FOUR GIFTS

In this week between Christmas and the start of a new calendar year, I thought about gift-giving. Today's thoughts were posted a couple of years ago. May they speak to you as thoughtfully now as when they were freshly minted.

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If I could give each of you a gift, I’d wrap up four nice boxes and in each one there would be a word you could treasure the rest of your life.

In the first box I’d put Hope. Without hope in our lives, we can grow afraid of the future. It all looks bleak. Or endless nothing. Or terrifying. But with hope, we can see something greater than the fears we live with.

In the second box I’d put Peace. My favorite definition is on a mug I use to drink tea each day. It reads: “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

In the third box I’d put Joy. A few days ago I read in a small devotional book this thought: “Joy feels deeper than momentary pride, satisfaction, or relief. . . . A sense of joy brings deep contentment and is often expressed by gratitude for what we’ve been given.” (Lelanda Lee, author)

And in the fourth box I’d put Love. Love encompasses Hope; it brings Peace; and underneath all Joy you’ll find Love.

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Hope you had a blessed Christmas!

FIRST DAY OF WINTER!

I hope you aren't disappointed that I'm not posting bone-chilling photos of deep snow in my neighborhood. One year I put up a yard stick and was appalled at how much snow covered the inches.

The reason I'm not posting those b-r-r pics is that I have none this year. The snow we had a week or so ago has, courtesy of La Nina, melted away.

Instead, we're having clear skies--low temps--and wind. I could show you the sky, but haven't quite got the hang of photographing low temps and wind. The effects I can do, but the below-freezing cold and biting wind . . .?

What I do have are the final two Christmas gifts to complete: a small reading pillow (travel pillow form covered in favorite colors of the recipient) and the last stage--binding and labeling--of a bed-size quilt. No pics of either project--they won't be delivered until next week.

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The biggest "project" is preparation for my Minnesota daughter's visit. A little light cleaning and straightening up, meal planning (with attendant shopping for ingredients), and locating and dusting off the Christmas DVDs and CDs--arrival is Friday by suppertime.

Also am practicing music for Christmas Day when I'll play the organ at my church. Wonderful old familiar carols that we sing only once a year for a few Sundays and other services during the Christmas season.

Wrapping gifts has become less hectic than in former years. I'm still not crazy about gift bags--there's usually one gift that doesn't want to be bagged because it's too big or odd-shaped or just plain ornery--but I have come to appreciate the idea that I can find a pretty scene on a just-right size bag, coordinate it with some nifty tissue paper, and hand it to a waiting, excited, recipient. But I still enjoy wrapping a box or a soft, squashy something in bright Christmas paper and sticking it together with tape, maybe topping it with a pre-made bow, or just wrapping it around and around with yarn. (Plenty of yarn at my house!)


As an aside: Maybe the thing I don't like about gift bags is that there's no anticipation--no shaking of the package, no feeling the size and shape and trying to figure out What It Is. Gift bags, it seems to me, are synonymous with instant gratification: Whip out the tissue, delve into the bag, and hey-presto! There's your gift. (Remember, I'm a dinosaur.)

Another plus for wrapped gifts is the recipient's opportunity to test one's skill in un-wrapping the gift, seeing what's inside the box, then re-wrapping so Mom doesn't suspect it's been opened. At least one of my four kids brought that skill to Expert level. (You know who you are!)

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I received one gift already--my Ohio daughter brought me this large box, taped shut; and on the outside was a picture of what is inside. But to make sure she hadn't rescued the box from the recycling bin and filled it with something totally at odds with the picture on the outside, I asked. No, she said, it's just what it looks like. So now I have a Cuisinart electric kettle! She's had one for years and I've always admired it. If you're in the neighborhood and gasping for a cup of tea, I can whip one up in very little time.

Then the next day I got another gift--talking about tea reminded me. It's a large silver safety pin, on which several small charms hang: a teacup on its saucer, a couple of bead arrangements in crystal and silver, a silver heart, a spoon, and a silver tea kettle. This was made by the mother of my knitting friend, Emily. (Emily's mother is one of the most talented women I've ever met--her mind teems with ideas and images that she turns into things of beauty.)

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One gift I'd rather not receive is already on its way--'way below normal temps starting Christmas Day and running through most of that week. Highs in the teens don't really do much for me--and lows in single digits? If I could find an office to register my protest, I'd do it, but I think they're already closed for the holidays.

Those of us with warm houses and full pantries can be thankful . . . and we can pray for relief for folks so much less fortunate than we are. If you're in a place where you can serve at a shelter, now's your chance.

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I know I used this quotation from Charles Dickens a couple of weeks ago, but it's so appropriate right now. 

By the time another Thursday rolls around, most of us will have had our big dinners and our gift-giving and our holiday visits. We will be in the time of honoring Christmas in our hearts.

