…lost &…FOUND(!)

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Virginia

ok, so you know what it’s like to lose something? or misplace something for a Very Long Time?   It happens.  But isn’t it just So Very Joyful when you find what you’ve lost & have been missing?  Yippee! Yiaaayye! Yahooaye! yes, today we’re a bit joyful since what’s been lost since Christmas has been FOUND.

Big deal.  It’s only been a month of ‘lost-ness’  – sometimes we lose stuff for months, years … or forever (when we feel like Tolkien’s Gollum shrieking:  “LOST!  LOST! my precious…) But after searching high (& low), ‘tis so exhilaratingly grand to actually FIND what you’ve been looking for…

Hmmmn…& this is of interest why exactly? Stay with me… ‘cause it’s actually a wee bit Hilarious (the ‘how-it-was-found’ bit in a satirically sardonic sense of sorts…)

A few background bits & pieces…

1st – the item:  a Christmas Gift.  From me, TO:  my parents & brother (& me!)  A movie – a VERY GREAT movie:  For Greater Glory (you can read my review by clicking here.)   ‘Twas also given (from me) to Other Family Members (a significant stack… as my brother reminded when said item he opened ceremoniously for us could Not Be Found a few days after Christmas.)

ok, ok – so this is not a Gollum-Ring-of-Power sort of lost item, but still, the energy spent trying to find it is rather similar to trekking through Mirkwood, the curvy no-end-in-sight moments (at the very least)…

2nd – the search: after talking up the movie to the Savvy Saints (my parents), naturally they want to SEE IT.  And, naturally, my Papa has continued asking ‘when are we Going To Watch the New Movie?”  hmmn. All the usual places… under the usual places… around the usual places…next to the usual places… even a few unusual possibilities.   NO MOVIE.

3rd – Mysterious Goings On.  Last week Miss Murple (in Purple) as my brother calls his deductive sis (who has read a zillion mysteries, including every Agatha Christie ever written) began to Get A Little Suspicious.  Like, her brother opened the present? & didn’t seem Too Enthusiastic about How Great the movie is? The last one seen with the item & all that…

MAYBE HE HID IT !~!~!

This, however, raised serious sibling TRUST ISSUES.  To avoid outright tension (& after looking under his bed dodging Mirkwood-ish dustballs)  strategically ordering the movie from Netflix seemed like a Good Idea.

But, then, TODAY…

Mama noted that the Super Bowl is Sunday & how these huge boxes filled with Papa’s New Books were cluttering up the living room (hidden behind a sofa?  not anywhere near the TV?)  Very subtle, she is… & after giving her the ‘i am very busy glare’ (‘twas true, since 5:30a.m. hardly a chance to SIT DOWN in this mad house..)  for some reason I actually went & immediately emptied all the boxes & reorganized ALL the piles of Papa’s books (& booklets)  in their neaty stashes in & under a big desk we have in the living room.

After completing this task, I turned to move the scary suction machine (also hidden behind the sofa, for use in an emergency in case Papa chokes, which just having it there serves as a good incentive for him Not To Choke) …

& VOLIA:  THE MOVIE WAS THERE ON THE MOVABLE-THINGY that houses the suction machine.  Along with a stack of music CDs I also gave to Mama & Papa for Christmas (hymns, gorgeous classical music & More…)

… & you know what? I AM THE CULPRIT.  I put them there after Dwight unwrapped them on Christmas & totally forgot (didn’t want our copy to be confused with Other Copies opened by Others in the Fam.)

What was lost, has been FOUND…

But, get a load of THE HOW… while doing Something Good (it does actually look lots better in that corner of the living room to be Box Free, even if hidden behind a sofa, that’s actually kind of cati-cornered, like you can see the hidden stuff from the Dining Room? & the Kitchen doorway?)

There may be a lesson in this … (beyond the ‘keep looking’ – i had actually given up, even sent off a movie disc today to order it on Netflix later :  )

A lesson: we might find what we’ve lost (or have been missing) while we’re doing something else?  Something we might not necessarily Want To Do, but Do Anyway?

