My Mother's Birthday, My Sister and the Peacock Princess!

Today, January 6, 2025, would be my mother's 108th birthday! Sadly, she's been gone from us, but happily into heaven since 2006, which is almost 19 years already.  It's hard to believe she's been gone that long, but one thing I've learned about the death of our loved ones, even though they are gone from us physically, I never really feel like they are gone from us in a spiritual sense. I don't mean that to be morbid or weird...but if you've lost someone very dear to you, you understand what I mean.  You feel their presence in so many little ways...sweet memories, things you do and say that make you stop and say, "I sound just like my mother!", sweet fragrances that remind you of the things she loved...the scent of lilacs, the welcoming aroma of an apple pie baking, or warm cookies fresh out of the oven...or perhaps the way you appreciate the beauty of a spring day with flowers blooming...or the sound of the autumn leaves crunching under your feet as you walk through the woods on a crisp fall day...or the joy of taking a walk through freshly fallen snow, bundled up and marching around and around as the snow gently falls on your face and makes your cheeks rosy and your nose so cold...These are just some of the ways I remember my Mama...these were things she loved, and when I've experienced any of these events or fragrances or sights I think of her and how she would've loved being there too.  And so today, on her birthday I want to honor her memory...and also share something else that we have in common...

Dorothea May Tedlie Mursch, January 6, 1917~May 7, 2006.

This picture was taken when she was 70! Yes, you can say it...she was beautiful, and she never looked her age! I used to brag about how young she looked and I would ask my friends to guess how old she was, and they'd always guess something at least 10 years younger than she was, and then I'd tell them how old she really was and they'd be amazed. My mother would get upset with me for telling her age, as that was not proper to do. But I was proud of how beautiful she was and I wanted to share that amazing information! LOL.

Here's a few links to other posts I've written about my mother:  (I share them here also for my own recollection of where to find these posts when I'm looking for them!)

Celebrating My Mom

 Link to some family memories of my mother

Link to "Remembering Mama"

The Pie Legacy

The Autograph Book and my life verse

So I've written all this to bring us to another facet of my mother's life that has trickled down into my own life...her love of dolls!  My mother had a beautiful collection of Madame Alexander dolls that she enjoyed displaying for people when they'd come to visit their home, many of whom came to also see my father's toy train collection. They both enjoyed their hobbies during their retirement years, and their love of these collections sort of rubbed off on me...not to the extent that they collected these things, but my appreciation of them stems from their interests.  Sadly, I cannot find a picture of my mother's doll collection. I know I have one somewhere, and when I do find it I will share it, but it's proving to be more challenging than I thought and I don't have to time to keep searching right now or this post will never get written today!     I found a picture! It's not the best, and I'm sure this was early in her collection because I know she had more dolls than this, but this will give you the idea:

What used to be "my sister's and my bedroom" in my parents' home became my mother's "Doll Room" and sewing room after we both got married and moved out.

HERE is a Link to the history of Madame Alexander Dolls

I was also given some Madame Alexander dolls as gifts throughout my childhood and later years. Here they are, because, yes, of course I've saved them all these years:

This is my first "Wendy" Madame Alexander doll. She is called "Wendy", because that is the design/face of this particular doll.  My grandparents gave me this doll when I was quite young, maybe 7 or 8 years old. She's 8" tall, and had several outfits, but is wearing the one I remember most. It also came with a white fur muff, but I think that is long gone. Sadly, this dolly is sitting in the china cabinet because her moveable/bend at the knee legs eventually came loose and fell apart. I still have them, and if I was smart I'd figure out how to fix them, but for now she is happy to sit among the china and crystal of the antique china cabinet. You will notice that she has red hair, which was significant for me as a redheaded child.

Somewhere along the line of life my mother gave me these next two dolls, which are also in the same "Wendy" face design, but they are dolls that represent different countries. This first one is Miss Scotland...

And this little red-headed lass is Miss Ireland. 

