Thriving, a Focus on the Light, a Small Giveaway

Since I am focusing on the Light this Advent season (if you missed Filling the Empty Vessel, read it here), I was inspired by a segment on the Today Show.

Hoda Kotb pretended to be a meter maid and gave “tickets” to unsuspecting car owners. Inside the “ticket” envelope were tickets to concerts, ball games, orchestral events, etc.

Many unsuspecting people were understandably upset until they opened their “ticket” and discovered that they were, in fact, gifted with tickets.

What a great light in someone’s day!

Bringing that light can add some joy to someone’s life. Some may argue that it is only happiness for a moment, but I think it offers a little more. Perhaps that happiness might be fleeting, but a stronger component of happiness is hope. I recently was paid more, yes, *more*, for a photo shoot that I did. I didn’t expect it. It was an incredible blessing to our family, particularly around the holidays, and it made me smile. Opening the card brought me happiness, but that feeling of goodness and generosity continues to encourage me and inspire me. It begs me to do something for others, and it gives me hope that I am where I need to be.

I’ve been following Matthew Kelly’s Best Advent Ever through Dynamic Catholic. If you aren’t familiar with his writing, I’d encourage you to check it out. More on that later. I’ve followed him for years, and every time he comes out with a new book, I admit, I get a little giddy. They never fail to force me to evaluate the way I live my life.

Also, as I am working on thriving and focusing on the Light this Advent, Kelly’s new book, Resisting Happiness, fits right in. How often, during the hustle and bustle of the Advent and Christmas season, do we lose focus and become so consumed with all that we have to do instead of focusing on the true meaning of Christmas? How many times do we put up roadblocks to happiness? How many times do we push aside the things we know will truly make us happy, in favor of something that might make us happy for the moment?

I try to give my children opportunities to serve. I’ll be honest, I could do a lot better, but we try to focus on smaller things ~ making cookies for neighbors, crafting homemade presents for friends and family, donating toys for those less fortunate, the Advent giving tree at our church, being kind to those we pass on the street, handing a coffee or a meal to someone shivering with all of their possessions on the Square, inviting those whose families are distant to our home - especially around the holidays. As I am sure you know, the greatest gift is how strangers often become life-long friends after one small act of kindness.

I am working through Truth in the Tinsel this year and reading Ishtar’s Odyssey every night with my girls, and I truly hope that the connections we make in our family story time and Bible reading with the smaller things that we do throughout the year allow them to see that they are the light – no matter how small.

I’ve added some photos from our Truth in the Tinsel crafts because what brings a light to my life and happiness in my heart is watching my girls grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Making the Light of Baby Jesus stained glass project.

Creating a crown for our Baby Jesus.

Crafting materials surrounding our oil lamp.

This is one of my favorite ornaments, given to me by a mom in our homeschool group. I love putting it up in my window so I can enjoy the light coming through.

Zechariah's mouth being "closed" when he didn't believe that Elizabeth would give birth to a son.

The angel Gabriel.

Applying some "light" to her stable.

The finished product ~ love the light shining above Baby Jesus. Craft from Michael's, but I forgot to save the box, so I don't know where to point you for this foam craft.

OK, so as I think about what makes me truly happy, I am giving away a couple of copies of Resisting Happiness. On Wednesday, one lucky commenter will be chosen at random to receive the first book giveaway.

What do you need to do? Matthew Kelly asks us in chapter 2 of his book to think about what really makes you happy. I am not going to ask you to do anything crazy and soul-searching ~ but I do encourage you to take some time to do that. Comment below the post with one (or two or three) thing that makes you happy. That is it.

Happy Advent, friends ~ thrive, be the light, and find what truly makes you happy.

Filling the Empty Vessel With Light

A friend of mine was having an estate sale. It was sort of bittersweet to be there ~ knowing that her mom had passed away but that they were in need of people to help empty the home.

My girls found an oil lamp amongst some of the many treasures in that home. Harkening back to a time of Little House on the Prairie, I thought it might be a perfect fit for our family.

 Yesterday the tag in our Advent calendar read: Light the oil lamp for the first time.

Thus, an empty vessel was filled with red oil. A long cotton wick was dipped into the deep red liquid, and we waited until it was saturated before my husband lit the end.

