Branches, Christmas Parties and Dr. Seuss OH MY!

For the past two days, along with closing ceremonies for school, I have been at work for various things.  Yesterday I was at an all staff meeting and today I was in attendance for the staff Christmas Party.  Sounds simple enough but I am a bit of a deep thinker.  So the entire time I was at the all staff meeting I was thinking that I would not attend the Christmas party because I really am not much of a worker at the Blue Hair's Facility.  Yes, I worked a lot during 2/3 of the year last year, but not anymore.  I am working one to two days per month just to stay on the payroll in case the new full time bus driver is sick or needs time off.  I praise God for the fact that they found a great full time bus driver.  There was a time that I wondered if I ever would be able to be a stay at home mom again.  In the meeting, the interim director went over the Christmas gifts we would receive from the company and the raffle prizes that would be given out.  The entire time I listened to this confirmed that I did not need to attend.  I don't need to take what I didn't earn.  

Then the light dawned on me.  Maybe because of something the director said in his ramblings during the meeting or maybe something I thought of myself, or maybe something The Lord put on my heart at that time, the light dawned. These verses came to mind while I was in the meeting. 

John 15…4"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.5"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

Mark 4:17
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

We are told that God is the vine and we are the branches.  Together we can bear much fruit.  But apart from the vine, we dry up.  If we are dried up then we are useless.  Likewise, if we have no root then we wither and die.  I am clearly not the vine or the root of the company I work for.  But I AM a branch.  And branches produce leaves which provide life for many other creations.  I realized that even though I now only work one to two days per month, that I am still a blessing to the company.  I am sure it would be hard to find someone to basically just "hang out" on the payroll in case someone gets sick and they need some help.  

I said all of that to say this:  May we never feel like we are not important in life.  May we never spend a moment thinking we should not be a part of something because we play such a small role.  No matter how small our role in anything, we are important.  We all play a role in society and work together to form a whole.  Our entire staff at the Blue Hair Facility, from the executive director all the way down to the fill in bus driver, each fill a role to form a whole.  Likewise, each individual in society works together with our own talents, along with God the vine to make a whole. 

I went to the Christmas party today and I had a great time.  I was never so proud and happy to be a part of something.  A very small part, but a part nonetheless.  Maybe my role is the peaceful part.  The little tiny thought in the back of my boss's head that thinks "If someone doesn't show up for work, I can call Jennifer.  She will come help."  That is an incredibly big role.  To be the peaceful thought in your boss's mind.  The comforter.   

At the end of the party, I thought of our individual jobs, big and little and I thought of Dr. Seuss.

Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing!

We didn't hold hands at the end of the Christmas party, but we did sing songs together and it was really fun.  The tall and the small of our company sang together in celebration of Christmas.  May we all realize just how important we are.  

Jennifer

Fun Idea for Porch Urns

Today we are going to get in touch with our inner groovy.  Necessity is the mother of invention they say, and that was true for me today.  I have been in a pickle with my porch urns for a while.  Anything I put in them dies because I forget to water them.  A couple of years ago I purchased some fake topiaries for my urns and they were great for two years but didn't hold up well in direct weather since my porch is not covered.  I threw them away a couple of days ago and have been trying to think of something to put in them that won't die.  Think, think, think.

The main criteria for my urn creation is that it must not cost a lot of money.  I decided to buy a dowel rod for each pot, stick it in the drain hole in the bottom of the urns and zip tie deco mesh around the dowel.  Then, I zip tied a peppermint candy that I made last year.

 The peppermint candies were cut with a jig saw from plywood and they painted in a candy pattern.  I looked at peppermint candy and copied the pattern on my wood.  Then I screwed a stake to each one and hammered them into my flower bed.  Tadaa!!  A great whimsical look for almost no money.  I had the mesh in my attic.

The holidays have always been a happy time for me and my family throughout my life.  It has come more and more obvious to me that not everyone is happy for the holiday time of the year.  Many have experienced devastation or death or a host of things during the past holiday seasons and it makes it hard for them.  Some people don't have family to be with.  If this is you, I want you to know that I am thinking of you.  May we all be more aware that not all holidays are happy for everyone.

Thank you so much for reading my blog.
Jennifer