Because it is Christmas

 

 Now, I don't know whether to call this a poem or a quote.  But I thought it would be an inspiring thing to share in my Christmas kitchen this season, so here it is.  I found this unused Christmas card in my mother's card stash and have set it aside to send to someone special at some point. Or, I may simply list it for sale in my Etsy shop.

In case you can't read it, here are the words:

"I am thinking of you today because it is Christmas, and I wish you happiness.  And tomorrow, because it will be the day after Christmas, I shall still wish you happiness.  I may not be able to tell you about it every day, because I may be far away or we may be very busy.  But that makes no difference -- my thoughts and my wishes will be with you just the same.  Whatever joy or success comes to you will make me glad.  Clear through the year ... I wish you the spirit of Christmas." -- Henry van Dyke

I didn't really know much about Henry van Dyke, so decided to do a quick search and learn a little more.  Here's what I read on AmericanLiterature.com.  

"Henry van Dyke was an American author, educator and clergyman, born in 1852 in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

He attended Princeton University, graduating in 1873 from then matriculated at the Princeton Theological Seminary from which he graduated in 1877. He returned to Princeton as a professor of English literature, a post that he held from 1899 - 1923 but it was not without interruption. From 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris. And in 1913 his former classmate, President Wilson, appointed him Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

As a member of the clergy, Christmas and Easter were special holidays for Henry van Dyke. He wrote some popular Christmas stories including; The Other Wise Men, The First Christmas Tree, and Keeping Christmas. "

Henry van Dyke

 
There you have it.   This Christmas card shares a lovely sentiment for friends or loved ones.

A lovely vintage Christmas card ~ "Merry Christmas"

 

In scanning items to list in my Etsy shop, I came upon this beautiful vintage Christmas card and thought it would be perfect to share for Christmas in July.  It's probably from the late 1950s or the very early 1960s.  What a lovely classic look it has!

The creamy card stock has a slight moire effect.  The die-cut scalloped edge and gold trim give an elegant old-fashioned look.  At lower left is a pretty scene of snow-covered trees and homes, and a red covered bridge.  But it's the lantern at upper right that is the real star of this show.  It's an elegant brass lantern fitted out with a lighted red candle.  It's trimmed with a large red bow, lots of pine branches, red berries and green leaves, small red and green apples (or possibly they're ornaments, but the leaves look like apple leaves) and a couple of pine cones.  This is one of those nostalgic scenes that can almost move me to tears.

But there's more!  Inside the card, amid fancy swirling lines and a simple sketch of a lantern, is this lovely bit of verse:

"A lantern shining in the snowy eve,
Lighting the way to happiness and cheer ... "

 
Okay, if I thought my eyes were misty before, this one really did it.  I have tried to find the source of those beautiful words, but to no avail so far.  And if you know me very well, you know that I also love the idea of being a light shining in a stormy place, lighting the way to true peace and joy with God.

To top it all off, when I saw the signature, this card had been sent by my Great-Uncle Jim and his wife Irene.  Although we saw Jim less frequently than some of the other great-uncles, he was easily our favorite and we all loved it when he dropped by our house for a visit.  On a few occasions we stopped in to visit him and Irene, and that was a delight as well.  I wish I had gotten to know them better, but as a child one isn't aware of the need for such things.  We just knew we loved them, and that they loved us.

Thinking about a new year

 

Here we are on the eve of a new year.  I'm not sure how 2023 flew past as it did, but it's gone.  In place of a Sunday Scripture for today, I thought I'd just share a little about spiritual goals for 2024.

New Year's is when we typically consider goals or resolutions for the coming year.  I prefer goals, personally.  It seems to me that resolutions can easily be broken (and discarded), but a goal is something you can keep working at even if you fall a little short of it at times.  Even if you don't fully realize a goal, you make progress toward it.  When I set goals for a new year, spiritual goals are always included, along with physical and relational ones. 

One important thought to keep in mind with goals for any new year is that, as Hannah Wilwerding so eloquently pointed out on her Instagram account Her Biblical Worldview, 2024 is not our year.  It's God's year.  As she wrote, "Just like every year is God's year.  He just allows you to be a part of it.  He holds our goals.  He guides our footsteps.  He establishes our plans.  He directs our lives.  May this be the year we serve God over serving ourselves."