Out of this empty vessel -- this see-through, dull and lifeless glass container -- shone a light that was brighter than all the lights on our Christmas tree.

The children were mesmerized. We had turned out the lights to be as “authentic” as we could be, and everyone was drawn to the lamp.

Many thanks to my friend who let her mother’s lamp come to our home to bring light to the darkness.

The Advent season and the season of Christmas can be joyous and also difficult. This year five of my husband’s cousins lost an incredible mother, our uncle lost his wife and another cousin lost his daughter. Several of my friends have lost their sweet mothers this year. Too many friends have lost babies. Too many veterans have lost their lives to invisible wounds. Too many friends are in a difficult place – financially, physically, personally, spiritually. One woman who went to school with my brother and I found out that her adorable little girl has incurable cancer. My heart aches for her, her parents, her sister, my friends, my family – everyone who has endured loss and faced uphill battles.

What always seems to hold everything together is the light. There is a light that radiates from our uncle and his children. There is a light that shines in the smiles of my friends as well as in the sparkles of even the most sorrowful of teardrops. There is a light that keeps a family rooted in love despite the unimaginable.

Sometimes, when life feels the darkest, I find my hope renewed in the light of others. I am drawn to those who find the goodness in every day. I am inspired by those who show compassion despite being downtrodden. I am awed by those who have been touched by God’s grace and who live fully in the light.

This Advent, during the anticipation of Christ’s humble birth, I am clinging fast to that light.

I’ve been busy. I am following Matthew Kelly’s Best Advent Ever program, and the message the other day left me wondering if I have been thriving or just surviving. I’ve vacillated between the two all my life. Haven't we all?  Isn’t that just the way of life? This Advent, during the four weeks before we celebrate the birth of a baby in swaddling clothes, I am working hard to thrive ~ to remember what really matters in life. I want to make this season a season of love, or, rather, a season of light.

Be the light, because somewhere, someone is looking to you to be that light. Bring the good news to those who need it. And if you are in the darkness, if you are just barely surviving, seek the light and, seek out a trustworthy person, because, no matter where you are, you were designed for the light.

Thanksgiving ~ in list form

I have the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving for some family, often friends and sometimes soon-to-be friends.

I like hosting for so many reasons. One of which is that Thanksgiving is just a time for everyone to be together -- to be thankful for good food, familiar conversation and a place to gather. 

I usually start getting ready over weekend and start baking on Tuesday.

For fun this year, I thought I’d make a list ~ of some of my favorite things. So, here we go:

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My favorite pre-Thanksgiving tradition: My neighbor and I celebrate Thanksgiving with our kids and some Thanksgiving-themed crafts, activities and snacks. Homeschooling neighbors are the best!

My favorite thing to photograph: Oven-roasted cranberries. (Can you tell?) There is something about baking cranberries -- the red color, the brightness, the white sugar falling over them in a pan -- that makes Thanksgiving feel official.

My favorite thing to bake: apple and blackberry pie.

My favorite thing to eat: pear~sausage stuffing.

My favorite thing to do: set the table with cloth napkins and the good silverware.

My favorite thing for my children to do: My girls create thank-you cards for all of the guests at our table!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving: just being with good company.

My favorite thing to do pre-dinner: watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my kids and read Balloons Over Broadway ~ the story of the visionary who created the hot air balloons we enjoy 90 years later!

My favorite thing to do post-dinner: put up our Christmas tree. (No pics yet!)

I hope all of you enjoy this Thanksgiving ~ wherever you find yourself! 

          

                                               In all things, give thanks!

The Supermoon

There was a moon out the other night ~ the same moon that we see almost every night. The sky was clear and this was the closest full moon approach since 1948 – a supermoon … but my astronomer husband wasn’t ‘super’ impressed.

In fact, he wasn’t going to take out the telescope at all!

I sort of had to beg him … with a pouty face and all. He said that the moon really would look no different – and that he would need to use a focal reducer on the telescope.

Luckily, my husband loves me ~ and here are the supermoon pictures. (He challenged me to find a difference between the ones we took last summer and these. I am bound to tell you that he was right, though; there wasn’t a difference.)

When I see the moon so close up – craters and holes and dark spots and all – the only thing I can think of is how beautiful it is.

