Christmas Joy and Beauty to All

 

The top two are from my home this Christmas.

 The above is a Christmas card I sent.

What a joy to know Jesus prepares a place for me in Heaven and for all who follow Him.

 

And a lovely card from penfriend Monica, I am sure it says "Merry Christmas" in Swedish.

Fun Family Friends Flowers Jesus

 I had fun this week. My son and his partner Julie visited on Sunday and Bounce met their new rescue pup, Reissie. She is a 3 year old toy poodle and the meeting was friendly. Reissie was raised for breeding and not socialized at all so everything is new to her. They rescue dogs that need homes, usually their dogs are very old and ill, so Reissie is a new experience for them.

On Wednesday 4 of us met at a friend's home to celebrate a birthday. We met at work at the university and have been friends for 30 years. One of the gals has a house in the redwoods so it is very country in feel. She fed us outside and played 3 piano pieces for us. We are quite an international group, with one of us born in California, one in Arizona, one in Communist China and one in Taiwan. We love each other and rightly so.

Dog riding a motorcycle, I like that.

 

Covered walkway at my favorite coffee shop. Below is also from the coffee shop gardens. The pink flowers are called Naked Ladies. I think they are a type of lily.

 

 Above: I planted sweet peas from seed and here are the results. Enjoy your day. Some blog friends mention being lonely. I found a way to get to know people better is to invite them to meet for coffee at a coffee shop. Best outside where you can chat freely.

I was at a fellowship of four friends at the coffee shop a few days ago where we shared Scriptures and life and worries and laughter. I started this fellowship two years ago by asking a few friends I had met in church to meet once a month. I shared 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun."

 

Sadness

 I am feeling down friends. Two of my best friends died suddenly recently, Pam on November 10 and AudreyRose on January 10. These friends lived in town so we enjoyed meeting for coffee and as sisters in Christ. I am stunned. They were each 72 and did not have life threatening conditions. How do we pick ourselves up after these sad events?

 

I was just coming to grips with Pam's death when AudreyRose died. Her other friend went to Audrey's home to pick her up and take her to lunch and found her dead. I met these women in church. AudreyRose asked me to be her Christian mentor as she was a new Christian, and we got to know each other well as we met at my home for coffee and Bible study and laughter. Each of them was a person who loved to give and helped others because of their love for Christ. We were fun loving and laughed a lot.

Here is an answer to the question I asked, how do we come to grips with loss and sadness: Jesus says Focus on Me, not the storm. One happy thought is that Pam and AudreyRose are happily chatting in heaven. Love and peace to you all. You are each a treasure to me.

Jan. 23 2025 I read through your many kind thoughtful comments and each one touched my heart and gave me a smile. It is helpful to share sadness and get "hugs" from each of you via your comments.
 

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Merry Christmas to All

 Merry Christmas Friends. Isn't Snoopy the cutest?

The reason for the season is God's promise to us with the birth of Christ. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but shall have eternal life.

 

Our Nutcrackers. I have seen the Nutcracker Ballet quite a few times. I purchased the red Nutcracker on the left below at one of the performances to benefit the ballet company. 

A lady who attended Bible study with me made these and gave one to each of us. She was in a retirement home and made them in her room or apartment there. Her daughter was in a group that played Hawaiian songs and the group visited nursing homes, and she would go with the group and give these cute birds to the residents of the nursing homes.

Below is the nativity set we have had for many decades. I made the stable of rough wood. Once when we moved Mary got left behind. So I found a new Mary, she fits in beautifully, in her blue robes.

 Here are some joyful song lyrics to "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". 

Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels;

O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Years ago my college roommate and I visited Jerusalem and we hired a taxi to drive us to Bethlehem. We did not stop there but saw it. We spent a couple days exploring Jerusalem and Jericho and surrounding areas. Have a blessed Christmas one and all.

