand new Christmas carol by Cathryn Joanna, perfect for the 12 days of Christmas to keep the spirit alive until Epiphany. (And if you don't like the Christmas carpet ripped out from under you December 26, you might like that 104.7 FM is still mixing Christmas carols in with their regular music... really nice touch!)

Never too early to plan for next Advent

The Cradle to the Cross Wreath: As some of you are wondering about the best way to spend that Christmas cash, why not invest in next Advent? Easter too! This is a gorgeous advent and Easter candle countdown... all proceeds go to charity and a young family does all the handy work. Click on the words Cradle to the Cross and have a look! Thanks again to my webmaster Amy G who finds all the best stuff online.

Keeping the home fires burning

It's so tempting.

After a long day, the house is still at long last. The old me would be in the family room now, so glad everyone was finally in bed so I could start to clean, to organize into the smallest possible piles, to sweep up the remnants of Christmas.

But I've only had the tree up a week or so. And the books and toys beneath it still smell like wrapping paper. The Newborn King (asleep on the hay, of course) is just a few hours old. The Wise Men still have half a continent to cross and the candles in the Advent wreath really only burned short at lunchtime today.

So though it's tempting, I'm holding off.

And hanging out.

And enjoying the mess.

And the fact that Christmas isn't over.

It has only just begun.

A joyous Christmas day

Wishing blessings and love to everyone. Enjoy the day... and please share this glorious rejoicing with your family:

the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.

a humble expression of thanks to my Savior(more than words photography by tammi dryden)

Slow Down

This is it... the home stretch... don't hurry... don't worry... it will all be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end....


(My thanks to Lillian for the great shot of "Sunshine" the turtle)

LET IT GO!

Lillian found this fantastic Creative Christmas Countdown

Today's post is so perfect as the Advent candles burn to nubs and we round the corner toward Christmas day.

I have fallen victim to “The Perfect.” Yes, even when you have written about how not to get wrapped up in perfection during the holidays, you can still wind up holding out a “Perfect” in front of you.

Ohhh, it was sneaky this year. I didn’t even realize it was happening. It turns out, when your “Perfect Christmas” doesn’t involve all of the Hallmark trimmings (though my Perfect Christmas has some of those too) but when your perfect is more involved with spending time with family, baking and making things- you can wind up looking at other people’s “Perfect Christmas” ideals and feel like, “Haha! I’m not getting wrapped up in that. I’m not holding on to some huge crazy Christmas ideal.”

Oh dear. I know I’m in trouble any time I wind up judging other people’s ideals. CRUD

During a long conversation with my husband, during an overwhelmed and tearful conversation, (it’s hard to let go of your perfect. It’s rather humbling.) I realized still have my own Perfect, getting in my way of being present and enjoying what is.

Strangely some of my “Perfect” revolves around “never becoming stressed or overwhelmed.” Well- that’s out the window now.

::sigh:: OK- I have I have to let go of my OWN perfect. OK

I will have to call people and cancel our dinner plans. I will have to further edit the gift list as I’m not finished with some of them. Even though I started thinking about cards in the beginning of December, I still didn’t get around to printing them, so I think I’ll have to let those go for this year too. I’ve got to Let GO if I want any chance of enjoying this year as it is.


I admit it’s frustrating to feel like I need to let go of so much, but what I am trying to remember is:

-- My kids are having a magical childhood. To them a sheet of shiny Christmas stickers is magic. It doesn’t take much!
-- I might not have every last thing done that I hoped, but that’s alright. My children live in the present and see the magic of what is, and I can choose to let go.
-- It is a busy year for us. If we are able to maintain connection with each other, we are doing well.
-- If we don’t do every last exciting thing, heck, if we don’t do HALF the exciting things-that’s just motivation to find exciting ways to sprinkle magic into the rest of the year as well. No reason December should have all the fun.

So if you are stressing and worried, and it’s feeling like the avalanche of expectations is sweeping you away, take a deep breath and see if you can let go of your perfect.

It might make you feel vulnerable or upset, but it means that you will then be open to what is really happening. You won’t have an obnoxious and annoying Perfect getting in your way so you’ll be able to notice the unexpected moments of joy and the happiness that are already there.

