Monthly Archives: December 2014

Stepping Into the New Year

into the new year

“Evening Boot,” 1957, Roger Vivier (designer); House of Dior (design house). Image from a page of the 2014 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

Stepping Into the New Year.  One step leads to another, and soon enough we’re walking…before we know it, we’re right where we’d hoped to be.

For me, life is like a series of steps, and stepping into the New Year is not any different.  Surely it can be confusing not knowing what obstacles we’ll need to traverse and how to prepare for dealing with them.  Do we need to don our show boots, or will a pair of street shoes be just fine? No matter what the footwear, we still must travel through each day.  I believe that how we choose to take each step will determine how pleasant our journey through the year will be.

We’ve all experienced mornings when we have to drag ourselves out of bed and it seems like all we’ll be able to manage is a slow crawl throughout the day.  Other times we bounce up and hit the floor running, long before the alarm clock goes off.  I don’t envision stepping into the New Year in any of these ways.  Wouldn’t it be nice to enter into it at just the right pace?  One step leads to another, and soon enough we’re walking…before we know it, we’re right where we’d hoped to be.

How we go about stepping into the New Year is an individual adventure.  There are some who are used to treading the same route at the same old pace.  Why not try trotting along fresh new paths that will inspire personal growth and set new goals for yourself.  Others have been pacing along trying to take in all that life has opened up for them.  Why not concentrate on just one or two of those opportunities and be the best at them that you can?  Still others have been sprinting the distance, and are in desperate need of a break.  Why not stop, rest for awhile…then come back renewed and stronger than ever before?

What about you?  In what way will you begin stepping into the New Year?  Whichever way you choose, may it lead you to a most satisfying and beautiful journey.

Wishing you God’s peace and fulfillment in the coming year,

Felecia

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On Finishing What We’ve Started

On Finishing What We’ve Started

finishing what we've startedA Quote to Carry You

December 29, 2014

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6

Here we are at the end of another year.  A time for finishing what we’ve started.  The excitement and magic of Christmas still lingers in the air, yet there is a feeling of uncertainty of what is awaiting us when we step into the New Year.  It is both a thrilling and uneasy sensation all wrapped up into one!  One thing is for sure, God leaves nothing to chance…what He has started, He will finish.  Exciting, challenging, despairing or full of hope.  Whatever the New Year has in store for you, may God see you through to complete what He has started in you…in a most glorious way.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Christmas Eve – I Remember When

Christmas Eve

“Cheery and Bright,” photograph by Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

Christmas Eve – Not even the fiercest winter storm can penetrate the layers of love that have been woven into the joyful threads of a Christmas Eve night.

“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl.  But it warmed more than your body.  It warmed your heart…filled it, too, with a melody that would last forever.”  Bess Streeter Aldrich

Christmas Eve…I agree with the author; it wraps each of us so snugly that it warms us straight through to our hearts.  Not even the fiercest winter storm can penetrate the layers of love that have been woven into the joyful threads of a Christmas Eve night. The thought of being enveloped within the delight of family and friends gathered round to celebrate the most wonderful gift we’ve ever been given is certainly something to sing about!

These warm and toasty thoughts bring to mind a story written by Bess Streeter Aldrich, entitled “Journey Into Christmas.”  This story does not begin cheerfully, as the main character, a widow, is left all alone on Christmas Eve for the first time in all of her 60 years.   She spends the evening reminiscing about the many Christmases she had spent surrounded by her loved ones.  She vividly recalls how full and comforted she’d felt during those times, even though each one had a different story to tell; both sad and happy ones.  That particular Christmas Eve also turns into a happy one when she is awakened from her reverie by a phone call that brightens her heart like the many twinkling, colored lights adorning her Christmas tree.  Heading off to bed, she hears the joyous songs being sung  by carolers in the street.  Her heart is once again filled with “that old Christmas lift of the heart, that thankfulness and joy she had always experienced…”*

Christmas Eve, a time to be cherished, a time to be enjoyed, a time that I hope for you, will always warm you straight through to your heart.

I wish you a very Happy and Blessed Christmas!

Peace and love,

Felecia

*From “Journey Into Christmas,” by Bess Streeter Aldrich

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On Rejoicing

On Rejoicing

rejoicingA Quote to Carry You

December 22, 2014

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies The Lord and my spirit rejoices in God.'” Luke 1:46-47

There is a time for everything…and this is a time for rejoicing!  Soon Christians throughout the world will gather to celebrate the birth of the child who was to be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).  Perhaps in these current times, it is hard to believe that one such as that exists at all.  But on that night so long ago, God reached down in perfect love to mankind, and gave to us a gift that only He could give…one that He promises to continue to fulfill in us still today.

