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Dateline Flanders, December 24, 1914
24 DecDiVoran shared a wonderful poem over on Rebekah Lyn Books. I hope you find it as touching as I did. Merry Christmas to each of our bloggser and readers. I hope you are able to spend time with your loved ones. Remember our soldiers both past and present~ Love, Onisha
Dateline Flanders, December 24, 1914
By DiVoran Lites
Cold night, starry night,
Not a solider here in sight.
Trenches dug as deep as graves,
No one stirs, and no one waves.
Suddenly from out the dark
Comes a candle like a spark
Set upon a small pine tree
Lighting bold and shining free.
German sign ‘cross no man’s land
A song rings out, a friendly hand.
Sunrise comes, thus ends the night.
“You don’t fight. We don’t fight.”
Daylight now, they bury dead
Not in trench, but grave instead
Then the boys share gifts of food
In Christmas cheer and kindly mood
And then a bit of playful rest
The touch of Life, a game of zest
Until the Brass Hats get the word
Oh, no, they say, it’s too absurd.
Get back to work and shoot some more
Peacefulness is such a bore.
The Christmas truce comes to an end,
Millions dead before the mend
In the spring red poppies grow
Around the crosses, row on row.
We’ll always have the wars you see,
But Peace has come for you and me.
British and German troops meeting in No man’s land during the unofficial truce (British troops from the Northumberland Hussars, 7th Division, Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Related articles
- The Christmas Truce (sportheritagereview.com)
- “A Very Peaceful Day”: The Somerset Light Infantry and the Christmas Truce (somersetremembers.wordpress.com)
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Never Mind Trying to be Nice
23 DecMy Take
DiVoran Lites
I’ve been to parties once or twice,
And I don’t like them, I’ll tell you that,
Except for the time you wore that funny musical hat…
Remember?
And when the wooden wheel with the candles under it scorched from grown-ups playing with fire—
When jellied cranberry didn’t melt in the casserole,
And Stan brought boat flares for the gift exchange and related them to kisses,
And Billy and Christian pinned on the girl’s add-on braids and dangled them over their shoulders,
When the paper-ball battle broke out and everyone was fair game, even the granddads?
When Rebekah Lyn came over to have a chat and deliver homemade cookies,
And seven relative strangers sat in a cozy den one night and had a real conversation with soft Christmas music in the background,
Donna brought her million dollar brownies to the church dinner
And we met Connie and her college age wonder-son?
Remember when Alicia told us about learning to play the piano two years after her daughter’s death from aids And you had a quiet tea, in pretty cups, with a dear friend from long ago
How about at the grade school program when baby Jimmy pulled off Santa’s glasses, and pushed him away and Santa said, “I don’t know what you want for Christmas, kid, but you sure don’t want me.” Jimmy’s mom said privately that Santa was too skinny, anyhow.
No, I don’t have to be nice, but I need to be honest and I guess I must say, I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it.
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Christmas Memories
22 DecSUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
Christmas memories……..so many……all good. I remember, as a child, waking up to Christmas morning and rushing into the living room to see what Santa had brought. And then to opening all the presents from Mom, Dad, Granny and Aunt Jessie. I suppose my brother had gotten me something as well, but I just dont remember that.
I remember Daddy sitting us down and reading the Christmas story from the Bible. He and Mom always made sure that we knew the true meaning of Christmas – why we celebrated the season and all the gifts that came with it. And why we gave gifts to each other and to those who didn’t have all we had.
I remember one Christmas that we were traveling to San Antonio from Albuquerque to spend the holiday with Granny and Aunt Jessie before they moved to Albuquerque. We had a car wreck along the way and Aunt Jessie came to pick us up and take us to her home. We still had Christmas! We didn’t have a workable car any more, and Bill had a broken arm……….but we still had Christmas!
I remember the last Christmas my Daddy was on this earth. He’d had a very unfortunate accident in the hospital and was really banged up. Fred and I flew in from California, and Bill and DiVoran, with their two children, flew in from Florida, to celebrate that time together. I remember the children tearing into their presents under the tree that morning, and DiVoran stepping out of the way to urge Bill to get in the best position to get some good pictures of that. And there was Daddy, with that black eye, just enjoying his grandchildren and children around him. It was a time to treasure.
I remember traveling from the Florida Panhandle to Titusville to have Christmas with my brother and his family, and then across the peninsula to Clearwater to have another celebration with Fred’s parents. Being with family at this time of celebration is so very precious, and we cherish each memory.
And now I remember a recent time with the family in Titusville and the significant others that have joined the extended family. I wouldn’t trade it for anything – no amount of non-Christian beliefs and just the time for partying is nearly as satisfying and delicious as being with family, in the Spirit of God’s blessings.
Nope………Christmas Memories and just too precious.
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Does Everyone Go to Heaven
21 DecDoes everyone go to heaven?
On my recent trip to the West Coast, I held on to the escort’s arm that dashed me through the crowds in the Los Angeles airport. No time to waste–only half an hour between flights.
We stepped outside. “We’ll wait for the shuttle here,” he said.
