Merry Christmas and a Bright, Blessed New Year!

 “This glorious word Emmanuel means, first, that God in Christ is with us in very near association. The Greek particle here used is very forcible, and expresses the strongest form of ‘with.’ It is not merely ‘in company with us as another Greek word would signify, but ‘with,’ ‘together with,’ and ‘sharing with.’ This preposition is a close rivet, a firm bond, implying, if not declaring, close fellowship. God is peculiarly and closely ‘with us.’”

~Charles Spurgeon 

Sitting here thinking of you and how quickly time will get away from us in these last few days before Christmas. It has been such fun visiting your blogs and homes during December. I always think that Christmas Time should be perfect; it never is. This December has had some heartache as I know it has had for many of you. Whatever the burden, whatever the sorrow, it is the reason He came. He will save; He will rescue; He will comfort. All one has to do is ask. 

Comments are closed. No one has time for that! 🙃

See you in the New Year, The Lord willing and the creek don't rise. (Flood watches all over the place in my corner.) You take care now...

Love,

Vee

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Hodge Podge

 Many thanks to Joyce for this week's Hodge Podge questions. 

1. The Hodgepodge lands on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. 

Have you visited the memorial? no

Any desire to do so? If I could be translated without the headache of travel, yes. 

Have you visited other WW2 sites and memorials? yes

Do you think we do a good job of teaching current and younger generations about the events of WW2? Highly unlikely...when I taught high school American history, I realized that the year was never long enough to get to WWII so I began teaching history from the present to the past. I was able to get back to the Civil War. Many parents thanked me for the unique approach and the students were relieved being taught something "new." One of the more shocking things we learned about WWII was that many Jews were turned away from entering the United States even though they had all the required papers and passports. You can read more about that *here.*

Do you think it matters? yes

2. Many books, both fiction and non-fiction have been written with WW2 as the setting. Is this a 'genre' you gravitate towards? not necessarily 

Share with us a book (or two) you've enjoyed that is set in some way around WW2. If you're not a reader, how about a movie?  .🎥The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 🎥Tora Tora Tora was the first and only movie my family saw in a theater when I was growing up. My father felt that it was important. Whether what was presented was 100% true, I don't know. The 

3. According to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, there are seven popular color trends for the holidays this year. They are- red and white, Victorian blue, pops of pink, rich shades of green, rainbow hues, black and white, and nostalgic retro colors. Are you 'trendy' when it comes to holiday decorating in 2022? I hope not. 

How so? Oh-oh! A careful look at my wee tree in an antique trunk reveals that my colors are mostly red and white so I may have to rethink my disdain for trendy. 

Does your tree have a 'theme'? Now that would imply careful thought and planning — nope! 

4. What's a current trend you buck? I like to think that I buck most trends. 

5. What's your favorite chocolate something? A molten lava cake made in a crockpot served with vanilla ice cream is so delicious. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. My best random thought is this: Sparkle on! We who have invited Christ into our hearts have every reason to rejoice! 

I Christmas shopped all day yesterday with my sister. Fun! I followed Susan Branch's advice to "Be an Elf."

This means washing my face dressing up, putting on some make-up, and trying to get my hair to cooperate. It also means finding my mother's poinsettia pin to wear on my coat. Plus I worked on smiling a lot. My face aches today. ツ Thanks for reading! You deserve a prize.

Love,

Vee