Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Ramblings

Posted on by

Whew!

A little over a week ago, I had only one Christmas present purchased, Christmas cards purchased but not addressed, stamped, or signed, Christmas letter unwritten, and some ladies’ ministry responsibilities that needed to be taken care of before I could start in on my Christmas things. And when the realization of all that I needed to do and the shortness of the time hit me, I began to panic. True, Christmas isn’t all about the “stuff” that needs to be done — but stuff still needs to be done, especially when you consider most of it a way to minister to people.

And the bad part was….this was unequivocally my own fault. Some of these things had been on my mind to do for weeks. I would think, “Oh, yeah, I need to get to that….” and then use my time unwisely (too often on the computer 😳 ). The worst part was the ladies’ ministry responsibilities. (I don’t say much about that ministry here because I don’t want it to seem as if I am drawing attention to what “I” do — you know all those verses about letting what you do for the Lord be done in secret. I don’t feel that way when other people write about their ministry involvement, and I enjoy reading it, but as long as I have that little feeling that I should refrain, then I probably should.) Jeremiah 48:10a says, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully,” and the NASB translates it, “Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently.” I felt I had been handling those responsibilities negligently.

I confessed that negligence, poor use of time, and selfishness to the Lord and asked for His help and grace to get the things done that needed to be done.

In the past I would often beat myself up with guilt for days and days, but, you know, once you confess a sin, repent of it, ask forgiveness, accept it by faith, and determine with God’s grace and help to rectify the situation and take steps to avoid it in the future, though you still feel bad when you think of the incident, it is really a waste of time to beat yourself up over something God has graciously forgiven you for.

He amazingly, graciously enabled me to get a load of stuff done this week: ladies’ ministry responsibilities taken care of, Christmas letter written, cards signed, addressed, stamped, picture of the boys taken and printed to include in cards, one Christmas package sent out of town and another just about ready, and some gifts ordered online and plans to get the rest this week. And all with a lot less panic and stress than I would have thought. There was one gift I wanted to make (something else that I knew about for a couple of months but just never did get started) that I haven’t done yet, but the recipient has a birthday soon so I may save it for that. I am still trying to decide — I think I may start on it today and just see how far I get. And I was even able to still do a bit of blogging, when I thought I was going to have to barely touch the computer this week.

Isn’t He wonderful?

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth (Psalm 86:15).

Loving others

Posted on by

Last night’s reading from Joy and Strength by Mary Tileston was both convicting and encouraging:

These things I command you, that ye love one another.
JOHN 15:17

YET habits linger in the soul;
More grace, O Lord! more grace!
More sweetness from Thy loving heart,
More sunshine from Thy face!
–Frederick W. Faber

IF thy disturbance of mind proceeds from a person who is so disagreeable to thee, that every little action of his annoys or irritates thee, the remedy is to force thyself to love him, and to hold him dear; not only because he is a creature formed by the same sovereign hand as thou art, but also because he offers thee an opportunity (if thou wilt accept it) of becoming like unto thy Lord, who is kind and loving unto all men.
— Lorenzo Scupoli

The habit of letting every foolish or uncharitable thought, as it arises, find words, has a great deal to do with much evil in the world. Check the habit of uttering the words, and gradually you will find that you check the habit of thought too. A resolution always to turn to some distinctly good thought when a complaining or unkind one arises in the mind, is a great help–as it is to turn every thought condemnatory of our neighbor into a prayer for him. We never can long continue to dislike people for whom we pray.
— H. L. Sidney Lear

Mary’s virginity

Posted on by

A few days ago I was reminded about a sermon my former pastor, Dr. Mark Minnick, preached some years ago from Matthew 1. There has been some controversy over the use of “young woman” rather than “virgin” in Matthew 1:22 in some versions, and I’m sorry I can’t remember exactly what Dr. Minnick said about that. But what I do remember is that there is evidence of Mary’s virginity all through that passage and the other gospels besides just that one word.

I am going by memory and a few notes in my Bible: Pastor Minnick’s message would have been much more eloquent! 🙂 Any mistakes here are mine, and I may have forgotten some of the points he made, and of course he would have elaborated all of these points.

Evidences of Mary’s virginity before the birth of Jesus:

1. In Matthew 1:16, “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ,” the phrase “of whom” in Greek is feminine and refers back to Mary. That and the way this birth is worded differently from all the “begats” in the verses before it point to Mary’s virginity.

2. Mary’s reaction to the angel’s announcement that she was to bear the Christ child: “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34)

3 and 4. Matthew 1:18: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

5. Joseph’s reaction: he knew Mary’s child wasn’t his: “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily” (Matthew 1:19).

