Merry Christmas

Selah ~

Connie

There's change in the air...

Although I'm mostly homebound, I've noticed something you may have missed during this busy season.

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole has undergone magical renovations.

When I was a child, the elves were sawing, hammering, painting, sewing, designing and wrapping. Throughout December, we'd listen to the radio to hear other children call in with their wishes: sleds, trucks, baby dolls, paper dolls, a kitchen set, Candy Lane and other games, boots and mittens and an occasional request for a baby brother or sister. (Now we have trillions of commercial minutes to convince children of "must haves.")

As the world's population increased, Santa's workshops grew into specialty shops. Technology and computerization increased the efficiency and quality. Santa now delegates through the head elves. But he's around every day to encourage and problem solve. Mrs. C assures all are fed and sleeping well for top performance.

I find it amazing, throughout these years of expansion, that the elves have grown from four inches to over four feet tall.

Satellites and computers have changed the mailroom and I've heard there are fewer errors in the naughty and nice lists. Santa's GPS avoids detours caused by fog like in the old days. And special crystal orbs assure Santa will make it around the world in one night.

My new Christmas Eve PJs are ready.

So I'll be snuggled in my recliner to re-watch Jim Carey's A Christmas Carol, Miracle in the Wilderness and the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

These are my favorites this year:

This is not a scientific study. Just my observations as I've watched Christmas movies while knitting this month. 

BTW, Santa, I've been good, well mostly, and would like an e-reader. Really,

☺ Connie

AT CHRISTMASTIME AND ALWAYS

   

     Guest Post by Joseph J. Mazzella

     I have always loved Christmas music and I don’t just listen to it in December either.  I have

been known to listen to “The Christmas Song” on the first day of Spring, “Jingle Bells” during

the worst heat of Summer, and “Let it snow” while the leaves are peaking in the Fall.  This year

thanks to the gift of a new record player I was even able to play some of my Mom’s old

Christmas records from my childhood.  For the first time in years, I was able to put a vinyl album

on a turntable and listen to the sweet sounds of Christmas coming from it.  As “Joy to the world”

flowed from the speakers I smiled, closed my eyes, and allowed the music to awaken a thousand

Christmas memories that still lived in my heart.

      There was my Mom laughing when she caught me under the tree opening all of the presents

before anyone else woke up.  There was my Dad smiling and cutting down the world’s ugliest

Christmas tree that I had picked out over my brothers’ objections.  There was the sparkle in my

Mom’s eyes when she opened the gift I had saved my money for months to buy her.  There were

the cheers I heard as I went from room to room in my fake beard and red suit, playing Santa

Claus for the elementary school I was teaching at.  There was the time when I could only afford

a few stuffed animals for my children on Christmas and their eyes shone with delight anyway.

There was the time when my son who had struggled to speak because of his Autism spoke his

first, full sentence when he saw the Christmas tree all lit up at his elementary school.  There was

the time when I drove through a blizzard to bring my daughter home from college in time for the

holidays.  There was the year we decided to ditch the turkey and instead honor my Dad and Nana

by making a big, Italian-style Christmas dinner thus creating a whole new family tradition.

     I opened my eyes as the record played on and felt so much joy.  I felt too what had made all

of those memories so special: LOVE.  It was the Love we had for each other.  It was the Love our

Heavenly Father had for all of us.  It was the Love that lived in that tiny baby, born in a manger

who would change this world forever.

    The spirit of Christmas will always be the spirit of Love.  It is Love that we were meant for.

It is out of Love that we were created.  It is to Love that we will all return.  May your heart be

full of Love then at Christmastime and always.

Anticipation

Go to consheartstrings.blogspot.com for my thoughts regarding Advent.

Connie

Troubling Times... Again?

                                                        TROUBLING TIMES

                                             By: Joseph J. Mazzella, guest writer

     At the conclusion of this last political election ending with my beloved country being more

divided than ever a friend wrote me a letter sharing her fears and concerns for the future.  She

ended it with this sentence: “We live in troubling times.”  I couldn’t help but agree with her, but

the more I thought about it the more I realized that these current times aren’t the only troubling

times that mankind has lived through.

     Ancient times were troubling times when crops could fail and half of all children died before

the age of five.  The first Christians lived in troubling times where they were persecuted,

tortured, and even killed for their beliefs.  The fall of the Roman empire and the coming of the

dark ages were troubling times.  The Bubonic plague killed half of Europe and the rest struggled

with starvation and petty wars.  The hundred years war, the crusades, the American and French

revolutions, the Napoleonic and American Civil wars were all troubling times where hundreds

of thousands died.  In World War I and World War II those thousands became millions.  With

the end of them the Cold war with its threat of nuclear destruction made for more troubling

times.  Then came the troubling times of terrorism and the fear they bring.  In addition to these

were the troubling times that included the struggles of slavery, segregation, prejudice, poverty,

greed, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, the struggle for equal rights, the loss of jobs

and security, population explosions, natural disasters, the threat of starvation, the risk of

epidemics, and even the fate of our planet being at risk.

