Merry Christmas

Our good friend, Evan, shared this with Mark Christmas morn, and I’m thankful to share…

 

Our Light Has Come

Joy to the world; the Lord is come;

Let Earth receive her King;

Let ev'ry heart prepare him room,

And heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns;

Our mortal songs employ,

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

Far as the curse is found.

 

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness,

And wonders of his love.

Isaac Watts 1719

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 

3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 

5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, …

19  The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

20  Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. 

21  Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.

Isaiah 60

Gray Family Christmas 2024 with Mawmaw at Dolphin Point. 

O Love Divine

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a61xj9D9wp0

Come down, O Love divine, 

seek thou this soul of mine, 

and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; 

O Comforter, draw near, 

within my heart appear, 

and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing. 

O let it freely burn, 

till earthly passions turn 

to dust and ashes in its heat consuming; 

and let thy glorious light 

shine ever on my sight, 

and clothe me round, the while my path illuming. 

And so the yearning strong, 

with which the soul will long, 

shall far outpass the power of human telling; 

for none can guess its grace, 

till Love create a place 

wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Author: Bianco da Siena; Translator: Richard Frederick Littledale (1867)  

Grandmama’s Song

 

“Over the river and down the road to Grandmama’s house we go, 

The truck knows the way 

To take us today

To Grandmama’s house we go!  Ho Ho!”

A few years ago, I started singing this song to Felicity when she rode with me to our house. The singing continued as she grew, and her brother rode along and sang with us, though he mostly listened and sometimes participated in singing the “Ho Ho” tag at the end.  

Today, sadly, they now live farther away, so our time together is not near as frequent and long.  There was a time when they came and lingered for hours in a day with us while their mom and dad worked, or ran errands.  We sorely miss their presence in our home, and we long for the sweet day when they’ll return to visit Grandmama and Grandpapa! 

Thank you, Father, for the memories!

Thank you for their phone call last night!  We so enjoyed hearing their voices and giggles!  

Note: We sing this song to the traditional tune of  “Over the River…”. We’ve traded out names to include Grandpapa.  I hope they’ll always enjoy singing this fun and catchy tune when they have long rides to endure. 

Of course I also sing this song with Addison and Reuben when I pick them up to come visit. 🤗

Trusted to the End

 

"As for His failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end."

Charles H. Spurgeon

He is God. 

He is Unfailing. 

He is Sufficient.

He is here! 

Calvin’s Departure

 

Last week, my Dear Dad’s encouragement from years past returned to counsel me…

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  

a time to be born, and a time to die;…

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:  also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a, 11).

My father’s counsel was not to think less or negatively of events in life, or to think suffering in any way proves God’s lack of love and favor, but that He uses what He wills and ordains to bring good to my life and others.  I’m comforted to know the LORD is always good, and He has many attributes, some of which are holy, unchanging, loving, and wise in ALL He purposes to use and accomplish for my sanctification to conform me to His Son’s image” (Romans 8:28-30). 

I appreciate Matthew Henry’s commentary of Ecclesiastes 3:11-15…

“Every thing is as God made it; not as it appears to us. We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thoughts and cares of worldly things, that we have neither time nor spirit to see God's hand in them. The world has not only gained possession of the heart, but has formed thoughts against the beauty of God's works. We mistake if we think we were born for ourselves; no, it is our business to do good in this life, which is short and uncertain; we have but little time to be doing good, therefore we should redeem time. Satisfaction with Divine Providence, is having faith that all things work together for good to them that love him. God doeth all, that men should fear before him. The world, as it has been, is, and will be. There has no change befallen us, nor has any temptation by it taken us, but such as is common to men.”

This may seem trivial to some, but the LORD has been using the smallest of His creatures and events to discipline my faith and emotions in Him this past week. 

