Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

Proverbs 31:25-31

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her:

Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Who…

  gives me blue skies,

  and tells me no lies.

  gives me strength when I am weak,

  and wisdom to be meek.

  fills my darkness with light,

  on a cold winters’ night.

  makes me laugh,

  and leads me on my path.

Who…

  is this so true,

  it is you, Mother, YOU!

~Charlotte A. Robinson

Christmas 1985©️

In This Very Place

Your spirit is woven into the fabric of this very place

Every corner, every shelf reveals remnants of your special touch

Christmas gifts of long ago still adorn the walls of this sacred place

Family photos of yesteryears all with a story to tell

If only this were but a childish game running and laughing, all covered with love

I hear you in the chimes letting me know you’re near

Hummingbirds with their ease of flight…shows me the beauty and complexity of this life

As I hear the tick tock of the clocks, I can hear your laughter in the distance

Remembering the comfort and strength in your warm embrace,

Remembering your sacrifices in all you did, making life sweeter

Everything has changed, nothing feels the same, hard as I try reality continues knocking at my door

Go away, go away…Can’t you see you’re not welcome in this place.

This was hers, this was ours…wishes and dreams unfulfilled, it’s all left undone

Questions linger, the obvious one of why…it’s beyond our understanding.

Has she traveled to all the places she once dreamed of, was there a welcoming of those who had gone before?

No pain…walking and running freely, perhaps even flying or floating about.

Today as I looked in the sky, filled with billowing white clouds I paused to wonder…

Thinking to my self, and saying…can she see me, is she proud of me,

Am I doing and being the best person I can be? When will I see her again?

Mom, I miss you so very much and I love you more than I was ever able to show.

Until we meet again, you will always be in my heart, my soul…the very existence of who I am, always and forever…your daughter.

~C.A.Robinson

September 19, 2012 at 1:23am ©️

Shirley Lee Robinson

September 23, 1946 — June 22, 2012

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

Welcome friends and family—

Isaiah 25:6,9

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

All are welcomed at the Feast of God! Isaiah writes of a great feast for His people who have suffered terrible violence and deprivation. God will have the finest table ever imagined, God can indeed spread a table in the wilderness.

Psalm 78:19

“They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness.”

Father Christmas provided a feast in Narnia, it too had the finest of things. Father Christmas wanted the Narnian’s to remember life before the White Witch and to celebrate the new things that were coming. The White Witch was so cold and cruel, nothing to her deemed a celebration. In fact, celebrating to her was a “WASTE!” The White Witch, though she did not want to admit it, knew that Aslan was on the move and her power was lessening, day by day in Narnia, as it was thawing.

Holidays and Feasting! Family Gatherings and Reunions, and Feasting! Advent and Christmas, they typically include special meals and gatherings with friends and family. Many are choosing to not have gatherings this season due to COVID-19, while others choose to gather but only with immediate family. My experience has been that no matter what kind of relationships people have when gathering, they tend to push them aside for the sake of being with those they care about. Of course, these events do not cancel or erase quarrels, mistakes or betrayals but they do help to remind us that people matter, even if they have hurt us in the past. There’s also no guarantee that a gathering will go smoothly but often the risk is worth the healing that can take place. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood were celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with most of my relatives on my mom’s side of the family. My mom had 8 siblings and that meant I had lots of cousins. It was always a pitch-in and to call it a feast was an understatement. Beautiful memories! We celebrate with family and loved ones now, knowing they are a foretaste of God’s redemption still to come.

As believers, we look forward to a heavenly feast hosted by God! And, in Narnia, all creatures look forward to a feast hosted by Aslan!

Questions for Reflection:

• What would be set on the table if God were to “spread a table in the wilderness” for you? Make a list of foods, beverages, and decorations.

— Steak; prime rib, sweet red wine; sweet flaky crescent rolls, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, cheesecake; german-chocolate cake…fine white china, fine silverware, crystal goblets, fine linens. Of course, none of this will matter compared to being with God!

• What are holiday family meals like for you? Do tension, celebration, creation and grace play equal roles? Are there ways you could bring more grace to meals in your family?

— In the past, filled with family. Balance is good for the soul. Don’t wait for special occasions to share a meal with friends and family; make time for friends and family, make them feel special by sharing a meal or conversation with them, now that’s something special.

~Hope~Love~Joy~Peace~Charlotte

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

Christmas Adam is a colloquialism for the day before Christmas Eve or December 23rd. It is a rather new term. An online slang dictionary created a listing for it only nine years ago. Christmas Adam is not listed in any formal dictionaries and we had a hard time finding formal writing examples of its use.

The general consensus of the origin of the name is that in anticipation for Christmas to come, people were looking for a name for the day before Christmas Eve. Some were calling the 23rd Christmas Eve Eve. Then someone (or more likely several someones) realized that in Christian mythology God created Adam before he created Eve, so the day before Christmas Eve would be Christmas Adam.

~Merry Christmas~Charlotte 🎄🎁

References:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/

Christmas Adam

https://grammarist.com/words/christmas-adam/