Not terribly profound, but there it is.

Do what ya gotta do (& keep an eye pealed for what’s lost along the way…)

the Hobbitgrace, peace & FINDERS KEEPERS

Virginia :  )

“All that is gold does not glitter…Not all who wander are lost.”   J.R.R. Tolkien

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life, liberty & … death to the little ones??

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Virginia

Today many folks of many faiths are marching down the streets of Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the issue of LIFE for unborn little ones.  i realize that the issue of abortion pushes people’s emotional buttons, but here are my thoughts – again! 

Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli, Tim Tebow or…Beethoven – what a dull place (!) No beautiful tenor’s voice melting your heart or talented football player raising his faith flag on & off the field, or truly great music (Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, one of the most amazing choral pieces ever, or his 9th Symphony, or his 5th, or good grief, any of his music!)   But despite potential birth defect challenges, their mothers chose Life…as did mine (thankfully) & yours (obviously.)

Since January 22, 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade, however, many mothers & mothers-to-be have not chosen life. Today, thousands are marching for Life in Washington, DC to raise awareness of these little ones who are no more – an estimated 50 million over the past 40 years. 

40 very long years for this issue to polarize & desensitize us to the real issues at stake: the human rights of little ones who can’t speak for themselves…(yet!) AND wise choices, responsibility, education, respect (of all shapes & sizes!)… and love.

march for life posterAbortion is such a divisive issue… for some reason it’s been easier for me to stand between soldiers shooting children in a conflict zone than to speak out on this. Kinda weird for an ‘in-your-face, hey soldier can’t you see that’s a child you’re shooting?’ gal, but I have friends across the political spectrum & working in the HIV/AIDS arena in Africa (saving lives) many dear colleagues have very differing views.

I respect their views & am so grateful for friendships & amazing work done together, but this issue DOES need a bit of attention: LOTS of Attention & Intention – for the Roe vs. Wade status quo (deaths of babies – little lives beloved of God routinely extinguished @ 1,200 per day) to CHANGE.

Of course, women SHOULD be in charge – if all the world’s nations were led by women imagine what a better place this globe would be! (Overseas in my 20’s I asked the visiting male CEO of our large INGO, ‘we are all about empowering women in our projects, why aren’t there more women National Directors & VPs?’ not shy was I!)

As a University student I thought women should decide…& that there should be more education & prevention available, so women wouldn’t face such a heavy-duty choice of life vs. death inside them.  But then a friend & I memorized Psalm 139 & gradually (it took a few years) those verses moved from recitation of the mind to the inner recesses of my heart…

“…For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully & wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well…” 

…to a change of views, views for most part privately held & not the kind of thing to march about.  But a few years ago Kathleen, a friend from church, encouraged me to participate in the March for Life.

What a wow(!) experience.

We started with a 6:30a.m. church service, then prayed our way on the buses up to D.C. where we joined thousands upon thousands of all kinds of folks: young, old, students (elementary – high school – university – grad school), pastors, priests, nuns (lots of them), short-haired, long-haired guys, from all over the country. There were Baptist church signs next to Knights of Columbus, folks singing, praying (lots of that going on all over.)

All raising voices for the voiceless Little Ones… so dear to the Heart of Jesus, so close to the heart of God, our Creator, the Giver of Life & so close to the Heart of Mary…(oops, tilt go the heads of my non-Catholic friends! But for sure, as the Mother of Jesus, go figure Little Ones are close to her Heart. She also asked Jesus to look after WINE at a wedding feast, so she is always way cool in my book!)

Mothers are little-life-generators (ok, so fathers have to help out a wee bit) but how noble to BE a mother (not an easy job with diaper disasters, scraped knees, terrible teens & all that!) Being a Mama is tough, no doubt!  Kinda intimidating if you’re young, unmarried & pregnant.

My sister, Cindy, worked in a Crisis Pregnancy center in a conservative area of North Carolina. Many gals from secular backgrounds were open to having their babies if they could figure out ways to support them, whereas girls from conservative Christian homes tended to choose abortion: “our families won’t understand.”

