Treasures of Darkness, by Evelyn Watson

Here is our first Christmas story for December 2012. It is powerful story of spiritual strength during a difficult time. Read, reflect, respond. Do you have a Christmas memory to share? A reflection? A poem? A pondering?  We would love to hear from you!

“I will give you the treasures of darkness”   Isaiah 45:3

It was Christmas 1973. My parents had both died that year during the summer, in June and July. This was my first Christmas without them. Plans were that we would spend that Christmas in Connecticut for the holiday. I wasn’t looking forward to it; in fact my heart was heavy with the idea. To be with Christian friends who had known my parents and who would support me during this devastating time of my life was what I longed for. Without my parents and friends, the approaching holiday loomed with magnifying sorrow. Dwight had no knowledge of the Lord’s involvement in our lives at that time so he was unable to offer me comfort.

Lost in a world of my own, days before the trip I found myself weighed down in sadness. The Lord had given me strength to be more than a conqueror at the time of my parents’ deaths, but now grief was waging war with strength, and I couldn’t fight. As each day approached closer to our departure, my spirit was declining, spiraling downward. I sensed darkness approaching, and relayed my concern to friends and to the Lord. I barely knew Dwight’s relatives but I knew their beliefs were with little or no knowledge of a personal relationship with Jesus. Without Jesus they were in darkness.

On the morning of December 13, I was pouring out my heart to the Lord in the shower. His voice interrupted me: “Read Streams in the Desert.” In my despair I had failed to read my devotional, “Streams in The Desert” for several days. It was a powerful message that sent a surging strength into my weakened spirit. The scripture, “I will give you the treasures of darkness,” with a beautiful story of how God works in the dark immediately lifted my spirit. The message’s last sentence, “God is watching, and He will bring good and beauty out of all your pain and tears,” was answer to my prayer, comforting words in a scripture I had never heard before.

As our plane rolled down the runway for takeoff, the song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” played in my head. It still seemed as though I was leaving my heart behind but that thought no longer weighed down. I had courage to go through the holiday knowing God heard me, was with me, and would bring good from this trip.

A Life of Gratitude, by Barbara Sparks

Although we are now officially in the Christmas season, here is one more story of thanksgiving. Appropriately, as the title suggests, it is not about giving thanks one day of the year, but about living a “life of gratitude.” This tribute to Barbara’s mother helps us understand why Barbara is the woman she is today.

 

 

“God has blessed me with 80 years of life.  There’s a time to live and a time to die.  I’m ready to die.  I don’t want to be in pain.  I want to die in my sleep.”    “Mother, God has blessed me with fifty-five years of having you in my life.”  Two weeks later my mother died peacefully in her sleep.

 I don’t ever remember my mother complaining.  If she experienced rough spots or roadblocks in her life, she always found a way to bring humor into her discussion of the experience. 

My mother had many sad events in her life.  Her mother died when she was a sixteen.  She was left to raise Betty, her two-year-old sister.  Because she was so young, Mother had to defend her right  to raise Betty. In court, the judge asked Betty where she wanted to live. Betty, immediately exclaimed,  “With my sister!”  “Well young lady you can.”  the judge said with a smile.  My mother expressed then and throughout her life how grateful she was to be able to raise her sister.

 Mother was grateful for the ability and opportunity to achieve things that she could only dream of since so many obstacles stood in her way.  She repeated two quotes throughout her life.   ”Nothing beats a failure but a try. “  “For all things give thanks.”  The echoes of those quotes are a constant reminder of my mother’s life philosophy.

In 1960, at forty-two years old, she completed the two units she needed to graduate from high school and marched proudly across the stage to receive her high school diploma.    She went on to college and earned her Bachelor of Science Degree and  Masters of Science Degree.

Her lifetime dream of becoming a teacher was fulfilled when she was fifty years old.  She retired at seventy-four.

She took nothing for granted.  She expressed gratitude for the purchase of her first car, first home, and her ability to take road trips across the United States.  She reveled at the beauty of the sky at sunset, the forest and the power of the rapids.   She was grateful for all God’s creations.

The final trip of her dreams was to Israel.  Though she was loosing her sight and couldn’t walk with the energy she had had in the  past, she was still grateful that she could go. She experienced all that the tour provided which included a ride   on a camel.

