Happy New Year!

May the days of 2012 be full of His light for you and yours. I am so glad we are on this journey together. God richly bless you. 

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:9

Joining with Deidra over at Jumping Tandem.


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

My Girl--Talking 'bout My Girl!

After raising a houseful of sons, it is hard to believe that the girls now outnumber the guys almost 2 to 1--Here they are clockwise from itty bitty, Noelle, Kennedy, Kim, Dree, Kailey, Traci, Caroline, Katelyn and Ashton--

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone--just wondering how all of you are doing, how your holiday is going and wanting to check in with you and wish you the merriest, brightest and most joyous Christmas you've ever known.

 It is still busy here. I usually decorate up to the very last minute and love doing so. My husband and I have spent the last few days shopping for stocking stuffers--with 13 to buy for it takes a while--the big job is getting it all in the right stockings--etc.

 I made a crock pot roast with potatoes and "real" carrots last night so we are having dripped beef sandwiches tonight. I put some beef consomme, cooking sherry, soy sauce, onion powder and garlic powder in the pot and am letting it simmer a little while--forgot to buy provolone so we will be having melted lacey swiss cheese over the meat that is ladled on to the toasted hogie rolls. Also had quite a bit of real onions left over in the roast from yesterday.

I saw several dripped beef sandwich recipes and such did a little of this and that.  That is mostly the way I cook--my mom did also so we can't share many recipes-ha!

It is very cold here--high of 47 degrees today--now I know for some of you that would be a heat wave but it is relatively cold here--and it has been cloudy all day--I love cold, cloudy Christmases.  However, it is supposed to be sunny and 52 on Christmas which will be nice for our two sons who are driving in from out of state--one becaue he lives there and one because he used to live there growing up, married a girl from there and has been there visiting relatives.  I am thankful that they have good weather to drive in.

We drove that at Christmas many years when our sons were growing up and had some pretty bad weather (ice storms, etc.) on several occasions so yes I am most grateful for the sun and the higher temps.

This is the first Christmas for my sister without her son whom she lost to death in August.  She and all of her family here have gone to Texas to spend Christmas with another son--they have never done this before so it will be a change of scenery and good for them I think.  However, I covet your prayers for them.  I know it will be hard.

I doubt that I will be checking back in for a while.  Our kids will be here through the 29th but please know you are always in my heart--I check my stats occasionally and when I see where many of you who read are from Russia, Germany, China, Brazil, so, so many other countries, I am just overwhelmed that you come here to read my blog.  Thank you so much.  I pray for you for peace and tranquility in your country, that God will be honored, that you will be free to worship freely and without shame wherever you are.

Through the wonder of the precious Holy Spirit, I feel a kinship and a oneness with you even though we've never met and I pray that your spirit will be lifted, that your heart will experience the joy that only comes from accepting the free gift of Jesus Christ that God sent to this planet over 2000 years ago to begin His plan of redemption for us.

If you have a New Testament, you can read about it in the gospels and then I would recommend reading the book of John--His love made manifest in the Life of Christ--what a revelation!

Please know that I wish you joy.

With all my love during this most precious of holiday seasons,
Dianne

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

More Painful Memories

My husband posted this on FaceBook the other day.

" Decorating for Christmas and thinking about family and friends who are no longer with us - good memories. And I'm thankful for the ones with whom I can still share, and am committed to making some more good memories while I can. Most of all, thankful for my Savior who gives me hope and for this season to celebrate His birth. I love Christmastime."

The memories he is referring to are good ones although very painful at times.  More than once I've seen a glisten in his eye or felt a tear fall from mine as we hung old Christmas ornaments or spoke of Christmases long ago.

In the movie Shadowlands, C.S. Lewis has a line that I love.  After discovering his wife has a serious illness, they take a trip through the countryside--at one point they stop and holding one another looking out over the vista, he says, "The pain now is part of the happiness then."

And it is so true.  All of the joys we created in those Christmases long ago are why the eyes smart and the silver rivulets stain our cheeks now--

And so my dearest of friends, I wish for you many, many more painful memories made this Christmastime.  May your heart be so full of joy and peace that years from now it will hurt bad, really bad just to remember...................

"The pain now is part of the happiness then."  C.S. Lewis, Shadowlands

Photo: A picture of an angel tree topper used over 60 years ago on my husband's tree--still using it today and it is one of those things that will bring the awesome painful memories to the surface-- © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

For This Reason He Came

My husband and I went Christmas shopping this morning, then out to lunch. It was fun just spending a little money on things that our children and grandchildren might not buy for themselves.

 The reminder here to me is this: For this reason, He came. Yes, Jesus came to buy for us, to redeem for us--only it was something that we COULD NOT have bought for ourselves no matter how much money we possess--for this reason He came.

From the words of Isaiah 53 we learn that His purchase included our infirmities and our sorrows--

For this reason He came.

We learn that the price He paid included piercing for our transgressions, being crushed  for our iniquities--

For this reason He came.

He was punished so that we could experience peace, he was wounded so that we might be free of wounds.

For this reason He came.

Because of my rebellion, my choosing to go my own way, SIN was LAID UPON HIM, my sin was laid upon Him.

For this reason He came.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.   But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Stars spoke and angels sang,
From all of creation choruses rang,
For this reason He came,
For this reason He came.


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

I've made pictures similar to this before but just wanted to thank Anita for reminding me of this little technique the other day on her blog.  You can access her incredible blog HERE.www.didyoubringyourcamera.blogspot.com