Back in May, our 14 1/2 year old cat, Calvin, began coughing horribly, and sneezing as many as 10x successively .  We guessed he had a respiratory infection, so I took him to the vet.  We were sure a simple prescription of an antibiotic would remedy his condition, and Calvin would return home more like himself again. The vet examined him and did indeed prescribe antibiotic medication for an upper respiratory infection, but also an antihistamine, and an ointment for his right eye because she noticed a small cherry polyp growing out of the corner of it.  The polyp would likely grow.  It could be surgically removed, but it could also grow back.  The most disappointing news she shared was that she believed Calvin had Feline Leukemia or FIV, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.  Both compromise his ability to fight off illness.  She offered to test him to confirm his condition, but I declined that testing since there was little to nothing they could do to reverse or remedy his health. I returned home with him that morn with  knowledge his condition may or may not improve in the weeks and months to come.  I purposed to love him to the end as we’ve always desired to loyally love and care for our pets.  His cough did improve, but the sneezing continued.  He must have scratched the cherry polyp because I cleaned up some blood around his eye soon after that visit, and it seemed thereafter to go away.  

Calvin came to us as a lone 8 week old kitten found under the hood of our neighbor’s truck in early December of 2009.  The children “always wanted an orange kitten”, and even though we already had two cats, somehow we believed the LORD brought this little one to us to keep and care for! 

During Calvin’s earliest weeks and months with us, he enjoyed being loved and played with.  I  enjoyed swaddling and carrying him around in my zipped up jacket while he slept.  It was not uncommon for me to forget he was there and carry him down to the neighbor’s house to visit, because I’d grown so accustomed to him being comfortably secure with me. 

As he grew, he was eventually discovered by wandering cats in the neighborhood.  There was one feral, “Bully Cat” who roamed.  That cat could have actually been his daddy, because he too was orange, but had more white.  This cat challenged Calvin’s territory and once rudely pounced on Calvin while he slept near the front door.   

From that time on, Calvin grew more watchful, and sometimes agitated, as he was oft seen swishing his tail. Later, he became known amongst the grandchildren as our most defensive and irritable “Grumpy cat”, suitably named by Felicity and her mommy. 

Now 15 years later, he has owned his place here in our home.  He was never the only pet, and was among many we’ve enjoyed over the years… 7 cats, 6 rabbits, and I’ve lost count of the parakeets, hermit crabs and fish.   Calvin learned early to have a big catitude, because the Siamese girls,  Maple and Tinker-bell, were here when he arrived, and they were not always fond of him invading  their space.  

As Calvin aged, He trusted very few people, but some of us knew he was also one of the two sweetest and most affectionately lovable rescue cats we had.  Matthew’s cat, Daisy, was THE SWEESTEST!!  

Most recently, in mid to late September, Calvin began showing signs of a pronounced growth on his forehead and behind his right eye. I watched with sadness as the growth caused both eyes to weep and his nose to drain.  He’d wake up with a crusty nose, so he learned to tolerate me wiping his nose numerous times a day with our homemade wet wipes. I gathered him into my lap in the evenings as we read or watched mysteries or movies.  He seemed to enjoy my slow and soothing strokes around his head and neck.  This became our special time together before bedtime at night.  

There were times I feared our time together was coming to a close, but he kept proving me wrong by surprising me with clues he wasn’t giving up fast and easy. His 15th birthday came and went, and I began to think he may not make it ‘til Christmas.  I wanted this for him, for memories sake.  In years past, he and Maple would oft be found curled up under the warm glow of our Christmas tree. 

 

In the early weeks of his “upper respiratory infection”, he stopped eating his canned food.  That was sad, because the highlight of his day was eating “stinky” food before settling down for the night.   For several months, he only ate dry food. 

 

Last week, Calvin stopped eating, and eventually I noticed the growth went away.  It was obviously diminished in size, but I could not be sure it was gone. I prepared myself for the worst, that I may find one morning he’d passed during the night.  That didn’t happen before Calvin persisted one morning to wrangle me over to the pantry as if to tell me he was famished.  I opened up a can of Fancy Feast, and he ate it all!!  I was so happy he licked the bowl clean. He’d lost a good amount of weight, and felt very boney and frail, but he finally ate!!  Several days passed and Calvin ate a can of food each morning and at night, and dry food in between.  He gave me much encouragement he’d linger a little longer with me. 

