Original photo courtesy of Ooceey @ pixabay.com (Some text added for this post)
photo courtesy of fotografierende on Unsplash
photo courtesy of Joanna Kosinska @ unsplash.com
photo courtesy of Clem Onojeghuo @ unsplash.com
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photo courtesy of StockSnap @ pixabay.com
Coffee’s a great companion
when decorating
— or undecorating —
the Christmas tree.
I’m thinking that next year, I just might
decorate my tree with coffee mugs. 🙂
photo courtesy of Pexels @ pixabay.com
What? You didn’t know?
Well, it’s true:
Snowmen LOVE coffee too.
photo courtesy of SKJarvis @ pixabay.com
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I decided to make this post the first in a series called “12 Days of Christmas Coffee.” I hope you enjoy the series. Merry Christmas!
photo courtesy of Vinson Tan @ pixabay.com
TODAY, DECEMBER 25TH, IS THE BEGINNING OF THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS — the period which, for centuries, has been set aside to focus on the joy of Jesus’ having come to us in the flesh: 12 days when believers rejoice and celebrate by giving gifts to others every day.
Gifts do not have to be extravagant. They can be very simple. It’s the meaning behind them that matters — Giving something to someone you care about because you want to emphasize God’s gift to us. Probably many of you have given loads and loads of gifts to family and friends during the past couple days. But spreading out the joy and the giving over a much longer period of time intensifies the treasure of this celebration in our own hearts. And it helps to reaffirm for us that the true meaning of Christmas does not come to a close at midnight on December 25th.
In the United States especially, a majority of people seem to have the attitude that after the 25th, everything “Christmas” should come down and be packed away — and wait for another 11 months before being seen or heard from again. How sad. We would do well to take a lesson from believers of previous centuries — particularly in many of the European countries — who relished the celebration of 12 full days of joy that just got started on December 25th.
If you’ve never celebrated the 12 days of rejoicing and sharing the joy with others, try it. Begin today and celebrate through January 5th, 2020. The following day, January 6th, is Epiphany — which is it’s own celebration — focusing on Jesus’ manifestation as savior to the Gentile nations and the whole world.
Get out of the rut of making Christmas a 2-day party and then a “let-down.” Instead, get a fresh start today and let Jesus bring you a brand new revelation of who He is during this 12 days of Christmas and Epiphany season.
photo courtesy of Gerd Altmann @ pixabay.com
Country lanes at Christmas —
For the traveler, such a chore.
Snow encrusted, rutted lanes
That make manuv’ring poor.
It’s hard to see the shoulders
And the middle line is blurred.
For traffic in the other lane
No ample room’s assured.
And drawing towards the end of day,
When light is running low,
Traversing snowy country roads
Mandates my going slow.
But I’ll continue trav’ling down
Those snowy country lanes,
To friends and fam’ly, waiting me.
It’s worth whatever strain.
Besides, those Christmas country roads
Through woods and fields snow-clad
Resound with quiet so unique
It makes my heart quite glad.
They seem to wear a special peace
That blankets their domain.
And settles over me when I’m
On snowy, country lanes.
photo courtesy of Reijo Telaranta @ pixabay.com
WHAT DOES CHRISTMAS REALLY MEAN TO JESUS???
Everyone has different opinions and different feelings concerning the meaning of Christmas. What were Jesus’ feelings about coming from the throne into a tiny body that was laid in a manger at Bethlehem? That’s the focus of my most recent upload to Radical About Jesus YouTube channel: “Let’s Not Get Stuck At The Manger”
Make listening to and sharing this message part of your Advent Celebration this year.
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Well, I’ved dithered, and dallied, and delayed for a year. I had all kinds of excuses and reasons — some good, some not so good. But all that’s behind me now, and I FINALLY have the enlarged second edition of my short short story anthology ready for public consumption. 🙂
Yep, it’s out there: STORIES THAT LEAVE YOU THINKING … (A Collection of Diverse and Slightly Unconventional Short Short Stories)
Some of you helped me choose which stories needed to be included. Many of you have read several of them over the past few years, and your response played a part in decideding which stories to include and which to leave for another project. The book contains 20 stories in all. Three of them are also featured in my Christmas anthology, but the other 17 have not been published previously in book form.
Even though the book is actually a totally new entity and will replace the old, smaller version completely, I still wanted to use the same cover. My great friend, professional photographer Bob Mielke, generously gave me permission to use his amazing work. This cover photo inspired one of the first stories to go into the book, and, as far as I was concerned, it just HAD to be the front cover. Thank again, Bob. You’re one of the “good guys.”
Here’s the blurb to tell you a little more about what you can expect if you pick up a copy of STORIES THAT LEAVE YOU THINKING … . And I hope you do — one for you and one for a friend. It’s currently available in paperback only.
“Have you ever come to the words “The End” when reading and just couldn’t seem to turn off your own imagination? Did your mind keep working on the plot and planning out possible ways in which the story could continue? Did you enjoy the process? Then you’ve come to the right book. The stories included here, on a wide variety of subjects and themes, offer the reader the opportunity to keep thinking past “The End.” Each story comes to a stop, to be sure, but most of them will tempt the reader to let his own imagination get involved and do some thinking about what would happen next – if the story continued. A refreshing approach to short story telling.”
Purchase your own copy for $6.00 from Amazon.
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