Our former pastor of many years always taught us (and very accurately, too) that there is no standing still in the Christian life.  We're either moving forward or we're moving backward.  That has always stuck with me through the years and I have seen it proved true over and over.  

So aiming for ongoing spiritual growth is very, very important and I find the start of a new year to be the perfect time to make a plan for it.  As the old saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.  So in every area of life, I try to aim at something, no matter how small it may seem.

I haven't fully formulated my spiritual goals for the coming year, but a friend and I are working on memorizing the book of James,  so learning chapters 2 through 5 will be one.  I read through the Bible last year, but this year I am planning to work my way through Charles Swindoll's Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life.  So that's another.  And I've begun the Bible study Stand Firm, concerning the armor of God, so there's one more.

May I encourage you to aim for greater spiritual growth in the New Year?  You will not regret having done so.

(My dear friend Vee, now with the Lord she loved so well, added the following when I wrote a similar post on my Kitchen Table blog last year: 

"He is the vine, we are the branches.  He is our source.  We can no more gain spiritual growth without Him than we could will ourselves into life itself.   He Who began a good work in you is able to complete it. Philippians 1:6".

And she was absolutely right.  There is no way we can have spiritual growth -- no way we will even have a desire for it -- without a relationship with our Lord and Savior.)

Happy New Year, friends!

 

A timely quote for today

Back in 2014, when my granddaughter and I made our simple Christmas card banners,  some of the pennants were from the insides of Christmas cards.  We chose them according to how well they would fit our template, of course, but we also chose them according to the message they shared.  We tried to pick ones that were meaningful to us.

  I've shared about some of these before, but it's been awhile.  Yesterday I put these banners up, in preparation for a special breakfast with some of our grandchildren. The message on one particular card jumped out at me and begged to be shared:

"Let us have a little warmth

in the midst of winter ...

Let us have a little peace

amid the rush of daily life ...

Let us have a little comfort,

a  little beauty, a little wonder ...

Let us celebrate Christmas."

~ Ellen Brenneman

Isn't that beautiful?  I loved it when I first read it,  and I especially love it right now.  We need a little peace, a little comfort, a little beauty, a little wonder.  Regardless of the powers that be and the restrictions of the "pandemic", let us indeed celebrate Christmas.

Home-keeping hearts are happiest

Today I'm sharing this recently discovered vintage Christmas card.  I'm thinking it's probably from the late 1950s or possibly the very early 1960s.  My mother was greatly enamored of the Brownie line of cards from Rust Craft, which often featured little angels like these.  (Not necessarily biblical as to what the Bible tells us of angels, but then we do not know it all by any means.)  I have found more Brownie cards in my mother's stash than maybe even the Rust Craft archives would have.  Likely a bit of an exaggeration, but there are many.  This one is particularly adorable, and I like the saying.

I was curious about the quote from Longfellow, so looked it up.  It's from a poem of his titled Song.  The entire line actually says,

“Stay, stay at home, my heart and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest.” 

If you would like to read this poem in its entirety, you can find it here: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which is a website of the Maine Historical Society.  

 The message inside the card is lovely:

  Don't you think so?  Oh, that is so much my desire for every Christmas season, and even for this blog.  If you agree, please do share your thoughts about the quote or the card's message in a comment.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

A lovely Christmas card and quote

Isn't the above card simply beautiful?  It is for sale in my Etsy shop, but I wanted to share it with all of my readers -- not just because of its artwork, which is truly lovely, but because of a wonderful quote inside it.  I know that the scan is quite small, but if you just click on the picture, it should come up full size and you can see the details.

The rather impressionistic scene depicts a village and brick church at evening.  The sky is a glorious color and snow appears to be falling.  A few people are gathered outside the lighted church.  Perhaps choir practice has just ended. 

Inside the card, in addition to the message "With many good wishes for Christmas and the New Year", there is a lovely quote from Dr. Peter Marshall.  Dr. Marshall -- in case you haven't ever heard of him -- was a well-known preacher.  He was born in Scotland and emigrated to the United States at the age of 24.  In time he became the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.  In 1946 he was appointed as US Senate Chaplain, serving from January 4, 1947 until his sudden death of a heart attack just over two years later. He was only 46 years old.  A Man Called Peter,  by Catherine Marshall,  is Peter Marshall's biography.  I believe it was made into a film as well.

