The Colors of Christmas

Cardinals and pine trees, even nature has it's way of decorating for the season!

I Need a Silent Night

This is the Nativity set my mother crocheted for me.  I love the black faced sheep and the camel!  I so enjoy looking at this Nativity set during the Christmas season.  Silent night, holy night, one of my favorite songs, too.  Who wouldn't like a silent night now and then with such a busy time of the year?

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow….somewhere else.

Brr, it's cold outside!  We had a little snow that recked havoc for some going to work this morning.  I'm thankful I didn't have any problems.  And I'm thankful we didn't get the ice!

Joy Among Us

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3

Joy. Webster defines it as: The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; pleasurable feelings or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exhilaration of spirits; delight

My definition of joy is summed up in my friend, Joy. I got to know her through my job at the university. She worked in our Student Accounts/Cashiers Office and often dealt with delinquent accounts; that is, angry parents and unhappy students. Not an easy job, but she did it with grace and a smile that would warm the coldest heart. Her name fits her so well, Joy is a joy to know and have as a friend. We are close in age, and I knew some of her husband’s family before I knew her, so we enjoyed sharing stories and life experiences with one another. She left the university about the time she and her husband bought an auto repair place, which I frequented. We kept up with each other’s lives over oil changes and tire rotations. Even after she took a bank job, we went to lunch a couple of times. Lately, I’ve kept up with her on Facebook and a blog her husband writes.

Which brings me to my picture of the day. It’s of a group of ladies that meet over their lunch hour twice a month for a prayer shawl ministry. Now mind you, I do not consider myself a knitter or a crocheter, but my mom was, so I thought I’d give it a try. I don’t knit, and I’m not sure I want to try, but if I have a simple enough pattern, I can make a crocheted shawl. I have lost count how many I have made, but with each one I have wondered who it would go to; and I have prayed for the recipient and what ever adversity they are facing. I know when I went through some difficult days of uncertainty and loss; the smallest acts of kindness and words of comfort meant so much. The shawls we make are representative of the arms of God wrapping the person in love and a tangible reminder that someone is praying for them.

I believe even in adversity, God gives joy. I can’t explain it, other than I know it. Not the laugh out loud with giddy happiness, but a deep, down in the soul joy. It’s the knowledge I possess something of great value, an eternal love. Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit and told us we would never be alone. To think the God of the universe is with me everyday gives reason to my joy. Another of my favorite quotes, God isn’t interested in my comfort, He’s interested in my character. Adversity brings out the best in those that believe. Joy isn’t dependent on circumstances, health, wealth, or fame. It resides within. Adversity makes us totally dependent on God, and who better to depend on than our Creator?

My friend Joy posted a picture of herself on Facebook a month or so ago, wrapped in a turquoise shawl I had made over this past summer. She was on a doctor’s exam table waiting her first round of chemotherapy. She had a double mastectomy and has a couple of months of chemo to go through. She had the same lovely smile on her face as always. Joy knows pain, uncertainty, waiting, hoping, and seeing your loved ones with tears in their eyes when they look at you. But, in her smile and in her eyes I see joy because God knows Joy, and she knows Him.

I had no idea this summer as I worked on the shawl it would be for someone I knew personally. I didn’t know the prayers I prayed where for my friend Joy. I’m thankful for the opportunity.

One of my recent favorite songs is Won’t You Be My Love by Mercy Me. Making shawls may not seem like much, but by doing it, in some small way, our group is sending out His love, and His joy, to the Joys among us. The last lines of the song go like this:

We will be your voice calling
We will be your hands healing
We will be your feet walking
Into a broken world

We will be your chain breaker
We will be your peace maker
We will be your hope and joy
We will be your love

We will be your love

Click here to hear Mercy Me's Won't You Be My Love?

Granny Franny Chapel Tuesday

Shortly after our university President arrived, he requested all faculty and staff to attend chapel, so we close offices on Tuesday mornings and go to chapel with the students.  Today was a special treat.  The infamous Granny Franny got to share her thoughts.  She's the 82-year young student that was featured in our school paper.  This article hit Facebook and then a local new station came for an interview.  Before we knew it, we had a celebrity on campus!  Granny Franny was crowned Homecoming Granny, got to be on the Queen Latifah Show, was featured in People Magazine, National Inquirer and will be on the Weekend Today Show December 13th!  She has put MNU on the map like no one else ever has!  My favorite piece of advice to the students:  "I don't want to read or see on TV that a MNU student was in a car accident because they were texting.  Don't text and drive.  Or excessive speeding, don't do that…."  She's a cutie!  And a go-getter.  And a perfect example that no matter how old you are, learning keeps you young.  And God can use you in ways you never though possible!   I imagine she had no idea what a semester at MNU would hold for her, let alone the publicity she and MNU would receive!  Go Granny!

Camelot Morning to Kansas Sunset

The morning started foggy and gray.  The kind of fog that reminds me of a European medieval morning with castles, drawbridges, bows, arrows, jeweled and gold clothing.

I had stayed in a castle in Germany that overlooked the Rhine River on a vacation with my friends. The room I was in had arrow slits for windows.  In the morning a fog rolled in and created a mysterious and magical feel.  I had to pass by a suit of armor to breakfast which was assorted meats, cheese, breads and Nutella, strong coffee and fresh orange juice.  A breakfast fit for a King and Queen!

This morning my breakfast was Peanut Butter Cheerios, I crossed the Kansas River to get to work and the most mysterious thing in my day was "What did I pack this time for lunch?"  But, I had the fog, and the feeling was there - especially going over the river, looking down and seeing the mist rising from it.  It sends me back to a time I never knew.   But I can imagine.

Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.

Fog does that for me - I'm in that castle again, looking out over the Rhine River.  Feeling a little like King Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin will soon show up.

As I left work, the fog was gone, but it left in it's place a beautiful Kansas sunset.  I don't think Camelot could top this one.   Well, maybe a knight on a white horse riding off into the sunset…..

Getting My Christmas On….Oh What a Merry Mess

I am trying to get a little decorating done, but I am making more of a mess than getting it done.  I found some clothes to take to Goodwill, some mail I needed to shred and got some text messages and  emails I needed to write back a response.  I have pulled out plastic tubs full of nutcrackers, a handmade nativity set, tree decorations, and packed my Thanksgiving decorations away.  But that's about it.  I keep finding other things to do! And now it's 8:30 pm and I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet - so, another excuse.

I thought this Santa was appropriate.  He is busy making toys, but I don't see any around his chair.  Maybe he thought of other things to do, too, like feeding the reindeer, eating a cookie, and making a snowman…..

Hopefully he will get on track and get all the toys ready in the next few short weeks he has left until Christmas.  It will be here and gone before we know it.  Maybe I should put on my list that Round Tuit I needed in October.

Now to find my Christmas cards…….