My vision: To give back for the Blessed life I have received...Hoping gratitude will fill your heart; your life be full of strength to endure and love will be the path you travel upon.
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
on Old long syne.
CHORUS:
On Old long syne my Jo,
in Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
on Old long syne.
My Heart is ravisht with delight,
when thee I think upon;
All Grief and Sorrow takes the flight,
and speedily is gone;
The bright resemblance of thy Face,
so fills this, Heart of mine;
That Force nor Fate can me displease,
for Old long syne.
CHORUS
Since thoughts of thee doth banish grief,
when from thee I am gone;
will not thy presence yield relief,
to this sad Heart of mine:
Why doth thy presence me defeat,
with excellence divine?
Especially when I reflect
on Old long syne
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850
With each January 1st we welcome in a new year - a new beginning. We make resolutions that we vow to keep this time around. We celebrate.
We leave behind the past year with thoughts of wonder and gladness that we made it through. We hope and pray that this year will bring peace and an out-pouring of love in our world.
We are thankful for all that this new year will bring to our life...
May an abundance of blessings pour out to you and yours - Happy New Year
Traveling - Sharing - Rushing around to get things done...
And, the list could go on and on and on...
This is my favorite time of the year. During the Christmas Season I make myself slow down and reflect upon the joy and happiness that is meant to be the most important part of Christmas. Joy and happiness in giving.
As a matter of fact, I slow down and enjoy my days so much that it is a wonder that I get so much done. Maybe I need to do this every day not just during the Christmas season. I actually am able to get more done in a shorter period of time. Perhaps it has to do with attitude.
Yes, I do the shopping thingy but with the thoughts of having fun with it. I make it fun by watching so many others rushing, checking their list and walking fast to the next store. Baking and cooking stuff to give away is a big delight for me, not a drudgery. I suddenly find myself smiling for no apparent reason. But then again, maybe the smile is because of the reason for the season.
Like most of you, I too have family and friends that have left this earth. And, like you, I do think of them especially during this time of the year. I remember the fun times spent with them and what they have added to my life.
So, what does Christmas mean to you?
To me, Christmas means LOVE - Pure and simple but complex.
To me, Christmas means PEACE - Within my heart and being.
To me, Christmas means GIVING and SHARING - Me.
To me, Christmas means celebrating the coming of Christ...
I received an email with the story behind Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. You may check out this story by going to Truth or Fiction.
The email takes a little different slant behind the story of Rudolph than Truth or Fiction states to be true. Nonetheless, I liked the story in the email so that is what I am sharing.
The True Story of Rudolph
A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.
His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob's wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.
Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.
Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined to make one - a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.
The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print,_ Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.
In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn't end there either.
Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."
The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.
Most of us have our favorite radio stations to listen to while we are driving. My favorite station has been playing Christmas music all this month. Some of the songs I have never heard before - keeps it interesting and enjoyable. Listening to Christmas music helps me to get in the spirit of the season.
I love listening to music and especially this time of year so I thought I would share some great music with you.
By the way you can minimize your screen for this site, continue listening and go about your business on the internet or just listen. Or you can use this link and the player will pop-out for you and you can close out of this site. When the player pops-out just minimize the page. http://www.playlist.com/playlist/18747724811/standalone
Sorry, I had to take the player off of this post because it wouldn't shut up.
"Christmas Countdown PDF E-Book: This fascinating Christmas countdown collection explores a different aspect of the history and traditions of Christmas. Each day, starting on December 1st and continuing through to Christmas, features an article about the origins of Christmas traditions, wonderful poems from earlier centuries and beautiful vintage Christmas artwork and illustrations from postcards and prints.
There are authentic Christmas recipes from times past, from medieval and Victorian times and beautiful desktop wallpapers featuring vintage art and antique art reproductions that you can download."
While looking for something else that I had stored on my computer I just happen to come across this great e-book that I had downloaded some time ago. I hope you will enjoy it.
December 7, 1941, Sunday at 7:55 AM Attack On Pearl Harbor
"The staggering loss of life to US forces was over 2,400 with more than 2,000 others wounded. Indeed the largest total killed in one day/one engagement with an enemy force until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Japanese had inflicted the worst defeat in American military history upon our forces. Hawaii was a US territory at the time and not yet a state. Another big difference from 9/11 to note is that most of these casualties were members of the armed services and not civilians." Source: http://www.pearlharborday.org/
1941 was a long time ago and most of the service personnel that survived the Pearl Harbor attack have since died but not all. I for one still have relatives that served during WWII. To them I give my sincere gratitude for all they did.
USS Arizona
Over 1,000 Sailors Are Entombed Under This Memorial
The Day Of Infamy
By Tiffini Bankos
That fateful day, in December
Is a day for all, to remember
For it is the day we remember the lives that were lost at sea
A day that still lives, in infamy
The damage that has been done
The battles that have been won
We owe our thanks to those who gave their lives so we could be free
In my searching and plowing through many sites and pages to find information, facts and fun stuff to post this month, I came across this Christmas Quiz. It is provided by TLC.
A Christmas tree can be real or artificial. It doesn't really make any difference because it is the joy and blessings behind the Christmas tree that carries so much meaning.
Until I was 21 we always celebrated Christmas at my Grandparents house. I can remember how thrilled and elated I was to be able to help my Grandmother decorate the tree on Christmas eve. That's right. My Grandmother never put up the Christmas tree until Christmas eve. And, it was always a real fir tree.
Now, they are put up way before Christmas. The reason must be to hurry up and bring on the joy and the wonder of the Christmas season. You can't put up a Christmas tree without having a smile on your face and feeling this great inner joy. Well, unless those dang lights are so tangled up you get so frustrated and throw them in the trash and go get some more. Been there - done that. Now I just leave them on my artificial tree.
The tradition of putting up and decorating a tree for Christmas goes way back to the 16th century. That's a long time, folks.
And, did you know a star or angel is also traditional. They represent the Star of Bethlehem and the band of angels at the nativity.
I found some very interesting tid-bits about the origin and history at this site Christmas Tree Farm Network.
Worth the read.
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other” ~~ Burton Hills
Hanukkah also romanized as Chanukah 8 Day Festival of Lights
Festival of Lights is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple. It begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev.
According to chabad.org, Hanukkah for 2010 is Dec. 1st - Dec. 9th. This is also where I got the information for most of this post.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of 9 branches. Uncontaminated olive oil was used
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
Hanukkah celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
