Last Sunset of 2011

2011 has been a great year. It presented many challenges but I feel like I'm on the upswing and, God willing, 2012 will be even better. One of my great joys is photography. I took these photos with my little pink camera while talking with my Mom on the telephone tonight. I thought the sky was pretty although I wasn't able to hold the camera as steady as I would have liked with only one hand. Hope you enjoy the sunset photos anyway! The middle photograph shows that the moon had risen already even though the sun hadn't fully set yet. Happiest New Year wishes dear reader! May God bless you in 2012 and always!

New Year's Prayer Haikus

Photograph by Phyllis W.

  

New Year Haiku I:

Please guide me, mold me

Help me please you more each day

Blessed Lord Jesus.

New Year Haiku II:

Grow Your love in me

Help me be what You desire

Savior of my soul.

It's New Year's Eve. Before bed last night, after prayer time and a bit of thought about the upcoming New Year, I wrote these short poems. I hope they encourage you. 

We don't have to wait for a new year, however, to have a fresh start. As Pastor Joshua Otte says, "Jesus guarantees a fresh start EVERYDAY of the year, not just the FIRST DAY of the year."
Put your trust in Jesus and you can know true peace and joy. More information available here. 

 Happiest New Year wishes to you and may God bless you today, throughout the New Year and always!

Yuletide Hearts - Recommended Reading

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ruth Logan Hearne's Yuletide Hearts over the Christmas holiday. While this recommendation is unsolicited I do need to disclose that the author ran a contest on Seekerville.com and I won the book through that contest (the book was a free gift). Ms. Hearne likes to be called Ruthy and she is a complete dear. She even wrote a personal inscription for me (second photo) and it was such a precious experience to read a book in these loving circumstances. But back to the book. It was a fun to read feel good story about two military veterans who overcome personal challenges to find love at Christmas time. I loved the interspersed quotes, especially the Churchill ones. If you're looking for a cozy Christmas romance book with strong notes of Christian faith, you'll enjoy this book.

Happiest holiday wishes and may God bless you and those you love!

National Christmas Tree Ornament Photos

As mentioned in my previous post, I love seeing the handmade ornaments crafted each year for our National Christmas tree. This year the honor went to California as you can probably guess based on the themes of some of the ornaments. I thought the contributors did a great job and hope you enjoy this little taste of our National Christmas tree's ornaments for 2011. All photos by me.

I wish you a joyous New Year. May God bless you this holiday season and always!

National Christmas Tree Photos

 Photograph by Phyllis W.

  Photograph by Phyllis W.

 Photograph by Phyllis W.

After church on Christmas day we went to see the National Christmas tree again (when we went earlier this month the tree was cordoned off because it was still being decorated). There was a surprisingly large number and wide diversity of people viewing the tree. It was great hearing so many languages spoken together and seeing the hand made decorations on the tree. I hope you had a very merry Christmas and wish you a blessed New Year!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

(Luke 2: 10-14, KJV)

Photo by naygyl from www.morguefile.com

"Grant us, Father, hearts of worship
At this time of Jesus’ birth;
We would see anew His glory
Shine throughout this sin-cursed earth." —D. De Haan on today's Our Daily Bread.

Today we celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday, His coming to earth in human form for the express purpose of saving our souls. Happy birthday dear Jesus!

We are all sinners in need of our Savior. Only by God's grace and Christ's sacrifice can we be saved. Let's praise God and worship Him today and every day. Let the joy of salvation flood through every cell of our beings. God loves us so much! Glory to God in the highest! Merry Christmas to you and may You know His peace and blessing.

Funny Caracal Christmas Photos

Christmas Eve at the National Zoo was full of pleasant surprises. We happened to visit the caracal exhibit shortly after their Christmas gifts were placed in their habitat (a caracal is much larger than a house cat but significantly smaller than a lion). It was fun to watch them open their presents (which contained bloody meaty bones and I spared you those pictures even though the big cats definitely enjoyed their treats).

Hope you enjoyed these funny caracal cat photos. I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! May God bless you!