Candy Cane Lines

It’s that time of year again—time to gather with loved ones to catch up and celebrate the Savior’s birth, and if you know me, it’s time to catch that perfect shot for my themed Christmas card. In more recent years, I’ve made a shift. Instead of a card created with photos of me and my children, I now include snapshots with my grandkids. And if you know kids, you know that getting that perfect shot is next to impossible. So, I’ve shifted my thinking too. Now I strive to catch that perfect imperfect shot. It certainly makes for less stress, and who can’t use a little more peace this time of year. This year’s theme is the candy cane (in case you didn’t catch that already), and it seems the confection got its start for that very reason—peace. 

According to The Legend of the Candy Cane that dates back more than 350 years, mothers used white sugar sticks as pacifiers for their babies. Around 1670 the sticks were bent into canes to represent a shepherd’s staff and were used to keep the attention of small children during Christmas church services. At the turn of the 20th century, the red stripe was added, along with the peppermint and wintergreen flavors.

Patiently Endure

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

—Hebrews 10:36 NLT

It was a whirlwind visit for my daughter Rebekah, her husband Jairo, and their two-year-old son Javier (“Javi”). They arrived at my house late on Friday and spent all day Saturday at our family reunion. The next morning they packed up to return to Pennsylvania.

Javi is a typical two-year-old boy. He loves climbing, jumping on beds and playing outside. He makes toys out of sticks and feathers and is especially fond of animals. Rarely will you spot him without an animal figure in hand.

When he comes to visit, a trip to the pasture is always in order so he can see the cows. But this weekend, there wasn’t a break in the schedule for tromping to the fields.

As Rebekah and Jairo packed suitcases in their Jeep, Javi and I followed. In a flash, Javi took off running, arms flailing, feet flying straight for the pasture, fenced in with electrified barbed wire.

Have You Been Added to the Family Tree?

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

—1 John 3:1

My cousin and I are co-chairing a long-overdue family reunion for our mothers’ side of the family.

I assumed the responsibility of creating the family tree and am taking advantage of a free trial period with Ancestry.com. I’ve been busy plugging in names, birthdates, and places of birth and am amazed at how the tree is taking shape. I’m especially delighted whenever a green leaf appears on my screen, which means the database has an ancestry hint for me. It could be a documented record of birth or a census record indicating a place of residence. I consider each hint to determine if it’s applicable and decide if I want to add it to the family tree.

Unlocking the Secret of the Labyrinth

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

—Isaiah 30:21

Until last week, I had never walked a labyrinth—although the idea intrigued me for years.

When I read the July 29^th devotion in Daily Guideposts, which referenced a steel hedge labyrinth, I was once again fascinated with the idea and turned to the Labyrinth Locator to find one in my area. I was surprised to find three.

A few days later, while kayaking on the St. Mary’s River with my friend Paul, I remembered that one of the three was located just a stone’s throw away on the grounds of historic Trinity Episcopal Church.

Soon Paul and I made our way up the riverbank and onto the church property, where we landed in the memorial gardens—and discovered why it has been described as a place where “land, water and sky meet in beauty and take the breath away” (Saint Mary's Parish).

After taking pause and savoring the beauty from an inviting bench that overlooked the river, we ventured through the sacred cemetery to find the labyrinth.