You are enough. You are doing enough. If it feels like you can’t do anymore, but the world thinks you should- trust this: If you can’t do anymore, it is not you that is wrong. You are enough.

Let Go of Your Perfect.

Thanks for listening and helping me let go of mine. (I’ve loosened my grasp at least…)

Lets enjoy the next few days shall we?

-- Alissa Marquess, from her blog creativewithkids.com

A Promise

A couple weeks ago I attended a Christmas brunch and soaked up the beautiful words of a wise woman. It was one of those moments where the minute Laura started speaking was the same minute a lump arrived in my throat. Her words spoke straight to my heart.

A group of preschoolers had just left the stage after singing Jingle Bells as best they could, most with smiles on their faces. Laura remarked of their smallness, their sweetness and then asked, "How did we get here? So busy and burdened?"

She spoke of Advent as being a time of preparing for Jesus' "coming" and that for her the word "longing" was what was on her heart this year. Advent as a season to express longing back to Jesus. She urged us all to listen, to be still, to pour out our desires to Jesus. She shared a verse she had recently discovered:

"What a person desires
is unfailing love."
-- Proverbs 19:22

Laura urged us to prepare room in our hearts and our lives for Jesus to come and reminded us that unless He shows up in our weary hearts, unless He rescues us, we will show up empty handed in the ways that matter most in our lives.

"Pray. Meditate. Read scripture," she offered. "He wants to come for you. He will come for you."

-- Lillian Craze

The Laundry Fairy

A friend told me that after hearing her sister-in-law's plight (fulltime work out of town and lots of long extra hours helping a Christmas charity) she snuck into her house this weekend while the family was away and washed and folded all of her laundry for her. (TWELVE LOADS!) Her sister-in-law called her bawling, she could barely speak her gratitude. What an amazing Christmas gift, free and from the heart.

How have you helped those you know in little ways that mean a lot? Maybe you held a baby while a harried Mom was shopping? Watched a kid while his parents attended a long, boring Christmas concert rehearsal? Helped someone decorate or wrap?

I hate that the busyness we all experience gets in the way of reaching out to others and hope that in the vacation downtime, a few more small opportunities will turn up before it's back to the grind in January.

The New Nativity of New Zealand

Get ready for the most precious, clever and sassiest Nativity re-creation of all time. (Am I the only one it reminds of the movie "Where the Wild Things Are" in style, coloring and setting?)

This is great and perfect timing after the big show last night:


St. Paul's Church in Auckland, New Zealand

The power to surprise

My once-upon-a-baby will be six tomorrow.

You'll remember the annual rush-about to get ready for the grandparents' visit? That didn't really happen today. And the baby boy was the reason why.

He was scheduled to go to see a movie with his Nana (Bob's mom) this afternoon. But adorably, he cancelled on her at the last minute because he was in a true panic about missing his Christmas pageant at church tonight. He was a shepherd and he had a line to speak so he absolutely, positvely couldn't be late. I got out a real clock (remember those?) and rotated the hands around and around to show him that he would have more than an hour and half after returning home from the movie before we had to be at church, But that wasn't enough cushion for his liking.

So when Nana arrived, he asked her if he could take his "favorite brothers" and "maybe go do something else nearby like get some ice cream?" She was more than happy to oblige as the simplicity of the request touched her heart. Plus it saved her a drive to Conyers for the theater and probably quite a bit of money too. I was more than happy to bid the big hyper group goodbye and have a little quiet which always makes the rushing around seem way less rushed to me.

Then Bob turned up early from work (yep, he's so busy this month he worked on Sunday) so we pitched in together (I made the cake while he made the pizzas) and got it all done very smoothly. Even had time left over to wash all the bathrooms and even a few windows, oh my!

The departure for church was a little reminiscent of The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever (Jeremy broke Lucca's King Herod crown, Robby the narrator couldn't find his Christmas tie anywhere, Bob mentioned five minutes before we left that he still needed to shower) but inevitably, it all came together. It always does.

The mouse was missing an ear, the camel tried to walk off stage before it was over, Mary's veil fell off and everyone laughed when the innkeeper snarled "Go away!"