And I know you've seen this young lady before in some of my posts. This doll came from my mother's collection after she died. It's the only one that I wanted. Many of the others were given to other female members of our family, especially each of my mother's granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Any left over were sold in my family's estate.  But this one is special because she is the "Anne of Green Gables" doll, and I've told you many times that my mother named me for Anne because she always loved reading her story, and when my mother saw that I was a redhead, she said that my middle name would be "Anne" after Anne of Green Gables. So that is why I am named Pamela Anne with an "e", if you understand the significance of that "e" from Anne of Green Gables' stories. (click that link for more about this story)

And so now this all brings us to the next chapter of today's story. Yes, it is about my mother to celebrate her memory on her birthday, but it is also about her love and my "collection" of the Madame Alexander Dolls and it's further reach into my life today.  Many of you have seen the stories about my dollhouse, "Pamela's Victorian Cottage". If you click on the link in the right column of my blog page for Pamela's Victorian Cottage, you will find the whole history of it from the beginning.  Here's a link  to one special time when my sister Doris came to visit and we enjoyed "playing" together like little girls again...which is appropriate for this post, because my sister also shares the love of these Madame Alexander Dolls, and she is the amazing benefactor "Auntie from the City"

who keeps bringing new members to the family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage each year at Christmas! (these pictures are from 2023)

And this year is no different, even though my sister has been sick with a bad cold bug and couldn't come visit in person, she sent her sweet little gift by way of my sister in law last week when we met.  So here's the gift you've been waiting to see:

Isn't she beautiful?  Yes, this is a 2024 Hallmark Christmas ornament created with the Madame Alexander doll design.  Every year Hallmark comes out with a new Madame Alexander doll ornament, and my sister started giving me one each year for Christmas quite a few years ago. I think I just counted 11 of them, to be exact!  Some of you have asked me before where my "family" members came from for Pamela's Victorian Cottage, and now you know!  This particular doll is called "Peacock Princess", and so I had to look that up because I had no idea who she was. I don't have any little girls in my life who want to see all the princess movies or read all those stories, so I am out of the loop when it comes to Princesses.  

Here is a link to the Wikipedia info on the original Peacock Princess story.   

And this is the "AI overview:

"The "Peacock Princess" story, often originating from the Dai people of Yunnan Province, China, tells the tale of a beautiful princess who is often depicted as a magical peacock maiden, where a young prince falls in love with her, usually by encountering her while she is bathing in a lake; however, due to a trickster or evil force, the couple faces challenges, often including a separation where the princess must transform into a peacock to escape danger, ultimately reuniting with her prince and overcoming obstacles to live happily ever after."  According to the Wikipedia story, "The Dai people worship peacocks as being messengers of peace, kindness, love and beauty."

I looked up some other references to fairytale stories about the Peacock Princess, and some were good, and some tended to embrace a kind of woke and new age legend, and I was not too impressed with those.  So let's just enjoy our beautiful new addition to our family and make up our own story, shall we?

As always seems to be the case, right on Christmas day there is a wonderful mystery guest waiting at the front door...

Waiting around the corner of Pamela's Victorian Cottage is someone we've seen before...

Yes, the beautiful "Auntie from the City" has arrived, and as always she brings some exciting gifts for the little family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage...

But she is not alone...she has brought along some "Heavenly Messengers" to help out in presenting this wonderful "gift"...

Yes, our angel friends have flown in just for this very special occasion! 

They want to make sure that our special new visitor is welcomed with open arms...just like Mr. Snowman is ready and waiting with "open arms"!

Pretty soon the little Mama comes to the door, and is totally surprised to find this beautiful little girl dressed in a peacock blue coat and hat, and carrying a bag made of peacock feathers!

"Oh My Goodness!" She exclaims!  "Where did you come from?"

She looks to her left, and then to her right, and sees the little angels that she has become very familiar with over the years!  "Oh Dear! It looks like God has sent us another new little girl to live with us!"

Then she looks around the corner of the house and sees her sister, "The Auntie from the City", standing there with a big smile on her face!

"Oh Dear Sister, I should have known you would have something to do with this!"  "Well, let's don't just stand out here in the cold..."

"Let's go inside and meet all your new sisters, who are anxiously waiting to welcome you to the family!"

"Come on in and warm up with a cup of hot tea".

They are busily getting things ready to make you feel right at home...

And you are all welcome to come and enjoy our Christmas day with us!

There's plenty of food and gifts and love for everyone!

And for our beautiful little Miss Peacock Princess, there will always be a very happy ending for your story!  God has brought you to a home filled with love and laughter and the love of Jesus in every room.  And here we can all be His messengers of peace, kindness, love and beauty."

