Heart Hope by Olga

Joseph has to be one of my favorite Christmas characters, yet we don’t know much about him. We see him at the birth of Jesus, but the last time we see reference to him is when Jesus is 12 years old at the temple, however in the few verses that we do read about him I know that I like him. In Matthew’s description of Joseph, it says that he was a righteous man. According to Webster’s Dictionary righteous means act ing in accord with divine or moral law. Only Noah, Abraham and maybe a few others were described that way in the Bible without being covered by the righteousness of Christ. Joseph was not sinless, but tried to live his life according to the way God wanted him to live.  Can you imagine how he must have felt when he heard that Mary, the woman who was going to be his wife, was pregnant? He had never even been with her, so whose baby was it? What would others think about him or her for that matter? What was he to do? Should he just stop the marriage in hopes of protec...

This hectic season can be so filled with the things that must be done—buying gifts, mailing packages, sending Christmas cards, baking goodies, making deliveries and of course the parties and overeating. With all of these distractions, it's easy to lose sight of the true meaning. Therefore, this year I have tried not to get caught up in all of the doing, but have tried to take more time in the reflecting. I hope you have done so too.  This week I will share some of my thoughts on the characters of Christmas. Each day I will let you know what God has taught me through these people, so get ready to grab a cup of tea and join me for just a few minutes each day. Today we start with Mary, the mother of Jesus, just a plain ordinary teenage woman who was going to be married when suddenly her life was turned upside down by a visitor—the angel Gabriel no less. Mary had been chosen not because was rich or beautiful or popular, but because she had found favor with God. The Bible doesn...

For as long as I can remember I have heard bells ringing at Christmastime. The tinkling of the tiny bells is a reminder that there are many people in need and that there are also people who by their generosity of time, energy and money want to help others who are less fortunate.  My first memory of the bells ringing and the money dropping into the red kettles was as a young child in my hometown, Jackson, MS. There was always a Salvation Army collection spot between the Jitney Jungle and Brent’s Drugstore which was made famous in The Help . Whether in Mississippi, Texas or Colorado, the jingling of bells makes me feel warm and cozy.  Because of my fondness for the mission of the Salvation Army I too have become a bell ringer. My spot is outside Wal-Mart and no matter how hard I try to pick a warm sunny day, I often end up with a gray, cold snowy day. The thing that warms my heart and soul is the people that I encounter. I have begun to categorize the people who pass...

Thanksgiving was over and Black Friday sales had been successfully attended, so when we woke up on Saturday to a cold, gray, gloomy morning, Billy thought it would be the perfect time for a puzzle. The closet held an unopened puzzle that had been purchased for another day like this one. With 1,000 pieces, the kids quickly lost interest and went off to snuggle on the couch to watch a video while Billy and I dove into the colorful box flipping over all of the pieces while setting aside the edges to get us started. The edges went together fairly quickly setting the parameters for the rest of the pieces. There was only one exception--the bottom center piece of bricks was nowhere to be found. We figured that it would show up as we progressed. Piece by piece the puzzle began to take shape. Cars were put together; the grand stand filled with people was in place. Pieces that seemed like they were missing found a place and one by one the gaping holes were united with by linking intert...

I have a new friend, Max-Peter Breuning. He is the marketing intern from the Netherlands for our RockResorts Mountain Collection Sales and Marketing Department. We share a wall between our offices and I’ve had a great time getting to know him and feel like I am his mom away from home. In sharing about the upcoming holiday season he told me that today, December 5 th is called Saint Nicholas Day in his home country. This is the day that gifts are exchanged, so he showered us all with gifts from Europe this morning—delicious chocolate initials. He also has informed me that since gifts have already been opened they are able to really enjoy reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus. What a novel idea; you get the distractions out of the way weeks in advance of the holiday, so that you have almost 3 weeks to spend on the important part of the holiday. Although I am not quite finished with my purchases for this Christmas, I do plan on wrapping it up earlier this year, so tha...