Does Frosty look nervous to you?
He seemed reluctant to pose for a picture…Something about needing a break from frightened children, and a union contract infringement… I don’t know exactly.
Although you can’t see it in this shot, I had to hold a curling iron to his back as a convincer.
Hello Schuylkill News readers. Thank you for coming!
Now we can continue a conversation I broached at the beginning of January. (see more below)
If you haven’t read the latest (free) issue of Schuylkill-News, click here to find distribution locations, or do a search for “Schuylkill-News,” on this facebook link, to see the full layout.
On this “January Epiphanies” theme, let’s first reflect for a moment on the quote seen in the article:
“Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: Who can take away suffering without entering it?”-Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)
I encourage you to leave comments, thoughts, questions, or answer in reply to this question I now pose:
*When has someone entered your life or struggles, to help you. Or, when have you done this for someone else? (Anonymous comments are welcome, too.)
*In your opinion, what are some things we learn from these times of surprising grace?
It’s July 25th. Christmas day is exactly 6 months behind us. It seems far away from my mind now. Time has shot by, but the happenings of the day are sort of fuzzy. Every year I hear people say, “I wish the season of Christmas spirit lasted all year.” Or, maybe they even claim it does in their hearts. It does in some ways for me, but the greater reality is that I go from season to season, and at different times certain things stand out as more special. In the summer, I enjoy the outdoors more probably for the simple reason that I spend more time outdoors because of good weather. In the winter, I appreciate my close ties with immediate family and working on my interior life in substantial ways that play out in the months that follow the hard work of that time.
Defining what is the Christmas spirit can be slippery, because each person may hold a bit of a different emphasis. The gift of the Incarnation is celebrated that day, and the love, goodwill, grace, and peace of that event can inspire us to live that out toward, God, others, and hopefully ourselves.
What is the “Christmas Spirit” to you? What of it can play out in July?
What one (or more) thing/s will you do to fill your life with this spirit this weekend?
Let’s try a concerted effort at a Christmas in July experiment for the next day or so, and see what happens.
Thanks for coming by.
