Christmas and holiday season

Because Sometimes, Change is Good

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Where did the year go? For me, it was truly a whirlwind that swept me in many directions, expected and unexpected, some good, some not so good; however here I am, thankful for it all, and looking forward to next year experiences, whatever they might be. It is life; it means I am alive and open to God’s plan for my life. This is my last post for the year, and I was not sure of what to write to end the year. I did not want it to be another holiday post, so here I am, winging it. Just think of it as a conversation from the heart.

Sometimes, we let ourselves be influenced by others, whether that be media, friends, family, acquaintances, influencers, groups, religion, politics … You name it. Everyone has anything to say about how we should live and plan our existence, but when we think about it, nobody really has the answers. Life is given to us to experience and fulfill it, one day, moment, second at a time. When you think about it, it is beautiful. We were presented with this gift that we did not ask for, and we have the freedom to live it. Whatever things are thrown in the package, it is all ours to make something of it. We are all one big conglomerate in the human race; we all want to live a happy and peaceful, joyful life. We are more similar than not. Hate is a disease, it is sickness. Love is a cure. We decide. We might be influenced, negatively or positively, but we decide. We decide how to act, react, and what to let into our life, what we give our attention to, and how we live day by day. In the end, we only have this day, and sometimes, not even a full one; our seconds are in the hand of our Creator, but so are our blessings. Does it really matter if someone else has more than you? or if you did not meet your goals this year? Does it? When I think about it, and in the big scheme of the journey, it truly does not. I don’t know how long my journey is, no one does, so why not choose love over sickness, inner peace over discontent, gladness over bitterness, and hope, especially hope. The journey is meaningless without hope, and faith.

I hope that you embrace the holiday season and next year with hope, faith, and at peace with yourself, the rest will come when it needs to come. When God made you, he knew who he made, but also, your journey. Your journey is not meant to be stationary; it is meant to be full of change, and change brings growth, knowledge, and understanding, and with understanding comes kindness, and with kindness, love. In that sense, change is good.

I wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and may next year be filled with the kind of blessings that only come from above, the best kind, in my opinion. Merry Christmas! God bless you all.

Love and Light,

Inkspeare

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NKJ)

Oh Christmas Tree

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Sometimes, my husband comes up with out of the blue projects; this is one of them. I don’t know where he gets the time, but he does. I want to share it with you because it is a simple and cute Christmas ornament for the outdoors that requires a few recycle materials, in this case, it is several wire hangers. Yes, the kind of hangers that you get from the cleaners. Most people dislike these and throw them away. He made a lovely Christmas tree. Somehow, he attached the hangers together with wire, spray painted these with silver paint and bent the part that hangs to be able to use it for ornaments, in this case he added silver bells. He also wrapped the tree with mini lights. Here are the pictures, and maybe you will be inspired to make one for your patio or porch. I will be putting this one on the porch, near the door.

This is the frame before adding the bells and lights.
Here it is decorated with bells and lights. If I was going to put it out on the ground instead of the porch, I would use the remnant of a hanger to make u shaped pins and pin it to the ground with those.

As for me, I continue my tradition of eating a Christmas tree mini cake, and of course, a chocolate Santa or a reindeer to kickstart the holiday season.

I hope that you enjoyed this little Christmas project.

A Holy Night

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Nativity – Photo by M.A.D.

Christmas is just around the corner. My favorite time of the year. The reason for the season is the best part of it, the most sublime gift – Jesus Christ, King of kings. Most years, I try to write a poem for this blog during this time. I know 2020 has not been a kind year for anyone, but we should welcome the season in our hearts and be thankful that we are still around, and for many other blessings that whether we realize or not, have happened throughout this dreadful year.

A Holy Night

On a cold December night,

outside I stepped, to see the stars.

The moon shone bright,

the air was crisp.

My heart too sad to think of Him.

*

A tear I felt, and many more.

A cloud passed by

the moon it cloaked.

A heart too tired,

A heavy load.

*

Far in the sky, a light above.

A twinkling star,

Its light bestowed.

Far down below

my heart just stopped.

*

A voice I heard

deep in my heart.

“My child I am here.”

“Of you I think,

your heart I hear.”

*

The star I saw

Announced His love,

his gift bestowed.

Born is the King,

Jesus, pure love.

I will be back in January. I am very grateful for every reader and visitor of this blog, and I wish everyone a beautiful season and many blessings for 2021. Lets hang in there; this too shall pass.

King of Souls

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King of Souls – A Christmas Poem

A blanket of snow

covering the earth

like angel wings

gently befalls.

A shining star

dancing through the night

announces to the world

a miracle below.

A mother beholds

great news from above

The angels rejoice

A Savior is born.

A King in a manger

of God, divine son

Born to mankind

a Savior of souls.

May this Season of Joy bring the best into your heart and may blessings pour over your home. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to you all. Inkspeare

Best Wishes

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I get excited when a new year approaches, because I see it as a box full of surprises, and the opportunity for much more. I have good news, and it is that I am three chapters away from finishing the first draft of The Book of Sharon, so it looks like I will meet my goal before the deadline of December 31st. I will work on those today and tomorrow.

I send you my best wishes for the new year and a happy and healthy holiday season.  I will be away from this blog until January 2nd, so I will see you then. In the meantime, and since I celebrate Christmas, I leave you with this little poem I just wrote.

