Skip to main content

Thankful Thursday ~ Christmas Past



A Thankful Thursday post on Christmas Day? Yes, indeed! Log onto to Grace Alone and be inspired as we celebrate the birthday of Jesus today! The theme is thanking God for a special Christmas memory of the past.

A past Christmas memory for me that is meaningful was the Christmas I got engaged to my husband. It was hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas that year. Family traditions surrounded us, but all I wanted to do was be with my man and dream about our future wedding day and talk about the life we would build together. Christmas morning came and my fiance knocked on the front door very early and whisked me off to the first church service so we could spend the whole day together. It was snowing when he picked me up and still snowing when he took me home that night. So we planned a summer wedding! Today, our daughters are grown, and we became grandparents this year. It's been a wonderful life of career challenges, raising children and working at keeping our love alive through the years. I thank God for these dreams of the past and especially for all His help through the years. This year marks our 37th year together celebrating Christmas!

I can't end this post without mentioning that I now look forward to another wedding day. Jesus promised to come back for His bride, the Body of Christ, and whisk us off to our new home where we'll be together for all eternity. It's going to be fabulous. It could happen at any time, even today!

Jesus tells a story of how the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to ten virgins who awaited the Bridegroom's coming for them. He was delayed, but when they heard the shout, only five of them had the sufficient oil to keep their lanterns lit. The other five had to go to the seller of oil to buy more and they missed the Bridegroom and the wedding! This great story is in Matthew 25.

As we celebrate the Christmas season, Jesus is my hope. He's coming again!
Merry Christmas, everyone.

Comments

  1. Debbie PetrasDecember 25, 2008 at 8:51 AM

    You have special memories and thank you for sharing. I used to wear my hair in a flip too. Too funny! May you and your family have a blessed Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BonnieDecember 25, 2008 at 10:37 AM

    What an awesome post and amazing tie-together!!! Thank you for that picture. What a happy, happy memory. Thank you for sharing today! Have a blessed Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DeniseDecember 25, 2008 at 2:46 PM

    Such nice memories sweetie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rita T.December 25, 2008 at 6:51 PM

    37 years - that's terrific! Merry Christmas and God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 25, 2008 at 6:56 PM

    Great post and special memory! Thanks for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 25, 2008 at 7:43 PM

    Amen. what a neat, neat post. Your life is a tribute to the Lord. thank you for sharing this special day with me.. Hugs. ... and His name shall be called Immanuel...

    ReplyDelete
  7. CarrieDecember 26, 2008 at 1:30 PM

    I love this picture of you and dad. Thank you for showing my sister and I what love is all about.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KayDecember 27, 2008 at 6:29 PM

    Okay, that picture is absolutely hysterically precious! 37 years and here ya are blogging about your sweetheart - betcha didn't see that one coming?! And AMEN from this choir member - Jesus IS coming again! Thanks for a beautiful post, Mary.

    So, get ready to be more jealous ... when I was in Florida with Keaton, John Travola lives there and his new dog movie, Bolt,opened and HE CAME TO THE THEATER and we saw him! Hey, next time I see him, I'll ask him to land his plane in your yard -- you know, just cuz I like ya and all.

    Signed: Kay the cool shopper with the VB hipster, and yes, your refurbished laptop counts as new!

    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Venomous Intruder

It’s the middle of rattlesnake season here on the ranch.  The local news anchor confirmed it.   I’ve seen two already.    While driving along our dirt road yesterday, I mistook a virulent enemy for a branch. I backed up the car, looked again and noticed the branch shifted revealing a rattle at its end. At one of our road association meetings in the barn, Shelby stood up and shouted, “ BOB !” to my next door neighbor.  He’s our vice president and the one all eyes were on as he gave a presentation in the middle of the room.  I sensed fear in the way she yelled his name.  I learned after the meeting that Shelby called out to him like that because she saw a rattler slither in the barn door where she and I sat.  Bob yielded to the interruption and quietly dispatched the enemy.  Ten minutes later, this tough guy was back to center stage falling right back in step with the business at hand.   Bob is my new best friend. ...
42 comments
Read more

It's Not Always About the Tomatoes

I like to travel with buddies and rename them.  I vacationed in Costa Rica with Lupe who loves margaritas   and gets a little loopy.   I don’t drink but I’m a fun gal.  Just ask my co-worker, Frank.  I nicknamed him Jellyfish.  I packed my underwater camera.  Jellyfish can hold his breath really long.  He modeled for my underwater photo shoot in the colossal pool at the resort our company chose for us. I am fascinated with rain forests so my favorite thing to do in Costa Rica is to take walks in them.  I signed up for the tour of an organic cacao working farm.  Lupe chose it too.  A group of us piled into tractors to view crops of watermelon, mango, rice and cattle while we chewed on natural sugar cane, their largest product.  We observed monkeys, Toucans, and sloths. The best part of the tour for me taught about climate change and harvest time as we walked single file among papaya trees, cacao trees, as we...
38 comments
Read more

Marriage Tip #44: Do What He Wants

I thought about our upcoming anniversary.   I prayed one morning for the marriages in my family, and a sentence about my own dropped in my spirit:  “ Do What He Wants .”  I paused, “Really?”  He’s his own man.  What if I end up in the wilderness camping by night and target shooting by day?  What if a coyote decides to have me as a late night snack? We celebrated our anniversary early this year, Before the kids come next week.   And we did it his way . This is how it happened. I never asked him about a plan or even mentioned our day.  I remember how it all unfolded at the roundabout just as we drove into Sedona.  He asked me if I would like to go to a baseball game.  I responded excitedly, “Yeah!”  Before the day was over, he purchased tickets for a Diamondbacks home game. He printed them out.  He booked a hotel room so we wouldn’t have to drive home from the city after the late evening game. ...
44 comments
Read more