Dear Reader:

Losing things is one of my pet peeves because I am so “good” at it… At Christmas time my “art” of losing scissors, glue, scotch tape, wrapping paper…and finally the gift itself… grows in magnitude.

Christmas wrapping day usually ends up being one of frustration searching for the scissors (hiding under the wrapping paper) or bows and ribbons (left them in a bag still out in the car) Wrapping, like surgery, requires knowing where all the necessary utensils are at the same time…plus another pair of hands with the scotch tape dispenser since all my personal bandage wrappings on my left hand stick to the scotch tape and I can’t get it off!

So that is why you will find me in any department store, these days, happily waiting in the line for gift wrapping….it is one time in my life where waiting is a pleasure!

As I grow older…losing things become worse….so that is why I am so happy to know that I can never lose God. He is everywhere all the time. The only thing I need do to get in touch with him is stop, pause, and be quiet.

Yesterday, with the rain and cold, was the perfect time to stop and do just that….I built a fire, grabbed a blanket and pillow and reflected on the blessings God continues bestowing on me.

Mother Teresa always knew the secret to finding God…the following in one of my favorite quotes:

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Last week, while waiting on my physical therapy, I copied this true story from an old Guidepost magazine into my keepsake loyal notebook I carry everywhere. A wonderful example, like Mother Teresa said… of when “we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Seventeen-year-old Christhian Reyes (from Miami) shared a powerful message he found inside his lost wallet which was returned by an anonymous stranger.

“I added $20 to it so you know the world is a great place. When you get the chance do something nice for someone else.”

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Doesn’t that act of kindness pretty much define the spirit of Christmas?

I heard back yesterday from Gloria Houston…my favorite Christmas story author. 2014 has been a benchmark year for change. Gloria’s mother, Miss Ruthie, died January 15…just short of her 100th birthday. Then Gloria was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma….a form of cancer that matches its long difficult name. It’s a tough one.

Gloria is now living with her younger daughter in Tampa where there is a specialized clinic to help patients with this disease. Gloria knows it is an uphill battle but she is ready to fight. Let me just share one email (out of several) that went back and forth between us yesterday…to show the determination in this wonderful woman who is so full of life.

(I had told her about “little c” and how I came to embrace that name for this insidious disease…. and she replied)

Gloria

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I replied that she came from good “genes” ….like her mother, Ruthie, and if Ruthie could climb to the “tip tip top” of the Grandfather Mountain and return home with the Christmas Tree of Hope….then so can she!

And speaking of Christmas trees of hope…Harriett Edwards sent me a picture of her Christmas Tree of Hope….saying “Come see and have tea.” Too cute…hope to do just that Harriett!

Friday and Saturday I will be busy telling Christmas stories….Friday will find me at the MS Christmas luncheon which I will attend with Mike and Honey….and Saturday I will be at Baker’s Pond Nursery on Central Avenue… at 10:30 a.m. to tell a story.

I want to invite everyone to come if you can Saturday morning …the storytelling will take place in Kay’s new enclosed building with tables for their wonderful barbecue, a beautiful Christmas tree, and glowing fire place. We will be cozy and warm…no matter the weather.

Other vendors, like the seagrass basket ladies, jewelry makers, woodcutters…all kinds of vendors will bring their own creative wares with them if you would like to stay afterwards and browse around…but don’t forget to pick up a barbecue sandwich…out of this world!

Please take a minute to read some of the wonderful comments from our blog readers…a really sweet one concerns little Rebecca Crick’s solo…Happy Birthday Jesus.

There are two people who could use our prayers right now…and I would personally appreciate you helping out in this regard. There is no doubt that I am still here because of all of you and your continued prayers for good health.

1) Gloria Houston….a tough cancer but a tougher fighter.

2) Tammy….Brooke’s friend’s daughter who continues to fight brain cancer…she is a single mother with three children and faces additional surgery next Monday.

So until tomorrow…God please be with all of your “children” who are facing all kinds of obstacles this Christmas, including health ones. Let us be reminders to those less fortunate that the world is still a great place in which to live!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Great news! Christmas came early for Mike Burrell. (Ever since his little dog, Beanie, passed away… he has missed her terribly.) So guess what Mike got today?…(after a trip to Bamberg from a sneaky elf named Honey)

* Tarshie announced that Mike now has two daughters and four granddaughters (two are Tarshie’s dogs)

* I rode over to Baker’s Pond Nursery to drop off some things for Saturday…and saw this angel stand for sale and on sale (try twelve dollars)…Kay found a container of ivy and began wrapping it around my angel…and I found an old white candle. Viola…Christmas is magical! Kay has so many items like this on sale for practically nothing…do come see Saturday!