My Birthday Cake, What's Left of It

 This cake did say "Happy Birthday Terra" at one point. I had an upbeat birthday a few days ago, including a surprise birthday party given for me by the 12 women in my women's Bible study group. We are in an 8 week study of the book and video The Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer. Four of the women I had not met before, this is a great way to meet people. They served a feast including two quiches made with eggs from the lady's hens (now that is fresh) and organic asparagus in one, and mushrooms in the other. These ladies are darlings, ranging in age from 40 to 80, and two of them have immigrated to the USA from other countries. Quite a diverse group united in love of Jesus and people.

 

 

 Above is a crystal hummingbird birthday gift given to me by another dear friend who I met in church several years ago.

When the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus they asked him "Which of the commandments is the greatest?". "Jesus answered "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

Easter Joy, He Is Risen

 

Yes, He is risen, a time of joy for Christians, as he gives us the promise of eternal life with him. Christ offers to each and every person in the world this promise, if you say yes and follow him.

Matthew 27:50-54 describes what happened at the moment of Christ's death: the earth quaked, the huge curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and tombs opened up. "When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said 'Truly this was the Son of God.'"

I hope each of you blog readers has a fulfilling Sunday and week and time with loved ones. The eggs below may be Ukrainian eggs, even more precious this year.

Beautiful Scripture Quotes

 

I like the above art showing the lion and lamb in the clouds. Today I am sharing some Scripture quotes that guide me. Our God is a kind and loving God and these Scriptures show this.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28-30

 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

"We must obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29 God gave us the Bible, which is His book of instructions, to help us follow God. I love reading and studying the Bible, alone and in our Women's Bible Study group, and in our fellowship group at church with men and women.

 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

 

When asked which commandment is the greatest Jesus replied "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31

Easter Blessings, A Flower Cross and a Bulldog

 

I love to see flower crosses in churches. Some years ago I was a member of a church that created one each year at Easter, and during the service we could all go up to the front of the church and add flowers. A symbol of hope and beauty.

Bull dogs make me smile. 

Years ago when I was in college (yes, many years ago) I visited Jerusalem at Easter and walked the Way of the Cross, it is amazing that you can walk in such an ancient city, and walk where Jesus walked, possibly your feet touching the same stones or road he walked upon. It is a deep religious experience.

Jesus is risen. The Victory is won. Sins are forgiven. Praise God for His Son. Jesus promises all who follow him that he is preparing a home for us in heaven.

"God's power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God's right side in the heavens." Ephesians 1:20

[Added on April 5: My adult sons and I attended church indoors for Easter. It was very joyful. Our church is now open for indoor services and the new young lead pastor, the praise/worship band, and the congregation were all energized to meet in person and worship together. What joy. Then my sons and I had an Easter feast at my house and we all pitched in with preparation. We had roast boneless leg of lamb cooked by me, Colt prepared coleslaw, Lane prepared baked asparagus wrapped in prosciuto, we also had baked yams and wild rice. I made a side dish of plain yogurt with lots of fresh mint from my garden. Delicious and a happy day. The guys each took home food for the next day and I have plenty left for today. I hope your day was joyful too].

Mary Oliver's Poem The Poet Thinks About The Donkey

 

I love donkeys and the poetry of Mary Oliver. Here is her poem "The Poet Thinks About the Donkey", so appropriate to read as Palm Sunday approaches. This year Palm Sunday is on March 28 and I think of Jesus riding upon a donkey and entering Jerusalem one week before Easter Sunday.

The Poet Thinks About the Donkey by Mary Oliver

 On the outskirts of Jerusalem
the donkey waited.
Not especially brave, or filled with understanding,
He stood and waited.

How horses, turned out into the meadow,
leap with delight!
How doves, released from their cages,
clatter away, splashed with sunlight.

But the donkey, tied to a tree, as usual, waited.
Then he let himself be led away.
Then he let the stranger mount.

Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.

I hope, finally, he felt brave.
I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,
as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.

Photos of my birthday and some ideas

Yes, it is social isolation and my sons prepared a birthday celebration for me, which we celebrated on April 25, the actual day. They planned everything so the cooking etc. would be healthy and we would be outdoors on my backyard patio.