Galatians 5:22-23 

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

I hope you enjoyed this little story of the Peacock Princess finding her new home at 

Pamela's Victorian Cottage.  I think my mother would've loved this story and this sweet little doll, and this is a fitting tribute to her on her heavenly108th birthday.

And a special thanks to my sister Doris, the "Auntie from the City" who has made this sweet story possible.  

Oh! I almost forgot...there's one more little gift that she gave me for Christmas...this adorable little trinket dish:

Awwww, I love this, don't you?

Thank you, my sister Doris.

And thank you to our mother, who instilled us with this love of playing with dolls from the time we were little girls.

My sister Doris, our Mother Dorothea, and me, Mother's Day 2003

And Thank You, Jesus, for giving us the joy of living and loving!

Amen.

Saturday Reflections on Special Moments

Here we are already on the first Saturday of the New Year, 2025! The New Year is only four days old, and it is already proving to be very special in so many ways...at least here in my little old world. For now, let's just not think about all the sad and terrible stuff that is going on in the rest of the world, and let's just focus on some sweet and happy thoughts for a little while, okay?

Like this Robin Redbreast, who flew into the yard looking for holly berries, and landed himself on the back of my newly refurbished bench in "Mom's Secret Garden."  

I found this particularly significant, because if you've ever read the story, "The Secret Garden", you will remember that a Robin Redbreast played a very "key" (pun intended) role in the story.

I asked Google for more information since I couldn't remember the details of the story, and here is the response I got from "AI": 

"Yes, a robin plays a significant role in "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett; it is a friendly robin redbreast that befriends Mary and essentially leads her to discover the hidden secret garden by drawing her attention to the key's location through its behavior around disturbed soil.

Key points about the robin in "The Secret Garden":
Symbolic importance:
The robin represents new life, hope, and connection to nature, helping Mary overcome her loneliness and isolation.

Interaction with Mary:
The robin often appears near Mary, particularly around the area where the key to the secret garden is buried."

So, yes, wouldn't you agree that a Robin Redbreast, who just happened to be flying through our yard on its way south for the winter (they don't stay here for the winter), landed on the one place that could be significant in creating this little intro to my post today?  I found it very interesting, and I look forward to all the other special little things that God has in store for me and you! in this new year.

Wisdom is my "One Word" for 2025, and I particularly like these verses from Proverbs 3...interesting that 'wisdom' is spoken of as a woman...and especially I like that "She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her."  Seeking wisdom is certainly a worthwhile pursuit, and I pray that this year God will lead me on this journey of discovering all of the "treasures" wisdom will provide for me. My prayer is that I will become "rich" with wisdom. Not speaking of the monetary kind of richness, but the kind of riches that money cannot buy.  So here we go...

Proverbs 3:13-18

"13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,

And the man who gains understanding;

14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,

And her gain than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies,

And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand,

In her left hand riches and honor.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,

And happy are all who retain her."

So I promised you and update after we visited with our extended family yesterday for a belated Christmas time. We met my hubby's brother and wife and their kids at an old favorite restaurant about an hour south of us, "The Mason Jar", where you can get good country cooking. It was wonderful that both of their kids could make it, since they are both college students now and you know how that goes...getting everyone together can be challenging.  And yes, sadly, my sister and her hubby and their daughter and her family couldn't come due to illness, but my sister sent some gifts for us with my brother in law since they live in the same general direction and were able to make a connection before they came to meet us. And I sent some gifts for them back with my brother in law, and they will connect again sometime soon to deliver! LOL. Sometimes it seems like these get togethers are getting harder and harder as we get older, but we keep trying!

This mirror was in the entrance to the restaurant, and it said "Strawberry Cream Pie". Oh My! But we brought our own dessert with us, as we were also celebrating Rose's birthday with the family...just some Publix cupcakes, but they were so good. Anyway, that's Peggy, Me with the camera, Rose and Benton in the mirror. LOL.

That's our nephew Nicholaus, cozying up to the bear...LOL.

And here's a couple of "deers", brothers Billy and John, and one deer photo bomber! LOL

I'm still waiting to be seated on this rocking horse...LOL. Oh, that's not what they meant!  LOL.

This is my sister in law Peggy and their daughter Shannon...

