Dazzling winter

Icy sight

Glassy wonder

Chilled delight

Frosty pictures

Prisms cold

Frigid fingers

Try and hold

Unique beauty

Brief and real

Painting smiles

Creating chills

Pretty crystals

Frozen life

Captured beauty

Clear and bright

Life takes moments

Now and then

Holds them tight

Deep within

The glassy seal

That keeps them there

'Neath the harshness 

Of the air

Locks them in

So we can see

That there is beauty

Neath the freeze

Of weather, life

And all it's pain

There is hope

In frozen rain. 

I had a little adventure tonight.  If you live anywhere near the St. Louis area, you know that the weather has been rather frightful out there this December 16th!  It began misting about 3:00 today and by the time I got to my car after work and on the way home, the roads were getting very slick due to temperatures below freezing!  I noticed it even more as I pulled into the grocery store parking lot on my way home.  I had decided to stop and pick up a few things to make potato soup for dinner.  I stepped out of the car and the skating began!  At that moment something inside said, "Slow down, Kim.  All you need are two broken elbows and a face cast!"  

The closer I got to home, the more treacherous the roads seemed to get.  The traffic was moving at a snail's pace by then and people were spinning crossways here and there!  For some, getting home might not have been too bad as long as long as they were going very slow.  I knew my problem would be more than getting to my driveway...we live on a small mountain...you can ask our first time visitors!  :)  The road to the top (which is where we live) is about a 1/2 mile, including switchbacks and straight up-hill driving for the most part.  So...I decided this girl was not going to be the one to slide off the side of the hill by trying to rip up the driveway in one super-hero attempt to skim over a glazed ski-lift-like road!  I opted to park my car at the bottom of the hill where there is ample room for my car and a few others.  (Kinda think someone planned it that way!)  

So...I grabbed my heavy work lap top, 4 bags of groceries and my purse, pulled on my gloves, locked the car and put my head down to begin my ascent to the top of the ridge!  Well...my first step onto the pavement sent me dancing backwards a bit as it was slicker than it even looked!  I was beginning to wonder if I'd be camping in my car!  I walked to the shoulder and decided the leaves and brush were easier to walk on than the blacktop!  Made it up the first major incline, huffing and puffing.  Threw the bags down and realized that if I had a heart attack now, no one would find me because it seemed everyone else was either out or in for the night!  Could it be that I was the only stupid person on this mountain??  

I got to the middle of the first switchback and decided to cut through the woods to the second stretch of road, which I could see - yep, straight up!  Now...walking through Jefferson County woods comes with surprises.  Underneath a thick leaf blanket, large rocks and logs are hard to see!  Sooo....I stumbled all the way to the top, stopping frequently to breath and check my pulse!  :)  

It was good to conquer the woodsy cut-through and stand there on the pavement again.  I knew that if I died right there, at least the hearse could get me out!  One more major uphill incline to go.  After resting a bit, I ditched the funeral home idea and started to ponder whether or not Superman could have accomplished what I just did!  A couple of giggles later, I picked up my "luggage" and lunged forward with new optimism!  Before long I was coming in for the landing, wherein I promptly dropped all bags on the front porch and plopped my panting self onto the porch swing.  I'd made it!  It seemed a flag raising ceremony was in order!

Instead I threw a few pieces of wood in the fireplace, fell into a comfy chair - and said a little "thank You".   That fire was especially nice, even though I was in no shape to take a lot of time to build it!  I'm thankful for little happy endings tonight!

"Hang a shining star upon the highest bow..."  So many have sweetly crooned this beautiful classic Christmas song.  That star, as I celebrate, brightly reflects hope and promise.  As it first guided shepherds and wise men to the Hope of the ages, who came in the form of a baby, so it can still shine in our hearts today as we welcome that same resurrected jesus to be our perfect Hope.  It is interesting how this season can bring such tenderness.  The glow of soft candles and twinkling lights seem to be everywhere.  

Light.  Another representation of hope.  Another glittering reminder of promise.  Friends, we all know there are long, hard nights...but there IS light....and just a small amount can illuminate the darkest places.  One star brought men many miles to find eternal truth.  Hang your star this year and have yourself a merry and hope-filled little Christmas.

It's been a weird December.  I managed to finally haul a little tree home from the local Home Depot Store and decorate it (along with my daughter and grandson) last week.  Finally.  However, besides that one standing bit of "bling", I've had little motivation to deck the halls with jolly or holly.  The cheer seems to be missing, along with the snow and gifts that have yet to be tied up with bows.

For those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, or might be going through illness, battling disease or life circumstances, I seem to somehow understand - just a little - about battles.  Oh, I can't relate fully to anyone else's difficulties or demons, but I can say there has been a large portion of challenge in my life for quite some time.  It's really not the point of this post.

What IS important is that my own circumstances help me to sympathize with another's struggles.  When we suffer, we begin to understand suffering.  When we hurt, we begin to know what pain means and how it feels to bear a measure of it.  Thankfully, Jesus empathized with me before He even brought me into this world.  He knew my name.  He knew about my journey - including its joy and sorrow.  He also had a plan to allow me the benefits of losing in order to win.  He gave me freedom to fail so that I would learn about triumph.  He stood back while I made poor choices so that I could conquer temptations and not keep going there.  He gave me grace when I deserved none.  Love when I deserved condemnation.  Mercy when I deserved death.  He has given me hope when I often choose defeat and destruction.

So...I suppose my pause this season has not been so much about looking into the mirrors of my heartaches, but rather about being positioned to recognize how much I have been given - and forgiven...wanting more of Him to become more a part of me.  Maybe it's about seeing what is important...maybe it's about seeking the real Miracle....???

Just a re-post of a video that was quite a long, but fun project to complete.  Hope if you haven't seen it that you will enjoy!  You can find the blog that I originally wrote with it if you go to the bottom of the page and scroll back a couple of pages through the history.  I'm still learning how this works....but hope to create more in the days ahead.  I hope that in this unsettled world we live in, this can bring a little peace for a moment or a smile for the day!  

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love;

Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!