Third Pause

 Today I'm joining Floss and the other pausers for the third Sunday of A Pause in Advent.

 I'd like to share Colossians 1:15-17:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  

 And Acts 4:13:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled and ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Also, Proverbs 3:3:
Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart.
The real reason that the cheerful carols and the candlelight are soothing and uplifting is Jesus.  The smell of evergreens is the fragrance of Him, His power and His dominion.  We're halfway through December, but Jesus is beyond time and space. He takes our ratty little "selves" and makes us new.  We belong to Him.  That is peace.  

I'm drawn to comforting and cheerful things.  A month or so ago, my mom gave me this gnome holding a bird.  Happy.

I think she gave me this book long ago, too.  When I was a young bride, I liked "dreaming" of making some of the pretty handcrafts on its pages.  I'm pretty sure I didn't replicate even ONE of the suggested festive delights.  Ha!  That's before I realized that the fun is in the looking and the actual making isn't absolutely necessary (feel free to disagree). I probably felt a little guilty, to be honest.

I thought you might like to look at some of the sweet suggestions, too!

See?  Isn't that nice?  I like the earthy 1980's trends.  They remind me of many homemakers I admired (beginning with my own mama who always produced the tastiest food and sewed the finest seams).  My contemporaries at that time were soup-makers and bread-bakers.  They made quilts and also ran organized races and took aerobics classes.  They made their Christmas gifts and they sang carols to guitar music.  I like thinking back to those simple times.  

Now is now.  Yesterday I tied up greens and made these big plaid bows.  I hung a cedar garland by the front door.  I wish you could take a sniff.  Delicious.

It's fun to be invited into bloggers' homes during the holiday, isn't it?  They don't have to scour their countertops or dust the teapots.  They can  take a picture of the important stuff instead.  It's sweet hospitality.  Isn't it?
Have a merry week, nice person.  Thank you for popping by my picture page today.