Rose was totally surprised by the wait staff coming out and singing Happy Birthday to her, and bringing that delicious chocolate brownie pie. We didn't even ask them to do that, but our waitress (see standing behind my hubby in these pictures), noticed that we had some cards for Rose on the table in front of her, and so she went ahead and did the birthday song thing for Rose as a total surprise for all of us!  

I think Rose was really touched by that (and maybe a little embarrassed, as she is really quite shy).  It was all good fun, and our waitress got a very nice tip.

Brother and sister laughing over something...oh, I know, they were looking at old pictures of themselves and their family on their mother's phone and having a good time.  A good time was had by all!

We  waited until we got back home to open the gifts that were exchanged, and it felt like having Christmas all over again.  Our loved ones really go overboard with thoughtful gifts, and even though we keep trying to say let's don't exchange gifts anymore...let's just get together and enjoy being together...well, some people just enjoy shopping and giving special gifts and that's their way of expressing their love for us, and so we are just very very thankful.  I won't go into all the gifts that we received, but hit the highlights that are especially fun and/or meaningful.

My hubby received this fun gift from his brother and sister in law.  It is what's called a "Yes, Dear" button. When you hit the button, it has a different response that is supposed to be what the husband should be saying to his wife when she asks him to do something.  He has had more fun with this than anything. He likes to keep making up questions and pretending that I'm the one answering...and he just thinks this is hilarious. It is.  Here are the responses that you might get when you hit the button:

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"I couldn't agree more."

"I'd love to."

"What a wonderful idea."

"Whatever you say."

"Yes, Dear."

"Surely it's my turn."

"If you're happy, I'm happy."

Anyway, if you want to make a hubby have fun with something silly, give him this button. Of course, if he's creative like my husband is, there's no telling what kinds of questions he might be thinking up to get these responses. It's all in good fun.

He also loved this little metal gift card box that is from that Christmas Story movie, the "Major Award" leg lamp. He did get a nice gift card inside. But he loved the box too.

I also received some very nice gifts, and one is this beautiful sweatshirt, which I am modeling for you here.  And even though it is supposedly a "Christmas" sweatshirt, this week week it is going to be cold enough to need to wear it, and it is pretty enough that I am going to wear it rather than wait until next Christmas. That's the problem with not getting together until after Christmas to exchange gifts, things that we give each other that are Christmas oriented sometimes don't get used until next year, but we still do it because that's what's out there when we are shopping!  We decided that maybe next year we will try to get together before Christmas to exchange gifts so we can enjoy those special Christmas items throughout the Christmas season.  My problem is that I seldom get my shopping/wrapping done  much before Christmas. I am going to set a goal for next year and GET IT DONE ahead of time! Help!

Oh, one thing that "Aunt Peggy" always does is remember to give a gift to Lily Grace! Lily Grace is blessed to have such sweet Aunties who like to give her special gifts.  

Would you look at this adorable outfit?  This is a beautiful little coat, hat, boots, and scarf ensemble!

Now she is all decked out and ready for this cold weather that we are expecting this next week!

All of her friends approve and are happy for Lily Grace to have a nice new winter outfit! 

Now, I know you are waiting to hear if I received the new Teapot Calendar from my sister Doris as per usual! Yes, indeed she did get it for me and it is so very lovely:

Each month pictures a different tea pot from many different eras and countries. Each one is unique and beautiful in its own way.

And here is the calendar for January:

There's usually a story about the history of the that design, and sometimes even some recipes for tea time desserts.

And then there's usually some kind of quote about tea time...

I expect I shall too. I do enjoy having a cup of tea in the afternoon, especially during these chilly winter days. Yes, even here in Florida it gets chilly and sometimes kind of dark and gloomy in the afternoons, and a cup of hot tea is always a welcome respite from whatever I am doing. I don't go all out with special desserts and sweets, etc., with my tea, (unless I just happen to have something irresistible) but it's the calming effect of sitting and relaxing with a cup of hot tea, sometimes reading while I sip, and oftentimes just sitting and staring out at the pond and watching the birds, or rocking in a rocking chair in the corner of the kitchen and sipping tea while I wait for supper to cook. If the weather isn't too chilly or windy or rainy, I take my tea outside and go sit in the "Secret Memorial Garden", as it is now called.