 

Hope in the Manger

 

Hope lay in the manger

for centuries on,

a mother and father

giving up their son.

 

The most precious gift

of Love and above,

so pure and so just

so faithful behold.

 

In the stillness of night

and the new light of dawn,

let the babe in the manger

overcome you with Hope.

 

***

I will see you all soon, and I consider myself blessed to be able to share with this awesome WordPress community.

 

Little Tree – The Simple Things

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It is the simple things that make me happy. For many people, the end of a year presents an opportunity for self-evaluation, and for thinking about areas that need change or improvement, or even things that have to be eliminated from one’s life. Every year, I welcome this season and think about the course of the year, set new goals, and set aside some time to really look at what can be simplified.

I am a planner, love lists, and crave organization and structure – a character trait that serves me well but can become overwhelming at times. Such are the times when I tend to overanalyze, make more lists (on top of lists), and when I am hard on myself for not performing as expected (by me) despite giving more than 100 percent in effort. It is then when I need the simple things to help me refocus, and to bring me back to living the simple life – the life that happens in the now, does not follow lists so much, and focus on the beauty and good things/blessings that are present. One of those things is the Christmas season.

Last year, I adopted a little tree that I came across while at a farmer’s market, and I named it Little Tree. I even blogged about the unusual circumstances that surrounded that day. You can read the post here – The Little Tree That Could. Today, and a coincidence at the writing of this post, happens to be a year since I brought Little Tree home. It has grown a bit, and I want to share before and after pictures of it.

Little Tree before, last year.

Little Tree before, last year.

Little Tree this year.

Little Tree this year.

As you can see, it has grown a few inches, its branches have taken a darker hue and spread out. If it wasn’t for the 2012 picture, the changes and growth would have escaped my mind because its growth has been slow but steady. Maybe Little Tree has a message to share, after all.

 

A Year of Reinvention

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December is approaching and I dance with the idea; it is my favorite month.  Many a reason for it – the holiday season, the end of the year, a beginning to a brand new year is near, the festive air, crisp cold, the towns getting dressed up, the spirit throughout, flurries … and much more.

For me, it is the time to review this year and meditate about what when on, the goals I achieved, the ones I did not, and time for reflection, much reflection.  It is a time to pick up my journal, a new calendar, and think of how I can make next year better.  Although it is always a bit disappointing to stare at the goals that did not come true, on the other hand, it is rewarding to look at the ones that did become real.  Somehow, it makes me happy to see that I worked towards something throughout the year, something that when I put it on paper on December of the previous year, may not have seemed so real or attainable.  I invite you to try this, even if it is one or two things in your list.  I have learned to call them predictions for the new year, predictions of the things that I will carry out on that year, or at least, that will take me a few steps closer to a goal.  It is a practice that I started years ago, and it works for me.  Looking at the end of the year, I can see where my heart was at the end of the previous one, and how I evolved on the issues that seemed important to me, and the things that I wanted in my future.  Sometimes, I am pleasantly surprised to know that I made it through that year, and most of the things on that list, were accomplished.  Other times, I see that half of them were not, and then, I can ponder why – this always leads to some insight, sometimes, realizing that in truth, it was not what I wanted, but I thought that I wanted at that time.  This is why I call it my time for reinvention.

Reinventing myself small steps at a time works for me better than setting out sails for a huge journey, which can seem daunting, exhausting, and many times an illusion.  Setting goals every December, and working on those throughout the year, keeps the journey real, and manageable – less intimidating.  It is part of the big journey.  In retrospect, it is very hard to feel that I “wasted a year”  if I go back and see all the progress that I made, and how I worked towards the goals that were on that list – even when I may have not hit the mark with a particular item in the list.

I am ready to make my predictions for the new year, and work hard to make them true.  Do you plan or set goals for the new year?  Feel free to share your method.

Poetry – To an American Soldier

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American Soldiers .. US military: 2 US soldier...As the Holiday Season approaches, I find myself thinking about all the families that will not be able to spend this time with their loved ones who are serving their country or who have died doing so.  It bothers me that the holidays are more about commercialism, frenzy shopping, than about true recognition of all the good, valuable, and great things that our soldiers, veterans, and first responders have done throughout the years, and continue doing.  Yes, no one likes war, and maybe I am a silly dreamer thinking that one day, war will not exist anymore; however, the reality is that war has been fought since the beginning of times.  And yes, without commerce the economy of a country goes dead; however, there is a time under the sun for everything.  One line from an old holiday movie stuck with me – “We give them our sons, and they bring us back their stuff.” (A Christmas Visitor).  Powerful words, and that is how many families feel during this time.

I had written this poem sometime ago, and as I prepare myself to receive the Holiday Season and give thanks for all the blessings in my life – which are many, I want to honor all those who served our country and who serve today.  So here is this humble poem as my gift to you, but knowing that you deserve so much more from me and everyone else.

 

To an American Soldier

 

I have the sand for a bed

The night sky for a lullaby

Days become long

Night becomes day.

 

Heart loves the nation

Mind thinks of home

Body stays focus

Soul knows the most.

 

Of family and friends,

Of holidays home,

Of freedom and price

My dreams have become.

 

When everything quiets

Images go flying

The Patriot loves Country,

The man loves a family.

 

The heart aches for Country,

Family and friends,

The soul screams for Freedom,

A price here to pay.