Monday Evening Christmas Vignettes

 Good Monday Evening!  December Mondays are busy days for us...since we are helping out at Dixie Cottage most every other day (except Sunday and Monday), Monday is really the only day we have to get caught up on things at home or otherwise. Today my goal was to get the Christmas tree set up and decorated. I started the day out full of vim and vigor and eager to get going. Hubby helped me get the tree in place and put together, and then he had to leave for an appointment. No problem. I am used to putting on the lights by myself. I've done it for years. Once in a blue moon our son Scott has taken that job over, but he's not living here anymore, and so I am technically on my own.  Things were going fine with the first strand of lights, and the second...and then from then on all of the strands of lights that we had, which were working just fine last year, were no longer working. I couldn't believe it...I had to throw away about 4 or 5 strings of lights!  I know, there's supposed to be a way to change a bulb or fix a fuse or something, but I've never had much luck with that and since lights aren't really all that expensive, I decided it was time to get some new lights obviously!  So that job of decorating got put on hold until hubby came home and we could go to the closest Dollar General store to get some new lights. Which we did, but they had very few boxes of the correct lights left. I guess everyone needed new lights this year! Must have been defective lights last year (although honestly most of mine were probably several years old).  So I purchased what they had and hoped it would be enough.  Therefore I spent the afternoon putting on the lights and by then I was exhausted and ready for a nap! (I'm still not 100% running on all cylinders yet from my bug of the past two weeks I guess).  Finally, after supper I was able to start putting on a few ornaments, but had to take a break from that to wash dishes and now my back is tired and I'm sitting down so I can write to you and read some posts from many of you.  The tree can wait until tomorrow to get finished...after we get back home from Dixie Cottage, if I am feeling energetic enough...this might end up being an all week project! LOL.  So here's what it looks like now, with mostly just lights and a few ornaments:

It does have plenty of lights now...that's for certain!  Once it is all finished we will cover the bottom with a white sheet and then one evening this week our kids Benton and Rose are going to come over and we will do our new tradition of setting up the train set and village together. We will miss having Scott here to help out as he is the most agile one of the whole bunch to get down there on the floor and put things together, but we will manage somehow.

So I named this post "Monday Evening Christmas Vignettes".  

vi·gnette

/vinˈyet/

noun: vignette; plural noun: vignettes 

1.a brief evocative description, account, or episode. "a classic vignette of embassy life"

2.a small illustration or portrait photograph which fades into its background without a definite border.

3.a small ornamental design filling a space in a book or carving, typically based on foliage.

So these pictures will be "a small illustration or portrait photograph which fades into its background without a definite border", but also a "brief evocative description, account or episode" of our Christmas decorations in our home, which I have also been working on and are pretty much done except for finishing the tree and the train village, which I will definitely share once it is complete. Once you see all of this you will know why my back hurts and I'm so tired. LOL.   

I will start with the most important one, which you've already seen on last night's post:

Everything else is secondary to this.  We could just put out the Nativity Scene and be done with it, and it would definitely be Christmas.

But there are other little places here and there throughout our house that are getting ready for Christmas.  Everything is decorated with the purpose of getting ready for Christmas...the REAL Christmas, the Birth of our Savior and Lord.  Everything else is in preparation for that all important event.

We'll start with the little family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage:

They have decorated their tree and there are gifts wrapped and ready. Some of the children are dressed in their Christmas outfits, and even the more angelic members of the family are in place and ready for their part in the grand event of announcing Christ's birth!

The woodland creatures and the Carolers are all getting ready to sing Carols of Praise

As they "Let Heaven and Nature Sing"

The Martin Sisters are gathered around the piano and are tuning their voices to sing along as well...

There are a couple of Santas preparing to join in the happy song...

The angels are gathered around the Tea Cup tree, tuning their instruments as well...

Oh, we mustn't forget the snowmen and reindeer and folks at the Cabin preparing for the exciting events about to unfold...

And here's Lily Grace and her lovely friends Rebecca, Valerie, Margie, and Anne (of Green Gables!) all gathered to celebrate Jesus' Birthday! They've even baked a cake!

Mustn't leave out our dear Baby Elva...She all dressed and ready for the celebration, and enjoying looking at the pretty tree...

Oh, I see the word "Believe" on the tree...do you? Do you Believe? I believe...I believe that Christmas is all about Jesus...it's all about His love reaching out to us when we were lost and without hope...and God saw our sins and fears and anxieties and confusion in life, and He knew there was only one way to rescue us...

He sent Jesus, His only Begotten Son, to come to earth as a little child, Who would grow to be a man, pure and holy and sinless...and He would be the only spotless Lamb of God who could take away the sins of the earth...

John 1:29 

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Revelation 5:11-12

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, 

the living creatures, and the elders; 

and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And that's what Christmas is all about...Jesus left the splendor of heaven to come to earth to rescue me and you and all who will believe. He was the precious pure and spotless Lamb of God, who came to rescue me,  a smelly and dirty lost sheep...because He loved me.

Yes, that's what all the excitement is about! That's why we decorate and celebrate and give gifts and sing songs of praise and joy!

It's all about Jesus...it's all about the Lamb.

Amen.

I Know It's Not Friday Foto Friends Yet

I know it's not Friday yet, but I have to share a few pictures to keep up with our little deer... See Here for last week's story...,  and Click HERE for the original post before that one...

