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Reflections of Christmases Past, Present, and Future
Dear Reader: Quinn Caldwell (All I Really Want-Christmas devotions) shares insightful musings on the one single animal species (that lives on the ground) who can sing…us! “Humans are also the only...
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Leaving Joy Behind…
Dear Reader: I should have remembered yesterday that the pink candle of Advent (representing joy) would be lit. What a fitting day to return to church and be filled with joy at seeing friends, whom, I...
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Father Knows Best
Dear Reader: There are probably a good handful of us ‘baby boomers’ out there who still remember growing up with the popular series “Father Knows Best.” It aired from 1954 to 1960 and immediately went...
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Seeing Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child
Dear Reader: What fun yesterday was! Honey was the first to stop by to pick up the Apple Tree stand but she had to leave before Mollie and Eloise arrived. Thank goodness we were all able to reconnect...
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Christmas and the Magic Pencil
Dear Reader: A good friend of mine, Brooks Moore, a (mostly) retired educator after 45 years in the “business,” sent me a copy of his book titled: Chalk Talk: 30 Stories that will touch your funny...
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Pop-Up Christmas Cards from the Past
Dear Reader: Today is the winter solstice…the shortest day of the year. (thus it is sometimes called the Longest Night of the year) On this day the sun is at its lowest arc and appears to “stand...
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P.J’s, Purgatory, and a Christmas Miracle
Dear Reader: What a mixed bag of emotions Thursday was…blustery, rainy weather…an oncology appointment…and then everything changed! The photos above were actually taken in the morning (Friday...
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Wandering Thoughts of Wonder while Writing about Christmas
Dear Reader: For three months I wandered in my imagination (while reclining with my foot up on top of so many pillows… I felt like “The Princess and the Pea“) wondering what my next car would look...
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We All Need a Good Dose of Christmas Childhood Faith and Hope
Dear Reader: Yesterday afternoon this story popped up from one of several devotions that come to me daily…I don’t remember ever signing up for them but they do seem to appear at the right time for...
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“The Christmas Time Stood Still”
Dear Reader: I never know when and where the idea for the next Christmas Eve story will come…but I always know it will. I suppose I have my foot to thank for the Christmas story last night. While in...
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The “God Wink” at the Christmas Eve Service
Dear Reader: Yesterday I left you hanging about a remarkable incident that took place at the end of the Christmas Eve Service….the service in which I told an old German fairy tale…a story about a...
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Words that Permanently are Associated with Christmas
Dear Reader: Isn’t it true that some writers create such memorable characters in literature that they remarkably take on an identity of their own? If you look up the word “GRINCH” you notice it didn’t...
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Mary Went the Distance…
Dear Reader: I read an excerpt from Quinn Caldwell’s Christmas devotion ( All I Really Want) about the role of Mary in Jesus’ life and it made me pause and think about this epiphany more studiously....
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“Row, Row, Row the Boat…”
Dear Reader: When we have time to reflect back on our lives…hasn’t most of it been spent rowing...struggling to move from one situation to a better one? Sometimes our struggles have produced an...
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An Interesting Discovery between the Joy of Giving and Getting
Dear Reader: I distinctly remember the Christmas when I realized that the joy of giving was so much more fulfilling and exciting than the joy of receiving….The children were all small and we were over...
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What a Difference a Year Makes
Dear Reader: A year ago today I left my house to spend New Year’s with John and Mandy so I would be there to keep Eva Cate when everyone returned to work the day after New Year’s… except for students...
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A Toast to the New Year…and New Freedoms
Dear Reader: Many of us forget that New Year’s Eve (1862) was one of the most momentous celebrations in American history. The first recorded “Watch Night” service (a church service held on New Year’s...
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South Carolina and Hoppin’ Johns
Dear Reader: I think one would be hard ‘pressed’ to get much more southern than this title picture…taken straight from my table yesterday. It is Dingle’s version of my idea of the best first meal of...
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Lean On Me…God’s Strength is Our Strength
Dear Reader: Yesterday was the day I always dread…taking down the Christmas decorations…I love them so! Once down everything looks plain and dull in contrast to all the lights that once shone. I am a...
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We Rise by Lifting Others
Dear Reader: Isn’t it strange how burdens, over time, become some of our fondest memories? Sometimes the most difficult stages in our lives produce some of the most magical moments…moments we would...
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