Merry Christmas ~

☆ Jesus ☆

He came not to a throne, but to a manger.

He lived not as a king, but as a servant.

He chose not a kingdom, but a cross.

He gave not just a little,

but everything.

~ Holley Gerth

~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~

"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.
He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
~ John 3:16-18


May the Lords great love bless you this Christmas!

Joy!
~ Debbie ~

Christmas Ornament Exchange ~

Hello friends and Merry Christmas!

My dear Stephanie over at The Enchanting Rose

hosted a Christmas ornament exchange

and what a wonderful way to begin my days of sharing and giving.

Christmas, the birth of our Savior, brings with it many traditions 

around the world, doesn't it?

Gift giving is such a joyous part of Christmas ~

 though gifts are bought, wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree,

there are many ways in which we can find to give.

We have opportunity to give of ourselves, our time, our hospitality and so much more...

For me, this ornament exchange allowed me to touch the life of another,
and meet and make two new friends

Thank you Stephanie!

 ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

Allison, the dear lady who's name I was given does not have a Blog

so I will share with you the gift package I put together for her.

My new friend loves a Christ centered Christmas

winter birds and a vintage Christmas,

our likes are quite similar.

First I found some beautiful hand crafted place mats

that would lead me in gathering a theme of cardinals,

and what a delight it was looking for that awesome brilliant red bird.

The cardinals beauty is breathtaking as they perch themselves on a barren tree branch

on a winter's day surrounded by the snow.

God directed my path as I prayed over my theme package and dear Allison.

 

It was on a cold snowy day when my gift package arrived from Dixie.

I grabbed myself a cup of tea (some Adagio tea a precious friend gifted me)
sat next to the fire, and began to unwrap my lovely box, item for item.
This beautiful bow and music tissue paper was the beginning of 
something uniquely designed by my new friend Dixie.

When Dixie read my bio stating that I love birds
she went to work with her creative hands and made every ornament 
that would decorate the beautiful "feather" tree that she included.
Little red cardinals, bird seed balls and some darling nests with eggs!
Pure delight and joy is this precious tree that beautifully graces our home.
I was in awe of such a personal gift!

Dixie also decorated a bird feeder for the Holidays
and included some bird seed in a sweet Christmas goodie bag,
what a great idea!!

  I have enjoyed the Guide Post book and booklet during my afternoon tea time
as I sit quietly near the fire taking in the beauty of  the lights on our Christmas tree,
while beautiful Christmas music plays softly in the back ground.
Dixie certainly put some love and time into my gift package,
why, she even wrote the loveliest letter sharing about herself with such enthusiasm, 
her sweet and friendly personality leaped off the page.
I just knew I was going to connect with both Dixie and Allison!
These exchanges Stephanie puts together for us ladies to enjoy
certainly affords us the opportunity of becoming friends 
with ladies we may never even meet or see this side of Eternity,
but I can attest that real friendships can be made should we take the time to reach out.

  ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

In my last post weeks ago, my husband and I were preparing to leave for Canada
for my father-in-laws memorial service. 
It was a {{cold}} wet and snowy trip, for which I was not quite prepared for,
but God looked after us and kept us safe both in the air and on the ground.
After our return home we were blessed to have our three oldest grandsons
for a few days during their Thanksgiving school break.

The boys and I played games, more games and even more games.

We had a day at the pool, enjoyed playtime out in the snow, lots of snacking

with plenty of "Beethoven" movies followed by a nap near the fire
as we each curled up in a cozy spot.

Family gathered for an early Thanksgiving dinner of fried chicken,

yes, fried chicken. 😉

Thanksgiving Day was quiet and relaxing, just my husband and I
and a wonderful turkey dinner.

With our daughters being married, we must share family time.

After the boys left I began "Decking the Halls"

preparing our home for Christmas and the Birthday of our Savior.

Once the decorating is complete I can then focus on the joys of Christmas

while surrounded by the beauty of the Christmas tree and lights.

My mind is free to think of all that I hope to accomplish for loved ones
in this holy season.
This is the season of wonder and anticipation,
a time to ponder and prepare our hearts for the miracle 
and mystery of Christ's birth.
Jesus is the reason.
May the heart of Christmas~the love of Jesus, the joy of grace,
and the peace of God~be yours today and always!