My mother lived her life with zest and zeal and was always ready to experience each adventure and gift that God provided while happily expressing how grateful she was.  She taught me by example how wonderful it is to live a life of gratitude.

Today, Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012, on the anniversary of my mother’s death, November 22, 1998, I am grateful for all I learned about gratitude from my mother and the blessing of having her in my life for fifty-five years.

 

Thanksgiving in the Philippines, By Noemi Rabina

While our Thanksgiving holiday is now past, it is never too late to give thanks. This story from Noemi is a reminder that thankfulness is an encouraging  practice for people all over the world.

 

           Thanksgiving in November is not a public holiday. Only the Americans give their employees a day off. The main point is to thank the Lord for everything that He has done. People go to church with their gifts and prayers and have fellowship with friends.

           People celebrate Thanksgiving any time of the year when there is something special that happened in the family. It could be that somebody graduated from college. Passing the Board Exam. or Bar, is something to be thankful for. Success at work, safe travel of family member coming home from abroad calls for a thanksgiving celebration. To have a new house is also a good reason to celebrate with thanksgiving. A minister may bless the home to fill it with Christian love among the family members and friends. To have a new car is most exciting especially to the middle class. Having a car is not common among the Filipinos for there are lots of public transportations and people can go where ever they want. To have a car is only for the rich and the famous.

           It is good to be thankful always for whatever happens. When trouble comes, be thankful for God's precious presence is always available and sufficient to heal and to comfort.

           Over the years, as Filipinos came to the United States, they joined the Americans in celebrating Thanksgiving Day on the 4th Thursday in November. It is a big affair, and it should really be, considering all the blessings that most of the people enjoy. Families get together, feasting over the traditional roast turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potato, and pumpkin pie. To add the Filipino touch, we have our favorite dishes of pancit, egg rolls, and much more. But what is important is keeping the perpetual attitude of loving fellowship of kindred minds and hearts on Thanksgiving Day, not only among ourselves but also with others of different nationalities. We are all one big family under One God.

           What else is popular? It is the "After Thanksgiving Sale."  People lined up in the stores very early in the morning to avail themselves of the door busting sales, hoping to get the biggest discounts for their Christmas Holiday gift shopping. We stretch our hard earned dollar for more presents to put inside the "balikbayan" boxes to be sent to our loved ones in the Philippines for Christmas. "Freely we receive, freely we also shall give!"

           And to all people around the world, may your Thanksgiving last for more than a day, or week, or month, for the grace of God has no end!

 

Thanksgiving ABC's, by Jacqueline Smith

One of the things I love about our class is the endless variety of writers and thinkers. This is Jacqui’s ABC list – an expression of the way she thinks and lives.

 

Angels that are always watching over me.

Beauty of colorful trees and falling leaves in Autumn.

Compassionate and caring people in my life.

Doors of opportunity that God opens before me.

Experiences that have made me who I am today.

Friends and family members who I love and cherish.

Grace to accept all people just as they truly are.

Hope of a home on high when this life is finished.

Inspirational moments when my imagination soars.

Jesus, who is my Savior and the Lord of my life.

Kind and gentle words spoken at just the right time.

Love and laughter and time spent with special friends.

Many precious memories for which I am truly grateful.

New friends who are like jewels in my treasure chest.

Oh, "Nothing says lovin' like something from the oven".

Prayer, peaceful music, pumpkin pie and playful puppies.

Quiet evenings of serenity when my neighbors go to sleep.

Understanding others, and being understood as well.

Voices of my wonderful, chatty pals on the telephone.

Warm and cozy blankets on a cold, Winter's night.

Xcellent life that fills my heart with joy unspeakable.

Years spent with the best parents and siblings in the world.

Zeal for what lies ahead because "the best is yet to come".

 

 

Thanksgiving ABC's by Kacie Cooper

Thanksgiving is only 3 days away. Have you written down your thankfulness list yet? Here is Kacie’s.  Read and enjoy.