Wherever I go, it's the idea of embracing the moment and spending that time allowing myself to wind down and put aside the cares of the day and just relax and spend time with the Lord. Those are the moments when He speaks to me and I try to listen rather than being distracted by the noises of the world around me. Those are my "wisdom gathering" moments. I need to make myself do it more often.

And yes, my sister gave me some other sweet and very special little gifts too, but I think I am going to save them for another day. Why? Well, because the sharing of these little gifts will lead to more story-telling and I'd rather devote a whole post to it than to share it with this post when I know you are probably already tired of reading and are most likely saying, "Enough, Already!" LOL.  And these particular gifts deserve their own unique post.  Besides, it's almost bedtime and I'm getting tired. So please stay tuned and keep watching for the next post. 

Why am I tired, you may ask? Well today I decided to make a ham loaf and invite the kids over for supper. Some of you may not know what a "ham loaf" is.  I've shared the recipe before. HERE is a link to step by step directions for making it.  I baked a ham on New Year's Day, and even though I gave almost half of it to the kids, I still had a lot left over, so decided to use it up by making a ham loaf. Hubby snapped a couple of pictures of me doing the grinding of the ham, using the 1950's era meat grinder that belonged to my mother! It is as old as I am, but still works good considering how OLD it is! LOL.

And there's a picture of the final product (after being cut!)

And here's my plate, never mind the "hands" on the other side of the table belonging to Rose and Benton! LOL.  Rose made the scalloped potatoes and I did the broccoli and carrots. It was all very tasty! And we had plenty of leftovers for both of our families to use tomorrow for sandwiches, which are really good either cold, or grilled with some swiss cheese or American if you prefer.

Well, with that delicious looking food in front of us, I think I will close this post and say good night! Tomorrow is Sunday, and that's always a busy day.

Good night my friends...and remember to seek Wisdom from God...

James 1:5

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

First Friday of 2025!

And we begin this first Friday of 2025 with this beautiful picture from the John Sloane Country Seasons 2025 calendar for January:

"A New Day Dawning"

Oh, I love that picture! That little girl out in the snowy sunshine encapsulates my joy as I see God's beauty and handiwork each new day. (I'm just glad I don't have to go out in the snow to see it! LOL)

Instead I step out on my front porch in the warm sunshine, even though today it is 36 degrees!!!

This was actually yesterday morning. The sun isn't quite up yet this morning as I write this! and it's still too cold to think about going out there!

And this was on my little tea pot devotional calendar for yesterday morning...I got busy yesterday and never got around to writing, so I'm a bit behind!

Rejoice!  Even my cup of tea tells me to have JOY:

Gingerbread Joy tea...so of course Mr. Gingerbread Man had to come along...no that isn't a real cookie...it's a tree ornament, but that's the best I could do for Mr. Gingerbread Man today! LOL. He's rejoicing because I can't catch him and eat him! LOL. 

Remember this little story: 

"Run, run, run as fast as you can, You'll never catch me, I'm the gingerbread man. I ran from the baker and his wife too. You'll never catch me, not any of you."

The Gingerbread Man

In keeping with my new "One Word"  "WISDOM", for 2025, this popped up on Facebook yesterday from our local Christian radio station, 91.3 HOPEfm:

And here it is, the 3rd day of the New Year already...

Psalm 90 starts out this way:

"1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,

Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

When I stop and think about this world, and all that is in it...and that before any of this that we know was ever even formed, God was already there...He created this world for us to dwell in, to grow and live and love and also to learn to love and worship Him, our Creator and Lord. As we grow and live and love, we should also be growing in our faith and wisdom. Our experiences in life, whether bad or good, help to shape and mold us into the people God intends for us to be.

The latter part of Psalm 90 concludes the thoughts of the Psalmist (in this case the Bible says it is a "Prayer of Moses, a Man of God") this way:

13 

"13 Return, O Lord!

How long?

And have compassion on Your servants.

14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,

That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,

The years in which we have seen evil.

16 Let Your work appear to Your servants,

And Your glory to their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands."

The New Year has not started out very well in our nation...the horrific crime that took place in New Orleans, and then also in other places, Las Vegas, New York, and around the world...our world is in chaos and groaning for Christ's return.  

