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Random Acts of Christmas

One thing I like to do at the holidays is give a small (very small) token gift to people at random. One year I hung handmade angel ornaments anonymously on neighbor’s door knobs. Other years I have given candy canes or tea bags from a display on our door (we spent a lot of years in apartments). One year I grabbed a handful of holiday stick pins from our Christmas box (when Bob worked for a toy, novelty and gift company) as we were leaving for church and pinned them on people who were very special to me. And of course I have given away too many plates of holiday goodies to count.

What I remember most about all the things I have given at the holidays is the reaction of the people receiving them. Most have reacted like instead of a mere token I gave them gold. People like to be remembered and appreciated, especially in a way that does not make them feel obligated in any way.

So what is my Random Act of Christmas this year?

Reindeer antlers of course! The ladies at my holiday party all received antlers at the door and I’ve been handing out the leftovers on my daily walk. Remember I live in a senior community. I’ve never seem so many people over fifty smile and giggle in my life.

So I hope you will think about Random Acts of Christmas. This isn’t about spending a lot of money. Remember the thought really does count.

Thought for Today

“Reach out and help others. If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. Be a vessel, be the change, be the difference, or be the inspiration. Shine your light as an example. The world needs more of that.”
― Germany Kent

Fun and Easy Ways to Shine Your Light: Be an Angel

Our word angel comes from the Greek ἄγγελος. It means messenger. I will always think of this with a smile remembering a fellow seminary student in Greek class who happened to be named Angel beaming and exchanging laughter with the professor about the appropriateness of his name.

I do believe in God’s holy angels who are sent to be messengers of God’s love, care and sometimes judgement. I have had personal encounters with angels.

But I do also believe that we are also called to be messengers of Gods light, love and care to each other. This is not reserved for pastors or those studying to become pastors. We all do this by the way we live and care for others.

Especially during this season be sure you reflect God’s love and light and spread it around. I love angel crafts and have included a few links below if you want to share God’s love and light by giving handmade angels. If you are interested in Greek I have a reference for that too.

Resource:

Blue Letter Bible — referring to Strong’s Concordance

49 Awesome Angel Crafts

All Free Christmas Crafts — Angels

Thought for Today

“Most people…are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you…are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night – if you dare to let yourself burn.”
― Sabaa Tahir, A Torch Against the Night

Living the Inner Mystery in the Outer World

I have been blessed throughout my life to know people with deep spiritual connections. I am talking about people who shine the light of God through their faces, who sometimes seem to not walk on this earth at all but to float above it. I wasn’t sure what these people had, but I knew I wanted it.

Believe me I chased after it with everything I had. Unfortunately, I was mistaking the outward manifestation which appears in some spiritual people, but not all, for the spiritual life itself. We are all created to be different and we are all called to live the mystery of our oneness with God and each other in our own way.

It is much easier to live this mystery in seclusion or a small group of like-minded people with nothing but time to devote to prayer and meditation, but this is not a secret we are to keep to ourselves. Jesus, the master teacher tried to teach us how to do this during his time on this earth. If we read the New Testament gospels we see that he often withdrew to spend time with his small inner circle or with the Father. Life in this world is difficult. It is confusing. It can be physically exhausting. We must have time to rest, renew and remember our spiritual connection which is always there, we just tend to forget from time to time.

So how do we do this?

Spend time alone in the silence every day.
Don’t get caught up in personality differences. Some people living the spiritual life are calm, peaceful and slow-moving, while others are more energetic and even fun loving. Some focus more on the inner life, while others are compelled to reach out to the world. There is no one form or model we all have to fit into. You are a unique manifestation of God for a reason.
Remember our thoughts are prayers and we create our own reality with our thoughts.
In everything you do, be led by love.

The way you live you life will have much more influence than your words ever will. Live the inner mystery — the outer world needs you.

Thought for Today

“Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.”
― Jim Carrey

Thought for Today

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining – they just shine.” —Dwight L. Moody
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/shine.html

Fun and Easy Ways to Shine Your Light: Celebrate the Hanukkah Story

Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight. Do you know the story behind this light holiday? If you don’t, you need to read it. The story of Hanukkah is full of adventure and drama surrounding events leading up to a great miracle. It is a story of liberation, freedom, reclaiming what was lost and hope.

Even if you are not Jewish we can all learn from the traditions of those who may believe differently than we do. So go ahead and read the story. If you want to try your hand and making latkes or sufganyot go ahead and do that too. If you have a copy of the Apocrypha check our Macabees I and II. For a brief synopsis of the story go to https://reformjudaism.org/hanukkah-history. If you want a more detailed scholarly look at Hanukkah visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah. For information on food and ways the holiday is celebrated today take a look at http://www.bhg.com/holidays/hanukkah/traditions/hanukkah-history-traditions/ And what would Hanukkah be without recipes? http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/454611/jewish/Chanukah-Recipes.htm

Thought for Today

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts. “ — Alan Cohen
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/shine.html

Thought for Today

“We all have life storms, and when we get the rough times and we recover from them, we should celebrate that we got through it. No matter how bad it may seem, there’s always something beautiful that you can find. ” — Mattie Stepanek
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/celebrate