“The RoseBouquet”

We had a change of temperatures over the weekend, and I’ve been thinking about the different types of snow and their characteristics. We don’t have to be scientists to make some interesting observations. Of course, if you don’t cope with snow in your corner of the globe you may have to take my word for it.

I hear that many parts of the United States are having snow this winter which they don’t normally see. If you are in those parts, perhaps you have made some observations of your own too.

In the fall, when snow first falls it is so light and fluffy it is almost like the bubbles in a bubble bath. They practically dissolve if you breath on them. When the sun comes out the snowflakes almost vanish before your eyes, and if you try to catch them with your bare hands the snowflakes dissolve from the warmth in your fingers.

Ah, but then the stormy and cold temperatures come, and now the snow is sharp as salt and stings as it strikes your face at a fierce slant. Or, you might have some snowfalls where the temperature is not so bad, and the snow will be sticky and moist. That’s the kind you need to make good snowmen! Or for a snowball fight.

By January, in our area, the super cold air masses from the far north have crept down, and although we may alternate snowy days with sunny ones, the cold temperatures make the snow we walk on sound crisp, and at the coldest, like walking on crystal glassware! There are these sharp, high-pitched cracks that sound like glass or china cracking when you walk. The air we breathe is sharp and stinging too.

When it’s that cold, (-20 C or more), I usually walk at a brisk trot so as to get to my destination as soon as possible. But I do hear the sound of my footsteps, and even the cars on the street sound like they are causing thin cracks in glass sheets. - If the sun is shining, the snow drifts will look like white velvets sprinkled with fine diamonds and jewels.

Then we get a week like this one, when the temperatures come up to nearly 0 or even a degree or two above our 0, freezing point, and all at once it sounds like we’re walking on just sock-clad feet. Even the cars sound as if they are driving over blankets laid out on the street, instead of fine china.

Mind you, the white, sparkly velvet of the snow disappears quickly then, and it looks rather grundgy and dirty. Our city spreads potash mixed with some sand on the streets, to help dissolve the snow and ice for easier travel. However, that stuff adds some real “yukiness’ to the snow as far as appearance goes. I accept it as necessary, but it’s like “…the beauty of snow is gone; isn’t it about time for spring soon?”

Especially if January is nearly over. We welcome each February thaw that blows our way from the Rocky Mountains to the west, and begin to pine for spring. The beauty of winter snow has faded away.

(Oh dear! I’m talking in the past perfect tense again. Sigh! We are not there yet).

I wish now that I had saved and better organized a sample of the Christmas cards I have made every year for the past 27 years. (If I had time to scrounge through a lot of boxes in my basement I should be able to come up with a few more).

There is so much scope for creativity, that even though I work mostly with things I find for free and don’t spend money on card-making supplies, I have often come up with more ideas in my planning stage than I could use. Usually I picked the one that would go with the mood of my greeting and my new Christmas story or photo story, and that would be easiest to mass produce. (When you are making up to 100 or more cards, you really need to streamline your repetitive steps).

When I first moved back to my parents’ house in 1983 to care for them in their old age, I had no salary, and had to learn to trust God for any resources, and snap up free stuff like card-stock and wall paper samples, and bits of lace or fabric. At first I thought it would be an exercise in resourcefulness and creativity for a year or two. But the years ticked away, and my role as live-in caregiver with very little income lasted 23 1/2 years.

Chrismon - card cover 2006 I’m not proud of every card I made, but “my necessity was the mother of invention,” proverb that I often quoted to friends, and having to make do forced me to think more resourcefully and . . . .

[You can find the whole article including some photos and graphics of my card designs here;
Creative Christmas Cards ]

Some months ago, I discovered that some friends in certain African countries, or in Asian places like Pakistan, could not open a PayPal account. This makes it awkward for them to do any financial transactions online.
While trying to find some alternatives for them, I discovered a Canadian company, called Alert Pay which seems like a good alternative. I signed up, but didn’t have time to promote or to start using it.

