 As I sit here nibbling some amazing dairy fudge from the cheese factory near my mom’s house, I can’t help thinking about the varied ways Someone uses to give us a nudge. In my case, most appropriately, via books.
To set the stage: It has been hard for me to get into a consistent writing routine in the months since we moved. I have had fits and spurts, but recently, those spurts were less and less common. Then, a few weeks ago, I read a book which blazed like the proverbial light bulb in my mind. The book in question was a memoir, called Make Something Good Today, by Erin (@ErinRNapier) & Ben (@ScotsmanCo)Napier. They are a lovely young couple from Mississippi who now have a series on HGTV, called Home Town, which showcases their efforts to restore the old homes in their small home town. In the memoir, Erin said she has kept an online journal for years in which she describes positive incidents in their lives. This online journal was what caused them to be “discovered” by HGTV. After reading this, I immediately remembered reading something similar in The Magnolia Story, a memoir written not too long ago by Joanna (@JoannaGaines) & Chip (@ChipGaines) Gaines. Joanna’s consistent blogging about the houses they renovated eventually led to them becoming HGTV sensations and to the huge success they are enjoying now in many arenas. When I read Chip & Jo’s story, I was struck by how simple acts performed diligently (as well as paying attention to spiritual nudges), could generate such enormous professional dividends. I thought at the time there was a lesson in this for me as well, but over the succeeding months, I let the lesson slip away. Then, when I read Erin & Ben’s story, the same message hit me again – even stronger this time because it wasn’t the first time I was hearing it. Here was another example of nice people who worked hard at something they loved and saw it pay off for them in ways they never imagined. So now, I am determined to remember and apply this lesson for myself. I am convinced now more than ever Someone has been trying to tell me that if I keep at my writing and do something each day to move my writing career forward, then I will also see success. So that is what I plan to do in the coming year. There will no doubt be additional celestial nudges to keep me going in the right direction, and I will endeavor to listen to them as well. Which leads me back to where I started this blog. You may be wondering, what does this all have to do with dairy fudge? Well, nothing, actually. Although, perhaps I could use the fudge as another example of how a simple act, done daily, can turn into something good. Really, really good.
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Merry Christmas! Since so many people are busy with last-minute activities in this last week before Christmas, I thought these fun riddles might ease holiday-induced stress. I hope these make you smile, and perhaps you can share them with a young child to keep him/her distracted for a few precious minutes! There are 12 riddles, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas.  Riddle: What's red and white and black all over? Answer: Santa Claus after he slid down the chimney Riddle: When does Christmas come before Thanksgiving? Answer: In the dictionary Riddle: What do elves learn in school? Answer: The elf-abet Riddle: What do you get if you team Santa with a detective? Answer: Santa Clues Riddle: What do you call a snowman in the summer? Answer: Puddle Riddle: What do Spanish speaking sheep say at Christmas time? Answer: Fleece Navidad Riddle: Where does a snowman keep his money? Answer: In a snow bank Riddle: What's at the end of Christmas? Answer: The letter S Riddle: What do you get if you cross Santa Claus with a duck? Answer: A Christmas quacker Riddle: Who delivers Christmas presents to dogs? Answer: Santa Paws Riddle: Why did the Christmas cookie go to the doctor? Answer: It was feeling crummy Riddle: What goes OH, OH, OH? Answer: Santa walking backwards  Merry Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, filled with the joy and blessings of the season.
As we decorated our Christmas tree the other day, I hung an ornament which is an engraved metal tube. Inside the tube is a small roll of paper printed with the text of the famous editorial response to a young girl’s question in 1897. I have always had a fondness for this historical editorial, known ever after as “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” For those of you who might not recall the story, let me provide a brief recap. In the fall of 1897, a young girl, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, was having an argument with some school friends about Santa Claus. Her friends’ claims that he did not exist worried her so much, she decided to write a letter to The Sun, a now-defunct newspaper in New York. One of the editorial writers for the paper, Francis Church, wrote a heart-felt response to Virginia, which was so popular, it became the most reprinted editorial ever. Here is a reprint of Virginia’s letter and the editor’s response:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, VIRGINIA, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance, to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not; but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. "The most real things in the world are those that You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, VIRGINIA, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. [From The Sun, September 21, 1897] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope reading this has helped you discover a child’s faith and joy this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas. |
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