Blessings on you for a meaningful Christmas Day and season . . . from Thursday's Child.

DECEMBER 14

If you're doing a countdown, this is Day 11 before Christmas arrives.

Like many people, I'm finding a Monday holiday--not the usual ones like Memorial Day or Labor Day or Somebody's Birthday Observance--to be a bit, um, inconvenient. 

Christmas on Monday means Christmas Eve is Sunday. There was a bit of head-scratching, I'm sure, among the folks who plan and schedule and make things happen for Sundays. My contribution to December 24th is to be a communion assistant at the 9:00 AM service. Although I would like to be part of the late night service, starting at 11:00 PM, I live far enough from the church to accept that driving at night, in uncertain weather, on a hilly and very dark route, may not be the best thing to do.

Christmas Day service at 9:00 AM on Monday will find me on the organ bench. I can't think of a better way, or place, to celebrate this holy day.

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Last week's grumps have gone away. Maybe it was the arrival of snow, enough to cover the ground and give us the White Christmas feeling. Or maybe it was the cold--some nights in the very low teens or--{shiver, shiver}--single digits. (I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the grumps got frozen out. And it couldn't happen to a better group, I say.)

One of my projects is now in the hands of the woman who performs her artistic magic on my quilts and makes them a thing of beauty. Just delivering the quilt to her lifted a large load off my life.

Yesterday I delivered the first of my veggie trays to people I want to thank for keeping my life on track. Today I'll deliver three more, and the last two on Friday.

Christmas cards and letters have been written and mailed. 


So, you ask, what have I left undone?

Well--haven't watched any Christmas movies yet. 

Or listened to Christmas CDs.

Or baked any holiday cookies or breads or cakes.

Or  bought any special clothes or accessories to wear to gala occasions. (This might be because I don't to go any gala occasions.)

And that's all right, all of those things I haven't done. Because I still honor the season of Advent, a time of waiting and watching and preparation for the birth of a baby who changed the world.

Eleven more days . . . Time to finish delivering veggie trays. And find the last couple of gifts that have eluded me thus far. And in just over a week my Minnesota daughter arrives for a week's visit.

I wish you peace as you put the final touches on your Christmas celebrations.

WHADDYA MEAN, CELEBRATE?

Do you remember an old song that went like this?

Grumpy the Dwarf

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,

     If you're happy and you know it,

          then your life will surely show it,

     If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.

I'm singing a new verse, that goes something like this:

     If you're grumpy and you know it, frown and growl . . . .

There's no really good reason for my current grump. But there are a lot of little idiotic reasons. Such as:

--my credit card payment, mailed 10 days early, at the Post Office, didn't arrive at the company that processes payments

--the credit card company wants me to pay up--I'm holding out for the check to clear

--the wind has picked up again, gusting along at 35-45 mph; certainly cuts into my going out for errands and exercise sessions

--my sleep patterns--if I can dignify them with such a term--are all topsy turvy, through no fault of anybody I know

--days melt away and I don't know where they go

That's enough to give you the idea. You probably have your own list.

The reason I frown and growl is . . . I can't do anything about the above items. Except fret. Or frown. And growl. None of which does any good.

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It's pretty bad when Mickey has
the grumps.

The weather thing--windy/cold/wet/cloudy stuff--can't change it, but I've decided how to handle that. If I have to stay home, I'll do yoga stretches for exercise. Or watch a fitness video on the computer. Or take a nap. I've even done some of my shopping online (I know, some people do ALL their shopping online)--but that requires using a credit card, which, as we know, needs to be paid, and if not paid, or not recognized by the company as paid, results in a nasty-nice email . . . .

Okay. Enough of that. If I can't change the way things happen, what can I do--really--to adjust my attitude? (I can't afford the professional Attitude Adjustment, so it'll be DIY.)

1. I can find somebody much worse off than I am and recognize just how blessed I am. (This might lead to feelings of superiority, so I'll look for something else.)

2. I can quit buying things online. And stop using credit cards. (Last I heard, cash still works.)

3. I can declare a moratorium on the grumps--one way to do that is to schedule the grumps, say, every Thursday at 2:15 AM, for 5 minutes.

4. I can read something funny--humor does a lot to shift my mood. But it has to be real humor, not satire or the sarks. Funny movies or TV shows can do the same thing.

5. I can complain (if I really, really must)  in my journal, thus protecting my family and friends from the contagion of the grumps.

6. I can do something nice for somebody else. (You're on your own with this one--my something nice might not be your something nice.)

7. I can play some upbeat music--Vince Guaraldi Trio's CD, A Charlie Brown Christmas, makes me want to dance. 

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Writing about the grumps and knowing you're right here with me (you are, aren't you?) lightens the load. 

May your days be merry and bright, and may the grumps never visit your abode.

Linus can put a positive spin
on nearly everything.