Here is the quote from Dr. Marshall:  "I thank God for Christmas.  Would that it lasted all year.  For on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, all the world is a better place, and men and women are more lovable.  Love itself seeps into every heart, and miracles happen ...".

I don't know if that is actually true any more.  I'm sure there are people who would rather it was not true.  But it is a lovely quote all the same, and the card illustration speaks of a happier time.

A sweet Christmas quote

I came upon this quote in an unusual way -- browsing through the "Warming Winter Dishes" section of Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooking All Year Round. as I was looking for a recipe to serve to company one evening last week.

 I've been unable to find any information about the named author of the quote, A.M. Hopkins, but love the quote so I am sharing it regardless.

Here it is:

"I plead for memories of olden times, and simple pleasures, and the making of the most delightful music in the world, the laughter of happy children.  God bless us all and make us contented.  Merry Christmas!"  -- A.M. Hopkins

There could hardly be a better Christmas card illustration to illustrate this quote than the one at top, painted so beautifully by artist Kathy Lawrence.   There you have the "memories of olden times" -- for this family is wearing old-fashioned (yet lovely!) clothing, and the table is lit by an oil lamp.  You have "simple pleasures" as the children delight in stringing popcorn while one reads aloud to the rest.  Unmistakably,  there is "the laughter of happy children."

I love this painting and this quote and the memories they bring of Christmases in a simpler time.  And yet my heart is also stirred as I am reminded that not all children are in circumstances where they can laugh easily.  How we need to be praying for those children involved in such atrocities as human trafficking and labor camps, not to mention more mundane and "usual" situations where kids don't have the blessing of living in a happy or even an intact family.  How we need to ask God to show us what we can to do to help!

And yes, let's be sure we are sharing simple pleasures and making memories with our own loved ones as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  We are indeed blessed!

Worth the read: an exhortation to be still this Christmas season

Four of my grandkids doing their annual Christmas cookie baking in 2017

I read this last Christmas and think it's something we should reread every year: Be Still: Resist  the Christmas Urgency, by Sarah Beals at Joy-Filled Days.

It can be oh-so-tempting to feel as if we have to do all the Christmas things.  We want to make everything so special for our families.  Sarah relates how she asked her kids what made the Christmas season special to them -- what they saw as the parts of the season that they considered important family traditions.  To her surprise, their list was nothing like hers and included very simple things done together as a family.

Sarah shares a list of ten things we might want to do with our families this season to help us be still and truly savor Christmas.

She concludes with these wise words: "Tis the season to slow down and savor, to be thankful for what’s in front of you. These days that will pass so quickly and be gone forever. Days so full that we might just miss them if we don’t purposefully stop and notice. This is the day–the moment–the Lord has made. It’s up to us to rejoice and be glad in it right now. Joy comes in the present. It’s not found in the chase for more, or in the memory of the good old days. It’s found now."

I love this advice!  Head on over and read the entire post.  You will be blessed, I guarantee it!

A Christmas quote

Recently I was rummaging through the little box where I keep my Christmas gift tags.  A little piece of paper caught my eye; it didn't look like an actual tag.  It actually was, though -- it was the tag above, a paper tag intended to be glued onto a wrapped gift.  I think it was a freebie from some charity or other.  The quote below was on the reverse side of it.

"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each other's burdens, easing others' loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas."  -- W.C. Jones

I don't remember ever seeing this quote before, but I liked it.  There truly is joy in
     🎄 Brightening others' lives
     🎄 Bearing each other's burdens
     🎄 Easing others' loads
     🎄 Supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts.

In particular, we will find joy in sharing the good news of the greatest gift ever given -- salvation and everlasting life through Christ -- with those empty hearts and lives this Christmas season.  And there are many additional ways in which we can brighten lives with generous giving and sharing.  We don't have to look far to find people who could use someone to encourage them and point them to the Savior.

And a Scripture verse sprang to mind too: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."  (Galatians 6:2)  That would be the law of loving our neighbor as ourselves: what James called "the royal law."  (James 2:8).

I tried to learn more about W.C. Jones, the author of this quote.  It appears he may have been a Seventh-Day Advent minister, but I'm by no means sure of that.  Although I'm not certain of his theology, his quote is a good one.  I know it expresses some of what I would like to do during this Christmas season.