Egads.   It’s not just laws that need changing!

Hearts need to change – (as always, mine 1st)  – maybe if we didn’t spend so much time judging, more girls faced with this challenge might actually choose Life.

I am so grateful to God for my Mama. After delivering my oldest sister, Shere, she almost died 9 hours later during Toxemia convulsions. After 10 days of round-the-clock nurses she survived, but despite these challenges she went on to have 4 more little ones (since I am #4 of 5,  so glad she & Papa kept going! : )

Thank you, Mama, for your love & choosing Life (5 times!)

Praying that God will transform hearts on Capitol Hill, in the White House, our State Houses, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, schools, universities…the hearts of fathers, mothers & mothers-to-be… with love for the unborn, the Little Ones..

Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli, Tim Tebow or Beethoven…

Imagine a world without me, or YOU!

Grace, peace & LIFE (for the Little Ones!)

Virginia

Here’s a thought-provoking quote from Mother Teresa ….

“We are talking of love of the child which is where love and peace must begin… I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.

And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child…. (Mother Teresa, 1994 National Prayer Breakfast address)

MFL advocacy
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….ice cream? gelato?… it’s all good!

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Virginia

“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream on your plate.“  Thornton Wilder (1897 – 1875)

Italy GELATOWhile visiting Italy a few years ago, one of my travel buddies was really into Gelato, the Italian version of ice cream that just bursts with flavor.  As we visited each village, town, city (neighborhood), she had to sample the local gelato.

It was all Very Scientific.

Occasionally, we helped her with difficult research tasks (which flavor was better? which Gelato shop required Further Testing – the one up the street we tried this morning, or the one on the corner sampled after lunch?)

‘Twas Very Educational… (& also YUMMY!)

As a skinny young thing, i always maintained that Ice Cream was one of the major food groups (Vegetables, Proteins, Fruits, Nuts, Grains… & ICE CREAM!!)  My sister & i would run 7 – 10 miles (my ‘training’ for Cross Country & the 2-mile in high school track)  & then end up at the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream shop in downtown Williamsburg to re-energize.

hmmmn, what’s all this about ice cream, Virginia? Fighting continues in Mali, disease continues to ravage the already-afflicted, violence takes more victims each minute & it’s been raining here THE WHOLE WEEK.  Bleak skies, bleak vistas – drip, drip, drip.

Kinda depressing.  It’s not that i don’t like winter, but, at least a glimpse of the Sun? every now & then? Before the Grays turn into a Bad Case of the Blues (it’s also COLD, the damp kind that increases the Blues Factor significantly) …this might be a good time to indulge a little.  God does expect us to Do The Practical stuff, you know, to cheer up?

Try adding a bit of Ice Cream on your plate….

i realize while having a bad case of The Blues eating ice cream may not seem like a Good Idea (must control those urges to Eat The Whole Carton) … but if you have just a small scoop, see if savoring each delectable spoonful doesn’t serve as a tasty spirit-lifter-upper antidote to The Blues.

It often works for me, especially when you add CHOCOLATE – like Trader Joe’s Midnight Moo chocolate sauce ( it’s organic even)  heated up a little, drizzled over the top with a wee bit of whipped cream (only 10 calories/ dollop) with a few peanuts (added protein)… ah.

Delightful. Delectable. Delicious.

(Note: to reduce the Guilt Factor for those voluptuous curves, Brusters has the most amazing No Sugar Added/Fat Free Caramel Swirl ice cream.  We get it regularly for my Papa, who is diabetic, but i totally like it — with a few embellishments :  )

An excellent tonic for The Blues (or challenging days, In General.)

