Merry Christmas everyone!!! Enjoy your friends and families- we have so little time on our journeys here! I love the song ‘Let There Be Peace On Earth, and let it begin with me….’I am thankful that Christ was born so that we may have peace, healing, deliverance and most of all salvation! When we think we have no choices, God is the God of restoration and peace! Have yourselves a Merry little Christmas and a  Happy New Year !!!!

I love Christmas!

What I love about living on the lake-at Christmas- is that it always feels like you are home. Some people take retreats to stay in a place like this, it does not feel like you are home, some people love that part!

Even on a fierce day, with winds howling, the lake view is always there, the fire warms the room- this lake is too big to freeze.

I love the Christmas tree! One story tells (modern story) was developed in medieval Livonia (present day Estonia and Latvia), and early modern Germany brought decorated trees into their homes, and with the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. Early trees were first decorated with “roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, and sweetmeats.” In the 18th century it began to be illuminated by candles  which were ultimately replaced by lights. Stories are widespread and vary from culture to culture.

I love to decorate a tree and enjoy the feeling of home it renders when it’s all aglow, and all other lights are off. That peaceful setting speaks again, of home to me.  Wherever your heart may be , you can call it home, wherever you can feel the sense of comfort and peace, you can surely call that home. I believe that the peace that fills my heart at Christmastime and always, is the Prince of Peace. No other person, place or thing can put peace in my heart but Jesus; the babe who was born so that I may have this peace and assurance of my life being an eternal one. As a counselor, what messes so many people up at this wonderful time of year, is pain. Pain of the past , pain of lost loved ones, the pain of rejection of others, sometimes just pain that never was healed from childhood . But the place where all those things can not matter anymore to me, is the place of peace in my heart that brings me above all other things and gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling of home. May you find Jesus this holiday season, He came to this earth to bring peace, and He died so that you might live! Merry Christmas everyone!

Autumn-with impending chilly nights and the hint of the inevitable snow in the air,  has never failed to be my most loved time of year! Glimpses of summer memories still held close by- through every sight of a dried up flower bed; to the majestic trees standing by- to say, ” My leaves were quite a wonder to see wouldn’t you say? They may have a new hue these days, but entertain-we still intend to; until every last leaf has fallen into the river bed.” The garden glows of brittle bronze, purple leaves bog shores of ponds……though winter is coming, Autumn is a season that allows a new fresh start, putting away the old, making all things new again, here in Central NY.

He made darkness His Secret Place

Psalm 18:11 He made darkness His secret place ; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

When I saw this sunset, it was as if the hand of God was at the base of the painting… as the heavens painted brushstrokes with the clouds. I thought of this scripture in Psalms He creates all things, all this beauty cries out His Glory. No man came up with this,  a man may replicate this image on a canvass , but he did not come up with it. Behold the beauty of nature and it is ; to me- impossible to say that no one has created it. I enjoy a different painting on the sunset daily and it is always a peaceful reward. Thank you God for all this beauty! Thank you for sharing it with us. 

Summertime ……..Enjoy!