From the July archives, Part 1

Graphic from The Old Design Shop

 I thought it would be fun to take a little trip (or two) through the July archives here at my Christmas kitchen, in the years before I began doing Christmas in July.  Here are a few of my finds:

Brainstorming Christmas gift ideas has some very nifty gift-giving ideas which I brainstormed with friends on a crafting forum.  They combine hand-crafted gifts with purchased items for some very gift-worthy ideas.

Then there's a quote concerning Christmas crafting as stress relief any time of year.  I knew there was a reason I'd been keeping a small tote of Christmas craft items close at hand! 

Lastly for today, I'll share the Christmas Tea Wallet which I made as a gift for a friend. 

Pretty sure I've shared this elsewhere on the blog, but it's worth repeating for those who haven't seen it.  It's a fun, easy, and adaptable idea that would make a wonderful little gift or stocking stuffer.

Have fun browsing in the archives .. another archive post will be coming soon!

A pretty sort-of vintage card

The scan came out with a faded look...

I'm continuing to find interesting vintage Christmas cards as I do some cleaning at my dad's home.  I think this card is probably from the 1980s, which would make it 30 years old.  So, I guess it could probably be considered vintage at this point!

The round framed scene actually looks more like a 1950s card, doesn't it?  I like the way it's framed with greenery, berries, and a red bow. 

The quote is new to me, but I like it:

"Winter, in all its splendor, 

means nothing without the joy 

our Savior's birth has brought."

~ Jennifer Neal

Hope you have enjoyed seeing this pretty card today!

At long last! Just in time for Rudolph Day ...

Don't faint, anyone!  Yes, I am here. Better late than never, right?  I thought May's Rudolph Day might be a nice time to share a quick post. 

Isn't the above Christmas card gorgeous?  It's a find from my mother's stationery cupboard.  She apparently sent these to friends one year, for there are five of these alike, with accompanying envelopes.  Inside the card is the following quote from Peter Marshall:

"I thank God for Christmas.  Would that it lasted all year.  For on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, all the world is a better place, and men and women are more lovable.  Love itself seeps into every heart, and miracles happen ...".

The back of the card says that this is quoted from Catherine Marshall's book Let's Keep Christmas. 

This is such a pretty scene.  I love the leafless birch tree ... something one doesn't often see on a Christmas card, but very true to life for December here in New England.  The color of the card, focusing on the evening sky, is also unusual and striking.  Notice the people walking to the lighted church.  This card was such a nice find.

Today on Rudy Day, this post is probably the one Christmasy thing I'll do.  I've barely thought ahead to any handmade Christmas gifts, much less found time to work on any. 

My life has become intensely busy with eldercare responsibilities, but I do hope to get here to post more often in my Christmas kitchen.  I have many more vintage cards to share, and some gift ideas for kids, and oh ... so many other things.  I'm even hoping to be able to do Christmas in July here again.  We will see!

A Christmas quote and this week's goal list

The inside of one of my small vintage cards

 Here is a lovely quote (probably from a greeting card originally) by Emily Matthews:

"From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another
The warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other."

Lovely, isn't it?

Now, my Christmas-related goals list for this week:
* Finish crafting two gifts
* Put up Christmas tree in our bedroom
* Wrap some gifts
* Possibly attend a Christmas party
*  Send some Christmas cards
* Bake some more Christmas cookies
* Make gifts for the names we drew at church
* Plan and put together a gift for Mr. T's boss and family
* Mail our gifts to faraway family


And here is how last week went:
* Finish crafting two gifts -- not quite finished, though I'm very close
* Put up Christmas tree in our bedroom -- not done
* Wrap some gifts -- not done
* Attend a couple of Christmas parties -- went to one; the other was rescheduled
*  Send some Christmas cards -- not done
* Bake some more Christmas cookies -- baked a couple more varieties
* Plan gifts for the names we drew at church -- done!
* Do a few cleaning tasks in the kitchen and bedroom so I can decorate those areas -- pretty much done
* Hopefully mail out some of our gifts to faraway family -- not done
* Do a special Christmas activity with three of our grandchildren -- done!

Obviously, I must have a more productive week this week!

A Christmasy quote and a list of goals

A scan of a favorite Christmas card by Kathy Lawrence

First, the quote:

"Christmas will always be in the hearts of God's children everywhere as they extend a helping hand to a friend in need ... as they go about reflecting God's goodness in the little quiet and unheralded expressions of a loving heart ... as they share the light of the world with those who live in darkness."