6. The angels pronouncement to Joseph: “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21).

7. Prophecy: “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:22-23).

8. Joseph did not “know” Mary in the Biblical sense as is wife until after Jesus was born: “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS” (Matthew 1:24-25).

Just to make it clear that I am not going to the other extreme, I do not believe Mary was a perpetual virgin forever. The last verse mentioned indicates that Joseph did “know” Mary as his wife some time after Jesus was delivered, and later passages refer to Jesus’ brothers.

See also:

Christmas Devotional Reading

Ten free gifts for Christmas

For God so loved that He gave…

Mary’s Dream

If I were a goose

Christmas quotes.

Christmas funnies or jokes #1 and #2.

The Primary Purpose of a Home.

The Perfect Christmas

Christmas Grief

Mary’s Dream

Posted on by

(Author unknown)

I had a dream, Joseph.

I don’t understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our Son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought new clothes. They’d gone shopping many times and bought elaborate gifts. It was peculiar, though, because the presents weren’t for our Son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree, Joseph, right in their house. They’d decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on the top of the tree. It looked like an angel might look. Oh, it was beautiful. Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not our Son. I don’t think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name. Doesn’t it seem odd for people to go through all that trouble to celebrate someone’s birthday if they don’t know Him? I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration he would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus – not to be wanted at His own birthday celebration. I’m glad it was only a dream.

How terrible, Joseph, if it had been real.

See also:

Christmas Devotional Reading

Mary’s Virginity

For God so loved that He gave…

Ten free gifts for Christmas

Christmas quotes.

Christmas funnies or jokes #1 and #2.

The Primary Purpose of a Home.

If I were a goose

The Perfect Christmas

Christmas Grief

“If I were a goose”

Posted on by

(Author Unknown)

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. “That story is nonsense!” he said. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!” So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew aroundthe field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on. Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn.

Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. “Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?” He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn–and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!” Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese–blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized.

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: “Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!”

Let the spirit of Christmas begin in your heart.

See also:

Christmas Devotional Reading

Ten free gifts for Christmas

Mary’s Virginity

For God so loved that He gave…

Mary’s Dream

Christmas quotes.

Christmas funnies or jokes #1 and #2.

The Primary Purpose of a Home.

The Perfect Christmas

Christmas Grief

“A child learns self-denial”

Posted on by

That is the title of today’s devotional from Back to the Bible’s series made up of Elisabeth Elliot’s writings. I highly recommend this one. I highly recommend most of her writings. 🙂 But this especially speaks to some issues involved in raising children.

I was especially struck by the thought that in Bible times, women did a lot of hard and time-consuming tasks and probably didn’t have a lot of time for sitting in the floor and playing with their children. I am sure they did to some extent, and, as a young mother, I enjoyed those playing times, but there was a constant struggle and fighting off guilt for not doing that more. But, truly, as we go about our daily tasks and include our children and interact with them all through the day, we’re having an influence on them, teaching them, building our relationship with them, and using opportunities in everyday to teach them about the Lord.

It was also a rebuke and a reminder to include them. When they were little and “Mommy’s shadow,” that just happened by necessity. As they got older I’m afraid I would often shoo them off to play so that I could work more efficiently. But even still I enjoy the fellowship of working together as well as playing together.

Christmas Devotional Reading

Posted on by

IMG_1233

As I did for Thanksgiving, I want to take the next few weeks leading up to Christmas and post several things — anecdotes, quotes, jokes, poems, prose, etc. — related to the holidays. I have been writing and compiling what started out as a newsletter but ended up as a 12-16 page booklet for our ladies’ group at church for six years now. I love it: I think it is my favorite ministry. Usually some part of it touches on the holiday or season at hand, so I have collected a lot of things in my files over the years that I would like to share with you.

Should Christians Abandon Christmas? Sinclair Ferguson makes some great points.

The highest priority in Christmas reading, of course, is the Bible itself. Here are a few Advent Reading Plans.

I’ve already posted one of my favorites, a Christmas-based I Cor. 13. I think I need to read that at least once a week in December. Today I want to list some excellent Christmas devotional reading.

I loved this Story Behind Longfelllow’s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Elisabeth Elliot is one of my favorite people for many reasons. I received her newsletters for many years and hated to see them discontinued. Some of the Christmas-related thoughts from those newsletters stood out to me (Update 11/5/2020: The Elisabeth Elliot.org site has undergone a complete overhaul. These no longer link directly to the newsletter, but the newsletter can be downloaded from the site):

Christmas Is a Thing Too Wonderful
The Mother of the Lord
Christmas on a Bed of Pain
Crowned Because He Suffered
The Lord: Hidden, Weak, and Helpless
Do You Believe in Santa Claus? (second page)
The Nativity (second page)
Joy to the World
An Unusual Christmas Celebration
A Quieter Christmas (second page)
How Much Is Enough?
A Silver Star in a Cave (second page)
Little Mary (Scroll down)
Are Christmas Trees Okay? (Scroll down)

The holidays can compound grief for those who have lost loved ones during the year. The Most Difficult Time of the Year: How to Love Grieving Parents at Christmas had much good to say. I wrote about my own Christmas Grief due to the loss of both parents, my grandmother, and a friend during different Decembers.

