Rather Merry

 

The choice to be glad that one is alive is always ours, we just must simply make it.

Every Christmas season is the same.  We all rush about here and there trying to get ready for the big day.  In the process I often find myself left in a huff and sometimes a bit agitated.  

The remedy, at least my suggestion, is to make a new list.  Here it is…

·        - Make a real effort to be kind to everyone

·         -Smile more

·         -Take a deep breath and take in all the festive holiday aromas

·        - Look at more Christmas lights

·         -Be quick to forgive and quicker not to hold a grudge

·        - Think of each member of your family as a gift from God

·         -Listen to the song HOW MANY KINGS by the band DOWN HERE

·         -Embrace everyday as a chance to be better than yesterday

·         -Thank God for every breath you take, for none are truly guaranteed

·        - Make rather merry and enjoy this time of the year

I love the part in the famous Christmas movie, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, when Bob Crachitt tells Scrooge the reason he was late getting to work the day after Christmas.  His reply was simple- I was making rather merry. 

How many of us can be found guilty of such a sentiment.  Sadly, I believe not enough.  Yet, during this season may we all take a deep breath and reflect on why God sent His Son to live among us in such a humble way, as not to bother us, if we were not interested. 

Christmas is the time of year when God sends us a Christmas card by sending Jesus to save our very souls.  If God did write a card it would simply read this: I think the world of you, I hope you think the same of the gift I gave you…

May each and every Christmas find us with enough sense to throw caution to the wind and make rather merry.

Swavel

 

Safe At Home

Dorothy and her ruby red slippers were absolutely right- there is no place like home.

There is just something about having something to call your own, something you can call home.

For example, here are some phrases about home…  Home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play.   Home is where the heart is.  Home is where your story begins.  I’ll be home for Christmas.  Home for the Holidays.  And of course the goal of each runner in baseball is be SAFE AT HOME. 

About two weeks ago, my wife and I became homeowners, not that we had elaborate plans to do so.  However, it is cool for the most part, but it comes with both advantages and disadvantages.

Disadvantages:

·         Can’t find things, because of the move

·         No parking for friends

·         We must pay for unexpected expenses

·         Must pay mortgage monthly or will be on the outside looking in

Advantages:

·         No one can tell us we have to leave at a moment’s notice

·         Can decorate how we like

·         We have something we can call ours

·         Stability is nice

Now, I know nothing is really all mine.  It has been said, that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.  And I believe all good things come from the hand of God.  So, although it is nice to own a home I know I can’t possibly do life on my own.

This sentiment can best be summed up by a plaque I got my wife for her birthday and something new to hang in our house: OUR HOUSE IS JUST A LITTLE HOUSE, BUT GOD KNOWS WHERE WE LIVE.

Safe at home only truly exists when God draws up the blueprint and then constructs it in His own good time.

Swavel