Nothing changes…

…but nothing is the same.  Today’s repost is from 2007.  Life has shifted in countless ways since then yet my emotions are identical to those I wrote about four years ago.  I still regard the new year with a sentimental glance back at the old.  I’m confident, though, that while my feelings may the same, I am not.   I have grown stronger, bolder, wiser and, yes, older.  And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

How do you feel at the passing of another year?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

https://endofthestory.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/another-old-lang-syne/

Happy New Year, dear friends!

The singing, the jingling, the ring ting tingling…

…not to mention the fa la la la la-ing.  The most beloved hymn of the season may be “Silent Night” yet Christmastime is anything but silent.  For the most part, I love the noise of it all.  From the continual carols to the frenetic hum of the shoppers to the tinkly chime of the Salvation Army bell – the sounds are a familiar, even comforting signal that soon it will be Christmas Day.  Still…I think we’re all bound to have days when we’re just a rum-pa-pum-pum away from losing our sanity.  At the very least it’s easy to lose our thoughts and lose sight of what all of that noise is for.

Today’s “repost” is about the value of silence.  I know there are parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting (or melting for rice krispy treats) and plenty to do between now and December 25th.  But I’d like to challenge you to give yourself time, even if only a few minutes, to get away from the clamor and listen to the quiet.  You might be surprised by what you hear!

https://endofthestory.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/hearing-quiet/

May God bless each of you with the peace He has promised.

Have a very Merry Christmas and keep reading!

You are here!

With less than two weeks to go before Christmas, chances are you’ve spent time recently in a shopping mall or will be headed there as soon as you realize how few shopping days are left!  If you’re like me, you wander through this maze of merchandise and inevitably somewhere between perfume-spritzing elves and sparkly kiosks stocked with trinkets, you get disoriented.  Or just downright lost.  Thank goodness for the Mall Directory, that color coded map of helpfulness with its little red arrow indicating, “You are here.”  There’s something comforting about that sign.  And not just because it can direct me to the place that sells those giant pretzels.

Have you ever had the feeling that no one knows you’re here?  Am I the only one who has ever walked/run/stumbled through a crowded shopping center and felt invisible?  Do you ever wish for someone to recognize, as that directory does, that you are here?  Then today’s repost is for YOU!  Because there’s no better time of year to remind you that no matter how inconspicuous, how insignificant or how forsaken you may feel, you are not unseen.  You are here. And so am I.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish my shopping.  Or at least get a big pretzel.

Click on the photo below for today’s “repost”! 

Take care and keep reading!