Gulp. Did he say “wait?” We can’t. I’ll miss my connecting flight for sure.
The shuttle finally came, and I boarded. When it stopped I jumped to my feet, hoping there would be someone to guide me to the gate.
I twirled the tip of my white cane between my fingers. Nervous? A tad. The clock was ticking. Finally an agent took my arm, “ready Mrs. Eckles? I’ll take you to the gate.”
He didn’t take me. We practically flew through the groups of passengers and luggage.
“We’re here. This is your gate,” he said.
While trying to catch my breath, the PA system announced, “Ms. Janet Eckles…paging Janet Eckles.”
“That’s me,” I called out.
To my relief, they had prepared an assigned seat and had my name on the list to pre-board. Woo hoo! They were prepared for me.
I boarded the plane, and as I settled in my seat a thought darted in my head. The same scenario will play when I arrive to take the flight that will take me to eternity. Jesus bought the ticket with His life and I count on the guarantee He has a place ready for me.
For that reason, this Christmas will shine brighter with the reassurance that no matter what happens in this life, He’s prepared the place. No matter how deep the pain, He has a promise waiting at the other end of this life. And no matter how long the wait, His love keeps the door open for us to come in.
And until that time, we can face tough moments on earth, but Jesus calls us to face this truth: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:1
Father, how this life changes, knowing you have prepared that place for me. Hope shines brighter, joy flows easier, and peace bathes our days more frequently. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.
–What has you rushed these days?
–Do you know your destination when your days end on this earth?
–Where are your steps leading you today?
Janet Perez Eckles,
Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…
Inspirational video just for you.
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What Do YOU Call Him
20 Dec
From the Heart
Louise Gibson
Oh, my Lord, my God, my Savior, my Friend-
Blessed Redeemer, you will abide to the end.
(Mark 8:27, 29)
How I wish conditions had been different.
that Christ had been glorified.
After all, it is His birth we celebrate.
It is in Him we choose to abide.
It is more blessed to give than to receive-
I confess it was not always this way.
As a child, my thoughts were full of fantasy-
It was all about Santa and his sleigh.
My spiritual eyes were opened as I aged.
I became aware of the presence of God.
Why are parents reluctant to discuss Christ?
I find that truly odd.
That God humbled Himself and came to earth as a child-
I am sincerely awed!
Dear Jesus, it is Your birth we celebrate.
“Happy Birthday. dear Lord, my God!
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Our Trip to the UK~Part 3
18 DecA Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Our Trip To The UK Part 3
By Bill Lites
Now, We headed northwest to our next stop, to visit the city of Bath, best known for its famous hot springs. The city was first established as a spa town about 60 AD, when the Romans built the famous baths around the hot springs. Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths’ main spring may have been treated as a shrine by the Iron Age Britons, and dedicated to the goddess Sulis. Messages to her scratched onto thin metal sheets, known as “Curse Tablets” or “Binding Spells” have been recovered from the springs and were used throughout the Greco-Roman world, as a method where someone would ask the gods to do harm to others. For example, “May his body itch all over for the rest of your life.“ For a price, tourists can still buy a small copper “Curse Tablet” to scratch a curse on, and leave it in the hot springs for Sulis to read and act upon. The Roman baths have been popular down through the ages, including the mention of “Taking the Waters” described in Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers.
We visited the amazing “Museum of Costume” which displayed some of the most beautiful and elegant attire from the 18th century to the present (including dresses only Twiggy could wear). Then we had afternoon tea and the famous Bath Buns at the Grand Pump Room, while being charmed by a soothing chamber ensemble. One of the interesting features of the Pump Room was the small fountain of “Healing Water” that everyone was encouraged to sample. It was said, that this water had great healing properties, and there were supposedly many testimonies of people being healed of all manner of ailments by drinking this water. It had a very strong odor and taste of sulfur to me. But then who am I to complain, if I’m being healed by drinking a small glass of smelly water. Right? DiVoran reminded me that the Pump Room was a favorite place for the author Jane Austin to visit and to set her characters into, and wondered if she ever drank the water?
Up the road a few miles from Bath, we came to one of the most interesting parts of the trip, to me, the “Fleet Air Arm Museum” in Yeovilton. Now this is my kind of museum, lots of neat airplanes that you don’t usually see in U.S. aviation museums. Of course DiVoran took a nice long nap in the car while I was browsing through the museum, admiring the wonderfully restored British Naval Aviation aircraft and their histories. I’m not sure why they had the Concord 002 prototype aircraft, but it still had a lot of the flight test recording equipment installed in it, and visitors were allowed to walk through it at will.
Most of the B & Bs we stayed at were very nice, but then there were a few that were great, and i just have to tell you about them. The Whitmoor Farm in Doddiscombsleigh, near Exeter, was one of the nicer ones. Mrs. Lacey was an older widow who ran the Whitmoor Farm B & B all by herself and did a wonderful job of making her guests feel special and at home in her home. An example of her hospitality was that she would pick fresh raspberries for our breakfast each morning. Yummm! Raspberries and cream. They were ripe, sweet, and oooh, so delicious!
