Blue Light Special Christmas

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The older I get, the more that statement makes sense.

As a child, my mother always decorated our house with blue lights for Christmas. We would have those three-prong, plastic candelabras in our windows with blue lights. I would fall asleep bathed in the smurfy light they provided.

There were always blue lights in the bathroom. But these would be the small twinkle lights, wrapped around garland and hung around the mirror.

Mom said that the calm, blue light reminded her of the hope for peace on earth that was born with the Christ Child, and the quiet, expectant hush that must have been the mood in the stable that night.

On Christmas Eve, we would get dressed up in our Christmas finery, attend the candlelight service at church and drive around afterwards to look at everyone elses lights. When we got home, my brother and I would beg to open a gift...and we would be allowed to open our presents to each other. Then we would be tucked in bed and given instructions not to venture out to the tree until everyone was up.

In the morning, B. and I would crouch outside our parents bedroom door and plan our blitz attack to wake them from their long winter's nap. While we bounced around their bedroom, Grandma and Grandpa were called. We were allowed to explore our stockings while we waited for them to arrive. They took forever. And then, the adults had to get their juice and coffee and settle themselves into the living room, so they could get a good view of us "kids." B. and I would race in, and there would be squeals of joy and great excitement in exchanging gifts.

And after all of the craziness subsided, and friends were called and hair was combed and teeth were brushed, we would pile in the car to head to Aunt G's. All of the aunts and uncles and cousins would be there. And we would share a meal, and give thanks for the birth of Jesus.

This Christmas, the immediate family will exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. We'll go to church together, and then there will be the drive to look at Christmas lights. Inevitably, we'll pass a house decked out in blue, and the wonder of Christmas will invade my heart, and I'll feel all of eight years old again. Christmas morning, my nephews will be waiting for Mom and Dad and me to show up to their house so they can open gifts. I'm sure they think we take forever. I'll take my time getting my coffee and picking my seat, just like Grandma and Grandpa used to. Then the nephews will be allowed in, and they will squeal with joy, and be excited to show us the gifts that they picked out at Secret Santa. And we will share breakfast together, and give thanks for the gift of Jesus.

And the heart of Christmas remains the same, despite changes in circumstances and perspectives.

Happy Christmas everyone. See you in 2008.

And my vote for T-shirt of the year is:

Christmas Cheer!

So this week-end, Linus was outside making dog shaped snow angels. He'd burrow through the snow, right to the bare earth. Then he'd roll on his back, flail all four legs in the air, and wriggle for all he was worth. He was so pleased with himself. Once he came back inside, he would immediately head for my bed...because of course, everyone needs wet-golden-retriever-scented-sheets-with-accompanying-muddy-paw-prints. I would try to reprimand him, but he would just smile back at me. Wonderful.

Contrast this with my conversations with Snake Charmer this week-end. He has chosen to not see me anymore because he's just too depressed over the holidays. He would rather have the company of a bottle. After all, it's far easier to drink through problems than to deal with them and change your life for the better. We'll still be friends, or so we agreed. But honestly, I doubt I ever talk to him again.

It's so easy to go to the dark places at Christmas time. I can get very down if I let myself. I watch the majority of my friends take their kids to go get pictures with Santa, or watch my nephews in their Christmas play and it's very easy to get into the pattern of thinking, "What's so wrong with me that I don't have that?" Cause let's face it, every Christmas that passes is another year to acknowledge that I don't have a family of my own, and the likelihood of it happening grows dimmer.

But this isn't really the time of year to focus on ourselves and our downfalls, is it? Linus instinctively has the right idea: play hard --delight yourself in the season-- and run home to where you're safe and loved, no matter how dirty you get. There are so many ideas that correspond to this attitude: Encourage others to join your merrymaking. Forgive those you hold grudges against. Make "Peace on Earth" a living, breathing part of your life. Give until you think you're done...and then give some more. Love -- everyone. Just don't forget to be silly, have fun, and make a snow angel.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

There are so many ways to say good-bye...and all of them pretty much stink. Especially if you are saying good-bye to a friend.
Pastor Jeff informed me this week that he was leaving our church and answering a call in Minnesota, where his wife's family lives. They will make a formal announcement to the church after Christmas. He'll start his work there sometime in March.
I will truly miss Jeff and Nancy and their boys. They have proven themselves to be excellent friends. Of course, after offering Jeff my congratulations, I immediately chastised him for not moving somewhere warmer and exotic.
Who really wants to go Minnesota? I will endure it, but only if it means I get to see such dear friends.

