...Now you are light in the Lord...

Live as children of light 

~ for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth ~

Ephesians 5:8-10

That is my prayer each and every day...

because it's just so easy sometimes "to make that comment"

or "think that thought" that lets the darkness creep in.

It's so good

to be reminded that we are light in the Lord.

~

 How is everyone doing?

I miss everyone!

Our Christmas decorations are going up slowly.

The tree in the sunroom was decorated last weekend.

My smaller tree that stands with the Christmas village had

its turn tonight.

It's

very

slowly

happening

here

Ever since "my little birdies" flew the nest, Advent seems

to rush by.  When they were small, wiggly children, Chris and I worked so hard 

before and after supper to create a special time for Advent prayer and candle lighting.

The forty days of Advent seemed so long :o)

~

Now, before we know it, these next couple of weeks will breeze by.

Faces of loved ones will be at our front doors and

gathered 'round our tables.

and

the winks and smiles

  the unstoppable laughter

the endless baking and cooking and

coffee and more tea

and another hug

please

is all we really truly wish for

♥

I wish you all happy and joyfilled moments

in the coming days ahead

and always,

Love to all!

~ Maria

Photo taken inside the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas

Be a Lily in the Valley

 

We do the most for God's great big world,

when we do our best right

where we are.

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment

before starting to improve the world."

 Anne Frank

Now is that moment 

♥

to be a lily in the valley.

"Yet remember...

it is not what the vessel is made of that gives it value...

but what it contains."
                                                               from "Moments of Peace in the Presence of God"

When we are filled with His Spirit,

we become renewed and changed from the inside out.

We hold within us

~ Beauty, Wisdom, Holiness, Hope, Worth ~

You such a beautiful treasure.

♥

A Focus on the Eternal

Nestle all of your tomorrows

in God's strong arms

help us to live free for today

~

As we focus on the Eternal,
may we grow to possess the holy habit of internal contentment

{Enjoying the sweet birdies in my back yard and the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow}

...and Sky Watch Friday...

helping me to always look UP!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

The Good News

~ Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart ~

So often, on Good Friday, we hear "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

-from Psalm 22-

But we stop there... with those sad words.

Several years ago, a local pastor explained that it was and still is customary for

those of the Jewish faith to begin praying a passage of scripture aloud and then softly finish it.

After he told us this, we continued reading Psalm 22...

It changed my entire perspective on this moment during the crucifixion of Jesus.

My heart always swells with incredible AWE as I finish reading to the end
...as the prophesy of His Gift to us is revealed.

~

Here are the last seven verses of Psalm 22

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
   before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek the Lord will praise him—
   may your hearts live forever!

 All the ends of the earth
   will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
   will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord
   and he rules over the nations.

 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
   all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
   those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness,
   declaring to a people yet unborn:
   He has done it!

Dear Friends and Family,

Have a Beautiful and Glorious Day!

{Participating with How Sweet The Sound and Sky Watch Friday}

And I pray that you,
 being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,

to grasp

how

wide

and

long

and

high

and

deep

is the love

of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge

—that you may be filled to the measure

of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-21

{Finding His gifts in the skies above and in the gardens along my paths...}

Enjoy heavenly skies at

and Pink Saturday at Beverly's!

Momma birdie necklaces

 This weekend, Ann Voskamp posted about how

Joy nests in the encircling Grace of God.

What a beautiful way to think of joy and God's sweet gift of Grace.
...such inspiring words...

Ann also added a link to a tutorial for making these sweet nest necklaces:

Thank you, Sarah Ortega!

I have always wanted one of these nest necklaces.
Inspired by Ann and by Sarah's easy directions... I had to make one myself!

I bought two kinds of silver wire and two kinds of beads

and got to work.

I really enjoyed myself making these necklaces.
It was so much more fun than cleaning the house!

If you have read Ann Voskamp's book "One Thousand Gifts,"

do head over to read her recent post on what she was able to give as a result of her profits.

The story of Pastor Saul will fill your heart.

♥
I hope you have been having a wonderful week..
Here in the northeast, we've been spoiled with our weather...
I think that will change as we enter into the weekend,

but ohhhh

I am so grateful for this easing into winter!

JOY

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David

a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

A Savior is here to be a great JOY in our hearts

today and always!

Merry Christmas dear friends and family!

photos were taken Christmas Eve 2011 at St. Matthew's in Voorheesville.

The Nativity is the beautiful artwork of Fontanini.

Reset

Sometimes I just

know

I need to hit the "reset" buttons.

Our kitchen project has kept us busy and focused on details.

- - -

Important details,

but

not the kind that measure a life.

When hours are spent discussing the trim over the refrigerator cabinet...

it becomes clear that we need to press

"Alt - Ctrl - Delete"

and

R E S E T

ourselves ~ to see with clarity

what's really important.