Then, this week, I discovered that someone from another ministry, was telling people that I would collect funds for them via my PayPal account and forward the funds to them. Huh? I don’t recall making an agreement like that with this particular group. (I have for a few others). When I checked, they were not able to apply for a PayPal account of their own.

So I went to look at Alert Pay again. I was surprised at how it has grown and appears so much easier to use. And sure enough, the people from these countries, held off by PayPal, are allowed to have a full and free account at Alert Pay. It appears that I should sing their praises much more, and encourage others to sign up.

Get your FREE account with AlertPay

Send and receive money online with AlertPay

Just watching people’s positive reactions when they open a creative Christmas card will lure you to try it again. What impresses you in a card, is likely to go over well with others too, but you can learn to shine with certain types of homemade Christmas cards.

For that matter, they don’t have to look homemade. There are many artists and creative people who are happy to design them for you, if you don’t have the skills or time. There is a movement, loosely connected to the scrapbooking culture, that loves to make greeting cards that are works of art. These can be prints of a painting, or very unique photography, or built up with layers of attachments, and textures to make the Christmas card two and three-dimensional; inviting to feel and touch.

If you want the labour-intensive, “every card is a work of art” kind of creative Christmas card, you should plan on preparing them months in advance. Especially if you have a long mailing/giving list for your creative Christmas cards.

Should you want something just above the usual boxed Christmas cards, you can make some with a lot less bother, but will still go over as creative Christmas cards.

Here’s a few options;
1. Paint a picture, take a photo, or beg permission to use someone else’s artwork. Work your cover greeting into this digital graphic on your computer. Decide on size and quality of paper, and print, or have printed, your batch of cards.

There are other artistic things you can do without having to paint a perfect picture or use a prize-winning photo. I have often complained that I missed out on an art education, so I have to fool people by using artsy kinds of tricks.

2. A colourful swatch of gift wrap paper glued onto the card stock front at an artful angle, and then another Christmasy picture or graphic cutout glued on top of that at an opposite rakish angle provides a 3-D texture. Since my handwriting is not as consistent and attractive as I wish, I usually work the title message into that second graphic which is my last layer – or, I find a home printer that will accept my card-stock and print those words on the front.

(By the way, if you ask nicely at a professional print shop you can often get a box of assorted card stock cuttings from their production floor for nothing. The cuttings are just headed to the recycling bin anyway).

3. Lay a Christmas design stencil from a craft store on the paper, and paint in the gaps and holes. I’ve done a stylized Christmas rose that way. There are many more at the craft store!

4. Make some marbled paper by swirling 2 to 3 melted wax crayons in a tinfoil pie plate over a warm stove element, and quickly laying down and picking up some squares of paper in the hot wax. You’ll get some beautiful impressions! Trim them afterward to fit onto your card stock like a piece of modern art. Now create a red poinsettia with crochet cotton on a daisy winder, and glue that on a corner of the marbled wax art piece. It may not need any words. (Or, attach buttons or any other attractive do-dads for a two or three dimensional look).

5. Get an out of date wallpaper sample book from a store (sometimes free), and cut pretty strips of wallpaper to glue down one side of your card front. Use the space beside for your Christmas greeting in careful calligraphy. Or perhaps, have the card stock printed with the message before you add the trim.

6. The same idea works with suitable ribbons or laces instead of the wallpaper.

7. If you won’t be mailing the cards, you might even glue on three-dimensional things like seashells in the shape of a wreath. These are best when you will be handing the card over in person.

Watch for more creative Christmas card ideas next week. I’ll include some photos then.]

Although it is time-consuming, the making of your own custom Christmas cards each year can be a popular and satisfying tradition.

I admit, I often start with the design, and then work to match a Christmas card message on the front and inside the card. You should really write or plan your Christmas card messages first, and then design your cards to reinforce that message. Doing it backwards can make that message read rather contrived.

I’m trying to do it the better way the last few years. The goal is to plan what we want to say to our card recipients and then work the design around that.

Think. What is the essence of what you want to say about Christmas to your recipients? If you are just going through the motions, then “Seasons’ Greetings” may do. Don’t make it more complicated.

