Are you creating the life you want? Are you creating your holiday dreams? Are you creating the community of your visions?
This time of year there are many grumbles. "Christmas is too commercialized." "Walmart is too crowded and lines are long." "People are grumpy."
Meanwhile, others are creating Christmas magic. Their holiday traditions revolve around adventures and experiences. They are creating life, dreams and visions. They are creating happy times by choice.
For them, no commercialization can overshadow the heart of Christmas. "Happy Holidays" simply means "lets be happy" this time of year. Checking off a shopping list at Walmart is not their primary goal. And a grumpy person can't steal their joy.
We live in a magical area and Christmas here is as close to a Norman Rockwell painting as you can find anywhere. Just before Thanksgiving, as I was driving through Franklin, the big tree was being lifted into place in front of our wonderful court house. As I look left and right traveling on Liberty street, store owners were busily decorating their windows. Franklin's annual light up night with the parade and fireworks was days away. As we neared that day, I began to see people preparing floats for the parade. The weather was mild and spirits were high.
The day arrived and my heart sank. It was rainy. In years past, hours before the parade people began lining the streets and floats were in place early as participants made last minute adjustments. This year with only several hours to go, there seemed to be empty spots where floats were in line years past. The streets were fairly empty.
Suddenly, even with a light drizzle, an hour before the parade, our store filled with people listening to our friend Deanna sing Christmas songs, the floats rolled into place, and the streets filled with people and umbrellas. The parade ran over an hour long and the fireworks with music were spectacular as usual. If the numbers were down, no one seemed to notice. And the rain could not dampen the spirit of gathering for this treasured family tradition launching the holiday season.
Soon after, the giant tree went up at Oil City's new park. And this weekend the ever popular Christmas Past celebrations will mark another favorite local tradition with craft shows all around town, music, a bon fire by the canon and you won't want to miss the Christmas Tree display at the Museum of Art, Science and Industry!
Meanwhile, in Titusville's Burgess Park, the fire department continues the local tradition of decorating the entire park. Gather up loved ones and take a drive. You won't regret it.
If we want all these things to continue and we want our community's to grow and thrive, all we need to do is show up! Stop in the local shops and find a treasure. Join in with a caroling group or create one of your own.
Pick up the Derrick's Good Times and find an event that lifts your spirit.
Check out the Chamber Calendars':
http://www.venangochamber.org/calendar/
https://www.franklinareachamber.org/events/calendar/
Create the life you want! Create holiday dreams! Create your community!
Christmas magic begins in your heart.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Saturday, November 18, 2017
I believe....
When I am fully embracing divine understanding, I know I have been given everything I need, every opportunity, to create my own life. It does not mean that my creation will be perfect. My imperfection will be part of my own creation because I will not always seek divine inspiration. And those I include in my creation may not be divinely inspired.
When I am fully embracing divine understanding, I know there will be divine intervention. Imperfections collide to create discomfort, chaos, and crisis. We are divinely nudged to adjust our creation.
When I am fully embracing divine understanding, I stop to listen. All around me there are divine voices. If I fail to listen, I will be divinely nudged - perhaps divinely pushed - to adjust my creation.
Lately, I have questioned the divine's role in mass violence, massive destructive forces and wars. The "manmade" ones are most certainly the result of a collective failure to seek and follow divine understanding. We fail to understand the balance that would provide peaceful coexistance.
The forces of nature and their divine purpose still baffle me. The Garden of Eden story includes no hints of a furious or destructive nature. Was earth actually once a place of perfect balance? Will discomfort, chaos and crisis push toward that balance again?
When I fully embrace divine understanding, I believe we have been provided everything we need to create....to create....to create. When we all fully embrace divine understanding, I believe......
When I am fully embracing divine understanding, I know there will be divine intervention. Imperfections collide to create discomfort, chaos, and crisis. We are divinely nudged to adjust our creation.
When I am fully embracing divine understanding, I stop to listen. All around me there are divine voices. If I fail to listen, I will be divinely nudged - perhaps divinely pushed - to adjust my creation.
Lately, I have questioned the divine's role in mass violence, massive destructive forces and wars. The "manmade" ones are most certainly the result of a collective failure to seek and follow divine understanding. We fail to understand the balance that would provide peaceful coexistance.
The forces of nature and their divine purpose still baffle me. The Garden of Eden story includes no hints of a furious or destructive nature. Was earth actually once a place of perfect balance? Will discomfort, chaos and crisis push toward that balance again?
