Remembering...

Memorial Day means more to me today than when I was twenty years old. Then it was another holiday that I vaguely realized celebrated those passed on. Today, I realize that it's a special opportunity to celebrate and  remember those who've touched our lives when alive.

• What did they leave behind that I can learn? 
• What touched me and made me a better person? 
• What skill, craft, or talent have I profited from because of him or her? 

Here are a few thoughts I had about celebrating Memorial Day:

• Reflect on those gone before. Rejoice that you had the opportunity to be in their lives, and they in yours. 
• Enjoy the thought that your loved one is in heaven and enjoying its riches. 
• Share what you've learned or who you are with someone else. A grandchild? Show them pictures or tell them tales of your loved ones life and adventures. Have a sit down session with the whole family and each sharing a memory.
• Plant a tree or some flowers in memory.
• Donate something meaningful to a charity or church or orphanage in memory.

Most of all, be happy and at peace that you had a period of time with that person(s). God gives and takes away. Just as a blade of grass is here today and gone tomorrow, so is life. Celebrate it in remembering...today.

Happy memories.

ABOUT CAROLE:

Besides being an active participant of many writing groups, Carole is an award winning author and enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense, tough topics, romance and whimsy into her books, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons? 

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/browncarole212

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Google+:    https://plus.google.com/u/0/113068871986311965415/posts

Word Sharpeners: https://wordsharpeners.wordpress.com/

Stitches in Time:  http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Giving Good Gifts

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights… James 1:17

No quiet town of Bethlehem surrounded us. Wrapped in home-made robes with crowns, itchy beards, shepherds crooks, and angel wings, our family stood in the cold, wind, filling our slot in our church’s live Christmas nativity scene on a busy Christmas Eve.  Long lines of cars drove slowly by, filling the air with exhaust fumes, but the message was the same as on that first Christmas. God’s gift to the world had come—Jesus Christ was born.

The cast of characters for the first Advent were a strange group. Mary and Joseph were poor and obscure, but exceptional in their obedience to their God-given task. Angels of annunciation sang. Shepherds left their flocks. Wise men from the east sought the place where the new King was born. All had need of the Christ Child's gift.

Playing roles in the church tableau gave the opportunity for reflection on the true “gift” of Christmas. It is not available in any store, but is free for the taking to all who truly desire to know the King of Kings, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

God knew what we needed before we were even aware. He provided us the perfect gift, His Son, born as a child. Jesus up in world of lost and dying people, sinless, yet willing to die for our sins, risen to life that we might be freed from the power of sin and receive the gift of eternal life.

Whether we're rich, poor, well-educated, unemployed, suffering, or abundantly blessed, we all have one need in common. We need salvation from the curse of sin. Paul tells us in Romans that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” But we are also told that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The gift of God is “eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

Knowing the story of Christmas, acting it out, singing the songs, even knowing the scriptures can’t save us.

A gift is only of benefit when accepted by the intended receiver. So it is with God’s gift of Jesus Christ. If we never take the time to accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we don’t possess the gift.

This year, concentrate on the gift of God's Son. He specializes in giving perfect gifts.

© Copyright November 29, 2012, by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NormaGailwrites

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http:// lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/

 Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864?ean=9781941103173

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates—Make Mine Divinity.

Forrest Gump said it so succinctly, “Life is like a box of chocolates … you never know what you going to get.”

 You never do know what you’re going to get … unless the box lid has a diagram that tells you what chocolate is located where. Then you can read the key and pick the perfect chocolate. Of course, the majority of boxes, as Forrest said, have no key. When you get one of those boxes, there is no way to know which chocolate has a cream filling, which has caramel, or which is solid chocolate.

 While I find the chocolate box diagram handy for choosing my sweets, I’m not sure I’d want to go through life knowing exactly what came next. All those surprise bouquets my husband brought home to me over the years would be ruined. I’d know they were coming and that would spoil both his joy in the spur of the moment gift and my joy in receiving a gift just because he loved me.

 If I knew what was coming in life, I’d have nothing to strive for. Why would I want to spend 20 years of my life trying to get published if I knew it wouldn’t happen until I was 60? Why not just wait until age 58, dash off that book, and get a contract? Easy peasy, right? But if I did that, would I lose all the experiences I gained between the years that honed my craft and made me who I am today as a writer?

 It might be nice to know if an illness was on the horizon, especially if it was something I could avoid through better living or exercise. Knowing I might be jobless, or homeless, or have some big tragedy in my life might allow me to be prepared. Knowing my nature, though, I’d probably brood and worry about it until the rest of my existence was destroyed.

 I suppose if my life was extra hard, or if I suffered more than the average person, knowing what was coming could be helpful. But on the other hand, would it have caused me to give up instead of solve the problems I faced head on? After all, if a road looks impassable, there’s always the option to just make camp at the road block, not figure a way around, or wait for someone else to clear the way.

 No, it’s better, in my opinion, to take one’s good and bad unexpected life issues as they come out of the box—surprises and all.

 There is, however, one area of my life in which I can be certain of what I’m getting. Because I love the Lord and have accepted him as my Savior, I know what awaits me at the end of my life. The lid on the box of sweet, sweet divinity I’ll get upon reaching heaven was labeled the day I accepted Christ. I know right where I can get the help I need to get through my earthly life. I know where my eternal destiny lies. I know the address of that mansion on the streets of gold He has promised me. I can find my spot at the Savior’s feet, my heavenly harp and wings, and my seat at the Master’s banquet table.

 There will probably be chocolates for dessert at the banquet table, too. I’m looking forward to choosing one from the unlabeled box He is sure to pass around, because the Lord is bound to have some great surprises in store for us all.

 What about you? Is your box of  chocolates labeled?


(C) 2015 Catherine Castle

 

Catherine Castle is the award-winning author of the inspirational romantic suspense novel The Nun and the Narc.