Christmas is right around the corner. The living room is ready, the presents wrapped, and the dogs are waiting for Santa to arrive.

All of my children are coming home for Christmas and some are not leaving until after New Years Day. The chance for meaningful blogging is close to zero; the opportunity for meaningful time spent with family is optimistically high. Therefore I will not be posting until 2010. I know you will all understand and I promise lots of family photos when n I return.

Meanwhile, I hope your holidays are blessed with good cheer and that the New Year brings joy and happiness to one and all.

Welcome to the Loose Writers Consortium. I chose the subject for this Friday and I am anxious to read all the other others writers as they wander back through times remembered. It is also my pleasure to welcome two new writers, Ginger and Anu to our group. I have added their blogs to the list of those in the writer’s consortium. The list is on the right hand side of my blog. Please take time to visit these outstanding bloggers.

The Salvation Army Lady

Christmases when my children were small were perhaps the best of all. Now when I wander through stores I see little faces that remind me of the boys when they were preschoolers and those handsome faces with their bright smiles tug at my heart strings.

There is one memory from those days sweeter than all others and I am reminded of it every time I pass a Salvation Army bell-ringer. I, through a series of life’s problems was left to raise two toddlers on my own. With the help of my parents, a bold lie to the Welfare Department, (Aid to Dependent Children only subsidized mothers who stayed at home.) plus a scholarship to the University that miraculously fell into my lap, I began college.

Money was unusually tight and my first year at the University, I worked through the Christmas Rush at a local store. That helped to buy gifts for the boys, however, it also meant long hours away from them. I vowed I would not work over the holidays again. I was away from my children far too many hours during the school year. I needed to spend the hours of my winter break with them.

So when in my Sophomore year, a post card arrived from the Salvation Army in late November, inviting me to come to a special store that they were preparing and to pick out two toys for each of my children, I thought, “Why not?” The date of my invitation was Dec. 6th at 10AM.

The store was located downtown and leaving the boys with my mom, I climbed onto the local bus. I don’t know what I was expecting. Pride almost kept me away. With a tilt to my chin and a “I can do this for the kids” attitude, I got off at the corner of 9th and Nicollet and walked the short distance to the Salvation Army Store. I entered a brightly lit, warm, holiday decorated old building filled with new toys. A wonderful woman greeted me with “Merry Christmas”. She grabbed a cart, and announced proudly that she was my personal shopping companion. This woman had a remarkable ability to listen and to care. She was like an angel and before you could say, “Santa,” she had steered me to the area marked “For three and four year olds.”

I picked out two toys for the younger of my sons and then said proudly, “My four year old is really interested in Science and well, he is a little advanced for his age.” You would have thought my gifted child was her own grandson. She wheeled that cart around to the “Five to seven year old” area and begin looking for educational toys with a solid scientific bend. There was a chicken in the egg kit showing the developmental stages of an embryo. It went into the cart. There was a math game. It went into the cart.

Two presents per boy, that was what the post card had said so I thought I was through, but no this wonderful woman couldn’t count or didn’t care about rules. She just laughed and said,” But there are so many gifts here, you must take more.” She smiled as though my taking a few more toys would be helpful to her. So into the cart went two or three more items for each boy. I thanked her profusely and she gave me the warm, good-by hug of an old friend.

To leave the store you passed a counter where all the goodies were put into shopping bags. Patiently waiting for mine to be bagged, I looked up to see my personal shopper running toward me, “Here,” she said with a tone of delight in her voice, “You must take this Astronomy Build Your Own Solar System for your son”.

I left the store with a feeling of respect, of honor, of self-esteem that could only come with love, the Christmas spirit, and the helping hand of the Salvation Army. God love them all especially the Salvation Army Lady, who I am sure earned her wings long ago and now bustles busily among the Cherubim and Seraphim, where I am willing to bet, she still doesn’t count gifts and she still doesn’t play by the rules.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? There are Christian groups that would like us to boycott stores with Happy Holidays in their ads rather than Merry Christmas. They are afraid that by saying, “Happy Holidays’ we are in some way erasing the importance of Christ’s birth.

I came across this message and song on Utube. Personally, I found it despicable and not in the true spirit of the season. Although it represents a small group of Christians, it is a group whose membership appears to be growing.

TURN UP VOLUME AND ENJOY THESE YOUNG GUYS SINGING
YOU’LL LOVE THIS….WE HAVE TO LEARN THE WORDS AND SING IT THIS YEAR
EVERYWHERE WE GO AND ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE SAYS “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” TO US!!
Click here: to hear the song on Utube.

Now compare the song with the beautiful words of this e-mail message that came last week.

Letter from Jesus about Christmas —

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wasn’t actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER..

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home.. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas” that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8.. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary– especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name..

9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :
I LOVE YOU,
JESUS

I would rather be counted among those who strive to emulate Christ than be among those so-called Christians who fail to understand the words, “Peace on Earth to ALL Men of Good Will”.

It certainly is a wonderful time of the year. Just take a look what is under our Christmas Tree. My wonderful blogger friends, Jay and Mary mailed these beautiful jars of jam to Bob and me.

I think they are the perfect jewels of friendship and they represent Mary’s and Jay’s warm and loving hearts.

Bob and I looking forward to opening one jar tomorrow morning at breakfast time, and until then all of the precious jars will share this place of honor under our Christmas Tree.

The holiday decorating is almost done, and I am taking a break to post about FLAME the subject chosen by the Loose Consortium Writers for this week. LCW blogs are listed on the right hand side of your screen. I invite you to visit these excellent writers and read the varying approaches to this week’s subject.

There are so many ways to think of flame, but I am inclined to stay with the first one that came into my mind and that is the flame of a votive candle.

Although I am no longer a Catholic. I still love to stop by our Catholic Church and its little chapel with its bank of votive candles. As my eyes wander across the rows of blue glass candle holders,I find myself wondering what prayers, what intent, what thoughts went with the lighting of each.

As I look closer, I think was this one lit by widow in memory of her husband? Maybe that one over there, glows with the light of gratitude. Perhaps it was lit by a young man whose cancer tests came back negative. And the one way in the back, was it lit in wishful prayer for a new-found job or perhaps a new baby to add to a loving family?

Most of the flames burn brightly and their shadows dance on the dark chapel wall, but there are also flames that are beginning to flicker as the candle burns low causing a sputtering sound and a quivering, glimmer of light. To me this trembling beacon sends out one last wish, one last plea, or one last thank you before it is rendered mute. Then I light a candle in memory of loved ones and sit quietly for a moment lost in sweet memories of days past..

It is at home that I am most at ease with the candle ritual. It may seem silly, but sometimes when family or friends call with a serious quandary or difficulty, I find myself without the right words. It is at this time that I hear myself saying, “I will light a candle.” So I light a candle and in its flame, I see my intent and my prayer. As I go about my daily chores, I return to its flame of hope and imploration

I do not only light candles for problems, I often light a candle in gratitude. It is a way of acknowledging the good that has come into my life or into the lives of those I love. When I pass a candle lit in thankful joy, it lifts my already rising spirits to an even higher level.

Three years ago, while I waited for news of the twins birth, I lit a candle, photographed it, and wrote a poem. It has great meaning to me and I posted it shortly after their safe arrival. It is my pleasure to share it again.