Glory to God in the Highest ~

Hello to you my dear and precious followers!

In the busyness of this season, the celebrations,

the shopping, the lights, the decorations, the parties

and all the glitter that comes with the season, I pray that you are

finding the time to reflect on the true joy, peace, hope

and love that the coming of the Christ child

makes possible for each and every one of us.

O to behold His glorious appearing!

~ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ~

O come, O come, Emmanuel 

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lowly exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

~ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ☆  ~♡ ~ ~

The hope of the world is a Savior.

On this Christmas Day find in your hearts time for Thanksgiving ~

"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift."

{ 2 Corinthians 9:15 }

Christmas is a time for gifts...God's Christmas gift to you, is Eternal life.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord."

{ Romans 6:23 } 

  By faith...you can receive God's greatest gift...Eternal life 

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

~ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ~

"And she {Mary} brought forth her firstborn son,

and wrapped him in swaddling cloths,

and laid him in a manger; because there was no room

for them in the inn."

{ Luke 2:7 }

Jesus came to earth as a helpless, tiny seed planted 

in the womb if a young Jewish virgin.

Forty weeks later, Jesus was born in a filthy stable in Bethlehem.

It's the Christmas miracle ~

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father)

full of grace and truth."

{ John 1:14 }

Have you room in your heart for Jesus?

The very definition of our Lord is this:

"God is love { 1 John 4:8 }

" He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

~ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ~

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 

but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;

but that the world through him might be saved."

{ John 3: 16 -17 }

~ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ☆ ~ ♡ ~ ~

Merry Christmas!

For myself ~ I will be taking some time to reflect and enjoy Christmas.
This season is always my greatest time to reflect 
on the past year and quietly spend alone time with the Lord.
It's a special time for me.

I'll see you back here in the New Year.
Take care and God bless you richly.

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you

through the knowledge of God,

and of Jesus our Lord"

Joy!

Debbie

Where O Where have I Been!

Tulips...my most favorite flower of all.

And the color of these which is an orange/red makes them so very pretty!

These tulips were what I would consider perfect,
 both in their color and in the length of time they graced my bedroom dresser.
Tulips...as we all know...do not last very long, but these were amazing!
I usually cut the stems as they continue to grow and begin to droop,
but not this time, instead I left them to themselves with plenty of space 
and each day they were more stunning than the day before.

I was in awe each day with their beauty.
As the stems grew longer and they drooped downwards 
it caused the flower to point directly at me as I stopped to enjoy their beauty;
oh I could see right into the center of the flower...gorgeous!
Maybe that's how we are to enjoy a tulip?
If you think about it, the center of a tulip is like a Kaleidoscope.
A tulip is short lived and fades quickly, sadly they are temporal.
But, the Word of God and His promises are Eternal.
"The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the Word of God stands forever.
~ Isaiah 40:8 ~
What matters in our lives is that we are following the leading of God's Word,
that we're on the right path, always eager to move forward,
willing to be transformed into the image of God,
day by day, moment by moment, by His Word.

It seems like Thanksgiving came and went so quickly. 
My husband and I were able to enjoy Thanksgiving 
and a few days with mom in Arizona.
Going away involves so much, but its always worth the effort.
We took both of our pets with us on this trip, Donatella and Binx our rabbit
and they were awesome travelers!
I made some mini mincemeat tarts for mom, her favorite.
They freeze well which makes them easy for traveling.

Before going away to Arizona we were blessed to have 
our three oldest grandsons with us for a few day's.
They all have birthdays a month apart this time of year,
so it has become a tradition to celebrate their birthdays together
during their Thanksgiving school break.
When it comes to entertaining and throwing a party, that's my niche,
so of course I went all out making it special and memorable for them.
Our boys are turning 12 ~ 14 ~ 16 and that's a BIG WOW!
They were just babies not too long ago...where did those years go?!
Sometimes its hard to believe that our 4 grandsons are in the double digits now.
I can remember when our first grandson was born,
I said to my daughter, 'what am I supposed to do with that?!
I grew up with 3 sisters and each of us had girls, so boys 
were all new to me.😉
Well...those grandsons have warmed their way right into my heart.

While we were in Arizona we took a drive through the
Saguaro National Park and this time through it was gorgeous!
This cactus looks so soft doesn't it, but don't be fooled, a cactus is a cactus.

 With a touch of snow on the high mountain tops, along with the rain they had
 we were able to see the river flowing as well as some water falls.
That was a first for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty God afforded us.

Just a slow leisurely drive the day after Thanksgiving
added a beautiful touch to our time together.

 These are water droplets on a bush in the National Park
and it appears that the plant was meant to collect the water like this.
God's creation really is intricate, isn't it?

We had good traveling weather both directions missing snow storms 
both before going and returning home
allowing for some beautiful landscapes for our 14 hour drive each way.
The distant mountains in Utah were covered with fresh snow
on our way back home.
The red rock formation in front of the snow covered mountain
makes the white stand out even more so.
Just plain gorgeous!

These rock formations look like a painting, almost unreal.
Makes me think that they could be from another planet.

~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

This was a long overdue post, so thank you for taking the time
for a long visit.
I trust your days are beautiful as you make your way into December?
I hope to enjoy decorating our home this week
and preparing for Christmas in celebration of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I'll be around to visit with you and see what 
beauty you have to share.
God bless you!

Joy! 
Debbie