Sending you, my dear readers, much love and Christmas Blessings 

♡

God's blessings be upon you!

~ Debbie ~

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift"

2 Corinthians 9:15

Tea~Roses and Scripture ~

Hello to you my dear and graceful followers!

Once in awhile I enjoy treating myself to a bouquet of beautiful flowers,

and these gorgeous pink laced roses were calling my name,

"pick me ~ pick me" how could I just walk on by?

These roses were in the sale bucket, no less,

and they have given me pure joy and delight for days now.

I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen and I have a special place

where I love to display my flowers so I can view them from any angle.
  

My daughter, Stephanie, gifted me with this sweet teapot cream & sugar set 
a few years ago and I thought it was a perfect set to use as I enjoyed a cup of tea

all alone while I read the Scriptures, and bowed my knee before the throne of God. 

Just me ~ myself ~ and I ~ alone with God ~ what sweet fellowship

as I sought out to seek the face of God.
Do you ever have those days when all you desire is time alone with God?
I mean, real quiet you and God time, even if it requires your entire day?

"When thou saidst, Seek ye my face;

my heart said unto thee, 

Thy face Lord will I seek."

~ Psalm 27:8 ~

~ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ~

I was enjoying my time as I searched through the Scriptures,
quietly giving God my heart, my all, without any disruptions.
My desire was to be aware of His presence,
 for I know that He delights in our worship of Him,
even those alone times of worship.
'O Lord, cleanse the intent of my heart with Your unspeakable gift of grace'
I know God wants me to live my life to His glory,
no matter if I am eating, drinking or spending time alone with Him.
God wants the glory and He should get the glory!
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the Glory of God"
~ 1 Corinthians 10:31 ~

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,

and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High.

To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,

and thy faithfulness every night.
~ Psalm 92:1~2 ~

God desires that we would publicly acknowledge His goodness,
His (lovingkindness) to us in the morning,
and His (faithfulness) to us EVERY night.
We certainly have much to be thankful for when we reach the end of our day, don't we?

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness,

and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

~ Psalm 107:21

Praising my Jesus!

~ Debbie 

This is the week for the memorial service of my dear father-in-law
and there will be some travelling involved,

so I will be taking some time away from blogging.
With the Holidays coming upon us soon I'm uncertain of when I will post again.
One day at a time...

God's abundant love and blessings be upon you my friends!
♡♡♡

A Young Womans Hope Chest ~

My plan was to write this post just after my knee surgery (4 months ago)
after being inspired from a magazine article written about hope chests
where women shared their testimonies related to their own hope chests.
 Lauren from My Wonderfully Made gifted me with
a lovely "thinking of you" package after my surgery and there were two
beautiful magazines that I had the joy of reading while I was laid up in bed.
This particular article was such a delight to read,
because I could relate to the days when I joyfully added beautiful treasures
to my own hope chest looking forward to the time when I would put them to use.

Being the eldest granddaughter, I was blessed to inherit 

my precious grandmother's cedar chest that was originally her mother's. 

Grandma Maxie was my dad's mom, born and raised in Taylorville Illinois 

who was an Irish spitfire through and through.

Grandma was full of life and vigor until the day she went home

to be with the Lord at the age of 96.
One characteristic that I saw and admired in Grandma,

was that you never heard her talk about anyone,

she was gracious even when she had opportunity not to be.

As a young teen I didn't see the importance of a hope chest,

but Grandma took the time and shared with me

of the importance in acquiring a hope chest and filling 

it with both practical and luxurious items that would serve me well

for many years to come.

Having that hope chest in my room with matching cedar furniture

was special, and through out my growing up years

I had the delight of carefully looking for, and placing special items away for the time

when I would make my own home with my husband.
My treasured trousseau began with Grandma Maxie's
fiesta dinnerware that was used for many years
from the time she began her own home and family of 4 children.
I too used that dinnerware for the first few years of our marriage,
now that beautiful dinnerware graces my hutch
and suits our country home perfectly.

Grandma Maxie gifted me with other items that were from her own kitchen cupboards,
and while I used them for years some of them now grace my home
as vintage decoration.

While Grandma Maxie wasn't a fu-fu frills and lace kinda gal
 my Granny on mom's side was, and because of her love for
crystal, fine china, lace and linens, some of her hand embroidered pillowslips
made their way into my chest.
Those of you who have come to know me a little know that
I love crystal, china and have a weakness for linens and lace.

