'Til we meet again at Heaven's door...

To all my wonderful blogger friends, visitors, followers and acquaintances. Posting has been very slim due to the illness of my husband, James (Jim) Lee Shults. Friday morning, May 12, 2017 after nearly 33 years of marriage which began on July 10, 1984, Jim's time in his temporary home on this Earth ended with a new beginning commencing in his eternal home. The pain and suffering is over as he rests in peace in the comfort of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your cards, letters, prayers, comforting thoughts and wishes. Jim will be remembered for his compassion, humor, endless stories & jokes, love of country and family. For him, to go though the day without making someone smile or laugh, was wasted time, time without purpose or meaning. He was a joke waiting to be told and never missed an opportunity to lift someone's spirits.

To my soulmate...

Treasures in Jars of Clay
(2 Corinthians 4:7-18)

7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.8We are pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal bodies. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,”c we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, 14knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For our light and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs our troubles.18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

'Til we meet again ...

At Heaven’s Door

The doors of Heaven opened

The day you came into my life

At our eyes’ first meeting,

Divine intervention touched my soul

What once were dreams and aspirations

Transpired into fearless reality

Conscious reasoning gave way to inner feelings

Our encounter ensured destiny unfold

Love initiated in Heaven

Unconditional, without envy or self-pity

Free from illusion, secure in faith

Lays eternal in the mist

Two hands merged as one

One heart, one body, one spirit

Truly blessed to share life’s daily happenings

Until only memories exist

Our love spans the sands of time

Through the years, happiness and tears,

‘Til one day we’re hand-in-hand

Standing quietly at Heaven's Door 

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

Awakenings touched on the Sights and Smells of Christmas so it is logical to follow up with the sounds of Christmas. Jolliness naturally accompanies Christmas Time mainly because of the music ever present on the scene...along the sidewalks, down the city streets, ringing from church steeples, within the comfort of our own homes, permeating the air like the aroma of freshly baked bread or cinnamon-laced apple pies.

As you listen to some of the ageless Christmas songs of the past, see how many you recognize and perhaps include in your own Christmas music collection. Then, compare the classics with the more modern Christmas tunes and decide which of the newer ones you think will be remembered in future decades. Will they last through the century?

Vintage Christmas Songs from the 1900s & 1910s

 Vintage Christmas Songs from the 1920s & 1930s

Vintage Christmas Songs from the 1930s & 1940s

12 Vintage Christmas Songs from the 1950s

1950s Rock 'n' Roll Christmas Songs

1960s Swingin' Christmas Songs

An All-Time Christmas Favorite from 1965

 5 Best Christmas Songs For A Kid Of The '70s
 

Christmas Songs From The 70's

A Very 80s Christmas - Christmas Music from the 80s

Studio album by NSYNC

12 Very ’90s Christmas Songs

Top Ten MODERN Christmas Songs

MORE Christmas songs of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s


Last but by all means NOT least...

Top Ten Christmas Songs of All Time

Is it Winter yet?

For many parts of the country, it appears Ol' Man Winter and Jack Frost have delayed their normal visits. Warmer temperatures for the season make the winter seem more like an early spring. Of course, some will still experience a white Christmas...somewhere in the nation! 

Regardless of the weather, however, Winter Solstice is here! This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the least amount of sunlight in declaration of the first day of winter. It marks a pivotal point in the earth's rotation around the sun. The time may vary, the country different and different names...Yule, Midwinter, Jól...but the meaning is still the same.
  

Wednesday, December 21

Winter Solstice 2016

First day of Winter: everything you need to know about today's Solstice 

Along with the shortest day comes the longest night! Okay, all you nocturnal creatures get ready to romp and play - parta-a-a-ay -  a few hours longer while you day dreamers must dream a bit less during the shortest hours of sunlight. Get those bonfires burning in preparation for singing, dancing and feasting to generate new light and merriment in the midst of winter.

And, don't forget the 'zoup' for warmth and nourishment!   

 

Sun King Soup

Celebrate this festival of light with a nice rich bowl of Sun King Soup -- the bright sun colors and smooth texture are just the thing for either an appetizer, or a light meal at Yule.

 

Forgo Tacos For a Slow-Cooked Taco Soup

Let it simmer away as you go about your day, and then, as if magic, you'll return home to a powerfully intoxicating, hearty-as-hell taco soup. Try garnishing a bowl with crumbled tortilla chips, sliced avocado, chives, or cilantro for added flavor and texture.

 

 Tang Yuan (湯圓), or Chinese Dumpling Soup

Not into soup? What about a savory pie?

 

Savory Winter Solstice Pie

Topped with golden crust or creamy mashed potatoes, Savory Winter Solstice Pie is bursting with tender winter vegetables, a nourishing celebration of the return of longer days after the shortest night of the year.

Need a special brew?

 

Winter Solstice Brew + Yule Wine Brew

What a truly magical + blessed gift to bring to any holiday party and/or family get-together!

 AND, don't forget the dessert...

Winter Solstice Cake

Bring some rays of sunshine to your table with this Winter Solstice Cake. This dessert will brighten up any dreary winter's night.

 

Trivia, Treats & Tradition

[Go to catnipoflife for a purr-r-r-r-fect Thanksgiving blessing!]