Last week I told you about the little fawn that got left behind from the rest of the family, and how she/he just stood there so bewildered, not knowing what to do or where to go.  I felt so sorry for the little fella/girl...but had to leave it alone so that hopefully it would be reconnected with the family group when I was clearly out of the way.  I hadn't really seen the deer since last Friday, so I wasn't too sure what was going on.  They move around the neighborhood early in the morning and in the evening, and sometimes my timing was off...or it rained and stormed and it was impossible to go out.  But this morning I managed to get out of the house a little earlier, hoping it would be a good to time to see them out for their morning foray.

Sure enough, drawing nearer to the area where they usually are, the adult deer were hurrying across the road, with a couple of fawns scurrying to keep up with them.  I couldn't get close enough to get any pictures of them, so was feeling frustrated but quietly kept moving forward just in case...

And then I saw movement near the fence next to the woods where the family had just entered. There was a young fawn desperately trying to find his way past the fence, but he just couldn't seem to find the opening where the rest had gone.

He swiftly ran alongside the fence, searching for an opening...  (I marveled at how much he has grown in a week!)

A large Red Shouldered Hawk flew overhead and landed in a tree nearby, keeping his "hawk-eye" sharply focused on the activity below...

Even though Little Fawn is now too large to be considered a prey for this predator, the instinctive notion of fear is still beating in his chest...not only fear of the hawk...but of the two legged creature slowly coming closer and closer...and here was another fenced dead-end!

Got to get out of here...there has to be some way to get back with my family...Oh, why did I dawdle behind again?  Why can't I learn to keep up with the rest of the group?

I can see by his eyes and his open mouth that he is panicking...he keeps thrashing against the fence, unable to leap high enough to jump to freedom, acutely aware that he is lost again and in danger...

I wanted so badly to lead this little one back to the safety of his family...but he wasn't in any mood to listen to my voice or to follow me anywhere, so reluctantly I turned around and headed back home, saying a little prayer for this wayward "child" who just can't seem to follow the rules in his wild kingdom.

This little fawn reminds me of the little sheep that went astray...and the Good Shepherd left the rest of the flock of ninety-nine sheep to go out and search for the wayward sheep who was lost...

Luke 15:4-7

4.  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep,

if he loses one of them, does not leave the 

ninety-nine in the wilderness,

and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

5.  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders,

rejoicing.

6.  And when he comes home, he calls together

his friends and neighbors,

saying to them:

"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep

which was lost!"

7.  I say to you that likewise there will be

more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine just persons who need 

no repentance."

(See also Matthew 18:10-14 for another version of this same story.)

I do hope that little fawn's family will not give up on this wayward "sheep", but will continue to encourage him to keep up with the herd and not wander away from safety again.  Perhaps I need to stay away for awhile and give them time to teach him better self-discipline! I wonder why there always seems to be that one child in every family who is either more independent or more bent toward adventure, (or just plain rebellious?)  And yet...who among us as parents would not continue to search for that child no matter how often they wandered away from home...and would you not rejoice when he/she finally was found and came home again?    ( This reminds me of another parable here..."The Prodigal Son", found in Luke 15:11-32)

Some things to think about...

Choices...Some Good, and Some Not So Good...

One of my dear friends wrote on her facebook status today:  "Sitting here thinking about how as a parent you can raise your children -. teaching them right from wrong, good morals and love them more than life itself. Sometimes they seem to travel down the wrong path. I can only pray that they will decide to travel down the right path again and remember what they have been taught over the years."

Who among us who happen to be parents, have not felt this way at some time or another in our lives?  I mean, if you have children, and if those children have reached adolescence and/or early adulthood, I can guarantee you that sooner of later you will have the same concerns and feelings as my friend above.  I don't care how good of a parent you are (or think you are), or how perfect you think your kids are...there will come a day that you will wonder, "Where did I go wrong?"This was my response to my friend:

"We each have to make our own choices in life...some are great, and some are not so great...but God, in His infinite mercy, has given us a second chance. Your kids are like everyone else's kids...just keep praying and loving them. You can't go wrong that way...and remember what Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Have faith. God is in control, even when we don't think so. "

Dear parent of children of any age, please don't lose hope or faith when your children stray away from the teachings of your faith and/or family traditions.  This is a natural part of growing up and becoming adults.  We can't always be there to guard them and protect them and keep them from making bad decisions.  We are not omnipresent, omnipotent, or omniscient.  But there is ONE Who is...our Heavenly Father...Abba Father...and HE loves our children so much more than we can even begin to fathom.  He tenderly guards each one of them and watches over their hearts with the infinite love of the Everlasting Father...Almighty God...The Creator and Sustainer of ALL life. 

Just as we earthly parents lovingly discipline and teach our children when they go astray, so does our Heavenly Father guide us back into the right path when we wander off...

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."  Hebrews 12:5-6

"If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?" Hebrews 12:7

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the LORD; looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled." Hebrews  12:11-15

Yes, we all like sheep have gone astray... (Isaiah 53:6) but our loving Shepherd searches for us diligently until He finds us, and rejoicing, He brings us safely back into the fold.   (Luke 15:4-7)




"Gone Astray" by Michael Belk

  So, dear friend, please do not fret or fear...your child is only doing what man (or woman) has done since Adam and Eve...testing their own wings...making their own decisions...and it's all apart of growing up.  You don't have to like it or approve, but you do need to trust God to take care of His own.  He will not fail you. Just keep praying and trusting...and loving.  He'll take care of the rest.  Trust me, I know what I'm talking about!!!