The moon is like marriage, too. Marriage isn’t all brightness and light. It isn't always full of happiness. It isn’t easy. It isn’t always joyful either.  There are dark spots and holes and craters. Sometimes they seem almost too difficult to overcome, but, in the quiet of the night, when the moon illuminates the sky, the dark spots and the holes and the craters seem to fade into the brightness.

When the dust settles and I look at my husband, there is a comfort there – there is a freedom in knowing that I can be myself around him. He knows me better than anyone else. Nearly two decades on, he still gives me butterflies.

Like the moon, our marriage is the constant. My husband took out the giant telescope for me ~ because he loves me ~ and because the light of love shines far brighter than the smaller spots and craters of our marriage!

So, thank you to my husband, who indulged my 'need' to have the telescope out. Happy supermoon!

Happy 241st Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps, and Happy Veterans Day to all Veterans

Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Tomorrow is a day to honor all of those brave men and women who answered the call of service.

For several years now, I’ve written heavily about veterans – and, more extensively, about Marines. Through them, I have seen what it means to run into danger instead of running away from it. I have witnessed their determination to heal. I have felt the strength that drives them to move forward and to support their fellow veterans and active-duty brothers and sisters as well.

Because of my job, I have had the opportunity to interview some remarkable men and women. I feel incredibly blessed that so many entrust powerful parts of their stories to me and allow me to share those stories with others.

What we owe to our veterans is vast. One of the most important things that I have learned is that some of the most marked wounds of war are those that are left unseen. They have put their lives in harm’s way. They have gone into battlegrounds we can’t even fabricate in our minds. They have received receptions that no one should have to endure. I’ve seen men and women laugh and smile, and I’ve seen them weep. I’ve watched as they tell their stories and remain stalwart, and I’ve been present as they suffer brokenness with dignity.

And yet, they stand proud. They stand tall. They stand together. United under the American Flag.

The garrison flag which sits atop an 80-foot flagpole at Woodstock Harley-Davidson dealership.

I am proud to say that this enormous flag soars above my hometown. It welcomes visitors as they come up a major roadway. It pulls people in off the streets and leads them to a black granite monument surrounded by a sea of bricks.

The monument – honoring veterans both living and deceased – resides on the property of Woodstock Harley-Davidson, proudly designed by Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine Cpl Timothy J. Crabb. Last Saturday, Woodstock Harley-Davidson honored veterans in a special way, centered around Gold Star families, POWs and MIAs.

U.S. Marine SSGT Derek Wolford tolls the bell at the reading of each name in the Gold Star Section.

The U.S. Military Color Guard takes particular care to ensure that this immense flag does not touch the ground as they raise it for the ceremony.

A dear group of motorcycle friends gathered at this celebration to remember two lost Marine comrades. (I happened to be at the memorial site during a brick installation and captured one of these two men’s bricks being placed.)  Their heartbreak was palpable, but their drive to press on – a value no doubt instilled by the Marine Corps – was that much stronger.

I fortuitously was taking pictures at the exact moment this brick -- a friend of some friends and a Marine I had the pleasure of talking with mere months before he died -- was installed.

Marine brothers remembering two friends who have passed away. Their bricks are a tangible reminder that the two remain with their group always.

It was as somber a celebration as it was full of accolades. But one thing was certain: veterans were appreciated that day. Read about the event by clicking this link: Hundreds Attend Salute to Veterans.

Coming off of a contentious election, with friends on both sides, I am so thankful for these men and women who serve their President – no matter who he or she is at the time – and honor the vows they made to their country so that we can have the right to cast our ballots with anonymity, so that we can raise our children in a country in which we can be proud to live, so that we can have the freedoms that are protected by our constitution. From those of us who are not on the front lines, from those of us who try to do our jobs at home so that you can more easily do yours, from those of us who don’t have all of the words to say exactly what we mean, a very sincere and heartfelt, "Thank you."

I encourage everyone to thank a veteran – today, and any day. I’m not a veteran. I’m not a motorcycle rider. But when I interview veterans, they always are willing to explain what I don’t understand, and they are always thankful to hear those five words, “Thank you for your service.”

*And, if you are a Marine – Happy 241^st!

Thank you, veterans ... and Happy 241st birthday, United States Marine Corp!