Anyone who will listen to me
Benny-Michael Benny, my 2nd born, beautiful son
Cool breezes on warm night and catsup-(didn't they used to spell it that way?)
Dill pickles, door knobs and daylight
Elijah Abraham-my 8th month old beautiful Grandson
Fingers, flushing toilets
God and girlfriends from "Memoirs"
Humor and hunger (sometimes) to remind me how blessed I am to live in America
Intuition, internet
Jokes, Jingle Bell songs, Justin Bieber (for my granddaughter Tiana)
Knowledge, know-it-alls
Love, laughter, life, I Love Lucy, leeks and Looney Toons
Mimi Marissa and Monique- my two beautiful daughters
Nieces and nephews, nails, new life, new experiences, new friendships and noodles
Oregon and my final trip there with my beautiful, late Brother Michael
Patti- my precious baby sister
Quirky friends and quick forgivings
Restoration of depressed and broken hearts
Sun light that leads our way
Tony-my beautiful 1st born son and Tiana Kathleen my beautiful Granddaughter
Underwater scuba divers who save lives underwater...somewhere
Violin I still have from childhood but can't play-will handdown to Tiana now
Wuzzy, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear- even though he truly wasn't
X-even though it's the least used alphabet we've got
Yolanda, my big sister- even though I think I'm older than her
Zilch-(just the word, not the real meaning)

Thank you and I thank God for each and everyone of you in our "Memoir" class-you make me smile!

I am From, by Peggy Knorr

Another guest writer this week – this “I am From” poem is from Peggy Knorr, writer extraordinaire ~ .

I am from…..

a thunderstorm; 

not an ordinary one,

but a ferocious Indian monsoonal cataclysm

that split the skies and drenched the earth 

and panicked my tiny body in its effort to escape claustrophobic devastation.

 

I was not ready to leave my private little heaven,

my mother's peaceful growing place, it wasn't time; 

I wanted more of that calm acceptance, 

but now the very muscles that had supported me 

were pushing me hard out into the world, 

and many frantic hands were puling at me 

to break the suction of its cavernous hold;     

each thunderous explosion dissolving one more strand of my insistence to stay behind,  

loosening my pain-wracked determination not to be born. 

 

"Look out, Here she comes" the storm was shouting

"We'll get that little bugger yet.

She needs to know what wakening to the world is like)

It is no small deal to prepare a life for stalwart strength.

We've gathered up our energies in all their immensity

so we can give her fitting start to weather the rough storms of living 

as she needs and as they come.. 

 

"Mis-shapen body, yes, because we are not soft, we did as little damage as we could,

but that will only add to her strength.

The trials she will encounter will be fashioned in the belly of disturbances of mighty forces

and she will have grown used to hard happenings when they come along 

and will welcome them from the beginning for her growth."

 

So spoke the mighty storm, and now since many years have passed 

I hold in honor those tremendous energies that chose to be the beginning of my worldly existence.

 

Thanksgiving ABC's by Bonnie Mansell

For the last few years my class has been sharing our Thanksgiving blessings in the form of an alphabetical list. It's a fun (and a little bit challenging) way to think about the things we are thankful for. Although I generally publish only one or two posts a week, if you send me your ABC list, I'll be happy to post them each day in the order I get them. I'd love to hear from you :)

This assignment allows for only VERY SHORT explanations, so you may not understand each item on someone’s list. That’s okay. Just enjoy the expression of gratitude.

Autumn ~ in California

Babysitting Adaya ~ What a precious gift!

Cousins and almost cousins ~ the blessing of reconnection

Date nights ~ with Steve

Eucharisteo ~ Ann Voskamp’s reminder to give thanks

Facebook ~Yes, I’m thankful for Facebook

Guarding the heart of your marriage ~ retreat planning and participation

 

Hospitable kids ~ what a joy to see them welcome others into their lives!

Ice cream ~ on Friday nights

Jury duty ~ inconvenient, but a reminder of our rights and responsibilities

Kids who love each other

Learning to golf

Mountain retreat ~ in Arrowhead with the family

New hearts ~ physical and spiritual

Outdoor music ~ in the park, Hollywood Bowl, Irvine, Downtown Disney

Pebble Beach ~ Golfing with Steve at Peter Haye across from the good golfers!

Quarters ~ (and nickels, dimes, and pennies) saved in our World Vision jar.

Renovations ~ Disrupting our lives, but bringing out the best in my family of hard workers.

Seventeen mile drive ~ breathtaking beauty and time together

Thursdays ~ my weekly blessing!

UCLA ~ Cardiac and Thoracic surgery gave us both a longer and better life

Volunteering~ opportunities with World vision

Walks ~ with my husband as he recovered from surgery. Sweet, tender times.

Xing ~ off my “to do list”

Young-at-heart friends and family ~  

Zzzzz’s ~ especially Sunday afternoon naps