It wasn't until later in my life that I was blessed to receive
some of Granny's pretty dishes.

 Some day I would like to write a post on my Granny,
because by the age of ten she had made quite an impact on my life
as a young  girl who wanted to be just like her when I grew up!
Granny went home to Heaven when I was at the age of ten.

My cedar chest has been through four generations
where it now resides in my youngest daughters home
along with all my cedar bedroom furniture that I grew up with.
My husband refinished each piece of furniture, including the chest
year's ago, and he did such a lovely job.

~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

Although a hope chest may not be of great importance to some of today's young women
 there was a time, not so long ago, when young women
 filled their hope chest with practical and luxurious items
in preparation for, and with the hope of one day
being ready and prepared for their wedded day in loving marriage,
and the hopes of one day having a family of her own.

~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

 ~ Faith and Hope ~

"And with your love put faith, calm-eyed and level-hearted.
And with that tie up a nosegay of hope,
sweet, gay, light-hearted hope. Throw that into your chest,
and for a good measure gather up a few herbs from the humble garden
of patience ~ throw them into the chest.

And when you are all done and the chest is full
and you put your hand into the hand of the man who loves you,
take the chest with you and go somewhere together,
and make in his harried, restless, worried world a haven and a shelter
and a snug harbor against all the kinds that blow
and all the storms that rage, and call it H-O-M-E"
~ Winifred Black ~

~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

How about you ~ was a hope chest a part of your life?
Is a hope chest a part of your life now?

Blessings!
~ Debbie ~ 

Sending some Love ~

Isn't the Christian life beautiful, sweet friends?

God would have us to make a joyful noise, and praise His Holy Name
as we go through our day trusting that in all things, it is good.

I trust your days are pleasantly filled with the joy of the Lord?

~ My lovely tea cup was a special gift through Stephanie's Tea cup Exchange ~

Last week I received a precious e-mail from a dear friend

 here in our blogging community, and she was asking on behalf of another

blogging friend to send out a birthday card to a lady

who could use some encouragement through receiving and opening up

some birthday cards sent on her special day.

I didn't know this dear soul, but what a privilege to share in the joy of her special day.
Well...I wasn't about to miss out on an opportunity to send some love

and encouragement to this lady for her birthday.
I'm sure we can all attest to enjoying sweet sentiments from others
on our very own birthdays, there's just something special about our birthdays.

I wasn't going to town on the day I wanted the card mailed,

so I asked my husband if he could drop it in the mail box

as it needed to make its way sooner than later to arrive on time.

Not recognizing the name on the envelope
 my husband asked just who this lady was, and so,

 I began to explain what was asked of my blogging friend.

He was awe struck, which led to our conversation of how beautiful

our blogging community is and how real the friendships are

here in cyber space.
I told my husband that blogging is a community of friends
 who are real, who care, who love,

who are there for you in your time of need, 

who have common attitudes, interests and goals, and there is

a feeling of sweet fellowship one with another.

My husband and I shared in the sweetest conversation over the beauty

of our blogging community.
 Dear friends, isn't blogging beautiful?!

In April of 2014 I began blogging after watching my Stephanie with her own blog. 

I was inspired by the friendships made and the love that 
was graced through the lives of those of you dear blogging souls.
Stephanie would share with me time and time again of the different
ladies she was becoming friends with, and those friendships were real.

Over the years as I too have connected with our circle of blogging friends
I have experienced the love and beauty that reaches out to others
as a community built around friendships.
You, dear friends, welcomed me so graciously when I wrote my first post
 and began this journey of blogging.
You have reached out to me with your love, care, concern, 
prayers, cards and even gifts of love when I was going through life circumstances.
You have been my friends, and you have been real!
Blogging is certainly a community built around friendships
and where lives are enriched through people of all walks of life
and in all parts of the world where I may never have the chance to travel to,
but through YOU, and your blogs I have had the joy of seeing God's marvelous world
and making some of the most wonderful and meaningful friendships.
And that my friends ~ is pure joy!
~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~
From deep within my heart, and sincerely with all my love,
 thank you for your precious friendship
found here in our blogging community,
where people are real!

Joy!
~Debbie ~