Scatter the flowers

  Scrooge at Bob Cratchit's house - Disney's  Muppet Christmas Carol "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year." ~ Scrooge in a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 🎁  The trees have come down.  I definitely get the post Christmas blues when the holiday is over.  For about a quarter of a century it was the thought of returning to school after only two short weeks off that dampened my mood.  But now that I'm retired, I think it's because I've lived in my quaint over-decorated world that contains my ginormous quaint Christmas village (now put away), the Christmas carols are over and all that's left are layers of glitter.   The planning of merry get- togethers and festive gatherings is done, as are the fun Pinterest menus.  (However,  I refuse to take down my window lights, and in Colorado that's ok because the stock show is coming to town so it's tradition to leave them up. I build tiers for my let-downs.) So what to...

  "Intense love does not measure, it just gives." ~Mother Teresa ❤ I love street tacos and pizza.  I love my husband, family and friends.  I love Pride and Prejudice.  And I love when I solve Wordle.  I s this "love" all the same?  Of course not, Wordle is just a game.  ❤  But back to tacos.  Taco Tuesday should be every day.  It's already the reward for surviving Mondays, but there should also be a Taco Wednesday because Tuesday is supposedly the hardest day of the week because it's so far from the weekend.  Then Taco Thursday would tell us all, "hey good job on getting through the mid-week point; congratulations - tomorrow's Fri".  Then on Fri we should all have the option of Taco Fri but just in case leave it open for pizza night. If only I was in charge... ❤  But on the other hand, thank our Lord  that I'm not, and that He is.  He is the author and creator of Love (Capital L).  What is love to Him (as mu...

  Wikipedia image "Long lay the world, in sin and ever pining, til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.  A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices..." ~O Holy Night Rejoice. To some it may mean jumping up and down in elated happiness.  Sometimes the events of this world definitely make us want to do that.   And sometimes they don't.   How are we to "rejoice always" as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to do, when our world has been shaken and we don't understand why?  When we are so broken down and weary that our tears are empty? We cry out to God for help, for comfort, for peace.  I imagine Him putting one of His enormous, loving hands on our shoulder and holding us with the other, carrying us through these hellish nightmares and crying with us because sin has gotten such a hold on this world. Is this what the people of Israel did when they looked for a Savior to come in with a ferocious tenacity to conquer the evil Romans that enslaved...

  "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas  is all about?" ~ Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Christmas   Can you picture it right now? Lucy, Schroeder, Violet, Patty, Frieda and yes, even Snoopy mock Charlie Brown's efforts when he brings the droopy Christmas tree to their party.  It spirals Charlie Brown into wondering what Christmas is all about- he knows it's not the commercialism that is all around him- so what is it all about?   Hallmark says it's about romance, with a LOT of Christmas traditions.  Pinterest says it's about throwing the perfect holiday gathering.  The schools say it's a winter break.  Any retail store says it's about sales, some making most of the annual sales in this one season.     While I absolutely love the Christmas traditions and I am a foodie, and I thoroughly anticipated winter break when I taught, I look to good ol' Linus to sum it up.  He thoughtfully and quickly responded with no hesitation...

The Annunciation, 1472~ Leonardo di Vinci Uffizi, Florence "Where there's hope, there's life.  It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again." ~Anne Frank ❗ There's nothing as anticipated as a new baby.  Have you been to a gender reveal?  People are so creative in how they disclose the sex of their baby to be- both to each other and to their friends and family.  Creative and a little bit crazy.  ❗ One couple used their favorite alligator to bite into a watermelon to reveal the sex.  Another couple used a baseball and bat to reveal, but the husband swung and missed, with the ball hitting the grandfather in the face.  Whoops.  ❗ Another expectant dad was running to kick a revealing football but slipped, fell and broke his ankle.  My son loves golf so my daughter-in-law let him hit a golf ball that exploded either blue or pink.  No injuries. ❗ Announcements are so much fun, but I don't think any has been anticipated for as long (...

  Google image "Slightly lower than the angels is a whole lot better than slightly higher than the apes.  Let's get the order straight. God, angelic beings, man, animals, and vegetables." ~ D. Stuart Briscoe, author and pastor 😖Ever been behind someone who doesn't know what they want to order from Taco Bell?  Taco Bell?!? It's been around since the Dark Ages and everyone orders the same thing - I haven't changed my order since 1981.   😲On the other hand, a  Starbucks barista said one of her daily orders from a lady is for a venti white mocha, quad shot, two shots on bottom, two shots on top, almond milk, extra hot, caramel drizzle on the inside  of the cup and extra whip.  Hmmm.   Another website shows the most bizarre orders restaurant servers   have received - one said a mother ordered a hamburger and fries to be pureed and served to her child in a glass because he could only eat pureed food.  Yum.  😕Or the order fo...