How I See Christmas

How I See Christmas

My childhood eyes saw Christmas as a shiny red bicycle.  Oh my, that was a special bike. 

A few years later, my eyes saw Christmas as a much-wanted new sweater.  I wore that sweater everywhere that winter. 

Some years later, I saw Christmas as a book I longed to read, a new pair of slacks, new shoes. 

Last year, I saw Christmas as a new commission on life.  I survived heart bypass one week before Christmas day, and I was most thankful for just being here. 

How do you see Christmas? 

Is it just another season to get through, or is it a sad time because of missing someone who is now gone?  Is it a time for finding joy, listening for the rustle of wrapping paper and the surprises awaiting to be found?

Is it the extra food, the extra pies, cakes, candies? 

Is it the music tailored for the season? 

I hope you see Christmas in ways that are new and fresh for your heart and mind.  I hope you see joy, experience joy, and hear the “love” expressions.

I hope you find deep satisfaction this year.  Even if it is for the fact that you survived one more year. 

Look for Christmas in all the right places.  See Christmas in all the right places.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Words of Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Searching for the Perfect Gift

Searching for the Perfect Gift

We’re still over a month away from Christmas, and yet today I asked CB about her Christmas wish list.  We gift-givers want our efforts to be rewarded with joy and a smile. 

A Story:

Such was the case for Joshua.  He was eight and poor.  He attended an event one night for which he was woefully unprepared.  He showed up in his best rags of clothes, and his drum.  It wasn’t much as drums go, but my goodness, how he could make that drum talk. 

You see, he followed some sheep herders to a small barn and was witness to the birth of a baby.  The parents of the baby – well, they were poor also, it appeared.  There were little enough warm clothes for them and for the baby. 

“If only …” thought Joshua.  To finish his thought, his ‘if only’ was a wish and a prayer to do something warm and comforting for this family, especially the newborn baby.  But what?

The shepherds kept him toward the back, out of the way, but this grew tiresome, and he had an idea.

He broke free from the shepherds and approached the mother.  He bent down and whispered in her ear.  The man, her husband, was busy in another corner of the barn and didn’t notice what was happening. 

And then he played his drum.  It was a soft rat-a-tat-tat, and he played it so very skillfully. 

You see, he was willing to lay down the only earthly treasure he had, and played his drum for this newborn baby.  He gave what he had at hand.

Now, you know this is a make-believe story based on The Little Drummer Boy.  But what’s at the heart of it all is this … we’re never empty handed when we stand before God in the manger, or in life.  We offer what we have.  We give whatever is ours to give.  And we do it willingly.

The odd and obscure become moments of grace and glory when offered with a loving heart.

I hope we all remember that in these beginning days of this Christmas season.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Words of Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Two Essentials - Brains and Feet

Two Essentials – Brains and Feet

Good ole Dr. Seuss.  He comes through again and again.

Take this picture for instance …

You’re a smart person, and you already know the answer.  The answer is …

YOU CHOOSE!

How great is that?

I’ve used this story before, and it fits here, again.

Twin brothers grew up with the same drunken father.  The father knew no restraints in anything in life.  He drank to excess.  He beat his boys.  He was a mean and unhappy man.

As the boys grew up, one became a drunken specimen like his father.  His habits and lifestyle mimicked what he was exposed to.

The other twin became an up-standing citizen.  He was a teetotaler, a well-disciplined man and a good citizen of his community.

Later in life, after their father died, both boys were asked the same question as to why they had turned out the way they were.

They BOTH gave the exact same answer. 

“With a dad like I had, what would you expect.”

I’m gonna let that set in for a while.  Now, you get to figure out some things in life.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Words of Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration