(Live and) Dream a Little Dream

28 December 2010

Michael McLean, The Forgotten Carols and more

Amazingly my friends never get tired of hearing me say how much I love books! Even better they know me well and always share their latest find!
Thus no matter how many I read (and I will say honestly I always have 2 or 3 books started!) there is always a new story around the corner!
Then it remains for me to find the time to read it of course...not an easy task around the holidays but there is always tomorrow and the day after and so on... So many books and so little time...

The Forgotten Carols is an absolute classic, a DVD of a timeless story of a nurse whose very life is changed when a patient recounts the stories behind our Saviour's birth!
You will find yourself changed and I can attest, you will never forget Michael McLean's performance! This is a perfect way to remember what Christmas is all about and to rediscover the joy the Season brings to each of us!
The first time we saw the sold-out live performance on DVD we were spellbound and we decided to make it a tradition on Christmas Eve. It never fails to move us and to perform its magic!

This year however we were treated to the book The Forgotten Carols, a Christmas miracle for Isaac and Eliza. Written and narrated by Michael McLean, it includes a music CD you will not soon forget!

It seems Christmas would not be the same for many of us without hearing "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas". Mr. Crosby has left generations with a tear in their eyes and few have been able to equal that tune!

We now add Mr. McLean's "I cannot find my way" and "Let Him in" to our list of favourites for this Blessed Season. It would be very hard not to feel whole when hearing these songs.
A very humble thank you for such wonderful talent shared!

Please note I was not asked to review either items and this post reflects only my opinion.

26 December 2010

Boxing Day!

It is once again that long tradition (in fact going back to Medieval times) of Boxing Day! Today was celebrated by many who were in service or even the poor. Boxes were placed at churches doors to collect offerings on the Feast of St Stephen and distributed amongst the needy.

In the United Kingdom Tradesmen collected their "Christmas Boxes" or gifts after Christmas in return for good service throughout the calendar year.

It was also known to be a day where those in service would receive time off to visit their loved ones and receiving a box with goods to take home.

Whatever the reason, it was a day for celebration! Today it is known to be a Bank Holiday and for many, a chance to visit with family and friends.

Happy Boxing Day to all!

On a final note...Would you believe we saw and heard our first Robin yesterday?

25 December 2010

Christmas is here and the last of our Pearls

It's Christmas Day, a day for rejoicing FOR HE IS BORN! May His Light shine upon you and yours always!

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom"! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL ... there's also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls - a tangible reminder of God's grace to us all.

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Love
by Lauraine Snelling

When asked to write a Christmas message, one of my first thoughts was Do I climb up on my soapbox regarding changing the words in Christmas songs, using only holiday, etc. I thought about it and decided no. After all, they’re only words and what difference does a word make---really make after all?

Then I kept on thinking. If they’re only words… But we as writers know the power of words, as do readers. When the wrong word is used, it jars, while the right word can be most powerful. Take one highly overused and under practiced word---Love. Four letters is all. We toss it around so glibly, saying love ya and luv and love. But think about the power in I love you. Three of the most precious words in our language when put together. Those of us who write romances or books with romance in them, understand the power when one of our characters tells another, I love you. As humans we can never hear that enough or too much.

Christmas is about love. The greatest love story ever told, that of God for us humans, and it never changes. Customs change, politics change, the years change but God’s love never, ever does. At Christmas we are invited to share that love, to give it away, to pass it around. To find wonder again and joy in simple acts of love. We make contact with people we might never see or talk with through the year. That says I love you. We buy and make gifts to give, we reach out to strangers in need, we try to make sure everyone has a special dinner and every child a present. By giving, we receive.