If adding Ice Cream to your plate doesn’t work, consider  a trip to Florence to check out the views (in between gelato tastings :  )

ITALY Florence

grace, peace & GELATO Groupies

Virginia : )

p.s. since it is Rather Cold & ice cream is COLD (ice? as in ‘iced creamy substance’ connotes coldness as part of the taste experience…) consider putting ice cream on your plate — with a Hot Chocolate “chaser.”   ooooooooooh. aaaahhhhhhhhh.

bye, bye blues… hello Happiness(!)  (ok, ok, so this happiness got a little help – but God did give us Ice Cream & Hot Chocolate to enjoy – like Beauty – to lift our spirits!?! :  )

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… Stars, Flames & (more) Epiphany Light(s)

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Virginia

Tomorrow we get back into Ordinary Time (vs. Advent, Christmas & Epiphany…) but before so doing, let’s backtrack a bit to the Wise Men following a Star.  At church last week Msgr. Mike challenged us about the kind(s) of stars we follow – popularity, power, partners (of the romantic sort) vs. the Star of faith that leads us to Jesus Christ.

Something to contemplate (!)  What stars lead us (or mislead us as the case may be?)

To be honest, i try to follow stars of the Faith sort (studying Scriptures, doing the church thing, PRAYING etc.) but I get sidetracked by glittering stars that are sometimes more tinsel than substance (Getting Ahead, Getting accepted in Tinsel Town, Getting to be a Glittering Fashionista,  Getting ‘the latest’ Gadget – ok, ok, some of the gadgets are Really Helpful Tools, but the pursuit of an Overabundance of such things can sometimes Be Distracting…)

…& sometimes even in the realm of Faith we get caught up following Personalities vs. the Person of Jesus Christ.  ‘Tis not that Pastor Smith or Sister Sarah or Father Ryan are not Good People of Faith, or that Faith-based organization we’re working for, or ministry, or projects we’re doing to Help Others are not Good Things – but we must always make SURE that the Light guiding us is 100% Sonshine through the powering unction of the Holy Spirit. This is becoming a Sermon (oops!)

I really wanted to share something I’ve been munching on all week. A favorite New Year’s Day activity is selecting the pile of Daily Devotional Readers for the year (i am such a Geek! :  )  As my stash continues to grow (‘tis always joyful to find a collection of daily readings from a favorite spiritual writer), each year the selection becomes More Difficult.

One of my favorites (there are many – especially Henri Nouwen’s “Bread for the Journey click here to read about it) is my tattered copy of Catherine Doherty’s, “Grace in Every Season,” that has been like a friend these past 20 years (highlighted, re-highlighted & newly highlighted this very day!)

A woman of incredible faith, Catherine de Hueck Doherty was born into the aristocracy of czarist Russia.  Commended for her heroic service as a nurse on the front lines during World War I, she later escaped Bolshevik Russia & landed penniless as a refugee in Canada with her ill husband & small son.  Working her way up from a maid to eventually an executive to provide for her family, she regained her lost wealth – only to give it all to the poor as she went to live & work in the slums of Toronto & later Harlem.

Outspoken as an activist for Civil Rights (& Human Rights for ALL!), Catherine was often spit on & threatened, but her faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ shone brightly for all to see, along with His Love that touched all – the Big & Small.

(Click here to read more about Catherine & the Madonna House ministry she founded that continues today…)

Here’s a reflective quote from Catherine about how the Magi following the star relates to us: (In Russia at Christmas they made huge ornamental stars to hang over their homes representing the star that led the Magi…)

“The star is always before us. We only have to open our eyes to see the star…Are we going to follow it or are we going to waste a lifetime catching stars that are not there?

If we really go & follow that star, that one & only star, we will become a star & others will follow us, to that immense star, Christ.  And then, we will become a flame, for the star is fire and flame and beauty and love, faith and hope.  And at that moment…we are enveloped by the Spirit and we, ourselves, have become a prayer.  Then you will walk, and I will walk, in the revelation of His infinite love that surrounds us and reveals itself wherever we go.”    Catherine de Hueck Doherty  (Grace in Every Season)

candle (2)

grace, peace & Flames  (of Faith)

     Virginia

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Three Wise Women ??!?

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Virginia

On Sunday we celebrated Epiphany commemorating the Three Wise Men as they followed the star from their distant land to find Jesus in Bethlehem (@ 2 yrs after His birth…) But, what would have happened if there had been Three Wise Women??  (the following hypothesis is from a plague i have up on my wall : )

THREE WISE WOMEN

WOULD HAVE:

ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS

ARRIVED ON TIME

HELPED DELIVER THE BABY

CLEANED THE STABLE

MADE A CASSEROLE

BROUGHT PRACTICAL GIFTS

AND

THERE WOULD BE PEACE ON EARTH.

