In case you have been out of the country and haven’t heard, Saturday is St. Valentine’s Day. The day of love. The last two weekends have been full of stories about the local Father/Daughter dances and parties in the communities around Beebe.  I am happy that for the past two years our church has held a “You’re Special to Me” Dance.  Anyone can come with anyone they love. It’s a great success.

Friday, children will tote their Valentine cards to school to exchange with their friends. They will have a party with packaged treats (parents can’t bake cupcakes any more), and experience a sugar high not known since December.

A few years ago, on the game show 1 VS 100, a young man won $1,000,000 because he knew that the largest number of greeting cards sent was at Christmas. The crowd had guessed Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.

I would have guessed Christmas, even though many people have stopped sending cards and settle for a group email or a “Merry Christmas Everyone” on Facebook.

I send about 50 Christmas cards, mostly to old friends and family I won’t see during the holidays. My mother sent twice that, adding many of my dad’s business friends and associates to the list.  But I digress.

I mailed only one Valentine this year … to my great grandson, Noah. I included a few Valentine stickers I knew he would enjoy. It’s up to his parents to see that they are stuck only in appropriate places.

I will spend February 14 with three of my favorite people, my writing group. We meet every 2nd Saturday at the Faulkner County Library in Conway. We will surely exchange tokens of our friendship and love for each other before we wield the red pencils.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

I wish you love.

During the season just past, I did the bulk of my Christmas shopping online. Friends and family have been touting this for years so when my email inbox was flooded with ads on Cyber Monday, I decided to give it a try.

Other than the occasional book I buy from Amazon.com and Tom’s Shoes when I had a teenager at home, I had not shopped in this manner. I had certainly never needed to browse and choose gifts from pictures and written descriptions. (Come to think of it, sounds like the old Sears Roebuck catalog.)

When my family gets together each year (usually about the 4th day of Christmas) we all exchange gifts with each other. It is an event. Everyone is able to take part because we stay in the low dollar range. Of course, we have found that to do this, one has to be more creative about shopping than if one were buying tablets or laptops. It’s easy to spend lots of money on gifts, but to search Hastings’ sale table and find just the right book for someone is truly an accomplishment.

I bought from three different websites, paid no shipping, and everything arrived promptly and intact. A trip to Marshall’s in Cabot and I was done. The brand new Dollar Tree in Beebe furnished the stocking stuffers.

In the past my mode of shopping was: Visit the mall and look at everything in every single store; decide on the appropriate gifts; try to remember where they were; and go back and purchase them (if still available). This approach was quite time consuming, but I relished it. I really enjoy buying gifts for people I love. I didn’t think it would be as satisfying on a computer.

But it almost was. When the packages arrived from the various dot-coms, it was exciting. I got to open, examine, wrap and tag everything. And what I bought was well represented in the pictures online. (One does have to read the specs to know the size.)

The only down side to the whole gift buying scenario had nothing to do with the internet. It seems Marshall’s attaches price tags that absolutely do not come off easily (or at all). I had to peel and scrape (gently so as to not damage the gift). I do hate to give someone a book or frame that smells like Goo Gone! Perhaps I will suggest to Marshall’s that since they have such a nice array of merchandise for gift-giving, they might think of using price tags that don’t have to be sand-blasted off.

BTW, we take turns opening our gifts one at a time so each can see who gave what to whom.  That way, the fun lasts longer.

REMEMBER THE REASON

A few years ago someone came up with a catchy rhyme-phrase to remind us that “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  As often happens with catch-phrases, it became somewhat over-used, appearing on plaques, key chains, napkins and Christmas cards.

But the point is still well taken. There are times when any one of us might need to be reminded that Christmas is not about gifts and parties and decorating and shopping and cooking and eating and family dynamics. It’s all about Jesus coming into the world to be our Savior.