—–To Be Continued—–
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Love Does Not Mean “Give it to Me Now!”
17 DecI decided to reblog this based on this paragraph. “Love understands a person well enough to know what is best for them. And usually that will require some waiting. But with some people, love might include encouraging or perhaps even prodding. We often do not know what we are capable of until we push ourselves. And that push, though often unwanted, is frequently an act of love” I am thankful for the friends in my life who have pushed and prodded me with love.
Anyone who has ever had children, worked with children, been around children or seen children is very familiar with the expression “he won’t share with me.” Hence the equally familiar response: “Share does not mean, ‘Give it to me now.’”
That same sentiment is also applied to love. We are absolutely drowning in advertisements telling us to buy something for someone to show or prove that we love them. That something might be jewelry (for her), a vehicle (for him) or a toy (for anyone). It might be something as large as a house or as small and insignificant as a box of candy.
Debt does not matter. Just give it to me. Why wait for marriage? Just give it to me. Need or purpose does not matter. I want it and if you love me, then just give it to me.
But this has nothing to do with love…
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Look Before You Leap
16 Dec
My Take
DiVoran Lites
Last Friday when I wrote the date, December 13, 2013, I thought, dum-de-dum-dum, it’s Friday the thirteenth, bad luck day. In case you didn’t recognize it, dum-de-dum-dum is the theme song to the old T. V. series, “Dragnet.” Bill and I use it as a warning that we’re entering suspenseful and dangerous territory.
This blog is about three of the many other superstitions I’ve heard in my lifetime. You probably know them too.
- If you walk under a ladder propped against a building you’ll have bad luck.
- If a black cat walks across your path…bad luck. I suppose the cat has to be black because black cats are associated with witches.
- If you break a mirror, you’ll have NINE YEARS bad luck. Don’t ask me why nine, not eight or ten.
So what’s the truth about superstitions?
- If you walk under a ladder there’s a better chance of a gallon of primer falling on your head than there is if you walk closer to the curb. But watch out on that, too.
- Any color of cat can twine around your feet if you get too close. You could trip and fall and break your arm.
- It gets much worse. If you break a mirror and a shard of glass flies up and cuts your leg you can get an infection that if you don’t clear up you could develop gangrene and have your leg cut off. The effects from that could last nine years–or a lifetime.
Mostly though, and this I know, God looks after us in our carelessness and preoccupation. This doesn’t answer the BIG QUESTION, of course, but to me it’s apparent that by asking the Holy Spirit, not why bad things happen, but how to take them, and in what way to be blessed by them will more than meet our needs for comfort and guidance when bad things do happen. The Holy Spirit knows all the truth and He will tell us what we need to know.
Meanwhile:
- If you take any wooden nickels, be sure they’re round tuits.
- Keep looking up.
- Look before you leap.
Have you heard of any new superstitions connected to the digital age that I don’t know about? I suppose you have, otherwise, why would we need Snopes?
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Christmas in Florida
15 DecSUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
Even though I DO love a white Christmas, I’ve come to really love Christmas in Florida. We’ve both had our fill of snow, and so the sand and grass and beach and…Florida suits us just fine. We thoroughly enjoy Christmas at Disney, as well. We’ve been a bit disappointed in recent years, however, that even Disney has bowed to some of the political correctness that is abounding now, and have left off some of our most cherished decorations. We do enjoy that they include the traditions from around the world.
We usually have at least one of our daughters and her family with us at Christmas – occasionally both daughters and their families – and we always make it a point to go to Disney. Not just to “do” the theme parks, but to see the decorations. One of our favorite sights is the Osborne lights at the Studios. Amazing.
One of our favorite things to do is to park at EPCOT and take the Resort Monorail to the resorts on that line, get off, see the decorations at that resort, and then on to the next resort. It’s fun, it’s free, and we get some gorgeous ideas from them. Of course, there’s no way we could duplicate the life-size gingerbread house at either EPCOT or the Grand Floridian. But it’s fun to see.
Another free thing to do is Downtown Disney. Actually, we like to take friends there who aren’t really into the theme parks, when they come to visit us . That way, they get a “taste” of Disney without having to spend the money and all day at the park(s). We like to walk the length of the entire area and back. And at Christmas time, they decorate the whole area with fun stuff.
Seems we never get tired of doing the same thing – especially since most of the decorations are the same as the previous year – and the year before that – and……
Another favorite resort we like to visit is the Shades of Green. If you’ve never heard of that, it is a resort on Magic Kingdom property, and is solely for military – active duty and retired. If you’re wondering about the name – it is called Shades of Green because every branch of the U.S. military has a uniform that is a shade of green. Hence the name. We like to stay there for our anniversaries each summer. They also decorate, but a lot of the time it is “military” themed, and quite interesting.
So, as you can see, there is a lot to do around Christmas time for us in Florida. We usually have some time to spend with my brother and his family, and that is always a most joyous time for us. This extended family business is wonderful!
Christmas in Florida…………yeah, it’s great!
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