If you are a Christian, and you feel the joy of Christmas, or gratitude to God for the gift the birth of the Christ-child was, then you will have a deeper message to share.

I often ask myself what aspect of Christmas is most on the surface for me emotionally and spiritually this year? Then I work around or from that angle.

Sometimes I wait until I hear Christmas carols being sung and when one in particular strikes up a chord in my heart, I take the key phrase or message of that carol and work a card design and verse around that.

Sometimes I feel there is something missing or needful this Christmas, and I’ll work that into my message. Or, I simply want to wish my friends and relatives all a certain gift this Christmas. Sometimes that is peace, sometimes that is contentment with what you have. Last year I wanted to show off my beautiful white cat, Snowflake. Sometimes, (like this year), I want to encourage them to give wisely and to give to the really needy in other parts of the world.

My more intuitive friends can tell by my cards where my mind and heart are at each year as the Christmas weeks come rolling on at a faster pace.

Instead of just a one- sentence greeting or rhyming ditty in a folded piece of paper I decided about 12-13 years ago, that I would give my people a gift of a new original story in my card. Everyone likes an inspirational Christmas story, and though there are many favourites, I thought it would do me good to come up with some new ones. Perhaps one of them would become a new traditional story. Thus, my message in my card is much longer than just 3 or 4 lines with 2 or 3 words to a line.

In fact, my card has really become more like a booklet of folded pages laid into the cover folder. I decorate the cover something like a Christmas card, but I have much more room to make my point! (Which is good for a wordy person like me).

Supposing though, that you are only ready to go so far as the one fold Christmas card, and you are wondering what kind of verse or message to write inside, let us look at the options.

The whole purpose of a Christmas card is to send a written greeting to those you wish to bless individually, or as couples and families.

Let’s say you have 20 employees (or co-workers) and you announce a reception at which you will speak to each one individually and wish them a special blessing for this Christmas season. You would, of course, personalize your words depending on the relationship or the experiences you’ve had in recent months with some people, but – what do you suppose you would be repeating most often to them? After a while you would begin to hear an echo in your words. It might be, “I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas holiday together, and ….”

Would you add a spiritual dimension? If you are an outgoing Christian and see the true meaning and value of God sending His Son to be born as a human baby for the salvation of the whole world, then, sure! You could include a blessing of God’s joy and peace through that Christ-child. I certainly like to do that.

Some of these traditional greetings, even the spiritual ones, become so routine for us that our eyes glaze over when we read them in the cards we receive. So! I try to be creative and dwell on some aspect of the Christmas story and message that especially touches me in the current year. Sometimes I have dwelt on the tremendous joy in the implications of the birth of Baby Jesus. Sometimes I have focused on the Peace He was and will bring to earth. This year, my focus is on giving unique and special gifts as our means of being a “generous giver like God.”

“But what about the words?” is that your burning question?

Well, get your hands on some Christmas Carols, and borrow lines from those well-loved songs. Just the titles of some carols make good words to add to the front message of your Christmas card. These are good examples;
Joy to the Word

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
O, Come All Ye Faithful

Then, you might quote a verse from the carol for your inside Christmas card message. That should still leave you plenty of white space for your signature or personal notes to different individuals.

Or, another good source is the Bible. There are lovely verses from which you might take a phrase, or even use the whole verse. I’ve seen some very lovely ones done with Isaiah 9:6.

Generally though, you are looking for a shorter 1-3 words, at the most 5 words as a title for your card to go on the front cover - whatever works best with the design, and then inside the Christmas card, you want to express a greeting or blessing which you are giving to the recipient. It’s not the best place to preach a sermon or to put a rebuke (unless you feel specifically led to do so). The point of giving or sending a Christmas card - as I understand it, is to let people know that you care enough to wish them a specially blessed or happy time over this tremendous holy day, or holidays.

If you are a creative thinker, there is no need to quote someone else. You can use your own choice and combination of words. But I know that when I started making my own cards, I needed some nudging to know what would be appropriate.