This post is about not forgetting older loved ones, but it has some gift ideas for the elderly: Remembering the loved one who has forgotten you.

Finally, the morning and evening readings from C. H. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening have stayed with me for years.

Here are some devotional thoughts from others that I have posted:

Ten free gifts for Christmas

For God so loved that He gave…

Mary’s Dream

If I were a bird

Christmas quotes.

Here are a few of my own Christmas posts:

God With Us

Not the Messiah They Were Looking For

Not the Savior They Were Looking For

Mary’s Virginity

The Perfect Christmas

There is no one right way to celebrate Christmas

Celebrating His Coming by Neglecting His Presence

Tips for “Managing” Christmas

Christmas Lights

Packing Up Christmas

And just for fun:

Christmas funnies or jokes #1 and #2.

Christmas Traditions Meme

A New Christmas Meme

If you’re looking for book-length Christmas devotional reading, some that I have enjoyed are (linked to my reviews):

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus:Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas, compiled by Nancy Guthrie

From Heaven: A 28-Day Advent Devotional by A. W. Tozer

Gospel Meditations for Christmas by Chris Anderson and Joe Tyrpak, and Michael Barrett

Joy to the World by C. H. Spurgeon

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent by Nancy Guthrie

Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation by Joel R. Beeke

A Christmas Longing by Joni Eareckson Tada

The Women of Christmas: Experience the Season Afresh with Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna by Liz Curtis Higgs

Happy reading and meditating!

(Updated 11/17/21)

Between a rock and a hard place…

Posted on by

…or between the devil and the deep blue sea, as the sayings go. My morning Bible reading today covered Exodus 13-14, wherein Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egypt only to get caught between the Egyptians, who decided not to let them go after all, and the Red Sea.

One part of the passage that has always intrigued me is Ex. 13:17-18a: “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea.” God knew that going that particular way would be too much for the Israelites, even though it was the nearer way. I wonder, when we get to heaven, if there will be opportunity to look back over time from a glorified perspective and see what God spared us from that would have been too hard for us to deal with which we had no idea of at the time. This is a perfect illustration of I Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Look where the “way of escape” led them, though: right into the encampment by the Red Sea where Pharoah and his armies could hedge them in. Yet, since God led them away from a situation that would have proved too much for them, it stands to reason that this would be a trial of faith they could face and not fail.

I’m not a fan of the saying “God won’t give me more than I can handle.” I guess there is a sense in which it is true, based on I Cor. 10:13. But I would modify it to say that God won’t give me anything I can’t handle without His grace. Very often I find that He does put me in situations too big for me so that I have to lean on Him for help, because there is no other way to handle it.

In Exodus 14:4, God reveals one of His reasons for sending Israel for that particular spot and for sending Pharoah after them: “I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” That phraseology comes up often in Scripture: that he may know, that they may know, etc. I’ve thought it would make an interesting study some time to look up those phrases or make note of them as I’m reading through the Bible. All throughout the plagues of Egypt God was making known to them that their gods were no gods, that He was the only One — several of the plagues involved something that the Egyptians worshipped (one was the sun, and God showed His power over the sun by making it dark for a few days, etc.). It was not cruel for Him to do so: it was a mercy, so that they would see that they were trusting in something untrustworthy and would see that He is the all-powerful trustworthy One.

One of the many reasons God allows trials in our lives is so that others might see His power and grace. The blind man mentioned in John 9 was born that way so that “the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Elisabeth Elliot touches on this principle in a devotional titled “The World Must Be Shown.”

Sometimes when we find ourselves in those tight places, our first thought is to wonder, “Did I do something wrong?” If not, then we often wail, “Why is God doing this to me?” There may be many reasons: He may be pruning us to bring forth more fruit (John 15:2); to humble us and show us His sufficiency (Deuteronomy 8:2-3); to teach us patience, endurance, hope (Romans 5:3-5); to show us the insufficiency of whatever we are trusting in instead of him….or it just may be that someone within our sphere of influence needs to be shown something about God through our experience.

