Welcome to 2TheHeart!
"The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents." ~O. Henry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREE Aromatherapy candle with your Candlemart order! With hundreds of scented candles and accessories, you'll be in candle heaven! Visit now to see the lowest prices for quality candles and the most beautiful holiday gifts and home decorating items!
http://www.qksrv.net/click-404250-55517
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red, White & Blue Christmas
Trees awash in colored lights,
Shades of red, white and blue,
Wreaths adorned with ribbons,
Sharing the very same hues.
A gentle snow begins to fall,
Covering earth's fresh wounds,
Pristine in its newness,
Glistening as it's strewn.
Season greetings, handshakes,
Smiles and hugs and more,
Christmas peace and brotherhood ~
A Country now at war.
From heart to heart across this land,
May the fear and sorrow cease,
May the blessings of this season,
Bring all a little peace.
May the children know the goodness,
May they please have carefree lives,
May all the hearts be free of pain,
May all the teardrops dry.
May God smile down upon us,
May we see Him in each face,
May we feel the loving comfort,
As he shelters with His grace.
May we celebrate this season,
Remembering to pray,
For those who now protect us,
In a land so far away.
May Christmas bring a needed warmth,
May we hold each other tighter,
May we find that lost serenity ~
And may, each day be brighter.
Merry Christmas to all.
Bonnie Church
bchurch@rochester.rr.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Snapshots from My Memory Album"
by Karen Harper DeLoach
I love old snapshots, the black and white variety, especially the ones with faces of my loved ones smiling back at me. Come to my house, and you'll see them displayed in clusters here and there around my living room -- mama as a chubby baby splashing in a shiny, silver washtub, enjoying her bath -- daddy as a teenager, sitting on the grass with his family on a warm, summer day - Grandma and Grandpa Lee posing for their wedding picture, dressed in their Sunday best, with the 16-year-old bride proudly displaying her wedding band... But the snapshots I love the most are my 'memory snapshots'... moments frozen in time and stored in my heart - which I can pull out and savor from time to time.
On a recent Sunday morning, my church honored the senior citizens in our congregation with a special program. In preparation, I collected old snapshots of our senior members in their younger days. As I positioned the pictures on a bulletin board display, nostalgia swept over me, bringing warm memories of my grandfathers. It seemed a perfect time to reminisce.
This is 'post-September 11th', a time when news reports engender uncertainty and unease, so it is comforting to glance backward to a simpler time when life was fresh and life-lessons were waiting to be learned at the knees of my grandfathers. Take a minute and look through my memory album with me.
Here is Grandpa Lee, a soft-spoken, hard-working family man. In my entire life, I never heard his voice raised in anger. However, he raised it countless times in singing praises to God. Whenever we visited his little country church in Eakly, Oklahoma, I loved to watch Grandpa Lee wave his arms in time with the music and lead his congregation in old favorites like "I'll Fly Away" and "When We All Get To Heaven".
One of the last times I was with him, he visited our church and sang one of his favorites, "I Won't Have To Cross Jordan Alone". Mom accompanied him on the piano, just as she had done hundreds of times since her girlhood. Grandpa's voice had grown crackly with age, but that didn't matter. He had never relied on talent, and entertainment had never been his goal. His desire was to glorify God and minister to people. He depended on God's anointing to accomplish that. Now, his talent had faded, but the anointing upon him was still strong. I watched in wonder as people responded to that anointing with tears, upraised hands, and praise to God. It's a beautiful memory.
Before his death at the age of 94, he didn't always remember the name of the grandchild who was visiting him -- but he could still sing every verse to every gospel song he knew.
Turn the page of my memory album, and you see Grandpa Harper. He was a country preacher who could preach 'fire and brimstone' with the best of them. Yet he had such a loving spirit that he specialized in ministering to hurting churches and bringing healing to its people.
As a child I didn't always understand every sermon he preached, but I loved to watch him as he moved back and forth behind the pulpit with his long, leaning forward stride, gesturing enthusiastically, and wiping sweat from his brow with a freshly ironed handkerchief.
He was the grandpa who delighted in giving hugs and piggyback rides. He called me "Susie" and made me feel like the most precious little girl in the world.
Grandpa Harper was a poor country preacher whose congregation bolstered his paltry salary with plucked chickens, bushels of peas, or freshly baked apple pies. He didn't have riches to leave to his family, but he bequeathed us something far more precious --- a love of God and a witness of living a faithful life, even through the hard times.
In the midst of this present life's uncertainty, it is comforting to look back at former things that are 'set in stone' and will never change - for instance, my two grandfathers from whom I received a godly heritage and beautiful snapshots of memories.
"...yea, I have a goodly heritage." - Psalm 16:6
Karen is the author of "Thirty-one Years and a Stumble." She heads up "KD and Kompany," an acting group which has presented plays in her community, as well as puppet shows and clown skits for children's programs in subsidized housing projects. She and her husband own their business and reside in Statesboro, Georgia. Visit the "Today's Story" page for a snapshot of Karen and her grandfather! http://www.2theheart.com/today_s_story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be the first to get this perfect Christmas gift for everyone on your
list! With Le Presse, any task is easy! Turn cabbage into cole slaw or potatoes into french fries in moments! Press your own crab cakes and burgers or make your own gourmet sausage! Vegetable platters can be sliced and cut in less than a minute!
http://www.qksrv.net/click-404250-6269651
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Send a free OhAngel!com Christmas ecard! These beautiful cards
deisgned by our own Anne Goodrich will bring in the holiday spirit -
send one now! http://www.ohangel.com/christmas.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