But everyone cried too when Sarah Gallagher sang Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven" and played the piano for it, as well. And my old jaded heart just about burst out of my chest watching my three up there... Robby with his soft, slow voice, making the Christmas story sound like a lullabye... Lucca holding his kingly proclamation, his proud unrolling of the scrolls and his deep ordering of the Wise Men to go and find the Christ child so that he might also worship... Jeremy, the smallest shepherd with the loudest voice, singing every word, and yes, right on time....

There is nothing like a good old tradition to make you feel at home in the holiday again. Welcome back Christmastime!

Advent Doodles

So Amy is a wealth of information for us. She reports that all the links on the left column still work.

Linda Roberts' blog is something really sweet that she recommended to me. There are all kinds of inspiring advent doodles... you just may want to check in daily because she has one for each day of Advent! That's today's above.

Adevent Devotionals for paper lovers

If you prefer non-electronic reading, Amy G. also recommends:

a non-Kindle book of devotionals: Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas by various authors

Advent Devotionals for Kindlers

Anyone who has a Kindle, have a look:


Maybe you need a book of Advent devotionals? some quick Kindle downloads:
Celebrating Christmas with Jesus by Max Lucado
God is in the Manger by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thanks to my well-read, well-connected friend Amy G for these!

What is ordinary becomes extrordinary

We've all had THOSE moments. The mundane very suddenly become the amazing? The every-day is quickly the out-of-this world? It never fails as a blessing-count reminder!

Yesterday the boys missed the bus. Ho-hum. Into the car with much bickering, much fuss and a non-stop commentary from the eldest on how he was going to miss his make-up test he was supposed to be taking. At. This. Very. Moment.

Cruising up to the only major intersection in town, I am rather annoyed to be out in my car with my loud, malcontent children when I am supposed to be at home in my quiet, warm house working on my ongoing desk issues. I ponder the irony of my mantra that one main reason I don't put them on the bus all that much is that I enjoy the extra time with them in the car before and after school.

And then I missed the light.

Which is when the blessing began.

Before me is one glorious sunrise. The kind of day-launch that can only be described as purple. And at that moment, from the cemetery just south of the intersection, a hundred thousand swallows took wing, all but covering the sliver of sun just peeking up over the trees.

And incredibly--oh God, how do you do it?-- the all-strings version of "O' Come All Ye Faithful" is on the radio and starting to swell at the Rejoice! Rejoice! E-man-an-uel portion and like sudden angels, the boys are as breathless as I, really in total awe of the scene God has painted across the sky.

Wow. Just WOW!

The drive to school and the daily blog post, all salvaged at one merciful red light.


(Wish I could say I took this picture. But if I'd had my camera with me yesterday, I promise, with the exception of the lake, this is exactly what we saw!!!)

The deep waters direct us....

The most ministering things are real things.

My mother had a gift where she never worried, laughed at the devil, prayed for us when we were sick, gave every substance she had to her grandkids and delighted in it.

She told me when I was little and would whine to 'dry it up, you'll have enough in life to cry over later' and dang it, she was right.

It's the deep waters in life that direct us, all the surface stuff we should glean joy, blessings and lessons from and go on with it. I sure miss her and she would love sitting on this porch bossing everyone around (especially to my husband Freddie: 'get me some tea!') and laughing.

She always told us (her two kids) and the grandkids, you need to keep up with me, I'm not going to keep up with you. The grocery store had to call her over the intercom to come get my daughter Sarah one day when she was little because her 'grandmother lost her.'

Mama said, 'She lost me....Sarah I told you to watch me.'

Cherish it while you have it.

It's all life. I love it.

-- Terri Abbott

Keep it in our hearts

“…we will not spend Christmas
…nor observe Christmas.
We will keep Christmas
...keep it as it is
…in all the loveliness of its ancient traditions.

May we keep it in our hearts, that we may be kept in its hope.”
~ Peter Marshall, from his book Let’s Keep Christmas

The Wise Men on camelback

The wise men got it right.

In your race to Christmas, gather your gifts as they did... travel light... go slow... and enjoy the scenery under the stars!

-- Meg

The Walk

By Lane Harvey Brown

I turned 49 last week. I know this to be true because I’ve had to do the math to remember which mid-40s year was up: 47? 48? 46? Wishful thinking.

It’s almost Christmas and this year it seems to have caught us completely by surprise. The Advent calendar sits bright and ready in the hall, watching as its children – now teenagers – trundle past without a glance on the way to high school each morning. I wonder if it can remember the feel of little fingers working on it the way I can.

