Christmas Cheer: THE STAR OF DAVID

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:9-12

The Star of Bethlehem. During the Christmas Season, we most commonly see this used as a treetopper and rightfully so. This symbol of hope was used as a compass by the Magi as they travelled day and night to find the baby Jesus. They had nothing but a radiant beam of light and words of angels to go on. The fath it took to even begin the journey is both comforting & convicting, reminding us to never lose hope in His promises.

A shining promise of the birth of Christ, the star represents the light that was brought into a dark world. As I reflect on the Star of Bethlehem this season, I think about how light has been revealing the darkness in my life bit by bit. It's not always something we enjoy having pointed out. It can make us uncomfortable, emotional, and most importantly, humbled. It's also incredibly healing.

I encourage you to reflect on the light in your life-the blessings, the happy memories, the smells, sounds,and tastes of Christmas. Be moved by the celebration of the Holy birth and let it be a reminder of the places where God has brought darkness to light in your life.

Christmas Cheer: STOCKINGS!

The Christmas stocking tradition began with good ole Kris Kringle.

The tradition of the Christmas stockings began by a story told since ancient time about a kind noble man who had three daughters. The wife of the nobleman expired and the daughters and their father were left in a state of sorrow. The daughters had to do all the work in the house. When the daughters became young and eligible for marriage, the poor father could not afford to give the huge dowries to their husbands.

One evening the daughters, after washing their stockings hung them near the fire place to be dried. Santa Claus being moved by the plight of the daughters came in and put in three bags of gold one in each of the stocking hanging by the chimney. The next morning the family noticed the gold bags and the nobleman had enough for his daughter’s marriage. The daughters got married and they lived happily ever after. Since then children have been hanging Christmas stockings.

Christmas Cheer: CANDYCANE

Minty. Bold. Sentimental. It' the Candy Cane. No sweet treat reminds us of the Christmas season more than the candy cane.

For many of us, the candy cane brings back memories of our childhood Christmases. I always associate my first candy cane encounter with a moonlit sky, an anticipatory crowd and a gigantic, crimson-red fire truck. This describes the night of Black Friday in New Providence. Every year, an event called the Christmas Walk ( now most likely politically incorrect) takes place in our little NJ suburb. And every year, Santa comes, HO-HO-HO-ing his way into the center of town with his round, flubbery belly and velvety bag 'o'tricks.

He ascends into the air via the fire truck aerial apparatus, mouth relaxing into a knowing smile. Reaching down, he scoops 2 large handfuls of miniature red and white confections from his seemingly small sack. There is an uproar from the crowd as it begins raining candy canes. Cheers and clapping and shouting come from below as a sea of hands begin dancing in the air, palms open and ready to receive.

To me, that first candy cane meant the Christmas Season had OFFICIALLY begun. From that night until Santa made his 2nd appearance, the anticipation of Christmas Day had me on cloud 9....and 10, and 11. All the way up to infinity. I embraced the sights, scents, smells, and tastes of the most holly, jolly time of year.

I wonder...who thought up this unique, tasty treat in the first place? Is there a significance to the candy cane that goes beyond making our breath smell good and fingers super sticky?

The Legend of the Candy Cane

Many years ago, a candymaker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus.

He began with a stick of pure white hard candy. The white symbolized the virgin birth and the sinless life of Jesus.

He made the candy hard to symbolize the that Jesus is the solid rock and the foundation of the church. The firmness also represents the promises of God.

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

The candy maker then added red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have the promise of eternal life.

The flavor of mint is similar to hyssop. In Old Testament times, hyssop was associated with purification and sacrifice. It was also used at the cross as they gave Jesus a drink of vinegar before He gave up the Ghost.

Oh Ann Taintor :)

....Thoughts?

Centered YOU (:-)

For all you fitness, movement-crazed people out there, I ask you to take a second and think about what the phrase "staying in shape" means to you. To me, it used to mean "workout hard six days a week so that I burn off all the beer and crap food I ate the previous day/week and then continue that same diet after my butt-kicking workout sesh at the gym".

Wow. My college days. Where the beer flowed like wine and I made sure to chase it with heavy, processed, oily food, my specialty being buffalo wings . While I still indulge those cravings every so often, I have realized that this harsh routine I was putting my body through just would not do anymore. After much reading, research and conversations with my highly informed, truthful acupressurist, i began to understand how the foods you eat affect your body especially while exercising. Going through a stressful period of my life and being riddled by anxiety added to the fact that my body was fighting itself. And the fuel I was consuming wasn't fuel at all. It was time to make a change that didn't involve amping up my reps on the shoulder press at the gym. This time, I would changed my eating habits.

Here is an Antioxidant chart I found on Pinterest, an e-Pinning board that allows you to post and share inpiration with others. It's a wonderful reference for those you looking to add healthy, restorative foods to your diet. Foods that we were meant to eat, that work with your body.


(HealthCastle.com) Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body.





If you are looking to improve your wellness, think about more than just hitting the gym and going an extra 10 minutes on the treadmill. be congnizant too, of the foods you consume. Food can be your worst enemy or your best friend, your poison or your medicine.







.

Goes with yesterday's post...

See previous day's post. This is one of my faovrite pages from it.

Goodnight, never...?

Goodnight, Never...


http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/11/goodnight-ipad/

What could be better than going to sleep by the light of the moon? Why, hitting the hay with radiant beams of digitalized screens dancing and surrounding your bed talking to you before, during and after you've fallen asleep of course! It's not enough to have a nice little, paper-bound childrens' book with a 2-D illustrated layout of a toddler's bedroom. No. That era of simplicity has ended. The time has come to embrace the ever-changing world of gadgets that frequent a young person's world. From IPads to Nooks, to LCDs and eBooks, the bedtime process has become infinitely more exciting yet exhausting.

Ah, remember the days when the nightime agenda went a little something like this: take a bath, brush your teeth, curl with and listen to a story, lights out. Things are pretty much the same, I guess, except that they're not. The most important part of the bedtime process, "lights out", is no longer the norm. Moonlit solace. Turning off the world. Being able to fully embrace and enjoy the nighttime quietude. How can we achieve any state of calm with the constantly invasive nature of hand-held, portable electronics?

Simple. Turn.Them.OFF. :)