If you are making just a few personalized Christmas cards, you can make each one totally unique and addressed to the exact recipient you have in mind. If you are preparing for a larger mailing list, whether your own or for a client, you will want your Christmas card message to be more generic, so it will apply to a broad range of people.

Watch for more creative Christmas card ideas over the next two weeks.]

I’ve just discovered there are a lot of companies and CEOs, or those delegated by them, looking for business Christmas cards to send to their mailing lists. How interesting. I’ve been making my own big batches of Christmas cards (other occasions too) for about 26-27 years, and have tried out a number of ideas for making mass-produced cards with a personal touch. Just now I’m sorting through many thoughts to zero in on the ones most applicable to business Christmas cards.

There are certain groundwork facts to get clear first. They appear as you answer questions like;
1. Who are the intended recipients?
2. What message and attitude do we want to convey?
3. What resources do we have for the designing and printing of the cards?
4. What is the deadline for getting the Christmas cards into the mail?
Or are they to be sent by email?
5. What results do you hope to gain, and how will you measure those results?

Personally, I would also like to know how much of the true Christian Christmas message might be incorporated into the card idea.

There is so much for the creative idea person to choose from, but a narrowing of purpose like this helps to decide from a smaller smorgasbord of ideas for preparing the template card.

It seems very likely that the business owner does not want to go through all the creative stages him or herself. It is one of those things you would like to delegate to someone, have them do the legwork and bring back some sample business Christmas cards to consider and choose from. That gives me the brilliant idea that is called for in this situation.

Provide the answers to the above questions, and make the following announcement to all your employees;

[to read full article go to Business Christmas Cards

Watch for more creative Christmas card ideas over the next three weeks.]

You would think it should be hard to secularize a holiday set aside to thank God for His bountiful blessings. The Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower had a lot of deprivations and hardships coming over to the new land of America, and then some more as they settled down to tame the land and grow crops to support themselves. Some of them died in the struggle to survive. But they felt they owed God an official time of thanks giving. Later on, it was declared an annual national holiday.

But of course, not everyone in the nation felt they owed God such a vote of gratitude and confidence. I’m sure that has been true over many many American Thanksgiving days.

People have come up with many other activities with which to entertain themselves on that holiday, which – even with a stretch of the imagination, have little or nothing to do with showing God gratitude.

I may not be such an objective outsider, since I live in Canada and we have a national Thanksgiving Day too, (in October), and I observe the same problem here. However, as I hear American friends and neighbours talk about their holiday I find myself shaking my head.

What does a major football game have to do with Thanksgiving?

Nothing. But because a vast number of people will have they day off they maybe be at home watching the game on TV.

What does a “Black Friday” or a “Cyber Friday” in the shopping world have to do with Thanksgiving?

Nothing. Some major stores picked it as the day they will try to draw in the most shoppers with huge deals as the start of the Christmas shopping season.

What does a huge family meal have to do with thanksgiving?

Since it is a holiday most of them will have the day off and they can all gather to do their thanksgiving as a family. For families that worship God, they likely do spend a few minutes in recounting blessings and actually offering prayers of gratitude to God. For many other families, it is nothing but a huge feast day. The recipes and dishes are the focal point.

What about going hunting on Thanksgiving Day? My good American neighbour tells me that is a tradition in many families.

It’s possible, while sitting in a blind, waiting for a deer to come by, that the hunter spends time in grateful prayer to God. But that is not guaranteed, is it?.

Does it really matter what you do on Thanksgiving Day? Are you to be stuck with your head bowed, praying all day?

Not at all! As long as you are grateful and make time to express your thankfulness in a real and tangible way.

For that matter, I believe that if you have an attitude of gratitude every day, you really don’t need a special Thanksgiving Day. The holiday was intended for corporate, official thanksgiving, and to jog the memories of those who often forget to say “Thank You, God.”

Just form a habit of identifying things all day long that you have received from God, and pause immediately to thank Him for it. I can guarantee that your joy and peace and love will increase.

