Holy Mary, Mother of God

Sea Breeze It is Christmas Eve. It should be called "What I Want For Christmas Eve." The above group is all I want for Christmas. They are my precious family, and I love each one dearly. I spent 21 years just being me. I was in love with a special guy, for four of those years, but for the most part, I existed for my own pleasure. I also was growing in God's grace, but maybe I was too young to understand that. We got married and I became one person with another person, so I wasn't just me anymore, I was two people mixed as one That is what started the above pictures. Two years later we were blessed with our first born, a son, and the rest is history in the pictures above. They are all busy with their own lives and their own ages. Some are adults, some are raising children, one has a girlfriend, some are growing children. They probably don't spend their days thinking about MeMe and Pops each moment of each day. I'll let you in on a little secret-MeMe and Pops think about each one of them each day, many times. We love them all,all of their talents, good looks and just love them because they are ours.

So you may ask, what has this all got to do with Christmas Eve? Well, as a mother, I identify this evening with the Holy Mother, the Mother of Our Lord. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Jesus, the baby, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will be born again this night. His virgin Mother will know the pain of birth and look into the eyes of her first born and her Lord. I can only partly understand. Her son will grow and will hold her in his arms as He goes to the cross to die for the sins of the world. So, sweet Mary, thank you for saying yes to the angel who brought you such unbelievable news that you were favored to be the mother of Jesus. Your son is the Prince of Peace.

Tonight, we will hear the ancient story once again while the candles flicker in the stain of the glass windows and I will see Your face reflected in the ruby red wine as we share the common cup. I will feel your holy flesh as I take the wafer of unleavened bread and I will once again celebrate your birth. I will sing "Joy to the world, the Lord has come." Thank you for my early Christmas gifts of my lovely family. Thank you most of all for the Holy Mother's love for You and Your love for me, a lowly woman who deserves not the love of a King. Merry Christmas. Tonight, as we celebrate The Nativity of Our Lord, I will remember a young woman who gave birth to The Light of the World.

Christmas and Love

Sea BreezesHere we are, close to Christmas, and I was thinking about what will take place in our family on Christmas day. We will go to the midnight mass, The Nativity of Our Lord and then later on in the day, Holly and Patrick will come over and we will share presents and a meal. Oh, I forgot something. When the sun rises, I will be at the farm feeding two horses, one donkey, two cats and one dog breakfast. Our friends, the farmers, will be out of town for a few days, and I love to take care of the animals for them.

Christmas evening will find me back at the farm feeding everyone their dinner. I promised the next door neighbors that I would close their chicken coop up. Now, not in my life have I ever closed up chickens in a coop, but Cheryl assures me, the chickens will walk right in at dusk for safety.

Christmas for me this year will also be about loving my two English Cocker Spaniels.
You may ask, where is loving her family? I will also love my family, but adding some family to help me with the animal feeding will make it even more special. Katie and gang will come the day after Christmas. I will press them into animal feeding service.I am reminded of the song, "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.

This Christmas we wait for the miracle of our Savior's birth. We also wait for a miracle to end my hubbie's unemployment which happened a week ago. I am so glad I have Christ who has taught me to love His creatures, my family and the circumstances I am in. St. Paul said "to be thankful in all things." Our Lord also instructed us to "fear not, I am with you."

I look forward to this Christmas, sending cards, and love, I miss hearing from family members, but love thinking about  how much I love and miss then. I love getting cards and seeing how children and grandchildren have grown. You see, Christmas is about love, and "love casts out all fear." May your Christmas be filled with the love of Christ.

PS I will document the animal feeding with pictures.

Sea BreezesI am still dreaming. Today it is in the mid seventies, a beautiful coastal day. The official day to give thanks is coming up and I am hosting all 11 kids. Funny, I started off alone, and now our family numbers 12 and a girlfriend we all love and hope she will become part of our family one day. We are all busy with our lives and don't live in the same city, but I like to think we share a bond together that we are all in love and prayer for each other. Our five beautiful grandchildren are a source of joy and wonder. We  get pictures via email when we can't be near them or phone calls. I hope you have a wonderful family like we do. We are all in different places in our lives and share the experiences of those places. Grand babies are different ages and activities among them vary greatly. I am thankful for  my precious family. This Thanksgiving, I am going to give thanks for the gift of life.

Random thoughts at 61

Sea BreezesThoughts move through my head like leaves scattering in the fall. I think this is something all writers experience when they are away from paper and pen or computer. I am starting to think of myself as a writer. It is an odd title to give oneself, being as so many people aspire to be a writer. I don't want to have a career as a writer. I have already had two careers, motherhood and teaching. Now that 61 has come about, I can suddenly call myself anything I want to. I am a rider of horses, and a darn good rider. I am a grandmother, which I cherish. I am a wife of 39 years. I am a follower of Christ, I am a writer, I am a dreamer. Today the Glory of God washed over me and for the first time in a long while I feel set free to pursue my dreams rather than count my days on earth.