3 very wise ladies

grace, peace & practical gifts

Virginia :  )

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…out with The New & in with The Old…

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Virginia

New Year’s Day i woke up with this mantra bouncing about my scrambled head.   Usually it’s ‘Out with The Old & in with The New,’ but for some reason this thought kept mind flashing all day.

Out with The New … and IN WITH THE OLD. Hmmn. It IS a New Year (2013 in case you haven’t noticed.)   We get all excited about New Opportunities that might be lurking around the New Year corner.  We make New Resolutions to make ourselves over into Something New.  We go for The New…(exercise routines, diets, organizational systems, goals etc…)

And, sometimes we discard all our old stuff – just because(!) – it’s a New Year.

New can be good (VERY GOOD) at times.  Like, our New Dishwasher – a generous Christmas giftie from my siblings to Mama & Papa that replaced our old-battered & barely-functioning one.  Methinks ‘twas more a gift to the Chief Cook & Bottle Washer (that would be ME)  now Very Very excited with this NEW TOOL that will make kitchen life loads easier (literally! : )

New Dishwashers aside, what’s wrong with The Old?

In our humdrum lives, many of us quietly live out our faith serving others around us. Sometimes what’s right in front of us doesn’t change.  Year in – year out, it stays the same.

Same old challenges. Same old mate (growing older? Together? ‘Tis not for wimps, that!)  Same old status (singleton vs. married, ‘voluptuous’ vs. thin, weird(ish) vs. normal, small vs. tall…)

Same place. Same work. (Same cranky boss?) Same. Same. Same.

WY tired bearSame ‘ole, same old.

Mediocre melancholy blues hit.  Our old dreams get shelved further back in some dusty corner of our hearts.  They seem outdated.  Even our faith muscles seem…old & tired.

But those same Faith Muscles got us through Hard Times. Sure, they’re OLD, but check out those layers built while trusting God.  All those fervent prayers we made…& the Answers received, ‘tis occasionally good to Remember.

(This might be a Good Time to dust off those old prayer journals!)

WY9 Old Faithful (2)Long-held values may seem ‘old fashioned’ … (courtesy, commitment, compassion…) to be replaced with more ‘attractive’ modern get-ahead-goals (ME! ME! ME!)

But, there’s a great line in The Avenger’s Movie when Capt. America questions Agent Coulson about his  WWII uniform: “Aren’t the Stars & Stripes a little… old fashioned?” Agent Coulson replies, “in these times…People might just need a little old fashioned.”

It’s not always about ‘what’s in it for me?’ but ‘what’s in me for it?’ – whatever the difficult task ahead or the same old stuff on our plates.

In this New Year, maybe it’s time to ask God for the grace to see “The Old” in a New Way, with New Eyes.  Before we discard, dismiss ‘The Old’ as invalid to throw out of our of hearts & lives, let’s go back for another look-see…

WY Great Fountain Geyser tall“Behold, I make all things new.”  (God)
(Revelation 21:5)

grace, peace & New Year Perspective(s)

Virginia :  )

p.s.  ‘Tis a New Year & Virginia the Blogger has been at it for 1 & 1/2 yrs (yaaay!) Surviving the post-a-day Advent Challenge (just barely, with a few down to the wire & one even posted at 11:59PM!), we’re now back to plotting two-ish posts per week (3 if REALLY prolific.)  Last year started Wednesday photographs (to get at least one in.) Methinks that’s still a Good Idea. Hopefully will get back into regular movie mentions… (& review grooves!)

alas, Lent is coming & ’twill still be decided, that…  but, as for today! It’s almost Epiphany…

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… on losing Hope …

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Virginia

In Dar es Salaam my amazing assistant, Joylline, had a beautiful baby girl Hope. Aptly named, Hope was Joylline’s first baby-to-term after 3 miscarriages (i put her on ½ days the last few months of her pregnancy to ‘rest up.’)  We all rejoiced with Joylline after Hope’s safe delivery & totally doted on her.