It was time to get out of the kitchen and head outside.

We drove to Schoharie and spent the morning at

Guernsey's Schoharie Nursery cleaning out debris from the flood waters of

Hurricane Irene.  I can't believe the amount of stuff we piled along the curb.

It was a cold, damp, rainy day ~ but we ended our work with an amazing hot meal cooked by a Christian Motorcycle Club. {The volunteers that help the volunteers}

There are some wonderful people in this world!

~
A Big Thank You to Grace Fellowship Church

for the many trips they have organized to Schoharie, NY.

I'm sure the residents of Schoharie appreciate this greatly,

but it also gives others {like me} an opportunity to

reset.

Wishing you a wonderful new week,

another new and fresh start!

♥

"Finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

a heart for you ♥

I will give them a heart to know me,

that I am the LORD.

They will be my people, and I will be their God,

for they will return to me with all their heart.

 Jeremiah 24:7

Giving thanks for all my blessings

...for the love of the One who made me...

and for

my husband

my family

home

work

play

and always,

you, dear friends

{near and far, but always close in heart}

Labor For Your Neighbor ~ Our day is done, but there's so much more to do!

This is what the sidewalks and roads are like in Prattsville, NY.

The boots I wore kept my feet cozy and comfortable and I needed them to be.

Thank God Amanda left them behind!

 With God's Grace, a lot of team effort and spirit,
our Labor For Your Neighbor group got quite a bit done.

We spent the day working inside one of Prattsville's special businesses.
This is Briggs {nice and clean} before the flood.

They make baseball bats and other wood products.

The owner was sooo very grateful.  He lost so much equipment and wood.  We tried to salvage as much as possible. I pray for his spirit and strength to regrow his business and wish him all the best.

The captions in the photo album below tell a lot of about our day.

It was long,

and I started to daydream about

clean hair, clean clothes and a nice cuppa afternoon tea or coffee.

BUT

it was actually difficult leaving Prattsville knowing how much help they still need.

The National Guard is everything you expect them to be 

~ what wonderful young men and women ~

The Salvation Army makes great coffee;

God bless them and all the other volunteers for providing

comfort, food and beverages when our day was done.

As many people in other parts of the world know,

clean-up after a mother-nature event can take years.

Chris and I haven't stopped talking about other ways to get people together

for long term involvement.

"Adopt a home"

maybe?

The slideshow moves quickly, to pause mouse over on the bottom right to see the square stop button.

Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and encouragement

♥ to all,

Maria

Labor For Your Neighbor

  

From the NYS Governor's Hurricane Recovery Team:

­

Conditions and What to Wear: 

"Due to the conditions in the storm-damaged areas, we recommend that participants be over the age of 16 and in good physical condition. Participants should be prepared for scenes of devastation. You must wear sturdy long pants (jeans), a long sleeve shirt, and work boots. These clothes WILL get covered with muck and mud."

-------

Chris and I are getting ready for the
Governor's "Labor for your Neighbor" work day today.
In our confirmation email, we were told to wear work boots.
{I only have sandals and Mary Jane Sketchers in my wardrobe!}
But, lo and behold, I found Amanda's old EMT boots!
Guess what? They're Sketchers :o)
God is so funny!
He knows how to say "I love you" doesn't He?
...and "don't worry, I've got you covered..."
Those old EMT boots have one more job to do!
I'll let you know how it goes.
Say a little prayer ♥

Gray Skies

are gonna clear up

 ' ' ' '

' ' '

' '

'

after it rains

cats and dogs

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Mallory on Pinterest

but for now

we're inside where it's warm and cozy

Into each life some rain must fall.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

{just not all at once, please!}
 

Sending up prayers for all of us in the east, especially those near the coast...

for all of you in the south-west where it's hot and dry,

and all of you dear hearts on the west coast

and around the world.

God Bless you all

♥ 

~ Maria

ps.  Thank you to all who contributed to help my sister with her store name.

She was thrilled to get so many nice ideas.

I'll keep you posted!

He whispers

"The Lord said,

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord,

for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart

and shattered the rocks before the Lord,

but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake,

but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake came a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard it,

he pulled his cloak over his face and went out

and stood at the mouth of the cave."

1 Kings 19:11-13

~ Listening for His gentle whispers ~
 welcoming the calm and peace into our souls.

Joining Beverley at "How Sweet the Sound"
for "Miracle Makeover" Saturday!

and

 Sky Watching at Sky Watch Friday.

Believe . . .

in God

in yourself and in your dreams

in the beauty 

of everyday moments

in the joy
 of simple pleasures

in the power

of a smile

in the gifts

of family

and friendship

in your ability

to touch the hearts

of other people

and make a difference

in this world.

Believe it with all your heart!

 ♥