" ... in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." --- Philippians 2:3,4
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Remember when I mentioned feeding suet to the squirrels in memory of Sally who'd loved them?
Well, for two weeks I did that. Faithfully, even. But then came the morning when I opened the backdoor and ack! Ack! A huge rat leaped through the air from the crab apple tree into the snow.
He'd been nibbling suet.
I mentioned it to Tom and he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Naomi saw 3 rats in the tree. She said it was quite disconcerting."
Gah. Flying rats.
Don't you hate it when important-to-you plans crumble? I removed the suet, walked it over to the trash can and since then, I've fed the birds only tiny bits of seed in their hanging feeder.
Oh, and I forgot to mention Naomi set up 3 (4?) plastic storage bins with straw for the outdoors cats whose clueless owners let them out these icy nights--and well--I think she's stopped feeding them because we've not seen any rats since.
(Yes, it would be nice if the cats ate the rats like in storybooks, but we've seen no evidence of that. And no, we can't call the exterminator lest he kill the cats.)
Now, do I like seeing those storage bins in our yard and front porch? Uh, no, but Naomi promised to shovel snow for us if she can only keep them out there. Since age 7 she's made head-spinning deals I can't say no to. シ
Anyway, most Decembers I'm all, "Every year is a special one with God!", but 2024? Oh dear, I'm leaning toward, "Bah humbug." One disappointment lined up after another to test both my sense of humor and sometimes, my very soul. And yeah, I'm glad it's ending, something I tell you not to say because it can erase from our mind the good stuff.
But I hope you'll allow me this one deviance.
Yet here's what God is telling me: with each disappointment, step closer to Me and concentrate more upon what's going right! And choose good things to do for others in My name. Giving can heal your mind and heart and help others in their journey, as well.
So merry Christmas to you, my readers! Your faithfully reading here encourages me more than you know and may we all in 2025 see many dreams come true as we follow closely to the One who wants to lead our every step.
A truly rich inner life helps cushion the blows of disappointment.
Something else which helps me? Daily over and over I repeat aloud, "I love this life You've given me." I really do, you know, even in the midst of the messy times. I have so much for which to be grateful!
I learned something about my stiff legs: they're most-affected by drops in the outdoors barometric pressure. As long as it hovers around 30 (no matter the temperature) my legs just feel partly stiff. Whew. I can handle that, but will continue to believe for even better.
Oh, and perhaps later I'll hang the suet feeder from a shepherd's staff pole. No way can rats climb that and only a little suet would fall from it. We'll see. (Tho' yes, squirrels won't be able to reach it, either.) We're just waiting to make sure the rats have left for good.
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Some Christmas gifts for you:
We watched The Man Who Invented Christmas and enjoyed it even more this second time.
Kindle Unlimited is offering it's annual 3 months for .99 cents deal.
Here's another booktuber I enjoy: Wandering With Stacy
This set of 12 Christian western kindle books is just .99 cents.
This stained glass book stack lamp is so quirky!
And speaking of quirky, we enjoyed the movie, Bookworm. A small amount of 'language' and the young girl, especially, was remarkable.
This mom and grandma live side by side in tiny houses. First part of 2 and I especially loved the grandmother's use of white Christmas decor.
And this was a cute Lifetime movie, free at Youtube: Christmas Pen Pals.
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Merry Christmas to all my readers with a special thanks to commenters both here and at Facebook!
We all have incredible times to anticipate in 2025!
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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
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