Thanksgiving is loaded with historical trivia, delectable treats and holiday tradition. May this day be filled with fun, food and fellowship overflowing with voices of thankfulness and gratitude.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth
by Jennie A. Brownscombe. (1914)
A mythologized painting showing
Plymouth settlers feasting with Plains Indians.
en.wikipedia.org

Embrace the Past...
*****

With the coming of Thanksgiving comes a special time to embrace the past. The feast of which we are most familiar took place when the Pilgrims arrived and the Wampanoag Indians gathered in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. This was a time of autumn celebration and that's right, it took place in the 17th century!

Within the history of Thanksgiving lies nuggets of trivia that nudge at the heart and tickle the funny bone. 

Did you know...

• Turkey may not have been the main meat that filled the guests' bellies at the first feast?
• George Washington declared Thanksgiving to be a February holiday?
• Fledgling colonists lacked butter and wheat flour for baking, thus no pumpkin pie?
• Whether mashed or roasted, white or sweet, potatoes had no place at the first Thanksgiving?
• While cranberries were plentiful, in wasn't until 50 years later that sauces and relishes were made with the tart orbs?

"Although Thanksgiving celebrations dated back to the first European settlements in America, it was not until the 1860s that Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November to be a national holiday" (History of Thanksgiving. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved 9:52, November 20, 2012, from http://www.history.comhttp://www.history.com/videos/history-of-the-thanksgiving-holiday.)

What about corn? 

So far there has been no mention of corn: roasted, boiled or popped. While corn and kidney beans were staples of the Pilgrim's diet, is it possible there was no corn gracing the table of that first Thanksgiving feast? If it was present, i.e., Indian corn, it presented itself in a form much different from that which we are familiar today. From this, a thought is interjected:

Popcorn is prevalent today as one of America’s favorite snacks but. . .

Did Pilgrim's Eat Popcorn?

Some believe to this day

Popcorn was a “parched” treat

Brought by the Indians

To the first Thanksgiving feast

 

A banquet of harvest tradition

Surpasses any myth of yore

Hearty, bountiful plenty

Did grace every table galore

 

Venison, goose, duck, and eel

Beckoned the most squeamish lad

Time of rejoicing and feasting

Meant only the best to be had

A cornucopia of fruits

Berries, grapes, apples, and plums

Competed with homegrown veggies

Squash, peas, beans, even white corn

 

There were no potatoes

Pumpkin pie hadn’t been invented

Bread puddings, milk, and honey

Left no appetite unattended

Indeed more beer than water

Quenched the harshest of thirsts

With gin and wine not far behind

Unbeknownst which came first

But what about the popcorn?

Were pilgrims the early munchers

Of that salty, puffed corn treat

Or was someone else the launcher?

Not until over a century later

Did sweet yellow corn none the least

Become the corn that traditionally “popped”

As part of a Thanksgiving feast



©2012 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults

Empower the Present...

Thanksgiving Day is a federal holiday in the United States.

©iStockphoto.com/Olga Lyubkina

Two Sides of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day: A Holiday Feast

A cornucopia of fruits, nuts, and veggies,

Turkey, trimmings, cakes, and pies,

More than anyone could possibly ask,

Instead of a treat, becomes our demise. 
***
Family and friends prepare favorite recipes
Bringing various homemade dishes to explore.
Glutons for punishment, a natural instinct,
Led us back for more and more.
***
Thirst quenched and bellies stuffed to the gills,
Rocking chair conversation not too deep.
Is it the rocking motion or the turkey
That finally puts us all to sleep?

Thanksgiving: A Celebration of Gratitude

  

 A cornucopia of thoughtfulness and gratitude,

Thanks from the heart, as well as the lips, 
More blessings than anyone could ask
Comes with all the trimmings this day equips.

***

Family and friends unite in fellowship
Granting praise for all the gifts of the year.
A candle is lit and with prayerful hands
The try meaning of Thanksgiving is clear!

©2009 Remembering
Sharla Lee Shults

MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING BE FILLED WITH MANY BLESSINGS!

Enrich the Future...

This day is a day of celebration not only for the blessings of today but for blessings to be extended into tomorrow's tomorrows. Take a moment to count your blessings but most importantly ask yourself how you can bless someone else. Perhaps something as simple as a smile could brighten someone's day. Whatever it is, take the time to bring blessings into the world around you, one moment, one day, one person at a time. The future is in your hands!

There will be many empty seats at tables across our nation this Thanksgiving as war still rages overseas. Thousands of brave young men and women in uniform are fighting two wars on foreign shores. Remember them: Our troops, soldiers, men and women, who are away from home and the ones they love for the greater good of our nation.

Support our Troops: Support America!

 May they be blessed this day, every day, and be reunited with loved ones in the days ahead.

[Did you go to catnipoflife for that purr-r-r-r-fect Thanksgiving blessing? While visiting, don't leave without watching the video!]


Related Articles:

• First Thanksgiving Meal 
• Menu for First Thanksgiving
• The FirstThanksgiving, 1621
• 15 Things You Didn't Know About the First Thanksgiving
• Remember our military heroes this Thanksgiving
• ...And We Thank Thee by Micki Peluso