-- Jane Hillsmen

What a wonderful way to live in every season!  There are so few who seek to show the world an accurate representation of God in everyday life.  More of us need to make that a goal.

Now my Christmas-related goals for the week:
* Finish crafting two gifts
* Put up Christmas tree in our bedroom
* Wrap some gifts
* Attend a couple of Christmas parties
*  Send some Christmas cards
* Bake some more Christmas cookies
* Plan gifts for the names we drew at church
* Do a few cleaning tasks in the kitchen and bedroom so I can decorate those areas
* Hopefully mail out some of our gifts to faraway family
* Do a special Christmas activity with three of our grandchildren

And there will probably be more!

Another vintage kids' book ~ The Animals' Merry Christmas

When our kids were young, we had the equivalent of this book contained within one of a four-volume set of Richard Scarry anthologies.  If your kids or grandkids are not familiar with Richard Scarry, they (and you!) are missing out.  His art and stories are both fantastic and so much fun for kids.

This Little Golden Book (copyright 1950, 1958) actually was written by Kathryn B. Jackson, but the pictures are all Richard Scarry, and just beautiful.  The book contains four Christmas stories:  Mr. Hedgehog's Christmas Present, The Singing Christmas Tree, The Cold Little Squirrel, and The Long-Ago Donkey.  It also includes two Christmas poems: Green Christmas and A Very Small Christmas.

The poem Green Christmas was a favorite of my children, so I will quote it here:

Green Christmas

"It's almost Christmas, and still no snow!"

Cry the woodland creatures.  "We still can go

Out of our houses to search for roots

And seeds in the dry grass, and maybe shoots

Of fern and fennel that think it's spring.

We may find acorns -- 'most anything

That's good to eat may be in sight

For Christmas dinner, on such a night,

When the ground is bare of ice and snow,

And stars are bright, and the winds don't blow.

Hurrah for Christmas and still no snow!"

"It's almost Christmas, and still no snow!"

Sigh the townsfolk, wishing the wind would blow.

"Our doors are wreathed with pine and holly,

And our Christmas trees would look extra jolly

Blazing with lights -- if the snow came down

Deep and white all over the town!

Why doesn't the sky go wooly gray?

Why doesn't it snow for Christmas Day?

It's not like Christmas without some snow!"

Sigh the townsfolk, wishing the wind would blow --

BUT -- 

"Hurrah for Christmas and still no snow!"

Cry the woodland creatures, and out they go.

-- Kathryn B. Jackson

Such a fun poem.  Helps kids to see that there may be more than one side to a story!

If you've not seen this book, I'm pretty sure you could find one on eBay or Etsy.  With its four separate stories and two poems, it would be a great addition to your family's library of Christmas books!

Rudolph Day for July

An illustration from Jolly Old Santa Claus, one of my favorite childhood books

 Yes, today is July 25 -- Rudolph Day for July!  For today, I thought I would share a quote.  This idea comes from Jennifer Acuff and was quoted in the "Country Woman Almanac" pages in the June/July 2009 issue of Country Woman magazine.  Here it is:

"Our family beats the summer heat by celebrating Christmas in July.  We stay inside all day watching our favorite holiday movies, making stocking stuffers, decking the halls and eating a Christmas dinner.  The festivities end with reading the Nativity story and munching homemade cookies."

-- Jennifer Acuff, Monterey, TN

Isn't that a neat idea?

My own Rudolph Day is going to include some errands and busyness, but I also hope to take some time to look over my Christmas notebook and do some planning and tweaking of my Christmas lists, simplifying them a bit.  Maybe I'll do a little online shopping for some necessary materials for handmade gifts.  We will see!

Christmas is Always

I'm not sure how to title this; it's not really an essay, but it's a little more than a simple quote, by Dale Evans Rogers.  I found it in The Blessings of Christmas, an Ideals type magazine I found while clearing out an attic.  Here is what Dale Evans Rogers wrote:

"Christmas was not just a starlit night in Bethlehem: it had been behind the stars forever.

"There was Christmas in the heart of God when He made the earth, and then gave it away -- to us.  When He sent us His prophets, that was Christmas too.  And it was the most magnificent Christmas of all, that night in Bethlehem when He gave us His own son.

"As Jesus grew up, Christmas was everywhere He went, giving food, giving sight, giving life.  For Christmas is giving.

