The advantages of a dispersed Christmas!

Christmas this year is going to be stretched over a lengthy period. The members of my family who were due to join me for Christmas lunch yesterday were, sadly, holed up at home with a tummy bug - so Christmas Day with them has been delayed till next week! Yesterday I had a mini-Christmas morning at home. This morning - Boxing Day - I have had another Santa moment with one of my friends.
From Freefoto.com
In addition to my forthcoming 'Christmas morning' with my grand-children (the ones currently throwing up at home), I will be having another festive celebration with two friends next week, when they have returned from their seasonal travels.

Now some of you may be thinking - what a shame - but you would be quite wrong. Normally, on Boxing Day, I get the start of my post-Christmas let-down. Well, I'm as bright as a button today - I still have lots of Christmas to come. Perhaps I should try extending it right through January next year - the most dismal month of the year for me. Of course, this wouldn't quite fit in with the Church calendar, but what the heck? ;-)

And just for interest, even if a little late:
Give as well as get

Just for a moment...

From bluekdesign on Flickr
... be there, sitting beside Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Just for a moment…
…allow yourself to be there, sitting beside Jesus. He turns to you – yes - to you – and he says, ‘Come to me you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest’.
As you look at Jesus, allow yourself to rest in his presence, knowing that you are held safely in his strong gaze, in his love and in his constancy.
You are held,
you are safe,
you are precious.

Whatever is going on in your life, Jesus knows and he is there.
Whatever is going on in your life, you are ultimately safe in his care.
Held safely in his strong gaze, in his love and in his constancy.
You are held,
you are safe,
you are precious.
Allow yourself to be: held, safe and precious.

What is it about this time of year?

... I think it must be the early nights and miserable weather in the UK. Can you imagine if there was no Christmas to brighten things up. Ooh - that reminds me of Narnia. How dreadful to live there in the White Witch's days - no Christmas!! Like quite a few people I struggle in the winter months - my mood goes 'flatter' and my smile hides itself away unless I actively think about it. The festive street lights in my home town of Frodsham bring out my reticent smile though - there is something very cheering about Christmas lights, isn't there? Well, light in general, really.

Lucia light boxI respond wonderfully to a light box but so far I have broken one and lost another. I'd love to hear if a light box helps you through the winter months - add a comment to this blog if it does. (Add a comment anyway!)

Of course, the most cheering light of all is the light of Christ shining into our lives. But, especially at this time of year, I feel as though there are blackout blinds slipping down in front of my spiritual eyes all the time. I have to work hard at keeping on hoisting the things back up again.

Some of my techniques for lifting the blackout blinds are:
- When I'm driving alone I imagine Jesus in the passenger seat and I have a good natter with him
- I say Night Prayer while snuggled up in bed with my electric blanket on (and sometimes a warm single malt in my hand)
- I try to do something new and different during winter-time. At the moment I've bought a HUGE crochet hook and am making a holey scarf that I intend to weave through with ribbon. I have no idea what it will look like when finished but it's fun to try it out
- I say 'thank you' to God for all my friends at St Laurence Church who constantly make me smile and give me a lovely warm feeling
- I make myself smile around the house even when there is nobody there. I may look like a lunatic, but it's amazing how I can convince myself I'm feeling a lot brighter. The power of the mind, heh?

Image from St Pixels websiteHave you any techniques for keeping the light of Christ streaming into your life? Come on, lets hear them.

And just one more question - has anyone else out there read 'The Shack'? Maybe not the most literary of books but it has some super insights into the nature of God in there.

Well, Merry Christmas everyone.

Kath

Infolinks - the Double Underline!

You may see some words or phrases with a double underline.

These links are part of a pay per click advertising program called Infolinks. Infolinks is an In Text advertising service: they take my text and create links within it. If you hover with your mouse over these double underlined links, you will see a small dialog box containing advertisement related to the text marked. You can choose to either move the mouse away and go on with your browsing, or to press on the box and go to the ad page which is relevant to the text.

About me

Hello. I'm Kath Williamson and I am a retired clergywoman in the Anglican church in Cheshire. Before retirement, I worked full-time as an IT consultant and I was also a non-stipendiary priest at my local church.
I hope you enjoy this site.