Simply Sunday: Psalm 121:1-2

Mountains around John Day, Oregon
Photo Credit

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
    Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of
heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2 (CEB)

Visiting this peaceful Sunday with

and with Barbie at Fresh Brewed Sundays

 

Reflecting on the Year Just Past

Looking back, 2011 has been a year filled with more ups than downs.  Our highlights are listed below and we give God the glory for each of them:

•    Beyond our wildest dreams, our small two-person business was contracted by the U.S. Marine Corps Band to provide them with 35 of our custom music stands (see Noteworthy Music Stands).  This provided excitement, confusion over government contracts, nerves and lots of attention for us.

•    Our son Craig and his wife, Gigi, were able to purchase a small vacation getaway at the Oregon coast which they have graciously offered for our use from time to time.  We rejoice with them that even though the economy has impacted them to some extent, they have both continued to be employed by long-term employers over the past four years.

•    Connections with writers and the writing world have increased for me, and I am hopeful that this year will provide some sort of publishing experience. 

•    Our granddaughter Alyssa gave birth to Everett William Ellis, our second great-grandchild on November 20th and he is a wonderful and happy little guy.  Big sister Kylie is coming into her own as mommy’s little helper.

On the downside, we hit some bumps that involved medical issues, including:

•    Just when I thought we were going to make it through the first quarter of the year home free, I was scheduled for surgery for reconstruction of my left thumb joint.  Not a horrible surgery, but an incredibly long recovery for something so simple.  This effectively brought to a halt my desire to start flute lessons and to be more active in my writing.  After long weeks of therapy, I was finally home free.

•    In May I was hit with the worst episode of sciatica I could imagine.  I hoped it would pass, and it has finally but only because of spinal fusion on December 8th.  I’m glad to write that the recovery is going well but it too isn’t a fast process.

•    At the same time I was suffering, my husband also was experiencing sciatica and eventually received amazing relief with a cortisone injection.  I’m so glad he didn’t have to have surgery!

Even in the lows, God was ever present and has kept us strong as a couple.  Through devotionals and prayers together each day, we have grown closer, even after 30 years of marriage.  My work with MOPS is still going strong and I managed not to miss too many meetings in spite of the pain or surgery. 

I want to thank each of you who has stopped by during the year to read something I’ve written and to leave your words of encouragement and hope.  I don’t know where 2012 will take me or us, hopefully wherever and in whatever way God's will directs us.  I love writing and would like to think it is a full-time endeavor for me.  However, there are many other things I love as well and must decide on some priorities.  Right now I have to focus on healing and healing well, and then on regaining a fitness and healthy lifestyle that benefits me day after day.

Blessings to each of you for a grand New Year in 2012, one filled with love, joy and peace!

Reflections of Christmas 2011

www.readthewell.com

Unexpected richness still pervades the air around me.  This Christmas season has been unusual to say the least.  Scheduling surgery for December 8th caused friends to think I'd lost my mind.  Pain was debilitating, and its intensity guided our choice.

Together, my husband and I made the choice that Christmas would be downsized this year.  No tree, no other decorations except the wreath beside the door, early shopping and addressing of cards.  Festivities would be held somewhere other than our home.  And so, it was that this became the richest of all Christmases.

My goal was to be strong enough to celebrate Christmas with our son and his family on December 23rd, or as we call it, Christmas Eve Eve.  And I made it!  My delight was in watching our 3-year old great-granddaughter Kylie, open her presents, and then go right back to the baby doll in a quilted carrier -- obviously her favorite of the evening.  She gave me a manicure that I'm sure you'll not be able to find at your local manicurist's shop!  Then I met and held for the first time Kylie's new baby brother, Everett, now a month old.  He slept in my arms, and I looked in his face and realized that Mary would have held an infant about this size as they raced away from the threats of Herod.  How her heart must have pounded!

Not one to set just one goal, I also wanted to pace myself to attend an early Christmas Eve service and worship on Christmas morning.  I was able to do both!  The early Christmas Eve service was directed toward young families with children, but adults find it enjoyable too.  I watched and listened as two little girls, ages 6 and 9, sang the French carol, Le Divin Infant (The Divine Child), every word memorized.  A children's choir of almost 30 treated our ears to O, Little Town of Bethlehem.  And the beauty of the night kept coming through music.

AND Christmas morning's worship service was once again filled with music and readings from The Gospels.  My heart was swelling with joy, gratitude, and blessings.

And today I sit here in the quiet continuing my reflections on Christmas realizing that Christmas is new every year -- a rebirth of sorts of the Christ Child in each of us if we are willing to open ourselves to this experience.  By virtue of being in recovery mode, I patiently sat and waited through the hustle and bustle of early December and was allowed to enjoy the unfolding events of Advent.  I don't recommend experiencing this through surgery and recovery, but I do recommend slowing the pace and giving yourself the opportunity to taste fully the delectable love that God has shown us through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ.