Christmas: Time to Feel the Spirit

Christmas Spirit Dale Evans

Christmas is not [just] a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.  – President Calvin Coolidge

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  – Dickens

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Time to be Aware

Time back tracking: Hezekiah prays for a longer life, and the sun moves backward 10 degrees, for a sign of that promise fulfilled.

Isaiah 38:8b So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees [on the dial thereon] it was gone down.  KJV

Time standing still: Joshua asks God for the sun to stand still to ensure victory for Israel.

Joshua 10:13b  So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down a whole day.   KJV

Fretting over time: “But at my back I always hear / Time’s winged chariot hurrying near. . . “     — Andrew Marvell   “To His Coy Mistress”

According to a recent study cited by Jennie L. Phipps (top 20 weekday activities), many retirees spend most of their time sleeping and watching TV or movies.

Apparently, not everyone hears “Time’s winged chariot hurrying near!”

Mother's wristwatch

Mother’s wristwatch

Time, in Balance:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.    Ecclesiastes 3:1    KJV

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Holy Curiosity: Time to Stay Alive

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.   – Albert Einstein, German-born physicist

Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.     – Eleanor Roosevelt

Time for Blessing

Tiny Time and Scrooge_Final_Shading_300

GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE!     Tiny Tim


Your turn:  How does the passage of time affect you? What are you most curious about? How do you keep the spirit of Christmas (or Hanukkah) alive after the season passes?