So, let’s use the power words, but more so, put feet on those words and pass the love around. Let’s look for and find the wonder, the joy and the peace, maybe in small bits and pieces and perhaps in an avalanche of blessings. Make your days brighter with the simple gift of a smile, a kind word, a touch, for every single one that you give away, will come back to you multiplied. As you give, so shall you receive. Merry Christmas my friends. May we all recognize our blessings----and let an attitude of gratitude permeate this holiday and every day. With love and joy on this day, Lauraine!

~~~

About Lauraine: Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of more than sixty books, with sales of over 2 million copies. She also writes for a wide range of magazines, and helps others reach their writing dreams by teaching at writer’s conferences across the country. Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons, and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a cockatiel named Bidley, and a watchdog Basset named Chewy.

For more information please visit Lauraine's website: www.laurainesnelling.com.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. One entry per person, per day. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THESE PEARLS OF CHRISTMAS! A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO ALL THE AUTHORS WHO CONTRIBUTED THEIR MARVELOUS TALENTS!

From our house to yours: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

24 December 2010

Christmas Bells, a New Beginning and Being Thankful!

As Christmas is drawing near, here is a bit more trivia for you:

"In Scotland they have the tradition of First Footing, where at the stroke of midnight neighbors visit each other with a small gift, fruit cake or shortbread in return for a wee dram of whiskey. In other parts it is lucky for the first person to enter the house on New Years Day to bring a piece of coal as good luck for the coming year. Tall dark handsome men are thought to be the luckiest, while red headed women are sadly the least lucky ones to have knock on your door."

And the Christmas greetings you will hear throughout both Wales and Ireland in the traditional Celtic languages are in Welsh "Nadolig Llawn" and in Gaelic "Nollaig Shona duit".

A Merry Christmas everyone!

"Christmas Bells" is known by many but did you know Henri Wadsworth Longfellow wrote it 139 years ago after much sorrows?

Goodwill to Men...What thought to ponder upon especially during this Season during these troubled times! Will Mankind ever learn...

As you greet each friend and family member please remember the many who cannot be amongst us as they serve their Country faraway from home and also their loved ones on the home front...
To all of those serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, know that you are not forgotten and we pray you come home soon safe and sound!
Let's be thankful for all that we have! And as you listen to the Bells, remember the real reason for the Season... Christmas, a New Beginning!

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!

And thought how, as day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Till, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent.

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong,

“And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

Then pealed the bells loud and deep:

“God is not dead; nor doeth He sleep!

“The Wrong shall fail,

“The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, goodwill to men!”

May you have a wonderful Holiday!

Christmas Eve, 12 Pearls and Family

It is Christmas Eve and you can feel it through the house! Nestled as it is in the woods on this small island, our house sounds like Christmas, smells like Christmas and feels like Christmas!

I have Carols on, I am baking and there is such a feeling around, we just know today is special and tomorrow even more!
My husband will soon cross to the mainland on the ferry to check for last minute mail and parcels, MacIntosh the Corgi is stretched upon the cat's bed and Maira in turn is taking a winter nap at my feet...All is good, all is right...

And now for a few more Pearls...

~~~

An Unforgettable Gift
by Karen O'Connor

On Christmas morning, 1912, in Paducah, Kentucky, fourteen-year-old Charlie Flowers and his three brothers and two sisters huddled in their beds, fully dressed, trying to keep warm as the wind howled outside their small frame house.

It was a desperate time for the family. Earlier that year the children's father had died. And their mother had not found work. The coal had run out and there was little money––none for gifts. Their scrawny tree with decorations made from scraps of colored paper had been given to them the night before by a local merchant.

"Can't sell this one," the man said with a nod of his head before handing it over to the eager children.

To pass the time, the siblings joked and shouted stories from their bedrooms across the hallway from one another. Then suddenly a racket from the alley at the rear of the house broke into their games.

"Charlie," his mother called, "would you see what's going on out there?"

Charlie pulled on his shoes, grabbed a thick overcoat from the hook by the door, and ran out back.

There stood a man in a wagon bent over a load of coal, shoveling it into the shed as fast as he could.