The toy catalog comes and goes with only a chuckle about the silly stuff of little kids. Toys R Us has been replaced by big kid diversions: camping gear, clothes, phones. I flip through the American Girl and the Lego catalogs, pausing only briefly on the pages I use to study contentedly just a few years ago. Now I linger over things for college.

Oh I know, there’s no use moping. Every child grows up: Don’t dwell on it! I get that; what I don’t get is how it happened so fast, or how it happens to be me who is here.

Now I hear the quiet in the house differently, when I am home alone. It’s like its own song, one I admit I used to long for at times -- but now I’m not sure I like the tune. And this person – me – whom I have felt so many times like I have lost amid the mothering is about to be face-to-face with more time to get reacquainted than perhaps would be desirable.

So that’s my backdrop today, and yet, a thought strikes me as I am brushing my teeth: that’s the wonder of this time each year when we await one birth so inexplicable, so consequential. We return to the manger, all of us, a little older. Yet this birth never ages. It’s evergreen --

And I think of being very young, walking with my grandfather through the woods near his house in eastern North Carolina, on a cold December morning. Stepping over fallen logs, pressing back fingery evergreen branches with my own small hands, trying to stay by his side.

That’s the image I hold on to in my crowded head. In the rush of stuff we call Christmas, Advent is where I step outside.

The air is cold and fresh on my face. I step off into the woods at the end of the busy road. It wakes me up, and my cheeks cool from fury of the festivities. This forest is a house of stillness, spare, wonderful, real. If it were night, I could see the canopy of stars stretched across the open fingers of trees.

I look around slowly, trying to memorize this moment, the fullness of this quiet –

The feeling that I am never alone. That’s the promise of this time of year to me, and I know it to be true, as sure as I could feel those branches in my child-sized hands. My heart knows it, but I also see it, watching this season’s waddling toddlers, who will soon play pick-up football at the park across the street. Someday, maybe there will be kids there who come back to my house, a
new generation.

Life’s all changing, all the time, before us, after us, all around us. Yet for these spare weeks as fall opens the door to winter, we invite inside with it a hope that it will all continue, evergreen. And for me, right now this year, that’s very reassuring.

It's a little surreal

Since it was 70 degrees today (sorry Northern friends) it was easy to stop time in my mind. Because 70 means early fall, right?

And then Robby had soccer practice (which is usually over by now but he is filling in for a player on a friend's team) so that put my fall fantasy into full swing.

But the calendar is open on my desk, and yes, it is December 6.

I could panic and in the past, I have. Oh mercy, have I panicked. Like, not pretty, hide-in-your-room-boys-mama's-on-the-warpath unattractive.

I could worry, and let me assure you, that's been a speci-al-ity of mine, too. Have you ever bitten your nails so badly your fingers bleed?

Here's the deal. It's not even that I refuse to let myself feel that way anymore, though that would be ideal. It's that I physically cannot muster it. With enough reminders, with three years of great blog posts, with all your support and love and gratitude, I finally know what is most important and I am almost walking the walk.

And with God's grace, I am keeping the reason for the season above my need to rush around and get it all done.

But when I feel the heat creeping up my neck as I know it will in weeks to come when the pressure tries to rise, I know I can ask myself... is this what God has planned for us? Is this the Advent he would want me to have? Is this the best way to prepare myself for the birth of our savior?

I'll keeping working until the answer is yes.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

At Advent, as we prepare for our savior's birth, we can all give thanks for the many gifts we are given, including our life and our freedom. This is long but so beautiful:

My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H.R. on this flight." (H.R.Stands for human remains.)"Are they military?" I asked.'Yes', she said.'Is there an escort?' I asked.'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said.

A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier.The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us. 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,' he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words.I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure.

About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin.'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is also on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left.We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia. The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I Saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family.The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home.Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks."

I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us.'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane.

As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. He is a soldier who recently lost his life. Private Stephens is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is an Army Sergeant escort. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of 'God Bless You', "I'm sorry," "thank you," "be proud," and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane.They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.

Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA.

Footnote:I know every one who reads this will have tears in their eyes, including me. This is a Prayer Chain for our Military. Please send this on after a short prayer for our service men and women.They die for me and mine and you and yours and deserve our honor and respect.'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.. In Jesus Name, Amen.'

