Prairie Lily Arts

Now is Now, Happy New Year

 

"Shall auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Shall auld acquaintance be forgot,

And the days of auld lang syne?

And the days of auld lang syne, my friend,

And the days of auld lang syne,

Shall auld acquaintance be forgot,

And the days of auld lang syne?"

 

When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, "What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?"

A Clean Slate

 Photo courtesy of Luetta Barton, Birch Meadow Farm, Lancaster, MO

"Like diamonds scattered across the countryside..." Pa said.  The tree farm rested beneath a blanket of white... fresh, pure, kissed with glistening crystals against a brilliant sapphire sky.  A sparkling winter morning. Like a cooling summer rain or the tender green strands of spring, each season brings something refreshingly new.  A clean slate.

Since I was a little girl skipping around my mom's classroom, I've loved the allure of a freshly-cleaned chalkboard.  Even more so, I loved the crisp contrast of the first white strokes etched upon a clean canvas.

We see it in the New Year.  A fresh start.  New beginnings.  Unmined. Untapped. Waiting for discovery.  I am setting goals.  Looking ahead.  Prioritizing. Strategizing.  Ready to make it happen.

Truly that new beginning was beneath the tree, beneath the star, within the stable.  The Gift of Christmas brings us renewal, hope, potential... eternity.  Love unconditional.  That changes everything.

My Christmas List: Joy

 
This blur of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can become pure chaos, an overload of events, shopping, preparations... lists of lists.  Somewhere lost in the noise is a Savior... waiting for me... for you... as quietly as He rested that night in a simple feed trough beneath a stable roof. 

I let the distractions fall away.  I look into rosy-faced boys upon dreams drifting.  I draw covers close... and dream. Big.  I wash squirming little fingers smeared with paint from popsicle-stick ornaments strewn across counter tops splattered.  I draw out my own brush, dipped in red.  I hold the bowl fast as small hands stir dough stiff.  Mine will be a gingerbread man with red and green sugar crystals.  I hear carols being sung in silly boy-verse.  I add my own chorus, off-key.  We laugh.  We laugh.  Until we can't breathe.  But we can.  Letting it all fall away, means we can breathe.  And there is joy.

My Christmas List: Wisdom

 
I've taught it to my sons.  They need not know all the answers... but the way to the answers.  Yet when I pray for wisdom, I pray to know... to know the beginning, middle and end... to know with the foresight that just isn't mine to have. 

I think of Christ's birth and I pray to be wise... to receive the same depth of wisdom displayed by the wise men, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph.

And my Father drapes His peace about my shoulders and teaches me the same lesson I teach my sons.  It's not about knowing all the answers... but knowing the way.

Wisdom.  Would you join me for a still moment today at The Homeschool Village as I come before the manger... and pray for wisdom?

By treelight, 

Susan

My Christmas List: Humility

December settles about me, all in a whirl and yet... somehow still.  As I quiet my heart, I think of Mary.  I remember that she was but a girl... simple... faithful... humble.  God hands down, in grace, the most amazing miracles when He searches hearts and finds simplicity... faith... humility.

Would you grow still with me for a moment today at The Homeschool Village as I place humility on my Christmas list?

With our hearts toward the Baby, I walk with you this Christmas.

Susan