Even Moses cried out for the Lord to return and have compassion on His servants, that "we may rejoice and be glad all our days!" He asked the Lord to "let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children..."   Yes, we want to see God working in our midst and for God's glory to be revealed to our children and our grandchildren and beyond...we want them to know Christ and to see His glory in the world today. We want them to have hope and to know that God is with them no matter what is happening in the world. That is the message of Christmas...Jesus is "Emmanuel", which means, God With Us.  God became flesh and came to earth so that we could know Him and also know His love and salvation, and that gives us great hope in a world of darkness.  

John 1:14 NKJV

"14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

I like that last verse of Psalm 90 especially:  17 "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands."

My prayer today is that God's beauty would rest upon me, and that whatever I am learning from Him would be established and applied to those around me...my friends, family, neighbors and those who are friends here in Blogland and beyond.  May these words shared from the heart of God rest upon each of us, and may the "beauty of the Lord our God be upon us" as we progress progress through this brand new year...a clean slate, and open book waiting to be filled with new experiences, new joys, and a heart filled with wisdom.  Amen.

Our new Thomas Kinkade calendar for 2025 starts us out with this beautiful snowy "Lamplight Manor" picture...

And that verse above is certainly true, God's Holy Spirit will teach us all things...and I welcome His presence and work in my heart and life in this new year...helping me to grow some good fruit:

That's all the calendars I have to show you for now. We are going to meet up with family today to have a belated Christmas, however my sister and her daughter are both sick with bad colds, so they won't be able to come after all.  We will be meeting with my hubby's brother and his family, and they are picking up gifts from my sister to bring to us, so I "expect" there will be another new Teapot calendar coming in that batch of gifts, as that is my sister's annual gift to me...unless something has changed...I will find out later today...maybe I shouldn't count my chickens before they are hatched! LOL. I am sorry they won't be able to join us, but I hope maybe sometime in the near future we will get together.  Colds and flu are running rampant this year, and I sure don't want to catch that...I'm like the "Gingerbread Man"...old cold and flu you can't catch me! (I pray!!!)

Okay, I have to go, or we will never make it on time to go pick up our kids and take them with us to the restaurant where we are meeting the rest of the family for lunch. More to come later...

Happy New Year!! One Word for 2025

Happy New Year!  We've turned the page onto a brand new year: 2025!  We are already one quarter of the way through this new century! And it is also the year that I will reach my three quarters of a century mark, but not until September, so let's don't rush things too much! LOL. 

Were you awake at midnight last night when the New Year rolled in?  We were sound asleep in our beds, until we were awakened by the booming of fireworks somewhere out there, so we both woke up at the same time and said "Happy New Year", and then we promptly went right back to sleep! Sounds like a perfect way to usher in the New Year to me! LOL.  

So I woke up this morning bright and early and ready to embrace a brand new day and a brand new year! As I started to prepare my cup of tea and come sit down here at the computer to write this first post of the new year, I thought, wait, I need to open up our new calendars!  Well, I did manage to open up this one, and it got me off on a little trail to set the stage just right for this new day...

(This Susan Branch calendar has become an annual gift from a dear friend! Thank you dear friend! You know who you are!)

And as I read this sweet little story on the first page for the month of January, I thought to myself, "Oh, I love that scene and scenario!  I think I need to do just that right now!"   

And although I don't have any snowfall to watch outside my window, and it is still dark outside anyway as I am writing this, I set up the best "window" to my world that I could for now...A great blue heron out on Still Waters Pond...

And I found a beloved old chipped blue china teapot, and poured my steaming tea into a pink and white flowered cup, but I didn't add any honey or cream...just a scant teaspoon of sugar, and I carried it to the smallest room of the house, my "Room With a View", and I settled by the window to watch the...well, darkness outside right now, but to watch the pictures of birds on Still Waters Pond scroll by on my computer "window"...

"When little things are so nice, she thought, they become big things."

I like that thought, and so now I want to think about another little thing that is also a big thing...

It started out yesterday by reading this daily devotional for December 31. Look at the title:

And in the last paragraph, it says, "Solomon's advice is that we listen to wisdom, apply it, and lear as we go. Then we will have understanding; we will find the right path with wisdom in our hearts and joy from knowledge."

I had already read this the other day night and shared the verses in this post: https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2024/12/tuesday-4-new-years-eve.html, but for some reason I left off the last two verses, and really wasn't paying close enough attention to the "one word" that kept repeating itself over and over again...