I will get my work published. I will get my farm and my farmhouse. I will get my pony and ride. I will write about my farm experiences. It is my heart's desire to make others happy, smile, be rinsed with nostalgia, think harder, laugh louder and question. I can do that. God has given me this talent and I do not take it for granted. I am no Thomas Wolfe or Charles Dickens. I am Phyllis Sartin, writer of the simple things in life that we take for granted. My blog has been a great help to me for organizing my thoughts. I wish I wrote in it everyday. Those are my thoughts for being 61. Yesterday, against rules, I dove into the Y pool and was chided by the lifeguard. I apologized, but I explained that I just had to dive into a pool, and I did. I don't think she understood, but then she is 15 and I am 61.

My Daughter

Sea BreezesI have been away from my blog for a while for several reasons. My writing just dried up for a while, my thoughts seemed to be consumed with my job, family and other activities. I wrote in my head but the paper remained blank. Then, my inspiration returned. My husband has starting downloading pictures from the past and my heart jumped into the past years when he presented me a picture of my beautiful daughter at the age of about four.

There she was, my precious little girl, all curly blond hair and loving on her Barbie doll. She loved dolls, my little girl has always been a nurturer. She has always wanted to be a mother. That desire in her was evident as soon as she could hold a baby doll. To this day, she is living her childhood dreams with her own two beautiful children. I wish every woman had a daughter. I love my boys dearly also, but this blog is for those of you who have daughters or are a daughter. You become an extension of your mother. She wants to share the lovely world of womanhood and girlhood with you. She wants you to be strong, tenacious, brilliant, beautiful and also alluring. She wants you to be nurturing, self-confident and endearing.

My daughter Katie is all these things. I recently found a plaque that read "First your daughter, now forever your friend." She may think it sappy, but it says so much now to me. Our relationship now is of two women, two mothers, two wives; although we are different ages, the womanhood we share is a bond. I probably drive her crazy with my repeating of stories, and she drives me crazy complaining about them. But while we have the time to be together on this earth, I will ever remember the picture of a little girl who wanted nothing but to be a wife and a mother.Katie you are beautiful in both these roles.

Joy

Sea BreezesI must share this, although I still find it incredible it happened to plain ole me. I was busy doing housework..you know, toilet cleaning, kitchen cleaning, laundry....and suddenly I was hit, I mean emotionally hit with an overwhelming feeling of joy that started in my core and radiated through my whole body. I began to cry and fell to my knees. I knew immediately it was the Holy Spirit, no doubt. I asked the Lord, "Are you giving me this feeling because I love you so much?" He replied, a" I am giving you this feeling because I love you so much." I feel to my knees there with the ajax in my hand and continued to weep. I felt healing running through my body and a new closeness to God. I called a friend to share the experience with her. She was a patient listener and reminded me I should not analyze but just create a wonderful memory.

I shared with my hubbie when he came home.He listened patiently and tells me that feeling of joy washes over him several times a day. He is the most positive and stress free person I know. Thank you God. Our relationship is growing, which is so special for me.

Sometimes, in hard moments in our life, we have to ask God for His Holy Spirit to wash us with joy and love. He is always by our side. It is we who turn away or think we are alone. Our Lord has promised He is with us always even unto the end of the earth. He is with us at work, play, and rest. Joy is yours as a believer, praise His name with each breath, breathe His Spirit, treat others as they were the Christ.Have a blessed Sunday.

Summer Is For Loving

Sea BreezesI cannot believe I have been too busy to blog this summer.My summer has been wonderful. I have been been riding a beautiful thoroughbred gelding almost every morning, riding bikes for miles and miles on country roads, picking blueberries, making jam, sitting on the beach, floating in various pools, vacationing in South Carolina, playing with my spaniels, laughing with friends and reading so many books I have lost count. The only thing that would have made the summer perfect would be having all my grand babies with me all summer. We will plan that for next summer.

Doing what you love is so important, especially at the grandmother stage of life. I love my friends and family, laughing and talking with them. I love the love my English Cocker Spaniels give me and all the antics they come up with. I love reading along side my husband of 39 years. I love trying to learn to knit, which I also did this summer. I love the soft muzzle of a horse against my face and my arms around his big neck. I love the bray of a young donkey which also I experienced this summer. I love sitting atop a horse and running at break neck speed. I love picking fresh blueberries, organic of course, and eating as much as I pick. I love to hear about what grand babies are doing all day. I love swimming in a pool like a child and hating to get out. I love singing for no one in particular. I love watching the river flow by. I love watching the tide come in.

Do what you love. Love is from God. Cherish this moment. Enjoy the rest of summer. Summer is for loving.