We Should Have Known

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November. Female reindeer, however, retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer in late December, the beloved reindeer, from Rudolph to Blitzen had to be girls!

We should have known. Only women would be able to drag a fat-old man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

A game I play while I'm surfing the net...

I don't know why I like this game so much...but I've been playing for years. It reminds me of the peg game they have on the tables at Cracker Barrel. Enjoy!

Frendz Complete as many rounds as you can.

Play this free game now!!

Let's Keep Christmas

This is by far, my favorite Christmas "story." Technically, it's a sermon by Peter Marshall. It's a long post, but well worth the time. I hope you will come to love it as much as I do.

Let's Keep Christmas by Peter Marshall

Changes are everywhere. Many institutions and customs that we once thought sacrosanct have gone by the board. Yet there are few that abide, defying time and revolution.

The old message: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" is still the heart of Christmas. It can be nothing else. And this message can neither be changed - nor quite forgotten although there are many things that tend to make us forget.

The idea of Santa Claus coming in a helicopter does not ring true. No interior decorator with a fondness for yellow or blue could ever persuade me to forsake the Christmas colors of red and green.

I must confess that modernistic Christmas cards leave me cold. I cannot appreciate the dogs and cats the galloping horses the ships in full sail . . . or any of the cute designs that leave out the traditional symbols of the star . . . the manger . . . the wise men on their camels.

Angels there must be - but not modernistic angels in evening dress with peroxide permanents.

There is no need to search for stories new and different. There is only one after all - and no modern author can improve it:

" And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night, And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they where sore afraid.

"And the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

We all fee the pressure of approaching Christmas. The traffic is terrible. You can't find a parking space . . . The stores are crowded . . . Mob scenes make shopping a nightmare.

You are thinking about presents - wondering what in the world to get for so-and-so. You can think of friends and loved ones who are so hard to shop for. You can't think of anything they need (which is rather strange when you take time to think of it).

Maybe there is nothing in the store that they need. But what about some token of love- what about love itself . . . and friendship . . . and understanding . . . and consideration . . . and a smile . . . and a prayer? You can't but these things in any store, and these are the very things people need. We all need them . . . Blessed will they be who receive them this Christmas or at any time.

Let's not permit the crowds and the rush to crowd Christmas out of our hearts . . . for that is where it belongs. Christmas is not in the stores - but in the hearts of people.

Let's not give way to cynicism and mutter that "Christmas has become commercialized." It never will be - unless you let it be. Your Christmas is not commercialized, unless you have commercialized it.

Let's not succumb to the sophistication that complains: "Christmas belongs only to the children." That shows that you have never understood Christmas at all, for the older you get, the more it means, if you know what it means. Christmas, though forever young, grows old with us.

Have you ever been saying, "I just can’t seem to feel the Christmas spirit this year"? That's too bad. As a confession of lack of faith, it is rather significant.

You are saying that you feel no joy that Jesus came into the world . . . You are confessing that His Presence in the world is not a reality to you . . . Maybe you need all the more to read the Christmas story all over again, need to sit down with the Gospel of Luke and think about it.

I thank God for Christmas. Would that it lasted all year. For on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, all the world is a better place, and men and women are more lovable. Love itself seeps into every heart, and miracles happen.

When Christmas does’t make your heart swell up until it nearly bursts . . . and fill your eyes with tears . . . and make you all soft and warm inside . . . then you'll know that something inside of you is dead.

We hope that there will be snow for Christmas. Why? It is not really important, but it is so nice, and old-fashioned, and appropriate, we think.

Isn’t it wonderful to think that nothing can really harm the joy of Christmas . . . Although your Christmas tree decorations will include many new gadgets, such as lights with bubbles in them . . . it's the old tree decorations that means the most . . . the ones you save carefully from year to year . . . the crooked star that you've been so careful with.

And you'll bring out the tiny manger, and the shed, and the little figures of the Holy Family. . . and lovingly arrange them on the mantel or in the middle of the dining room table. And getting the tree will be a family event, with great excitement for the children . . . And there will be a closet into which you will forbid your husband to look, And he will be moving through the house mysteriously with bundles under his coat, and you'll pretend not to notice . . .

