Making Altars of the Heart at Christmas

Dear Reader:

Several days ago…Kate Wolfe-Jenson in her blog Journey Dancing spoke of making our personal altars from our heart to God. Especially during the Christmas season it seems like a wonderful gesture to do.

She suggests: “Make your alters of the heartMake an altar ofand on it gently offer everything – all that you feel… All that you fear… All that you hope… All that you are.”

Jenson then made a wonderful analogy between our personal altars and the pine cone. I loved the idea behind the concept so I made me a small one to remind myself of my love to God.

After a pine cone falls from the tree, it can still open and close. When it’s warm and dry – good for seeds to scatter and sprout – scales open. When it’s cold and wet, scales close. Pine

I am sure that today I have already encountered many “growth” experiences in the “Big Apple.” I do trust that my soul has wisdom in it to “open toward growth and close in protection”like the pine cone.”

Jenson closes her message by telling us to take the leaps of life in stride…new passages aren’t always easy but they are well worth the trip. The important thing is to make space for ourselves in this life we have been given. This may be difficult, but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be easy. You are stronger than easy.

So until tomorrow…May we all be “stronger than easy” for the new experiences we encounter along our path.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Here I am in New York City where (this evening) the Heisman Trophy Winner will be announced…I wonder who I will pull for????HUMMMMM!

Jackson has her a young admirer…very young…he’s four. He’s Libby’s youngest grandchild and Rhett loves Jackson…he has started calling her “Cheekie” and wants her to read him bedtime stories now…so sweet.

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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