Matt Redman wrote When the Music Fades for his praise band to help them refocus on the true meaning of worship. It’s not really a song about Christmas but some of the words fit well here.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you. All about you, Jesus.
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I made it
When it’s all about you. It’s all about you, Jesus.  (Matt Redman, 1997)

We need to think about what we have allowed Christmas to become, we need to get back to the heart of Christmas. Because it’s all about Jesus.

I have no big Fourth of July traditions. I don’t feel I must to go on a picnic, eat a hot dog, see a fireworks display, or go to the beach.  Each year’s celebration is whatever the day brings. The one thing I do enjoy — usually compliments of PBS — is hearing a concert of patriotic music. I love a good Sousa march and a rousing rendition of  “The Marine’s Hymn.”

Last evening AETN, our local PBS station, broadcast A Capitol Fourth, an offering of music and fireworks from the west lawn of our nation’s capitol.  A variety of musical genres was presented by guest artists (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!) but the program featured mostly patriotic songs by The National Symphony Orchestra.

A traditional setting of our National Anthem opened the event. On this 200 year anniversary of the penning of “The Star Spangled Banner”, I was glad to hear it performed in a manner that allowed the thousands of people gathered to sing along.

Have you noticed that the songs that extol our country’s greatness are all old? “God Bless America,” one of the newest, was written in 1918 but didn’t catch on until the early 1930’s and later became the unofficial hymn for World War II.

“America the Beautiful,” words written almost 20 years before being set to music, is 120 years old.  This song, along with many popular tunes by George M. Cohan, was important during the time of the Great War, WWI.

The music that never fails to stir my soul is “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” officially  declared our country’s National March. John Phillip Sousa composed the arrangement in his head while on a voyage home from Europe. He transcribed it onto paper when he reached land. He also wrote lyrics to the march — a little known fact. Skipping to the trio of the tune, (the easiest part to sing) the words are:

Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right .
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed when they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

Amen. A good ending to a wonderful Independence Day!

We have all heard the song. But most of us spend 40 days (or more) preparing and then celebrate only one day of Christmas. I used to be one who dismantled the tree and put away the decorations on December 26. But over the years I came to understand and embrace the meaning of Christmastide. Now my tree stays up at least until Epiphany (January 6) and I enjoy the last few days of an old calendar year and the beginning of a new.  This is my diary of the just past 12 Days of Christmas.

On the First Day of Christmas (December 25) my youngest son and I spend a quiet day exchanging gifts and enjoying each other’s company.

On the Second Day of Christmas I confess I visit the stores, buy another gift and mail a package to a grand who won’t make it to Grandma’s house this year. (I know — I should have done all that already.)

On the Third Day of Christmas I drive over the (Arkansas) river and through the (Saline County) woods to spend the day at Couchwood, home of my BFF.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas I watch the movie The Nativity. This has become one of my Christmas traditions.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas (Sunday, December 29) I lead the Adult Bible Study for the Wesleyan Seekers, my Sunday School class, the story of Mary and Joseph taking the infant Jesus to the temple for dedication. The aged Simeon recognized the baby as the promised Messiah.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas I welcome with joy my eldest daughter, the first of the holiday guests to arrive.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas (December 31) five more children and grands arrive, making our total 8. We exchange gifts, eat pizza and party food and finally toast the new year, 2014.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas we gather for brunch, asking God’s blessings on the absent family members, thanking Him for His love, for family and all our blessings.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, all is quiet in the house. Everyone has gone to their home or back to work. I try on a new sweatshirt, peruse a new book, watch a new dvd, take a nap.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my sister and I visit a friend whose sister (who was also our friend) has passed away.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas I have mincemeat pie for breakfast and spend time reflecting on 2013 and setting goals (not resolutions) for the coming year.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas (Today, January 5) I gather with my church family to worship God who sent his Son to earth to be our counselor, guide, friend and Savior.

Tomorrow, January 6, is Epiphany, a remembrance of the coming of the Magi and an indication that this child was born for every race and culture. As our pastor said this morning, “The Wise Men found Jesus. It was worth the trip.”