When I fully embrace divine understanding, I believe we have been provided everything we need to create....to create....to create. When we all fully embrace divine understanding, I believe......
Thursday, November 9, 2017
One Day - One Decision....
A day - one decision - can change things for better or worse. It depends on whether you are building a bridge or burning one. Building is better.
When life kicks me in the gut, I have one of two reactions. One is to curl up in a ball and hide. The other to is to do the Peanuts character Lucy reaction; "I'm mad as hell and somebody's gonna pay for this."
And then there's a third choice. Step away, step out of my comfort zone and do something for total strangers. Last week on a whim, I picked the third choice. On Thursday I learned that the Young Americans, coming to town on Sunday, were still in need of hosts for housing. So, without much thought, I emailed saying I could host a handful of young people.
Then I panicked! One room I needed had just been painted and was empty. The other room I needed was full of the stuff from that room and piles of "other" stuff thrown in. I needed to put the rooms together, make sure I knew where things were in the house, get food, plan breakfasts and two dinners AND would be required to be up about 6 am to cook and get them to the theatre in time. I am not fond of 6am unless I'm asleep. YIKES!!
It was exactly the mission I needed at a time I very much needed it. The three young men who came to stay were perfect gentlemen full of positive energy. They are nearing the end of a months long tour with a grueling schedule. They roll into town and start immediately with youth workshops teaching music and dance for area kids. They unload their truck and set the stage and do a second day of workshops. The next day they rehearse then do a high energy, wonderfully choreographed show that includes the kids in the second half. After merely hours of workshop time, they manage to prepare these local kids to help create a fantastic show.
Following the show, they pack up the truck, end the day late, and have just 8 hours to sleep before getting on the road to the next town where they will do it all over again. They do all this because once the Young Americans came to their town and they were in one of these workshops. They do it to inspire others to pursue music and performance.
While they expressed that they are looking forward to the upcoming break at the end of this tour, they quickly acknowledge that the experience has changed them. They find it hard to sit still. As they shared their visions for the future, I understood that the Young American experience has provide them with the confidence and discipline to accomplish whatever they pursue. They've traveled internationally and to many places in the US. They stayed in many homes and interacted with people from various walks of life. They know they have the power to touch hearts and minds.
I am thankful for decision number three. They touched my heart and set my mind in search of more positive outcomes. Thank you Young Americans.
When life kicks me in the gut, I have one of two reactions. One is to curl up in a ball and hide. The other to is to do the Peanuts character Lucy reaction; "I'm mad as hell and somebody's gonna pay for this."
And then there's a third choice. Step away, step out of my comfort zone and do something for total strangers. Last week on a whim, I picked the third choice. On Thursday I learned that the Young Americans, coming to town on Sunday, were still in need of hosts for housing. So, without much thought, I emailed saying I could host a handful of young people.
Then I panicked! One room I needed had just been painted and was empty. The other room I needed was full of the stuff from that room and piles of "other" stuff thrown in. I needed to put the rooms together, make sure I knew where things were in the house, get food, plan breakfasts and two dinners AND would be required to be up about 6 am to cook and get them to the theatre in time. I am not fond of 6am unless I'm asleep. YIKES!!
It was exactly the mission I needed at a time I very much needed it. The three young men who came to stay were perfect gentlemen full of positive energy. They are nearing the end of a months long tour with a grueling schedule. They roll into town and start immediately with youth workshops teaching music and dance for area kids. They unload their truck and set the stage and do a second day of workshops. The next day they rehearse then do a high energy, wonderfully choreographed show that includes the kids in the second half. After merely hours of workshop time, they manage to prepare these local kids to help create a fantastic show.
Following the show, they pack up the truck, end the day late, and have just 8 hours to sleep before getting on the road to the next town where they will do it all over again. They do all this because once the Young Americans came to their town and they were in one of these workshops. They do it to inspire others to pursue music and performance.
While they expressed that they are looking forward to the upcoming break at the end of this tour, they quickly acknowledge that the experience has changed them. They find it hard to sit still. As they shared their visions for the future, I understood that the Young American experience has provide them with the confidence and discipline to accomplish whatever they pursue. They've traveled internationally and to many places in the US. They stayed in many homes and interacted with people from various walks of life. They know they have the power to touch hearts and minds.
I am thankful for decision number three. They touched my heart and set my mind in search of more positive outcomes. Thank you Young Americans.
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| Willie, Tyler, Christian |
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