     It is clear then that we do live in troubling times and that we always have lived in troubling

times.  The question is how are we going to LIVE in them.  Are we going to feed them with our

fear or lessen them with our love?  Are we going to grow apart in hatred or come together in

kindness?  Are we going to continue to go from war to war or are we finally going to bring

lasting peace to this planet?  Are we going to grab for ourselves or are we going to give to

others?  Are we going to be selfish or are we going to save the world?  The choice is ours.  I

think we all know, however, which choice our Heavenly Father wants us to make.  May we all

then make our troubling times less troubled by living our lives in love, joy, goodness, kindness,

and oneness with God.

Selah... think on this,

Connie

May This Make Your Day

Source unknown

I quote...

others to better express myself:

Thoughts from Joe Mazzella

   MORE TO DO

  By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     It was a hot and humid day in July.  I was driving to the local grocery store because the heat

had made my bananas go from yellow to brown overnight.  My air conditioner in my car was on

high, but it still wasn’t cooling me down.  Suddenly, the car in front of me signaled that it was

pulling off.  I pressed on the brakes and slowed down.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several

teenagers standing in the sweltering, Summer sun.  They weren’t playing, goofing off, or hanging

around though.  They weren’t drinking, smoking, gossiping, or looking at their cell phones.  They

were working on a porch.

     I recognized them immediately as one of the church work camps.  For more years than I can

remember these young men and women have volunteered their Spring and Summer vacations to

come here and help repair the homes of poor people.  I smiled when I saw them there sweating,

straining, and working hard to do some good in this world.  While the news headlines were so

full of murder, hate, and violence, these young people were doing their best to share some love

and light with others.  In my heart and mind I heard the words once again: “I was hungry and you

gave me food...I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing,

I was sick and you took care of me.”

     There is so much good we can do in this life.  There are so many people we can help.  There

is so much love we can share.  And as long as there is life, there is more to do.  Whether it is

repairing a house, sharing a smile, offering a hug, adopting a dog, visiting the sick, giving to

charity, praying for others, sharing a kind word, or doing any act of goodness, every single thing

we do is precious in the eyes of Heaven.

     God loves us all so much and His greatest wish is for us to love each other as well.  Choose to

love then.  Chose to love and you will have joy.  Choose to love and you will share joy.  Choose

to love and you will help others and make this world a better place.  There is no greater way to live

 and there is always more to do.  May God bless and guide you always.

Guest Post

              A GLIMPSE OF HIS SOUL

                    By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     YEEEE! 
     The sound jarred me out of my dreams on a cold, winter’s night. I sat up, threw aside my blankets, and fumbled for my glasses in the dark. I opened my bedroom door and saw a light coming from the bathroom. I knew then that it was my youngest son, Casey.

     Casey has had a severe form of Autism all of his life. He speaks only a few words and is bound by his daily routines. Small changes that we handle easily feel like the end of the world to him. Sometimes when he’s upset he will cry uncontrollably, scratch his face, or hit himself.

      This time, however, I knew from the noise he was making that he was happy. He was engaging in his favorite winter pastimes... sitting on the closed toilet seat while warming his feet on the heating vent next to it. I walked into the bathroom and said, “It’s late son. Time to go back to bed.”  Then I leaned over, kissed his forehead, and looked into his eyes.

      At that moment, something happened that touched me to my soul. Suddenly, there was no Casey and no me. There was only light. I felt like I was floating on a lake of love and joy surrounded completely by a Divine presence.  It was a moment of perfect peace. Then I blinked and when I opened my eyes again, there was only my son smiling up at me. 

I think that for a moment God had allowed me to see a glimpse of my son’s true soul, unlimited by his handicapped mind. I knew that it was one far brighter, stronger, and more loving than my own. I felt so blessed being able to see it. I thanked God again for my son, while I watched him walk back to his bedroom.

     For all of human history, the mentally handicapped have been looked down upon in our societies. They have been ostracized, tormented, neglected and ignored. Yet the truth is they are the best souls among us. They are here on a special mission from Heaven to teach us about love, patience, compassion, and selflessness. They are here to help our own souls to grow in beauty and light. They are a blessed gift from God and we should accept them all, welcome them into our hearts, and embrace the lessons they teach.  May we always do so.