Proverbs 2:1-11 NKJV

"The Value of Wisdom"

"1 My son, if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,

2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

4 If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

8 He guards the paths of justice,

And preserves the way of His saints.

9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,

Equity and every good path.

10 When wisdom enters your heart,

And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

11 Discretion will preserve you;

Understanding will keep you..."

And then I noticed this little devotional calendar that my sweet DIL Rose gave me last year, and I flipped it over to the front cover in preparation for starting it over for the new year, and what did I see???

There is also a companion daily devotional booklet that comes in the mail every month (this is free of charge, but donations are always welcome) from the same place, "In Touch Ministries", from the writings of the Rev. Charles F. Stanley, who passed on to glory a year or so ago...

And this is the reading for December 31, 2024:

And let's pay attention to the last couple of paragraphs:

Do you see it?  

"Looking at the past year, can you see His wisdom in leading you to make right decisions? Make 2025 a year of obedience. Choose to trust Him, and receive the blessings He wants to give you."

Like, being blessed by looking out the window to see what beauties God has in store for me to see, and there's this family of the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks...they just landed in this tree out on the island of Still Waters Pond just as I looked out the window!  (this was yesterday)

Not that this a great example of "wisdom", but it is an example of lifting up my eyes to see what God wants me to see each day, and not going around with blinders on!!

It is a reminder to me to pay attention to the details of life going on around me all the time...we may be missing so many blessings by not opening our eyes and ears to see and hear all that God has in store for us, to bless us and give us His joy and love and peace...

I told you that God would lead me to whatever the new "One Word" for 2025 would be, and that He would do it by January 1st.  To tell the truth, I've been scrambling and wondering and nothing seemed to be coming together until last night when I read those verses in that little book, and then I discovered that same word "WISDOM", popping up in everything I touched.  Suddenly it was as if it had bright flashing lights all over it and it seemed to be calling out to me and saying, "Here I am! Please pay attention! I've been here all along, but you just weren't paying close enough attention to what clues I was giving you!"  Wisdom! Of course!  Oh how I need this word in my life!  And not just the word itself, but its full depth of meaning...I need wisdom!   You'd think at my age I'd have plenty of wisdom to go around, but I have found that the older I get the more situations come up in which I need more and more wisdom. There are health concerns, financial, physical and mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. And not just for me, but for my spouse and my family as well. We are all connected in one way or another and I need wisdom to deal with all of the above. I need God's wisdom...I need to seek His wisdom and not just try to figure out things on my own, which I am prone to do.  

Oh, Lord, I have a feeling we are going on another adventure this year, and I am going to need to be relying on YOUR wisdom more and more. This aging process is a big deal, and it takes wisdom to navigate so many decisions and issues that come up.  It takes wisdom to know when to act and when to stop and just wait and listen for Your guidance along the way.  I pray that You will give me wisdom for each step of the way, and help me to be patient and wait on YOU for the right direction to go before I ever take the first step.  Thank You, Lord, for I believe that You are always right there ready to share Your wisdom and knowledge with us. We just have to pay attention and then obey.  Help me, Lord! Amen.

Here are some links to my previous years of "One Words", in case you are interested, or are still looking for that special word for yourself this year. Feel free to use one of mine! You may learn some things from it that I never discovered, and you can share them with us!

One Word 2024: Strength

One Word 2023: Listen

One Word 2022: Delight

One Word 2021: Believe

One Word 2020: Joyful

One Word 2019: Abundance, and this link contains the links to all previous years, which includes the following words: 2012 was my first year doing the One Word, and it was "Hope", 

2013: Presence,  2014: Strengthen, 2015: Focus, 2016: Grace, 2017: Rest,  2018: Renew

On the other side of the pond yesterday morning was this big flock of buzzards, sunning themselves in the tops of the tree. Maybe they are waiting to clean up the messes that are left over from 2024 and help give us a clean slate to begin our journey into 2025.  

Maybe they are a reminder to us to let go of the past and start off fresh...a brand new day, a brand new year.  Don't look back, we aren't going that way!  Look forward, and fix your eyes on Jesus,

Hebrews 12:1-2  NKJV

The Race of Faith

"1  Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 

let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, 

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Happy New Year my friends!

May it be a year of great wisdom, joy, and peace for all.

(BTW, I will do the rest of the new calendars for 2025 roll call in the next post)