There will be a fragrance of cookies baking spices and fruitcake . . . and the warmth of the house shall be melodious with the lilting strains of "Silent Night, Holy Night." And you'll listen to the wonderful Christmas music on the radio, Some of the songs will be modern - good enough music perhaps - but it will be the old carols, the lovely old Christmas hymns that will mean the most.

And forests of fir trees will march right into our living rooms . . . There will be bells on our doors and holly wreaths in our windows . . .

And we shall sweep the Noel skies for their brightest colors and festoon our homes with stars.

There will be a chubby stocking hung by the fireplace . . . and with finger to lip you will whisper and ask me to tip-toe, for a little tousled head is asleep and must not be awakened.

And finally Christmas morning will come. Don't worry - you'll be ready for it - You'll catch the spirit all right, or it will catch you which is even better.

And then you will remember what Christmas means - the beginning of Christianity . . . the Second Chance for the world . . . the hope for peace . . . and the only way. The promise that the angels sang is the most wonderful music the world has ever heard. "Peace on earth and good will toward men"

It was not a pronouncement upon the state of the world then. Nor is it a reading of the international barometer of present time . . . but it is a promise - God's promise - of what will come to pass.

The years that are gone are graveyards in which all the persuasions of men have crumbled into dust. If history has any voice, it is to say that all these ways of men lead nowhere. There remains only one way - The Way - untried, untested, unexplored fully. . . the way of Him Who was born a Babe in Bethlehem.

In a world that seems not only to be changing, but even to be dissolving, there are tens of millions of us who want Christmas to be the same . . . with the same old greeting "Merry Christmas" and no other.

We long for the abiding love among men of good will which the season brings . . . believing in this ancient miracle of Christmas with its softening, sweetening influence to tug at our heart strings once again.

We want to hold on to the old customs and traditions because they strengthen our family ties, bind us to our friends, make us one with all mankind for whom the Child was born, and bring us back again to the God Who gave His only begotten son, that "whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

So we will not "spend" Christmas . . .
nor "observe" Christmas.
We will "keep" Christmas - keep it as it is . . .
in all loveliness of its ancient traditions.
May we keep it in our hearts,
that we may be kept in its hope.

MIA

So last night, JJTMB was supposed to come over for pizza and movie night. I was STARVING, so I called him about half an hour before he was supposed to come over, so that I would know what he liked on his 'za...no answer. Hmmm...10 minutes after, still no answer. Half hour later, still no answer. So, I go online to pass time and chat.

About 10 PM, Snake Charmer checks in and gives me the guy perspective. He was only interested in what he could get...he wasn't really interested in me...I shouldn't take it personally...and boy he wished he knew I was sitting home alone, cause he would have liked to have kept me company.

JJTMB calls back today. Apparently, he broke his ankle on the ice yesterday. He got home from the hospital around 7:30 and went to bed. He says they are going to cast it tomorrow when the swelling will be down. He was sorry he didn't call.

Which frog do you believe? Until I see crutches...I know which one I believe!

More Froggy Updates

So here are a few updates about the frogs...

This week-end worked out just fine. I stayed in Friday night, watched movies with Snake Charmer on Saturday and had dinner with Cartman on Sunday. The Original Frog ended up working all week-end.

So...updates on the latest newbies:

Frog #12 -- the Stand Up. He is exactly as his name implies. We arranged two separate dates and he stood me up both times. He didn't even call to give an excuse...just left me sitting...TWICE! So, after the second time, he wanted me to call him. I chose to send an e-mail instead. I was honest and said, look, I don't like my time wasted, so buh-bye. He responded with some VERY hostile remarks about the Steelers (because he knew I cheer for them), which just goes to show that he probably wasn't such a nice guy after all.

Frog #13 -- Mr. Garvey. Hand to God...this guy looks just like Merlin Olsen aka Mr. Garvey from Little House on the Praries aka Father Murphy from well, er...Father Murphy. Mr. Garvey repairs electronics and only works week-ends. He's also an outdoorsy kinda guy. Why he would be interested in a girl who considers no air or cable as "roughing" it, I don't know. He has two sons from a previous marriage and is a boy scout troop leader. He seems very much a boy scout himself. We will have to see...