My house-helper, Miriam, also loved Hope. She sewed beautiful outfits for her & went over to Joylline’s often to help baby sit (just for fun.) Miriam & I prayed for Hope when she was in hospital at just a few months old. Usually a bit shy & quiet, Miriam got down on her knees & prayed with Great Fervor…and Hope recovered.  (click here to read about the African tradition of ‘being with’ your friends & loved ones in crisis..)

Since Miriam didn’t speak English (she doubled as a mwalimu for my ‘intermediate’ Swahili) when the terrible call came late one evening, I told her in my wobbly Swahili:  “Hope alifariki.”

Literally, “Hope died.”

How we cried & cried together for the loss of Hope & for Joylline’s sorrow.  At 18 months Hope died from malaria & pneumonia.

Our Dar team was working on a malaria project for the whole country of TZ – at that time 70,000 children died each year from the disease.  That’s just a number until a child you love dies.

The loss of a child is devastating.   Joylline was Beyond Shattered. It was so hard after compassionate leave seeing her suffering while going through the motions (she was INCREDIBLY excellent in all things work related!) but without Hope, her heart was broken.

We prayed.  We prayed some more.  We kept praying… & over time Joylline began the mending process.  Of course, the hole in your heart from the loss of a child never goes away, but bit by bit the sharp edges of grief can soften with love…& a little laughter.

A few months after Hope’s death, Christmas rolled around. It’s kind of a Big Deal in TZ – our offices shut down for 2 weeks & most of the country takes ‘summer school holidays’ (December is the HOT time of the year – drip, drip by the Christmas tree.)

I had started a Christmas Party tradition with our team at my flat (the balcony easily sat 25.) That year we wanted it to be special (in addition to Miriam’s outstanding cooking – they politely tasted my mains, but went back for 3rds of her festive Tanzanian dishes… although my Carrot Cake was a Big Success!)  So, a week before the party, i tasked Joylline with finding ‘gag’ gifts for each team member.  (Presents are not there quite what they are here, mainly just a few gifts for the little ones.)

How we plotted finding the ‘right’ gift – for our PR Coordinator, a huge toy phone (that rang), Toy golf clubs for our Marketing Mgr (who organized our annual Charity Golf Tournaments) & so on …  then the Mkurugenza made an official-ish presentation giving each brightly wrapped gift to the givee (& when we gave Deo his pressie,  his phone rang! For real –‘twas hilarious!)

I saw Joylline smothering a chuckle of two as each team member received his/her gift.  But, then they sneakily presented ME with a gift: a flashy 1 foot toy maroon car with our logo emblazoned “Masaimobile” (which is what we called my wheels previously assigned to the CBD Director, who was a Masai from Kenya!)

Joylline laughed… really hard as they ‘got me’ with that one. (I recall the recounting of my 1st outing to our projects in Morogoro when I got a speeding ticket that was my introduction to the community leadership committee there…)

Seeing her laugh was the biggest gift of all.

Later that year near the anniversary of Hope’s death, I visited her grave in Moshi with Joylline. Yes, we cried… but we prayed, too.  And I could see from Joylline’s sorrow a compassion for other mothers & a dedication to alleviate the scourge of diseases like malaria.

…the thing is, Hope lives on in Joylline’s heart as she treasures the memories of her too-short life.  But real Hope lives there, too, because Joylline has made room for the love of Jesus… & His Presence continues to tenderly mend the broken holes there.

As we merrily make our way through Christmas week, suddenly today we remember all the children killed by King Herod after the Wise Men seeking Baby Jesus leave Bethlehem.  Little boys under 2 yrs old, all massacred.

Innocents.  Just like Baby Hope taken by disease.

Life is hard. Suffering is part of the deal, but Jesus came that we might have hope IN THE MIDST OF IT.  Accepting & believing & offering up our grieving hearts to Healing Love (after lots of tears!) is the path to letting hope back into our lives.

