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Posts tagged ‘Christmas’

Nov 24

Slowly Journey to Christmas

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” – Norman Vincent Peale

“to follow God does not often mean traveling with certainty about where God will lead us. Rather, following God propels us to be present to the place where we are, for this is the very place where God shows up.”― Jan L. Richardson, Through the Advent Door: Entering a Contemplative Christmas

Crossing the threshold from ordinary time to the season of Advent.
The journey to Christmas.
Walk slowly.
Present and awake.
Anticipation.
Inviting.
Welcoming.
Seeing the light in all and everyone.
For that is the gift we are still given today since the first Christmas.

“See the light in others, and treat them as if that is all you see.”― Wayne W. Dyer

Dec 28

The Trifles

“when journeying with God some of the best parts of any pilgrimage are the detours.”― Margaret Feinberg, Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God

“She is not wearied with our littleness; her smile comes down to us like a benediction through the sea of flickering candles, and she blesses our wild flowers withering at her feet. For each one of us is “another Christ”; each one, to Mary, is her only child. It is therefore not tedious to her to hear the trifles that we tell her, to look at the bruises that we bring to her, and seeing our wound of sin, to heal it.”― Caryll Houselander, The Reed of God: A New Edition of a Spiritual Classic

I heard the quote above read on the Abiding Together podcast and was struck not only by the quote but by the one reading it tearing up as she spoke it.
“Not tedious to her to hear the trifles…bruises…wounds…to heal it.”
We’ve become too hard, pragmatic, logical, cynical, flat.
Little stops us in our tracks in awe, reverence and wonder.
Be vulnerable.
Pause, look, listen.
Soften.
Smooth the edges.
God is so much bigger than we make, define, contain, explain.
Not wearied by our littleness and loving us the same, always without condition.
Found in the trifles, cracks and crevices of ordinary days, waiting for us to notice.

“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.”― Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Dec 25

Togethery

” ‘Christmas is a togethery sort of holiday.’ said Pooh. ‘That´s my favorite kind.” said Piglet.” — A. A. Milne

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.”—Janice Maeditere

My five great nephews.
Professors of frolic, delight, laughter.
Masters of Christmas as well as everyday joy.
Gurus of play and fun.
Showing the way.
Inviting all in to participate.
A good contagious.
No accident that Christ entered this world as a child.
Witness it all in children and follow the leaders.
The ones who actually have it all figured out.
Awe, wonder, presence, trust, peace, love.
Merry Christmas.
May it overflow abundantly into each and every day that follows.

“The story of Christmas is the story of God’s relentless love for us.” —Max Lucado

Dec 24

Spirit of Love

“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”― Dale Evans Rogers

“The earth has grown old with its burden of care, but at Christmas it always is young, the heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair, and its soul full of music breaks the air, when the song of angels is sung.” – Phillips Brooks

Listen.
Connect.
Laugh.
Let go.
Forgive.
Praise.
Awe.
Wonder.
Kindness.
Magic.
Lights.
Color.
Joy.
Peace.
Open heart.
Kind words.
Warm embrace.
The ingredients of Christmas.
Love in action.

“My brothers and sisters, may the spirit of love which comes at Christmastime fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year.” – Thomas S. Monson

Dec 22

Christmas Whisper

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ”― Norman Vincent Peale

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”― Hamilton Wright Mabie

Quiet for a few moments over the next days to take in Christmas.
The light.
The softness.
The depth.
The roots.
The reason.
No sermons.
No rules, regulations, boundaries.
A simple profound story.
More relevant and needed than ever.
Unconditional love.
Heaven brought to earth.
To walk the path we walk daily.
Saying “I understand” and then some.
The whisper of Christmas is offered to each one of us.
No credentials, membership card or perfection needed.
Cracking the door to let love into your heart.
To heed the call of the soft whisper of “welcome home.”
I am right here with you right now.
Always have been, always will be.
May the answer to the whisper be “Yes!” like Mary’s.
Grace, joy, peace, mercy, delight, awe, wonder.
May all of these be yours in the days ahead and well-beyond the season.