Prayer Request:When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world. There is nothing attached. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in Harm's Way, prayer is the very best one.

The Same Sunset

My college roommate and I have a very special connection that has lasted through many years, many tears but mostly joy and lots of missing each other! The other night, I ran outside to grab a picture of a gorgeous sunset that was obviously just getting started here in Georgia as it headed West to glow over Colorado a short while later. She sent me this picture the very same night. I like to think its just one more way we share a brain cell and a love of God's creations across the miles. It's a gift to have her (and so many other blessings like her) in my life!

(Hers is the hipstamatic style on the bottom -- like my phone, my camera is not "smart.")

Advent, Latin for "coming"

Advent helps us to do a little house cleaning. For the second Sunday of Advent I plan to share a story in my homily about my mom. I remember when she would leave for work and
tell us kids that the house “better be clean” when she returns. If the house was clean upon her return we experienced her benevolence, but if we were lazy and didn’t clean we experienced her wrath.

Advent (from the Latin for “coming”) is a time for preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus as well as remember His first coming at Christmas. So we should make sure that our lives are in order, that our homes and our hearts are clean through repentance of sin so that we may welcome the benevolence of Christ when he comes again.

Fr. Timothy J. Gallagher
St. Pius X Catholic Church
Conyers, GA

I don't want to miss out on any more....

Hi Meg,
I'm so happy to read and share your blog this year again. It is a bright spot in my crazy crazy day! We are all doing fine here. I had some unfortunate news in that my grandpa passed away a few days before Thanksgiving. I'm glad that he finally went "home" but he was so full of life. He passed away at 90 and still had a daily job and lived on his own. He went "downhill" quickly, which is just the way he would have wanted it.

We packed up the family, drove 14 hours to PA, and celebrated his life and visited tons of family we never see anymore. During this trip two things really stood out. The first was a teaching lesson for me and the kids as we stood in my grandpa's house wondering what to do with all of his things. You see, all of the "stuff" that clutters our life is so unimportant. It doesn't matter what type of material things we possess as it doesn't go with us. The only important
things that he valued were the people standing in his kitchen.

My second lesson stood out as Sydney (now 12) stood in front of an old, enormous cathedral and beautifully read a scripture at the funeral. She looked so poised and read so eloquently that I felt like I didn't know who that young lady was. Was she really the little girl I spent hours trying to get to sleep at night? When did she grow up? And why have I felt like I missed out on that process?

I am now learning, and conscious of, living in the "present" and not saying, "just a minute". I don't want to miss out on any more!

Wishing you and your family a beautiful Advent,
Debbie Connelly

Each day we are given...

I will be on the lookout for something good to post but for now:

I have a childhood friend that her son is on last efforts of radical chemo for lymphoma that the doc says will shut his organs down. Started today. He's 29, married and the father of two very young children.

I have a childhood friend I just spoke with that is stage 4 colon cancer. Says 'they say I'm dying but I feel ok.'

I have Jack Mathis (aka family of RL Mathis Dairy) whose wife died last night from stroke following news of cancer.

I have a cousin needing chemo and platelets from side effects of chemo for leukemia 10 yrs ago.

I went Thursday a week ago and gave platelets for David Boyd and my cousin, Kelly Richards. I had enough for three people.

It's coming home to me as a reality just how blessed each day we are given is and I am thankful for my family and our well being. It's all such a gift. The light in my grandchildren's eyes and their laughter are gifts. The love between my kids and their spouses is a gift. My dad leaving his cigarette butts in my flower pots is... well, I'm working on that one. My husband Fred is a gift (?)... I'm delirious....

I look all around and am so blessed. I love my neighbors (all of them)!

I have faith that God is driving this train and He knows best and above all we want His will to be done. Amen

-- Terri Abbott (my neighbor by the way... Thanks friend!)

Why rush Christmas? Fall and Advent

Here is a shot of our breakfast table Monday morning. With Advent starting when my autumn decorations and Thanksgiving tapers are still out, it works :) We light our candle(s) everyday, usually at a meal, and I read aloud from the book, "Jotham's Journey," perfect for my kids' ages (short enough selection every day and a good amount of excitement and action for my boys). -- Amy Gottschang