A Happy New Year

to you and yours ~

The Children's Hour

Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day's occupations,

That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me

The patter of little feet,

The sound of a door that is opened,

And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:

Yet I know by their merry eyes

They are plotting and planning together

To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,

A sudden raid from the hall!

By three doors left unguarded

They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret

O'er the arms and back of my chair;

If I try to escape, they surround me;

They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,

Their arms about me entwine,

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,

Because you have scaled the wall,

Such an old mustache as I am

Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,

And will not let you depart,

But put you down into the dungeon

In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,

Yes, forever and a day,

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

And moulder in dust away!

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

“Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”  ~ Exodus 18:2

“He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. ”  ~ 2 Samuel 23:3

“‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” ~ Mark 12:30

O Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.  ~ Psalm 95:1-6

A picture on Pinterest caught my eye,

this poem entangled my heart~

1636
Hartwell Homestead

The following was on a panel

behind the door which leads into the house~

" He who loves an old house
will never love in vain;
For how can any old house
Used to sun and rain
To lilac and to Larkspur
And arching trees above,
Fail to give its answer
To the heart that gives it's love."

It has been raining on the coast now for several days. I am loving it, although we are having flooding to occur. Sitting inside and listening to it this afternoon made me wander the web for a rain poem I haven't read. And I found one! By a man known in our state for many good deeds. I hope it touches you as it touched me ~

Souls And Rain-Drops

Light rain-drops fall and wrinkle the sea,

Then vanish, and die utterly.

One would not know that rain-drops fell

If the round sea-wrinkles did not tell.

So souls come down and wrinkle life

And vanish in the flesh-sea strife.

One might not know that souls had place

Weren't not for the wrinkles in life's face.

~ Sidney Lanier

Blessings this joyous weekend~

I love this snapshot.

We were at the beach recently.

Cool, windy, still winter.

Ian walked out and sat down.

I didn't notice it at the time,

but when my daughter posted this

I couldn't help but wonder,

"What is he thinking?"

"How much water there is?"

"How big it looks?"

"How happy he is to be here?"

So many things run through their little minds

and I would love to have asked him,

"Ian, what were you thinking?"

Thank you, Lord, for these little ones

that keep us focused on

how small we are,

how large the world is,

and how magnificent You are.

I love this time of year

Newness of nature

of spirit

and the fact that He arose

He arose from the dead

and He's coming back

for me

for you

Please be ready

What awaits you is what

I cannot wait to return to

"In dreams and in love,

there are no impossiblities."

~ Janos Arnay

"We are all born for love.

It is the principle of existence,

and it's only end."

~ Benjamin Disraeli

Congratulations, Heath & Leslie.

We adore you to pieces.