We have different types of friends over the years, the stages of our lives. Think back to the very first friends you had, and the ones you had in your early school years. My mind leaps to Lovella, who taught me to play with someone other than my younger siblings. Linda was the first to invite me over for a sleep-over, and I saw how other families interact.

When Esther and Pat came into my life, I learned about attending birthday parties and making secret codes and sharing our first attempts at writing poetry. In high school there was Eileen who would walk to and from school with me, and asked me to come by and pick her up, but only when she was between boyfriends.

Our school friends taught us to play and socialize, and even share ideas and dreams, and plan projects together. They were someone to lean on when we entered new experiences that made us timid and fearful. Or we identified with them and were glad to have them commiserate with us when we failed. In a way they were mirrors for us to see how others see us.

But we need adult friends too. So often they make up the gap for us where our parents failed or were unable to meet our needs. Yes, there is some danger or adults befriending children or young people and misleading them or abusing their easy trust. But let’s not let that cancel out the great good that comes to many of us because some adult took time to befriend us and to mentor us and guide us in the right way. Some seniors can bring us back from evil and influence us into the right direction. There is every reason to respect and admire them despite the age gap.

If you are already an adult - an emotional and spiritually healthy one - consider that you may have positive influence over some young children or teens, and should make an effort to reach out. Pass on the help you received yourself.

Mentoring friendships where we help others as we have been helped, are a special interest to me. I first began to feel fulfilled when I took on the leadership of a Pioneer Girls Club and made it my business to encourage and when a teachable moment appeared, to take it guide “my girls” to grow wise and as healthy Christian young women.

[See the rest of this article in my RoseBouquet Friendship Garden:
Four Types and Stages of Friendship ]

War is big business. It keeps the economy oiled and people employed.

War heroes are touted and honoured. Some people run away from home to enlist.

The nature of humans and nations is to quarrel and go to war, so even though we always have some pacifists crying out plaintively for peace, do we really expect to see peace in our lifetime?

World War II was said to be the war to put an end to all wars? Did it?

Not by a long chance! There have been, and are, hundreds of other wars since then, and there is no sign of true lasting peace. Anyone who thinks that mankind will bring in a Utopian time of peace and good will to all and fooling themselves with hopes and dreams.

Especially as Remembrance Day, November 11th, draws near, you are likely to hear comments and even involved debates on these points.

Do you really believe that the human race will evolve to a place where everyone will be at peace with everyone else, and no one will be at war any more? Not even so much as quarrel with a sibling?

It is impossible. All humans are born with a natural tendency toward pride, self-centeredness and envy. It is the human condition. It cannot be evolved out of us.

But am I depressed? Not at all! I do believe that a great Prince of Peace is going to come and reign on this earth, and for a thousand years there will be no war, no evil, no sin whatsoever! Everyone will get along fine.

I can’t vouch for what will go on in some minds and hearts, but no one - really no one will dare disobey Jesus the Prince of Peace when He reigns supreme on this earth. We will really get to see then what can be accomplished when there are no wars to distract people or keep them blind to the needs of the poor. Jesus will command and enforce peace with a word, with a glance.

At the end of that glorious millennium, He will allow Satan out of his prison for a short season to tempt people to do evil but that is part of His royal plan to see who is really unfaithful to the Prince of Peace. When they are revealed they will be removed from the scene to their eternal destination.

Right now, you and I can align ourselves with that Prince of Peace, and enjoy His reign in our hearts and in our lives, yes, even if we find ourselves in the midst of wars and rumors of more wars. When we submit to His rule in our spirits, we receive power to be people of Peace, and to spread it around us.

Esther is a 19 year old girl in Uganda, with a sad background. She has lost both parents to Aids. Her mother died first, and as her father had more wives, but they would not look after her, Esther was cast out of the home when her father died too.

Esther’s grandmother picked her up and sent her to school until she could afford it no longer. Esther had to stay home to work to support her dear granny - the only person whom she ever had to love. But she had fallen in love with learning too, and longed to go back to school.

When her grandmother died, Esther’s maternal aunt took her in, to work so that her own children could go to school. Esther was forced to work as hard as a donkey, but no education for her.