Then last Monday afternoon, I returned home from visiting with my mom all day, and I looked down to notice the growth on Calvin's forehead had come back with a voluminous presence. 

It broke my heart to see his eye was once again obstructed and his face was very, very swollen. 

I only knew to pray and trust the LORD would comfort him through this affliction! 

Wednesday morn, the day before Thanksgiving, I began the day with going downstairs to check on him.  I found him curled up in his basket, and I noticed he was a little slower to get up, but he did, and he was ready to eat.  I prepared his morning dish and he began to eat. I went on my way with my morning routine, and about an hour later, I noticed Calvin was not in his usual place.  He was hiding.  When I called him, he came out and it was then I saw his right eye was draining a large amount of bloody fluid that had covered the entire right side of his face. He had also begun cleaning himself with his paw, so his right paw was also covered.  My heart broke.  I first retreated to tell Mark, and then I returned with the wipes so I could clean him up.  Calvin was not at first eager for me to clean him, but he slowly settled into my love and care. 

I knew the time had come, and though Mark was not saying it, he comforted me as best as he could and told me it was okay to have him checked out again.   I texted my cat loving friend, Kathy, and asked for her thoughts and advice, and she immediately told me she’d come to be with me.  Her words spoke volumes.  I knew what she was recommending. 

I wept, but wrestled away every bit of reservation and angst I felt about calling the vet to schedule an appointment.  They would see us at 10:30 a.m.

This was not the way I wanted Calvin to leave us, but I knew I could not protect him from or remove the downgrading effects of his affliction.  I was well aware of how we all suffer because of sin, even Calvin! 

While I feel and suffer the silent and empty effects of his departure, the weight of his absence, I am sure it was best to take him.  I tell myself it was no less loving to protect him from lingering through the natural process of his ill health and downgrading decline.

I pray one day I’ll feel more thankful we helped him leave us as comfortably and peacefully as he went to sleep.

We brought Calvin home and  buried him on the back fence of our yard where he always enjoyed keeping a watch over the territory of our yard he enjoyed. 

Sleep sweet, Calvin! 

Singing His Praise

 

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

    and your faithfulness by night…

Psalm 92:1-2

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsoSWYvmwzg

Two Times the Happy Thanksgiving Praises

Praise lies upon a higher plane than thanksgiving.

When I give thanks, my thoughts still circle around myself to some extent. But in praise my soul ascends to

self-forgetting adoration, seeing and praising only the majesty and power of God, His grace and redemption.

Ole Hallesby

This news couldn’t have come on a better day!

We learned two weeks ago that Matt and Grace are expecting.  They surprised us at our Family Dinner gathering as we celebrated the birthdays of Dad and Matt, who share the same birthday.  

Yesterday, they learned they are expecting twins!!

We are SO, SO happy and can only praise the LORD for His magnified way of giving to Matt and Grace this way! 

WOW!!

Two babies to add to our growing family of grandchildren!  I cannot wait to one day hear, LORD willing, their testimonies of His tender compassions and mercies, unfailing faithfulness, and abounding love!

Oh Father, You are magnified this day by Your granting of grace to be sustained in the hearts and lives of Matt and Grace.  They have waited for You, and Your hand has been soo very gracious and generous!!

We trust You will continue to sustain Baby A and Baby B as they grow within Grace’s womb, tucked under her heart for Your safe keeping and perfect provision!  

Father, May You be pleased to glorify Your name by the growth of these two precious babies!  We anticipate watching them grow!

Father, we ask for Your grace with abounding joy be granted to Matthew and Grace as they walk by faith and watch You at work during this season of their lives and Your praise!!

Oh Father, May Baby A and Baby B thrive to one day know You created them to bear Your image alone in this world, and until the day their souls are quickened and perfected by Your very own Son of their eternal fellowship and salvation! 

Matthew shared this praise to our family feed yesterday, and still it fills my heart this morning…

Psalm 28:6-7

Blessed be the LORD!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. 

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

❤️❤️❤️❤️