“Hope is the wedding of two freedoms, human & divine, in the acceptance of a love that is at once a promise and the beginning of fulfillment.”   Thomas Merton (No Man is an Island)

Bumbles and friends Bethlehem (2)

grace, peace & HOPE

   Virginia

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MERRY CHRISTMAS (+2) : )

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Virginia

so, it’s a wee bit past Christmas, but i would think that after having Baby Jesus (childbirth is quite a labor-intensive process) Mary & Joseph probably hung out in Bethlehem a Few More Days (actually, since they were still around when the Wise Men arrived @ 2-ish years later, my theory is More Than Likely a reasonable assumption!)

BG Mary and Joseph

“What Child is this who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping…

Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet

while shepherds watch are keeping..

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard & angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

Tonight we watched the Andrea Bocelli/David Foster Christmas concert DVD that has become a looked-forward-to tradition with the Savvy Saints (my parents) & of course, moi (a HUGE Andrea groupie!)   There are so many Great Songs (the exquisite “Our Father with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to a rousing Jingle Bells with the Muppets), but my favorite is Andrea’s duet of “What Child is This” with Mary Blige.

AMAZING. … “... let loving hearts enthrone Him…”   AMEN!

In the Church Calendar we are in the Christmas Season (12 days between Christmas & Epiphany) – which is a time To Celebrate (with a little reality mixed in a day or two)…

IMG_4554

But, thinking CHRISTMAS (rewind two days) & the wonderful celebrations we had here, it reminds me of another favorite Christmas song, ‘Christmas Wrapping’ by the Waitresses – the refrain keeps playing in my head:

MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Couldn’t miss this one this year!

(click this link for a fun YouTube listen)

So, from Virginia (the person, in the State of : )  ( :  a most blessed Christmas week to all…

DoveMay the Joy of Jesus Christ lift you –
May His peace keep you –
May His grace surround you  –
May His Mercy comfort you –
May His love bubble over in your heart the whole year through…

 Merry Christmas! (+2) !

grace, peace & Christmas Greetings

    Virginia : )

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ADVENT :; CHRISTMAS EVE…

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Virginia

Virginia the Blogger’s Advent Challenge is coming to a close with Christmas Eve (i will be headed to church ;ate tonight after a family gathering — ’twas a very busy Christmas Eve day in the Kitchen for Virginia the Cook after a hilarious quick ‘dash’ to the grocery that turned into an Event with zillions of others!! : )

Since i began this challenge with an image from the cover of one of the 1st Christmas cards i designed.. here’s a peek of the inside (also ‘hand drawn’ & copied & pasted!)

JOY 1 (2)

JOY 2 (2)

JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME,

LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING…

LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM

AND HEAVEN & NATURE SINGS

AND HEAVEN & NATURE SINGS

AND HEAVEN & HEAVEN & NATURE SINGS!!!

Christmas Eve blessings to all!

Joyful heart from christmascard (2)

grace, peace & Christmas JOY

Virginia   :  )

(our company has just arrived & the cook has to get busy again!)

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ADVENT SUNDAY: ….Star of Bethlehem…

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Virginia

So, the last Sunday in Advent has come (& almost gone!) In Today’s Gospel we heard how John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary came to visit.  Fr. Sean challenged us this evening about how much ‘leaping’ we do (the faith kind.)  Since the other day i shared one of my favorite pics of kids jumping in Uganda (‘twould have fit well today..), will focus now instead upon The Light.  Fr. Sean also challenged us about how the Star of Bethlehem reflected Light into the darkness & how brightly do we let our Light shine?

As we near Christmas Eve (very shortly), here’s another Christmas card cover from Virginia the Relief & Development worker when she lived in Bethlehem (in the ’90s, keep that in mind as you look at the crisis places the Star of Bethlehem is shining out upon..)

Noel Bethlehem card (2)

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light;
and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them hath the light shined…”
(Isaiah 9:2)

“O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes & fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight…”                 (Phillips Brooks)

grace, peace & Star of Light

    Virginia :  )

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