Are there Christmas Angels among us?

A friend of mine sent me a "chain text" yesterday.  It went something like this:
   I sent an angel to watch over you last night and that the angel had come back because "angels dont watch over angels!" The text went onto say that Twenty angels are IN your world.  Ten of them are sleeping, nine of them are playing, one is reading this message...Send this to ten friends including me if I don't get it back guess I'm not one of them. As SOON as you get five replies, someone you love will quietly surprise you xxx :) God has seen YOU struggling with something. God says its over.  A blessing is coming your way.  If you believe in God send this message on, please don't ignore it, you are being tested. God is going to fix two things  (BIG) tonight in your favor. If you believe in God, DROP EVERYTHING & PASS IT ON.  TOMORROW WILL BE THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. SEND THIS TO 14 FRIENDS IN 10 MIN.  Lifes a mountain enjoy the climb.

I don't typically join in on these chains, however, as I was pushing my cart through Target amongst all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers, I thought it is the season of magic and love, I should forward this.  Surprisingly, many of my friends sent it back to me - one right after the other- sending me their love.  That felt good to know that so many people cared about me.

I looked at that text chain about every twenty minutes last night, focusing more on the later part of the message.  And I waited.  I sat up and watched Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel and much to my surprise as I got up to turn the TV off, it was past midnight.  My thoughts drifted back to the chain text.

It was "the next day" - what were the two BIG things that God would fix for me?  I certainly had my own ideas of what he could do for me (and they are BIG trust me!), but I would go to bed and wait to see what he had in store for me.  Why would I believe in a "chain text?"  Its not the text itself, its the love and message it sends among us. Its the energy of love that is emitted through all these people. 

So, now it is almost midnight on the next day and I haven't yet quite figured out what those two BIG things are.  Perhaps they will be revealed to me as I sleep or in the following days.

Angels played a large roll in the story of Joseph and Mary and the birth of their son Jesus Christ. I wonder what roll they will play in all of our lives as we journey through this Holiday season?


Kimberley

What are your favorite Christmas Cookies?

Christmas cookies have been a tradition in my family ever since I can remember.  My mother used to make dozens and dozens of all different kinds.  And to this day, I make this a priority on the "christmas to-do list" every year.  I love spending time in my kitchen, it gives me great peace and grounding.

Our family's holiday favorites are M&M cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Walnut Balls.  The house would smell soo good as my Mom baked each batch to perfection.  However, she wanted to freeze them and save them for guests and family to indulge in during the Christmas and New Years weeks.  Well, as you can imagine, that was torture to children who loved cookies.  Especially those chocolate walnut balls.  This is a very special family recipe that I happen to love! 

In fact, one year, I decided to sneak into the freezer to grab some of those little treasures.  We had one of the refridgerators with the freezer on the top.  It was placed in this small backroom off the kitchen that also housed two closets across from it.  I remember the room being cold and this ugly shade of green - lol.  I am sure if I asked my Mom, she might correct me on this detail.  So, one day, when I thought my mother wasn't watching, I quietly walk into the backroom, open the freezer and pop open that plastic lid with those yummy little chocolate balls covered in confectioner sugar glaze.  I excitedly grabbed two of them just as the entire refridgerator begins to tip and fall toward my little body. 

So, what do I do? Panic! and Yell - "Mom!"  and just as I did, the refridgerator tipped and the top hit the other wall and was tettering there as my Mom came running.  Well, needless to say I got in some trouble!  I don't actually remember if my Mom let me eat the cookies.  No matter, it is a story I will remember for years to come.

What are your favorite Christmas cookies?




I would love to hear them.

Kimberley

Finding Love at Christmas Time

Tonight I don't write about traditions.  Tonight I write about matters of the heart.  My heart.  You see,  I have always believed in the magic of Christmas.  There is something in the air during the four weeks of December that is unique unto itself.  We give a little more, care a little deeper, share a little more freely and love a bit more unconditionally.

This Christmas my wish is to find love.   The love that has been waiting for me all these years. A love that is so deep and connected that we just know.  We just know we are meant for each other.  I have been single for a very long time and spent many a Christmas wondering when "He" would appear.

I pray that God (and Santa -lol) in all of the magical spirit of Christmas will grant me this one, heartfelt wish.

An old fashioned, hand-written Christimas Card

What ever happened to the Christmas card that used to have a hand-written address on the front of the envelope and a special, heartfelt note inside?