May you, like Mary, open up your heart and soul and believe what our creator has promised…and be filled with a spirit of rejoicing.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Lead Me and I Will Follow

Lead me and I will follow

Photograph courtesy of David Brown

Lead me and I will follow…on this journey I walk not alone; for you Lord all my needs will fulfill.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

Lead Me and I Will Follow

Lead me and I will follow.

I know not the places we’ll go.

Take my hand, guide my steps;

oh , what wonder to me you will show.

Lead me and I will follow.

I long to know of your will.

On this journey I walk not alone;

for you Lord all my needs will fulfill.

Lead me and I will follow.

Some days the horizon seems so clear.

Other times the road seems never to end;

but during those times you always remain near.

Lead me and I will follow.

Keep me close; from me never depart.

God you hold my future in your hands,

and that promise of hope fills my heart.

Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

Wherever God leads will always be pleasing and good.  May you follow Him and find that out for yourself.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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Magi – What’s in a word?

Magi

“Gifts of the Magi,” by Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

Magi…wise men, seeking hope from afar…

Wise men seeking hope from afar.

What was it they sought,

as they followed that star?

Majesty, power, greatness and all?

No, what they found was far greater,

and at the sight; to their knees they did fall.

Majesty, wise men, star, night, humble, royal, Bethlehem, a wondrous sight.

Magi – What’s in this word for you?  If you can tell me, please do!

The Magi were thought to be mysterious and wise.  They followed the star that led them to the place in which they expected to find someone so impressive that they traveled afar, bearing luxurious gifts.  But what they found was a most humbling sight indeed.  For as the shepherds were told, “This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:12).  No grandeur, no pomp and circumstance, yet the King of Kings was born…and He still reigns.

The Magi sought Jesus by following a star.  May you seek Him in your own way…and may you find Him.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

 

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On Following

On Following

followingA Quote to Carry You

December 15, 2014

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”  Matthew 2:9-10

The story of the Magi in the Bible has always possessed an air of mystery in my opinion.  How did these three wise men know that following the star would lead them to something worthy of the precious gifts that they brought with them to give?  They traveled from places afar, they had so little to go on…following a star?  Perhaps more than mystery, these wise men provided a strong example of faith.  They believed in something so strongly that they forfeited a great deal of time and incurred much expense in order to receive it.  In following that star to give exquisite gifts from their riches, they received something far more valuable; something that cannot be bought, for the price has already been paid.

What are you following?  May it be the same thing that the wise men sought and found…and may you also receive the gift that gives through all eternity.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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The Wisdom In Waiting

wisdom in waiting

“Winter Yosemite Valley,” 1933-34, Ansel Easton Adams. Image from a page of the 2013 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

The wisdom in waiting…as we all know, the snow takes time to melt no matter how brightly the sun is shining; and so, we wait…

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1

The wisdom in waiting is rather difficult to imagine during the hustle and bustle of this holiday season.  It seems like time flies through our fingers as fast as the snow covers the ground during a wintery blizzard.  No sooner do we check off the items on our seemingly endless holiday “to do” lists, then another flurry of new tasks fill our hands!  Isn’t it strange, though, that with all of our time drifting away, it seems like Christmas takes forever to arrive?  So, we wait…

I have gone through a very difficult time this year.  Like the “nor’easter” winter storms that we’ve been experiencing lately, I feel like I’ve been trudging through a heavy whirlwind of difficulties.  I’ve often found myself wanting to fast forward through this trying season straight to happier times.   But, as we all know, the snow takes time to melt no matter how brightly the sun is shining; and so, we wait…

Indeed there is wisdom in waiting, and despite my circumstances, I have found that the longer I wait, the more prepared I am to receive what I am so desperately waiting for.  Like a child on Christmas morning, when I finally get to enjoy what I’ve longed for, it makes the wait so much more worthwhile.  Then, the dreaded blustery storms that threatened to hinder me from moving forward seem like soft and silent winterscapes that fill my eyes with the quiet beauty of the season.

“There is wisdom in waiting, even though it can’t be seen.  When troubles surround us high and low. Waiting increases our expectations of what we long for and dream; and surely, it causes our faith to grow.” Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

As you weather the storms that seem to steal away your time this holiday season…may you too find wisdom in waiting.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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