"But Christmas is also receiving.  In the Bible it says: As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.*

"As many as received Him!  When we understand that, we understand that receiving can be even more important than giving -- at Christmas!  When we receive Christ, we experience completely the gift that is Christmas.

"Then, for us, Christmas is truly always, for Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always** ... And Christmas is Jesus!" ~ Dale Evans Rogers

* John 1:12
** Matthew 28:20

Nurturing kids' creativity with Christmas in July

My impatiens a few years ago.  Their petals might be pressed and become the start to a lovely little gift.

Did you ever think of putting the above two concepts together -- nurturing kids' creativity and Christmas in July?  I must admit I never had.  I was looking through a favorite reference of mine, Victorian Family Celebrations (formerly published as Mrs. Sharp's Traditions) by Sarah Ban Breathnach, for quite another reason, when I found that the book includes a page on Christmas in July.  The author writes, "Observing Christmas in July was the custom of resourceful Victorian mothers who started thinking about Christmas long before Thanksgiving."  She notes that summer "affords us a wonderful bounty of present-making materials as well as the luxury of time to begin our work."

Now I must say that I don't really feel I have the luxury of time any more in summer than in the rest of the year -- but the days are longer, and that helps.  I do like her thought of beginning to make gifts in summer; in fact, I try to do so all year long.  I know people who start their Christmas gifts, so to speak, when they plant their gardens, planning to give jars of salsa to everyone on their list.  Others go berry picking and plan to make jelly, jam, and chutney for gifting.  Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests getting kids involved.  What a great idea!  Kids enjoy gardening, crafting, and cooking, so why not let them help with plans for creative Christmas gifts?  They could press flowers to make bookmarks, note cards, and more, or make picture frames using seashells and bits of sea glass.  For kitchen gifts, some jar mixes can be made ahead, as well as spice or herbal blends to use in cooking.  When you think about it, the possibilities are nearly endless.

One more quote from Victorian Family Traditions: "Celebrating Christmas in July keeps youngsters as busy as Santa's elves, while nurturing a gift that will last a lifetime: their creativity."  So true, don't you think?

Quote for the day

This is the inside illustration from one of the cards in my collection of small vintage Christmas cards.

When my granddaughter and I made our simple Christmas card banner , some of the pennants were from the insides of Christmas cards.  We chose them according to how well they would fit our template, of course, but we also chose them according to the message they shared.  We tried to pick ones that were meaningful to us.

It's bitterly cold here in northern New England today.  After a big snowstorm, the sun is shining (albeit rather weakly) but it's C-O-L-D!  So it's no wonder that this particular card's message jumped out at me and begged to be shared:

"Let us have a little warmth

in the midst of winter ...

Let us have a little peace

amid the rush of daily life ...

Let us have a little comfort,

a  little beauty, a little wonder ...

Let us celebrate Christmas."

~ Ellen Brenneman

Isn't that beautiful?  I love it.

December 4 ~ Quote for the day

From my collection of vintage cards ~ I'd never cut these up for a project!  To me, this one speaks of a simpler, more innocent time when no one would dream of taking anyone else's mail.

 On Saturday, my 12-year-old granddaughter and I started a little craft project with old Christmas cards -- banners for over our dining room windows.  I will post pictures later, but briefly, it involves cutting old cards and some of their inside messages into pennant shapes, backing them with scrapbooking paper and fabric (we are using card stock instead) and sewing them together along ribbon for hanging.  I adapted the idea pretty freely from the pattern.

Some of the cards are from the 1960s or so, others from the 1970s through the 1990s.  The quote I want to share is a message from one of the older cards.  I was just now sitting at the sewing machine, about to attach this pennant to the ribbon, when I read the message again.  Such a lovely thought, I had to pause in my sewing and share it with you all.  It reads like this:

Whatever else is lost

 with the years --

whatever the changes,

Christmas remains --

a time of happy

recollections -- a time

for remembering

treasured friends --

Isn't that lovely?  (Picture it, if you will in a red 1950s script not unlike that on the old Betty Crocker cookbooks.)  A lot has changed over time, and much has been lost,  not only in our lives personally but in our society.  I was just thinking yesterday how increasingly vulgar our society has become.  But my happy recollections of Christmas in the 1950s and early 1960s are still with me, precious and warm.  And most important of all, the whole reason for Christmas remains -- celebrating the birth of our Savior, who is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).