I pondered this thought tonight as I was looking over my Christmas to-do list and writing out my christmas cards was still in the top five things yet to be done.  I really enjoy sitting down with a steamy, hot cup of  Baileys and coffee, my pen and a box of Christmas cards.  I set aside time each year to write a special note to each one of my friends that I have not seen in awhile and to my family to let them know how much they mean to me.

In my mind, these cards represent little gifts in an envelope.  I thoughtfully think of what I want to say and try to pour my love and caring into each word.  It is my hope that as my friends and family open their mailbox and see that card inside, that somehow, someway, love gets released into the air and fills them with happiness.

Now with the advent of e-cards and apparently cards sent via text, won't some of us still continue on with the old-fashioned tradtion of a handwritten christmas card?  Afterall, how many of us love to go to our mailbox to discover a hand-written letter from a friend?

Goodnight,

Kimberley

 

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone."

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone."
~ Charles Schulz (1922-2000), American cartoonist 'Peanuts'.



So, as I write this Christmas blog, I am reminded of the Charlie Brown Christmas special that is aired each year.  It warms my heart - why? because it reminds me of being a child all over again and more importantly, it reminds me of the love Charlie Brown had for that scant, almost barren tree. 

As we celebrate this season of giving, let us be reminded of those less fortunate, those who might just need a hug, or a warm meal or a friends ear to listen or perhaps a lonely little tree that wants to be decorated and crowded with presents for those children on Christmas morning.

May God Bless All of You this Season,

Kimberley

Twas the Night Before Christmas

What are the memories that you all have the night before Christmas?

Well..my sister and i would think about Christmas Eve for days before it happened!  In fact, one of the fondest memories I have is of her and I drawing out a map that would lead us from our bedroom, down the stairs, to the Christmas tree discovering which presents were ours.  And sometimes we would even try to rattle them a bit to see if we could hear what was inside!

Each year, we would get out a piece of paper and a pencil and draw out which stairs creeked and where so that we could gingerly maneauver around them.  We strategically planned all of our moves, to be implemented in our pajamas at 5am without our parents knowledge of course! That was the whole point - don't make any noise so Mom and Dad don't wake up!

Did we execute our plan successfully every year? Well.. I think our parents let us get away with it for the first few years and then they caught on and told us to "wait until we get up!."  Somehow, we always seemed to get up at 5am anyway, skip the creeking stairs and go right to our parents bedroom and just get them up - lol!

It is a fond memory for sure. Christmas through the eyes of children.  The innocent excitement.  The belief in something they cannot see.  Its nice that at Christmas time, we can roll back the hands of time and for a few weeks, bring back that innocence we once had.

Hope you are enjoying these blogs and the Holiday Season,

Kimberley

The Magic of the Christmas Box

I thought for quite awhile about what tonights blog should be.  And then it came to me.  The tradition of sharing ones favorite books as gifts each year to  special people in your life that you feel would  need them most. How could I forget that as an author?

Each year, I think of the people in my life and what their hearts really need for Christmas.  Books are marvelous things, amazing how they can heal, inspire and comfort.

I have many favorites that include: Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach,  A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and The Laws of the Spirit  written by Dan Millman.


But there is one very special book that is at the top of the gift giving list every year and that is The Christmas Box written by Richard Paul Evans.  Just the mention of this book as I type these words fills my heart.




Here is a description from the authors website that describes the book:

        Summary

So begins The Christmas Box, the touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Rick, Keri, and their 4-year-old daughter, Jenna, are hired as caretakers and are welcomed into the Victorian home of Mary Parkins, an elderly widow, just before the holiday season. As the relationship between Mary and the family develops we learn that Mary’s past sorrows are compelling her to share an important message with Richard. But will he understand her message in time? A heartwarming story of parental love, healing, and Christmas.

Richard Paul Evans wrote this story expressing his love for his two daughters.  He never envisioned that it would grow to the success that it has, selling millions of copies.  He wrote the book in less than four weeks!   I can really appreciate what that means!

I would encourage all of you to buy the book this Christmas season.  Perhaps it touch your hearts as much as it has mine and millions others.   And here is a link to the authors website - check out his other books, they are all so wonderful!  I have read them all and could only wish that my stories will touch people as much as Richard's has.  http://www.richardpaulevans.com/