Then Esther attended some gospel meetings, and became a Christian. That made her aunt very angry and she was cast out of that home as well.

Esther went to her church family for support and one person took her in until she had completed her Senior Six level. Just before she was to write her final exams, this caring but unrelated person lost his job. That was the end of her financial support for education. They were going to send her back to her original village where she knows there is no hope or love for her.

So Esther has appealed to Revival Time Ministry for funds so that she can start university and learn to support herself. She needs $500 to start. (More at …Esther)

Joanitah, is 14, the oldest of six, and she has a brave and daring mother, who wants her daughter to get an education. Her mother took out a bank loan so Joanitah could go to school, but she was unable to repay the loan, so she lost part of some property she had, and also a shop which was her means of supporting her family. Still determined, this mother borrowed again from an organization that has cruelly taken away the last bit of property she had.

Joanitah had to come home from school, but she too, longs to go back to get her education, and her mother is definitely up a tree as far as supporting her family is concerned. Just $200 would allow Joanitah to continue in high school for another semester, and Revival Time Ministry is hoping to find a sponsor for her.
(More at …Joanitah)

Here’s one more such story which touches me.

Ruth, 16, is an orphan. At least, she has never seen either of her parents. A caring, merciful woman picked her up and was able to send Ruth to the government schools for her primary education. However, she is not able to afford the fees for Ruth’s secondary education.

Ruth loves to learn and dearly desires to get an education. $200 will allow her to go to secondary school. So Ruth, who is not afraid of work, is busy working in others’ gardens, fetching water, and making handicrafts, she is doing all she can towards raising her own education money, but of course it is taking a long time.

Again, Revival Time Ministry’s founder, Pastor Isaac and his wife Christine, are hoping to raise up sponsors for these girls, and some others they know of. (More at…Ruth)

I have been re-building a website for Revival Time Ministry, and so I’ve prepared pages to help with this goal of raising sponsors for these individual girls to get their education. I’ve even offered to send a framed photo of the girl to anyone who will agree to sponsor one of them.

Here in North American and Europe, and other First World countries we take our education opportunities for granted to a large degree. Education in Africa is a completely different story. In many countries there is no public or government arranged education available. Most, if not all schools are private institutions. It costs to attend. That cost may be peanuts compared to a high quality private education in our world, but for many of them, even that cost is much too steep.

Sometimes literacy classes are free - but usually these are offered by a mission or church or some charitable organization. It may barely teach enough to recognize their alphabet and to read at a very primal level.

Once people learn to read, some will crave reading materials and further education. It becomes a holy grail for them, and they will go to many lengths to get that further education. Naturally, the best jobs in the cities, and in the government offices go to those who have managed to get their secondary or even university education.

In many African families, girls are considered slave property, or needed for the work around the home. If they can afford an education at all, it will go to their sons. more rarely to their daughters, or only if they are so well-to-do that they can hire servants and free up the daughters for an advanced education.

I remember growing up the eldest in a very poor family, and when I was in high school, my Dad thought that I ought to drop out and go get a job to help support the family. My Mom stuck up for me and fiercely argued that they would manage until I graduated from high school. So I can identify with the girls described above. Sometimes you just need an advocate to see that you make it through the educational system.

Maybe you had your education handed to you on a platter. Or perhaps you had to struggle and wrestle for your opportunities too. Do you suppose the time has come for you to be an advocate or sponsor for one of these girls in Uganda?

Consider the bargain price of just $200 or $500 to give her such a boost! Here in Canada, high school is free, but some girls might blow $200-500 on a school wardrobe, or perhaps some extra books. I believe one year of university can cost more than $10,000.

There are a number of child sponsorship programs out there, but many of them stop when the child is considered old enough to begin working at a job like an adult. How about these girls, who are willing to manage all the small stuff, if only someone will help out with the school fees so they can attend classes? They tend to fall between the cracks.

Do check out their profiles and if you are inclined to respond, know that I’ll do my best to get to you their photo and perhaps even an address so that you can send ‘your girl’ some notes of encouragement.