"Hey Mister, we didn't order any coal," Charlie shouted. "You're delivering it to the wrong house."

"Your name's Flowers, isn't it?" the man asked, still shoveling.

Charlie nodded yes.

"Well then, there's no mistake. I've been asked to deliver this to your family on Christmas morning." He looked the awe-struck boy square in the eye. "And I'm under strict orders not to tell who sent it," he teased.

Charlie ran into the house, his coattail flapping in the cold morning wind. He could hardly wait to tell his mother and brothers and sisters. God had provided––just as he had on that first Christmas morning so long ago when He sent his only son to a needy world.

Charlie Flowers died in 1994 at age 96. And right up to the last year of his life, not a Christmas went by that he didn't tell the story of that sub-zero Christmas morning of his boyhood when two men gave his family an unforgettable gift.

It wasn't the coal that was remembered or cherished, Charlie often said––welcome as it was––but rather what two men brought to his desperate family. One, for his gift of recognizing their great need and taking the time to do something about it. And the other, for being willing to give up part of his own Christmas morning to deliver it.

That gift of so long ago has continued to warm the Flowers family from one generation to another, as Charlie's son––my husband, Charles––calls to mind these two unknown men each Christmas morning and whispers a prayer of thanks.

~~~

About Karen: Karen O'Connor is an award-winning author and writing mentor living in Watsonville, California with her husband, Charles Flowers. Karen’s latest book is 365 Reasons Why Gettin’ Old Ain’t So Bad (Harvest House 2010).

For more information, please visit Karen on the web at www.karenoconnor.com.

~~~

23 December 2010

Only 2 Days left to Christmas, More Pearls and Snow Buntings

Snow Buntings or Snowflakes, are birds found throughout the northern hemisphere, in Cairngorms (Central Scotland) and even the Saint Elias Mountains (Alaska-Yukon border).
These are not tiny birds and at 15 to 18 cm long with over 30 cm for wingspan, it weights close to 50 g. It builds its nest in rock crevices and its eggs are blue-green and spotted brown.
I heard their song this morning for the first time (as my husband loves to follow bird programs) and it was absolutely lovely. It reminded me of a beautiful choir, ready to celebrate a special event.
And indeed the Earth is full of beautiful things we often miss because we are not looking deeply enough!
This is a time for celebration, a time for rejoicing! Is is almost Christmas time, let's sing it to the Heavens!

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom"! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL ... there's also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls - a tangible reminder of God's grace to us all.

~~~

All I Want for Christmas…
Is to be able to have Christmas this Year
by Melissa Mashburn

This is a simple request, isn’t it? In the previous years, we had great big bountiful Christmases with our family. Gifts, goodies and general Christmas cheer but this year it was different. The year before has been chock full of disappointments, failing businesses and severe cutbacks for our family.

Sitting with my husband one night we hammered out the bare minimum that we could spend that year for Christmas and even still the total was four hundred dollars. It does not sound like a whole lot compared to what we’ve spent on Christmas before, but this year it could have been four thousand dollars because we just did not have it.

We prayed, I cried, we prayed some more and decided that we would cut back anything else that we could that year so we could have Christmas for our kids. We did not know how we would make this happen, but we knew that we needed to step forward in faith that it would happen.

Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God. Galatians 3:5 the Message

Not even two days later, we hear a knock on our front door. We open the door to see some friends of ours from church. With tears in their eyes, they handed us an envelope and said that the felt they needed to give us this. We opened the envelope and inside there was four hundred dollars cash.

Shocked, stunned and with tears flowing down our face we just sat there in a state of crying and laughing at what God had done. We never shared with anyone that year what we needed, how bad it was, what was going on or what that number was for us to have Christmas for the kids, but God knew.

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT

He took a willing servant, led them to our front door and changed Christmas for us that year. After many years of being in full time ministry we knew that God would provide, but when He shows up just at the right moment, you know that it was all a part of His plan to show how much He loves, provides and cares for His people.

Father God, thank you that after all the years of serving and loving you in ministry that you continue to teach, guide, love, shepherd and care for us. You, Father, are abundantly gracious and kind, thank you for showing up for us at just the right moment every time, forgive us when we forget that. In Jesus name, Amen.