Above is a photo of Lane and me and below are photos of Colt and Lane.

We wore masks and maintained a distance, and stayed outside. The weather was gorgeous, 75 degrees, and it said 80 degrees on my patio. It felt rather hot sitting in the sun so my younger son got out his pop up canvas awning, size about 10 feet by 10 feet. He uses it when camping in his van in the desert. The canvas made it ideal to be outside and now I want a canvas shade for the patio, maybe one that will roll up when not needed. Below shows the canvas awning and patio as seen from the kitchen, and you see Bounce resting. The awning sets up in a few minutes and created a delightful shade.

We had shrimp on skewers, fresh salmon, marinated steak, and zucchini, onions. asparagus and mushrooms, all cooked on our grill by the superchefs, my sons.

My kitchen table is full of flowers, plants and cards. If you look closely you can see a gift of a new orchid, on the left. We agreed this is the best meal we have had since the lockdown. I said it is the best meal I have had this year. This is the first time since the crisis we have enjoyed a meal together and lots of laughter and bonding time. It seemed like normal life. Except for the masks, ha ha. And no hugging.
Here is my purple clematis.

My sons, Zoom meetings and Jesus are keeping me sane, or maintaining a semblance thereof.
It is helpful to remember the words of Jesus: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:25
And James wrote "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise." James 5:13
Til this crisis passes and we meet again, be safe.

Merry Christmas to All

I do love the Christmas season and hope yours is Merry.
"I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

"And this will be the sign to you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." Luke 2:12
This is what makes Christmas so meaningful to me and to Christians around the world.
Below is my nativity snow globe which plays "O Holy Night." I had been wanting a snow globe for a few years and purchased this in 2018 for that Christmas. I keep it out all year.

Joy to All.

For Unto Us a Child Is Born and my sweet lamb a friend made

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a son is given; And the government shall be upon his shoulders And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
Isaiah 9:6-7

Below is my new addition to the nativity scene, a faithful white clay sheep made by a friend.

Isn't the sheep Diane made a cutie? The name I might give him is Happy. Or do you have a suggestion for a name?


At this holy season may God quiet you with his peace, comfort you with his presence, and bless you with his love.

Merry Christmas and Ho Ho Ho to All.

Christ Symbol in Ephesus, Turkey and groups we are in

Above is a photo of the pendant my friend bought for me in the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey quite a few years ago. It makes reading Ephesians even more meaningful to me.What a thoughtful gift. We co-authored two books and she knew I attended college in Turkey so she thought of me.
Below is a photo of the Christ symbol you can see if you visit the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey.

The fish in early Christianity was a symbol for Christ.

The Greek word for fish is Ichthys and the letters for Ichthys  are the following:

If you draw each letter on top of the other you will form the symbol O with 6 lines through it, looking somewhat like a pizza that is sliced.

In ancient Ephesus Christians carved this symbol into the stone walk way which you can see today if you visit Ephesus in Turkey. This symbol is also found in Athens and other places in Greece and in Rome. It is believed that like the drawn symbol of the fish (which we still see today in places like bumper stickers) this was a way of secretly announcing that Christians were near. In the early years of the church, as in many countries today, it was dangerous to be a Christian. In fact, Paul wrote Ephesians (letters to Christians in Ephesus) when he was in prison. He was eventually executed for being a Christian. I am reading a book by N.T. Wright called "Paul for Everyone: the Prison Letters, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon".

I also read that the Greek letters of Ichthys are an acronym for Jesus Christ God’s Son Our Savior
Fun to be in a study group
A nice aspect of the women's Bible study group I attend is that I meet new people of all ages and backgrounds. This one lasts for 8 weeks and has 14 members and when it ends I will probably sign up for another study. About 50 ladies showed up so we divided into 3 groups. Isn't it fun to meet new people? And see old friends too.
Are you in a group or groups that meet locally? I know some of you are in book clubs which sound like fun. One blog friend is in a group that reads poetry out loud, that also sounds like a great activity and some of you gather to knit or do crafts, also fun.