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Thursday, December 21, 2017

"Santa's Christmas Story"

  

Just a week 
before Christmas
I had a visitor.  This is how it happened. 
 I just finished the household chores for the night
and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house.
I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa, himself, 
stepped out from behind the Christmas Tree.
He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out.
"What are you doing?" I started to ask.
The words choked up in my throat, and I saw tears in his eyes.
His usual jolly manner was gone.
Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.
He then answered me with a simple statement.
"TEACH THE CHILDREN!"
I was puzzled; what did he mean?
He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement
brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.
As I stood bewildered, Santa said,
"Teach the children!  Teach them the olde meaning of Christmas.
The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten." 
Santa then reached into his bag and  pulled
out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle.
"Teach the children that the pure green colour 
of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, 
depicting the everlasting Hope of mankind, all the needles point Heavenward,
making it a symbol of our thoughts turning toward Heaven."
He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR.
"Teach the children that the star was the Heavenly sign 
of Promises long ago.
God promised a Saviour for the World,
and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."
He then reached into his bag
and pulled out a CANDLE.
"Teach the children that the candle symbolizes
that Christ is the Light of the World,
and when we see this great light  we are reminded of 
He who displaces the darkness."
Once again he reached into his into his bag and removed a WREATH
and placed it on the tree.
"Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes
the real nature of Love.
Real Love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."
He then pulled from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF.
"Teach the children that I, Santa Claus,
symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December."
He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF.
"Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality.
It represents the Crown of Thorns worn by our Saviour.
The red holly represents
the Blood shed by Him."
Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said,
"Teach the children that God so loved the World that He 
gave His only begotten Son..."
"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift.
Teach the children that the Wise Men bowed before the Holy Babe
and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
We should always give gifts in the same Spirit 
of the Wise Men."
Santa then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE 
and hung it on the tree.
"Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook.
The crook on the staff helps to bring back 
strayed sheep to the flock.
The candy cane is the symbol that we are are brother's keeper."
He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL.
"Teach the children that it was the Angels
who heralded in the glorious news of the Saviour's birth.
The Angels sang,"Glory to God in the highest, 
on earth Peace and Good Will toward men."
Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound,
and from his bag he pulled out a BELL.
"Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell,
it should ring mankind to the fold.
The bell symbolizes guidance and return,
Santa looked back and was  pleased. He looked back at me,
and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes.
He said,
"Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas
and do not put me in the centre,
for I am a humble servant of the One that is,
and I bow down to Worship Him,
our Lord,
our
God.

<<+>>

~ Unknown


~ Merry Christmas!

~Beannaichte'
 21 December, 2017

@beannaichte.twitter.com 


 ~ May you know the Peace and Light of this Blessed Season,
and the Hope and Love which surrounds each one of you.
~Beannaichte'! 

Sunday, October 29, 2017

" Strange Angels and Sleeping Giants"

   
       ~ Drum sounds rise on the air,
and with them , my Heart.
  A Voice inside the beat says,
I know you are tired,
but come,
This is the Way.
~Rumi



        Over and over, we are broken on the shore of Life. Our stubborn egos are knocked around, and our frightened Hearts are broken open- not once, and not in predictable patterns, but in surprising ways and for as long as we live.  The Promise of being broken and the possibility of being opened are written into the contract of human Life. Certainly, this tumultuous Journey on the Waves can be tiresome. When the Sea is rough, and when we are suffering, we may want to give  up Hope and give in to despair.  But brave Pilgrims have gone before us.  They tell us to venture forth with Faith and Vision.
       May you listen to the Voice within the beat even when you are tired.  When you feel yourself breaking down, may you break open, instead.  May every experience in Life be a door that opens your Heart, expands your understanding, and leads you to Freedom.  If you are weary, may you be aroused by Passion and Purpose.  If you are blameful and bitter, may you be sweetened by Hope and Humour.  If you are frightened, may you be Emboldened by a big Consciousness far Wiser than your fear.  If you are lonely, may you find Love, may you find Friendship.  If you are lost, may you understand that we all are lost, and still we are guided- by Strange Angels and Sleeping Giants, by our better and kinder Natures, by the vibrant Voice within the beat.  May you follow that Voice, for This is the Way- the Hero's Journey, the Life worth Living, the reason we are here.

~Elizabeth Lesser
U.S.A.

~Beannaichte'
29 October, 2017

@beannaichte.twitter.com 

Friday, October 20, 2017

"Genius"


~ Genius

is

Born

Not

Paid.