~~~

About Melissa: Melissa is the founder of the blog Mel’s World Ministry, co-founder of the Praise and Coffee Nights Ministry with Sue Cramer, Kids Ministry Director at her church. Just last year she launched a new weekly series called Godly Gals ~ Real Women, Real Life, Real Faith where we meet new women each week who are “Taking their everyday, ordinary lives and placing it as their offering to God.” Romans 12:1 the Message. You can find her on twitter and at her blog. She loves encouraging women to live with an authentic faith by being transparent, renewed and transformed. ~ Romans 12:2.

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22 December 2010

3 Days to Christmas, 12 Pearls of Christmas and the Best of News

It seems appropriate that this would be the time to hear a young friend of mine is expecting one of God's miracles! What better gift than this to behold for her?!
As she shares each of her sonogram photos I am awed at all the progress made by the Medical world these last 30 + years (Outch!...I am telling my age here!).
She tells me her wish is to be the best Mum in the World and I just know she will be!
I am knitting and dreaming...

Christmas is soon to be...

And now for the rest of our stories...

~~~

What’s the best thing about Christmas?
by Maureen Lang

The answer to that question will undoubtedly be different depending on the age and the faith of the person being asked. Most children will say it’s all about the gifts. Adults, even if they secretly still enjoy the gifts, will probably strive to sound more mature and say the holiday is all about friends and family. Still others might say it’s about tradition, or memories or the music or even the special food we connect to this time of year. The scrooges among us might say this season is just another marketing gimmick, or materialism gone awry. The faithful will say it’s all about Jesus, a reminder of why He shed the glory of Heaven to step into human skin and frailty.

I’m not here to defend or attack any answer to this question, but rather to ponder those possible answers.

Gifts: They touch us in personal ways, as tangible evidence of someone else’s thought and affection. Even if we don’t get exactly what we hoped, there’s something to be said about the thought behind a gift being the important part. Why wouldn’t gifts be an important and valid part of this holiday in which we celebrate God’s gift of salvation?

Holiday Gatherings: Parties might be a lot of work, forcing some out of their comfort zone, but at the core they’re all about human connection. Isn’t that what most people want?

Traditions and memories: They remind us of the past, of who we are, with the hope that even as we look forward to an unknown future we still hold some things worthy enough to repeat every year. We might find ourselves letting go of some traditions, or we might want to start some new ones.

The music: This is the only time of the year when even secular radio stations welcome songs about a baby born in Bethlehem. As a nation we may be getting stringent about separation of church as state, but the lines blur just a bit with old favorites that reflect this season.

Scrooges: The holiday season is probably a time to endure rather than enjoy, but even the scroogiest-scrooge might admit the lights of the season are pretty to behold. They’re free to look at, after all.

As for the food, the busyness, the expense and all the other things that make up this season: keep in mind that it’s all temporary. This, too, shall pass. Until next year, of course.

I’ll leave you with this thought: we are all made in God’s image, whether we believe that or not. Part of that image is the ability to give—and to receive. So here’s my thought for the day: stop a moment and dwell on all the gifts of the season. From the little mementos that say we haven’t forgotten someone or been forgotten by others, to the costliest gift of all: what God did for us in the form of Christ. As you enjoy the sounds, the sights, the scents and the tastes of this season, may your only trouble be in choosing just one thing among so many best things about Christmas.

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About Maureen: Maureen Lang is the author of ten books, her most recent from Tyndale House is The Great War Series which are full of romance, adventure and spiritual journeys. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons and their lovable Labrador Retriever.

For more information please visit Maureen at her website, www.maureenlang.com.

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