“This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love, and then speak it again.”― Howard W. Hunter

Dec 20

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More Dancing

“I stand at the window looking out, trying to remember the truths that nature always brings home. That what lies before me is not all there is. That time is ever passing, and not only when I notice. That strife and pain are no more unexpected than pleasure and joy. That merely by breathing I belong to the eternal.”― Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

“December reminds us that the membrane between life and death is permeable, an endless back and forth that makes something of everything, no matter how small, no matter how transitory. To be impermanent is only one part of life. There will always be a resurrection.”― Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

The slowing ensues as Christmas and New Years come closer.
May this season spark joy even in the midst of grief and struggle.
A pause to allow grace and ease, a resurrection in the making.
With the delight of children, a sense of wonder overflowing.
Hope, light and promise.
And by all means dance.

“A person who is not afraid of looking like a fool gets to do a lot more dancing.”― Margaret Renkl

Dec 11

A Wider Gaze

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”― Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Beauty can hold our gaze for a moment of perfect stillness. Then, when it is done dismantling us, beauty can bring us back to ourselves with a wider gaze and a surer sense of connection to every living thing, ready to engage the divine work of creating more beauty in the world, more justice and true love.”— Barbara Brown Taylor, Always A Guest: Speaking of Faith Far From Home

This time of the year is both beautiful and difficult.
Missing those not here.
Unmet expectations.
Disappointments.
Allow both beauty and struggle, the human condition.
They coexist.
Lean on beauty, connection, love.
Invite color and light in.
To open you up to see what remains, to anticipation of what will come.
A wider gaze, the one of children.
The masters of Christmas.
Hope, peace, joy – a state of mind, a way to live.

“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ”― Mary Ellen Chase

Dec 25

Gifts and Radical Gratitude

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The baby, the star, and the wise men: a story of gifts and radical gratitude. Joy to the world!”― Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

May the true meaning of home
Belonging
Comfort
Connection
Laughter
Acceptance
Silliness
Generosity
Be yours today and each day
May the story of Christmas be given and received by all
May we carry on changed, renewed and filled with a peace that passes understanding.

“The overarching narrative of the Bible is that of humanity searching for home.”― Diana Butler Bass, Grounded: Finding God in the World. A Spiritual Revolution

Dec 24

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R.S.V.P.

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”― Pascal

“Sometimes religion gets in the way of God.”― Bono

24 hours.
Suspend judgment, knowing, rightness.
No religion or rules.
Lectures or proclamations.
Ego or smallness.

Enter possibility, wonder and inquiry.
Crack the door just a bit to allow a sliver of light in.
Ponder the story.
A young woman pregnant, cast out.
A husband, not the father, who’s trying to find shelter.
A barn filled with animals and “blue-collar” shepherds not kings.
Witnessing and partaking in the birth of a baby, who happens to be the Savior of the world.

Who would believe it?
The footprints and fingerprints of God becoming human to enter our story.
To understand our struggles and be able to say “I know where you’ve been and I’m walking with you now.”
It’s ridiculous, beyond imagination and comprehension.
Pure unconditional love entering a world that would crucify Him, and still do to this day.

Any yet, and yet, it is not an old story that’s over, but one that continues to this very day.
Born again and again in our hearts, in nature, in the petal of a flower, in the smile of a stranger, in an embrace of a broken relationship being mended, in resentments melted by forgiveness.
If we could only accept the invitation to grace, hope, joy, mercy, peace.
Before you say no, ponder if not for 24 hours, for 24 minutes, even 24 seconds.
Create room in the Inn of your heart.
R.S.V.P. YES!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Open Heart. In whatever you celebrate that brings you beyond earthly bonds to touch the hem of heaven and return ready to take the action of love without condition.

“We must abandon the external height images in which the theistic God has historically been perceived and replace them with internal depth images of a deity who is not apart from us, but who is the very core and ground of all that is.” —Paul Tillich

Nov 23

Plant Seeds, Cast Light

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”― Leonard Cohen

“Empathy is the most mysterious transaction that the human soul can have, and it’s accessible to all of us, but we have to give ourselves the opportunity to identify, to plunge ourselves in a story where we see the world from the bottom up or through another’s eyes or heart.” – Sue Monk Kidd

The holiday season triggers a slew of emotions.
Loss of a loved one(s), recent or years ago, yet still ever present.
Childhood memories – both wonderful and difficult.
Family dynamics, fractured relationships, and the dreaded political pontifications.
We can keep going through the same door and write off the next six weeks. Endure.
OR, we can find the wonder woven in the season of hope and light.
Receiving and giving the gift of grace, kindness, empathy, forgiveness, making way for laughter, joy and peace.
Invite and allow a new story to born within this year.
One seed, one day at a time.
May this season feed and fill your heart with the healing power of love.
Plant hope, cast light.

“You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love.”― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

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