~ Oscar Wilde
Ireland


~ Beannaichte'
20 October, 2017

@beannaichte.twitter.com

Monday, October 9, 2017

"Dovetail"

~The Future has an Ancient Heart.
~Carlo Levi 

                                   

     The Seasons have once again, Dovetailed                    
Summer and Autumn join their place in the circle 
The Harvest Moon blesses their union with  her lantern   
The stars join in the Autumnal Celebration
A Season that is authored by the Great God 
A time that is meant for the weary  Heart
The loyal and transparent Heart-
One that is true.

The Sky is open and incredibly vast on the Plains
 There is seemingly  no beginning and no end
The Horizon has no boundaries 
Freedom is part and parcel of this Land
 A simple understanding remains; a resolve to respect 
That which is ancient-
That which is true.

The Nights have become much cooler
The air heavy with scent and sound of Harvest
Crops await  to be sheared by massive steel blades
  Harvesting  that which was born of seed, soil, sun and rain, 
 Nurtured by callused hands
 Simple prayers, baptized in sweat-
Tried and True. .


Autumn is a time for work and reflection
Before Dovetailing with the next season
The Circle embraces a renewed wholeness
 Each Season projecting its unique personality
Rooted in the Ancient, while welcoming the new
The Past skillfully assimilates the Future-
  Trusted and True.


Here, we live by the cycles of each Season
Close to the land and the open sky
Revering the rivers and streams
Knowing that rock, wildflower, and prairie grass
 Form a Plains Cathedral
Beneath the Prairie Sky-
 Sacred and True.


The Harvest Moon, now, slowly waning 
Preparing the way for the Hunter's Moon
Each Season,  guided by Circular movement 
 Her lantern, Blessing trail and traveler, alike
Bringing forth a fruitful Harvest
 Always Dovetailing-
  The Heart That is True.
 

~ Alicia O'Hara 
~ Copyrighted material; 28 September, 2013
~ 9 October, 2017


@beannaichte.twitter.com

Sunday, September 3, 2017

" Return to Love"



~ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our Light, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually ,who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you.  We are meant to Shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light Shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated  from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~ Marianne Williamson
U.S.A.
 
 ~ Beannaichte'
3 September, 2017
@beannaichte.twitter.com  

Saturday, August 5, 2017

"Vietnam"

...love knows not its own depth
until the hour of separation.

~Kahlil Gibran

The bond between us
was as strong as any tie that binds
the hearts and minds of men and women.
But men are taught,
Don't speak of love,
when speaking of another man.
You must uphold the image
of your masculinity.
And so it was, with Tom and me.
As only men express their love,
he'd slug my arm and slap my back.
I'd answer with a gentle shove.
A few years back, Tom breathed his last,
somewhere in Vietnam.
I cried alone, where no men could see,
with no one there to slug my arm.
I loved that guy, so help me God.
I wish that I had told him so.

~Randy Jaroch
U.S.A.

~Beannaichte'
5 August, 2017


~ In Memory of Jim Connor.  ~ Safe Journey, my friend.  ~ We Remember... We Remember.

Monday, July 17, 2017

" Great Plains Prayer "



Bless us, Oh Lord, 
and this our Jell-O. Our corn,
and steaks and kolaches.
Our heat indexes. Our wind chills.
Our sunsets and horizons.
Our endless waves of grain and grass.
Our ancestors who started out
for the coast but stopped half-way.
Our nostalgia for their calico,
their sod, their olde homesteads.
Our denial of the meth labs
that have taken their place.
Bless our perseverance.
Our unerring politeness.
Our red state politeness
and our white, white bread.
Bless our dubious status
as tornado alley or flyover zone
and bless all those who fly over,
as well as those of us who, out of
choice or necessity or inertia -
forgive us, we know not why  or what
we've done - but, by God, stayed.

~ Grace Bauer
(1952-    ) 
U.S.A.

~ Beannaichte'
17 July, 2017

beannaichte.twitter.com   

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

"Pessimist"

Pessimist:
One who,
when He has the Choice
of two Evils,
chooses both.

~Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
Ireland

~ Beannaichte'
11 July, 2017


beannaichte.twitter.com                                                                         

Thursday, July 6, 2017

"A Writer"

~ Becoming
the
 reader
is the
essence
of
becoming
writer.
                                          ~ John O'Hara
                              
Beannaichte'


Alicia O'Hara
6 July, 2017


beannaichte.twitter.com