O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!* Let us kneel down and worship our King! Christmas Joy to you! Love, Diane *The words and lyrics of the old carol 'O Holy Night' … [Read more...]
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory … [Read more...]
I've been thinking about this amazing thing God did.... sending his own son into the world in human form. And what did humanity do? Reject the God of the universe. I'm glad this true story didn't end there. You. Me. God's invited us into his family. We just need to believe in Jesus. God must love us more than we can ever imagine! This Christmas.... Believe! ...In Jesus ...God who became a babe, and then died and paid the price for every wrong thing we have done, and lives again so we can be in his children, … [Read more...]
Looking for a simple, low-cost, out-of-the-ordinary way to add pizzazz to your Christmas decor? And maybe at the last minute too? Try your hand today at making Folded Paperback Book Christmas Trees. It's super easy! My husband says if you can make a paper airplane, you can make these. In his words, "It's like folding the left wing 200 times!" He even folded the three trees gracing the top of my vintage china cabinet here. This post contains affiliate links. To make it even easier for you, I created the.... Folded Paperback Book Tree Tutorial First...check out the … [Read more...]
Christmas stockings. I've been seeing them everywhere. Maybe you have too? People of all ages are hoping Santa Claus stops by with a few treats. Although my husband and I still have our childhood Christmas stockings, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at repurposing a cable knit sweater from the thrift store... into....yes...a pair of Christmas stockings! Karin was my inspiration. She says her collection is approaching 150 and it seems that she may have made most of them. Yes, I'm impressed. And so it seems that I should be able to make at least one, … [Read more...]
Paperwhites! What can be prettier in the dead of winter than live plants sending up beautiful white flowers? Today I'm sharing with you A Visual Tutorial for growing paperwhites for the holidays. Are those just not the prettiest flowers ever? You can pretty up your home with paperwhites too! Here's what to do.... Paperwhites : Easy DIY Holiday Project 1. Gather the following supplies: Waterproof container (I used … [Read more...]
When I can't make sense of the world, or my little world comes crashing in, I find refuge in God's word and in His magnificent creation. Today I offer you a photo of a nearby pasture taken an hour before sunset when the light was pure gold. For me, as I gaze again with both the eye of the moment and my mind's eye, I sense peace. "The peace that passes understanding." I know that peace. It can be found in God and His everlasting Word. Today I really only have a few words of my own. Instead the words I share with you are His Words....Words that will bring each of us … [Read more...]
Recently I opened up the holiday issue of Traditional Home Magazine. As I flipped through pages of gorgeous home decor I came across a lovely table setting. It was exquisite. Beautiful china and crystal and elaborate centerpieces. I enjoyed the eye candy that was presented on those pages. And it inspired me to look at my cupboards and see what I have in a new light. How could I creatively put together a lovely holiday table without going out and spending a lot of money? What a great challenge. Have you taken on such a challenge? It would be easy to whine and … [Read more...]
It's a forest of trees! Okay...maybe I don't have a forest in my home at Christmas. But, seriously, I do love trees....and trimming the house with trees. Especially evergreens....fresh and faux. They don't even have to be decorated. Some have lights, some don't. Though I do love white lights twinkling on trees. Every night before I go to bed, I like to turn off all the lights, except the miniature Christmas lights, and sit in the glow. Do you do that, too? It feels so warm and cozy. This is actually a view of the tree I took while sitting in a chair with my cup of Christmas tea. It's all so … [Read more...]
Welcome! And Merry Christmas!! I'm so pleased that you dropped by for my Christmas house tour. Can you smell the spiced cider simmering? Here, let me take your coat. Please, help yourself to some cider and sweets. Now let's get started. One thing that I always love when I take tours is getting the behind the scenes details. And yes, I have a bit of that for you too. Don't you love those pretty French provincial "screens" I found on the side of the road that grace the front windows so beautifully? Read: Roadside Find: Vintage French … [Read more...]
Many people began the new year with a resolution and a word for the year. Choosing a word seemed like a good thing and so I selected 'intentional' as my word. What's been interesting, is that as the year wore on, another word came to the forefront of my thinking. If you're a regular reader, I'm guessing that you will guess what that word is. Yes, it's 'joy.' As I began decorating my home for Christmas I started adding the word 'joy' to my wreaths and packages. For some time I've been smitten with banners and decided to make one for Christmas. Rejoice seemed to be the perfect word for my banner … [Read more...]
Now....it's beginning to look like Christmas at my house! For those of you who have been following my slow slide into the season of Christmas, you'll be pleased to finally see something here! I am over-the-top happy to have the mantel done. Oh, that's right, I don't have a mantel. I do have a sideboard thanks to my wonderful friend. And I recently splashed it up with that ever-popular Annie Sloan Chalk Paint which I recently talked about. Do you ever notice that when someone says it's confession time, heads turn from tables clear at … [Read more...]
Today I turned over the page on the calendar. A day late. The funny thing is that my life is like that lately. A bit behind. Do you remember my Christmas Decorating Inspiration post last week? I'm here to report....though it was very inspiring...I was having trouble pulling off the decor in the sun room with the vintage blue Ball jars. I love. love. love. those things. They just plain make me happy. But, my sun room is a very small room and lining the jars up on the window sill just didn't seem to work. Yes, they stood there like good little soldiers. Let's just say my ideas … [Read more...]
Today we light the candle of Hope. Advent candles, wreaths, and readings might or might not be part of your Christmas celebration. I didn't grow up with the tradition in my home, but observed it in my church. Some of us love the rituals of the seasons. Others simply embrace the season. For quite a few years I was involved in leading children in worship, and in the liturgy and lighting of the advent candles. I live in a different place now and I serve behind the scenes. But, those memories are tender in my heart. Another memory that is tender in my heart is singing the … [Read more...]
May your weekend be extraordinary! Joyfully, Diane To receive bits of inspiration like this in your inbox or reader, subscribe now. … [Read more...]
This is the first in a very long time that my house hasn't been pretty much decorated for Christmas a week after Thanksgiving. Is your house decorated? My husband brought up one of our trees, so we do have a bit of a start. We plugged in the lights, which fortunately are still on the tree from last year, only to discover that half a string did not light. Phooey. Fortunately, after removing the string, the bad light was discovered and we're back in business. Except I have to re-string them on the tree. Don't you wish you could just wave your wand and magically the lights would be … [Read more...]
Do you take pictures of your Christmas decor? Every year I do. If you were to observe me, you might think I was photographing for a magazine. It really could be a bit amusing, I guess. I did not scrapbook, I didn't have a blog. Yet, I took lots of pictures. It was simply a photo record that stayed in the digital abyss of my laptop. Pretty funny, huh? This year...I do have a blog....and some photos from the past that no one has ever seen. It's really a miracle that I have these. For some reason they ended up in my husband's photo files. … [Read more...]