In Israel’s case, there are many indications throughout the preceding chapters and this one that some of the Egyptians were beginning to understand who the one true real God was. But the Egyptians weren’t the only ones. “And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (Exodus 14:31). It happened in Job’s life as well: Satan was shown something about God and about genuine faith, and so were all of the people through the ages who have read Job’s story. But Job himself learned more about his God through the process as well. That happens with us, too — many people testify that through some fiery trial they got to know their God better and drew closer to Him.

Whatever trial we are going through, we can trust that God has allowed it for a purpose, and that if He allowed it, He will give us the grace to get through it, He will provide, He will lead, he will manifest Himself to us and to others who may be part of the process.

A book review and a bit of a rant

Posted on by

Lynn Austin’s A Woman’s Place was not on my fall reading list — I don’t think I have read anything of hers before and was unaware of this book until a few weeks ago when I saw it on the shelf of our local Christian bookstore. It caught my eye, but I bypassed it a couple of times before finally deciding to give it a try. It’s the story of four women who, for various reasons, find themselves working at a shipyard during World War II. I don’t want to give away many of the details and spoil it for those who might want to read it, but it covers a lot of ground for one book: the individual stories of each of the women and how they came together, the negative attitudes toward women in the work place, the fate of the husbands, brothers, family members, and friends fighting overseas, the resistance to African-American workers, and journeys of faith. Overall the story was good and I learned a few things I had not known about that era in time.

There were two elements of the book, though, that disturbed, saddened, and frustrated me — it especially disturbed me to find them in Christian fiction from a Christian author.

The first was the demeaning attitude towards housewives. To be fair, I do understand that in a work of fiction the characters are going to hold to and espouse views that are not the author’s and that that provides some of the conflict and plot development in the book. I’m sure that the issues raised were ones that were discussed many times over by people in those situations at that time (and they still are being discussed today). Yet this attitude was presented over and over by most of the characters in many situations, with the phrase “just a housewife” being used over and over, the attitude that one could not be fulfilled or find herself by being “just a housewife,” the attitude that there were many occupations worthier and more important than being “just a housewife.” There was only one female character who had anything positive to say about being “just a housewife” and who viewed it as a ministry of loving God and others.

In all honesty, I hate the term “housewife,” because I am not married to my house. I prefer the word “homemaker” because that is what I see as my first ministry: making a home for my loved ones, a home not just in the physical sense of cleaning and cooking (though that does make up the bulk of the work), but a home where my loved ones can find respite, where they can be nurtured and can grow. Realistically, no, it’s not always romantically idyllic, and, yes, there are moments of drudgery. I think many homemakers do have times of feeling unnoticed and unappreciated as Ginny did in the book. But I think that occurs in any occupation. I don’t think the only solution to that is to go find something more “important” and “fulfilling.” I think the solution is to do everything, even the most humbling tasks, as unto the Lord, to find ways to incorporate beauty and creativity and mental stimulation into everyday life, to reach out to others and find ways of ministering. I wouldn’t say that no Christian wife and mother should ever work outside the home. But I do find my God-given role as a wife and mother both important and fulfilling.

The second recurring theme that bothered me was the defiant, argumentative “standing up to” people, especially people in authority. Now, again, I want to be balanced: I do believe in standing up for what one believes, standing up against injustice, etc. Near the end of the book one of the characters, the wife of a rather domineering and authoritarian husband, says, “The Bible says I must honor you, and I always have. But that doesn’t mean that I must always agree with you. And it doesn’t mean that I can’t tell you what I think.” I do agree with that. But I don’t agree with the spirit that manifested itself in many characters and situations in the book. I think it was wrong for Ginny to defy her husband’s wishes by continuing to work. It’s not that I objected to the plot line, but it bothered me that everyone, even the professing Christians, encouraged her to do so. I’ve been taught that wifely submission is not just the idea that “If push comes to shove…,” “If he insists…,” “If he makes me…, ” then I have to do what he says, but rather it is a voluntary arranging oneself under the husband’s leadership. The only time I could see Biblical justification for a wife to outright defy a husband’s wishes would be if a Scriptural principle were involved (Acts 4:18-20). Again, if this just came up in this one plot line, it would be one thing, but this “standing up to” people with a defiant attitude came up so often it seemed to me to be a theme rather than just an individual plot line.

Those are my impressions, having just finished the book this morning.

I Corinthians 13 applied to Christmas

Posted on by

Someone sent this to me a few years ago right when I was in the midst of a pressure-filled week, and I am ashamed to say I did not receive it well. I want to start out this Christmas season with these thoughts at the forefront:

1 CORINTHIANS 13 – – A CHRISTMAS VERSION –

By an unknown author

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

See also:

Christmas Devotional Reading

Mary’s Virginity

Ten free gifts for Christmas

For God so loved that He gave…

Mary’s Dream

If I were a goose

The Perfect Christmas

Christmas Grief