Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 8

Christmas Toy Memories

by Nan Reinhardt

Husband and I went Christmas shopping yesterday, something we haven’t done together in a long time. Usually, I’m the Christmas shopper, which is kinda ironic because I hate shopping. I’m terrible at it, especially during the holidays. I get overwhelmed by crowded stores and too many choices, which is why I tend to shop online mostly. However, yesterday was all about Grandboy and man, did we have fun. Bear in mind that for several reasons, not the least of which is an order fro...

Celebrating Hanukkah

by Jennifer Wilck

Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday celebrating the miracle of the oil and the rededication of the Second Temple after the defeat of the Syrian Empire, feels especially poignant this year. With the state of the world and all the hatred that is so easily spewed online and in the streets, any chance to let a little light and joy into our lives needs to be grabbed with both hands. Since it falls on Christmas, it’s an especially festive time, and easily celebrated with family and friend...

Simple Christmas Celebrations

by Charley Sutton

Holidays in my youth run together sometimes. I head down memory lane to look for that special moment and end up sidetracked to a dozen little memories tucked away in forgotten corners of my mind.

I make my memory sound like a thirty room mansion when I talk about my childhood. There are dozens of rooms up there. One of them smells like a fresh pine tree, and the memories slap you like plastic icicles on the television screen.

That is something you don’t see anymore. Those ...

Music and Simple Pleasures

by D. V. Stone

My husband does The 25 Songs of Christmas on Facebook from December 1st to December 25th. He has 285 Christmas albums to choose from; yes, they are vinyl. Some are 45s, though most are 33. I’m his videographer, and he plays the albums, researches information about them, and then posts them. Because of an injury, and stairs are between him and his collections, I’m the one picking the music. So many songs to choose from. Some are traditional, then there’s the Three Stooges Christ...

Changing the World

by Beth Carpenter

It’s Christmas season again. Isn’t it funny how every year, there’s someone to tell you you’re doing it wrong? You should put up your tree earlier, or later, or not at all. You’re using the wrong greeting. Your decorating standards are too high, or too low. Your gift choices miss the mark. You’re spending too much money, consuming too many calories, and putting too much emphasis on the material, and not enough on the spiritual.

And they’re often right. But I think they’re m...

Hope for the Holidays

by Holly Jacobs

The holidays are a time for family, for joy, for…Hope.

 

I spent a week online talking about Hope. I used to say I was an optimistic person. I believe that things will work out. It’s a blind belief. A trust in the fact most people listen to their better angels. But hope? Hope takes work. It’s a belief that things can be better, that people can be better…if you’re willing to work for it.

 

A friend sent a meme and I don't know who to credit. But I love the imagery. Hope requires...

Small Town Holidays

by Kathryn Hills

It still astonishes me sometimes that I live in a small town in northern New England. I grew up in suburbia surrounded by traffic and crowds. It’s refreshing to live in a place where the only traffic is at my bird feeders and the crowd is congregated at the back door when our four hounds want to go outside. The contrast between where I started and where I am now influences my sweet holiday romances set in the fictitious town of Dickens.

Have you visited Dickens yet? There ...

When Christmas Isn't Perfect

by Roseann McGrath Brooks

This year, I began celebrating Christmas earlier than usual. Most Decembers, I’m a strict adherent to the unwritten rule of no decorations, no carols, and even no gift shopping before Thanksgiving. However, 2024 has been a year of change for me—as an American, an employee, a homeowner, and a writer. Not all of these changes have been bad, but by early November, I needed the, let’s say, “stability,” that Christmas carols and Hallmark movies bring.

While engaging in th...

Christmas In the Kitchen

by Kim Janine Ligon

There are lots of Christmas memories that involve food. Tantalizing aromas wafting out

of the kitchen. I’m the oldest of ten kids and as soon as we each became old enough to

wield a peeler or chopper, Mother put us to work. She didn’t cook anything herself, but

orchestrated the meal through all of us. My husband said she ran her kitchen like a

general planning a battle. I spent many hours working side-by-side with my sisters. My

brothers were on the young end of the line so...

A Good Year

by Amanda Luedeke

Life moves fast. Too fast, sometimes, and it’s all we can do to keep up. We rush through Thanksgiving and then it’s on to Christmas and the New Year, and before we know it three months have passed and all we’ve done is run at a rapid pace.

Sometimes—many times—the best thing we can do is to be fully present as we reflect on the year and what we’ve learned, how we’ve grown. What God might be saying to us. So let’s do just that. 

At this very moment, you are alive and you’re...