Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

January 8, 2008

Today’s Announcement

Both Contests are now closed, today is the last day of Christmas contest stories. We will finish voting on the poems contest before we start the stories.

The Christmas Poem Contest is now closed; voting has now started. You have until January 9^th to submit your votes. Please make the effort and submit them. Our poets are counting on you!

Happy Birthday Pat Meeks: c_pmeeks@hotmail.com

The Latest on Matt’s Mom is that she has kidney stones. She is on morphine and has been in excruciating pain now for over two weeks. It is just inhumane as far as I am concerned. The hospital expects her to linger like this until the stone passes. This is an elderly woman who is in pain. It just does not seem right to me. Please continue to pray from her recovery.

Don’t forget to order your copy of Angels Watching Over Me, the story of an ordinary woman facing less than ordinary challenges. Angels Watching Over Me is a story of family love, sacrifices, poverty and an undying faith that makes heroes out of all of us. Here is the link in case you have forgotten it: http://www.lulu.com/content/964306

Important notice: Storytime Tapestry is a free e-zine, however donations are always needed to help with the operating expenses of running the newsletter and to keep Storytime Tapestry the quality newsletter you are so accustomed to. You can make your donations to paypal at: winterose@videotron.ca, or if you would prefer to use the mail system contact the publisher at the same email address: winterose@videotron.ca

Today’s Christmas Stories

~**~**~

My Christmas Miracle

April Lipscomb

The truth is I am disabled. I have had fifteen mostly major surgeries in eleven years. I have come close to death more times that I'd care to discuss and have almost lost my leg on two separate occasions. Once they discovered a dime size hole in my heart that put me in congestive heart failure and nearly killed me. They found it quite by accident and didn't even have the tools to repair it at the hospital. But they got them in and performed the surgery that saved my life that time. I have been in and out of hospitals so much I can close my eyes and smell the place.

Another truth, I was a divorced Mother of two. I raised two children completely alone. Well, I always had God, but as far as another human there just wasn't one. The deadbeat dad just couldn't be bothered. I assumed he changed his name because I never could quite locate him. As a result neither of my kids have met their Father. If I had family I'm sure they would have assisted but as an only child and an orphan that was not an option. Mother had grown children by her first husband but they resented me as they resented Mom. You know the whole sins of the Mother passed to the daughter. They had all been taken away from her when they were young and put in a state home until their Father rescued them. They never forgave her.

I worked very hard to raise my babies. I always had several jobs because I didn't want people to see my child and see a single parent. We always lived in a nice place in a good neighborhood. Well, almost always there was the time I rented a house in a seedy neighborhood when I first moved to Kentucky from Chicago. Heck, I didn't know they even had bad neighborhoods in this little town. But they always had nice. Nice clothes, nice home, home cooked meals every evening and a big Christmas. I had to give them a good Christmas because I was all they had. I had to be Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. I wanted them to experience a full childhood.

Nine years ago I was living a very solitary life in the country. Just my son and I. We were living in an old double shotgun house. It didn't have central anything and the whole house was heated with one little space heater in the kitchen. In the winter we had to close off the back of the house as we had no way of heating it. My son and I were living off my disability check. By the time I paid rent, utilities, and bought food there was very little if any left. Christmas that year kind of snuck up on me. Okay, I knew it was coming but I didn't have a car as I wasn't able to drive. I didn't own my home so a second mortgage was out and I didn't receive that, oh what is it? You know that money you get from an absent parent? Ah, Child Support, Thank you. Yeah, I didn't get that stuff. So here we were with Christmas fast approaching.

Now at this point in my story I need to count among my many blessings, my son Anthony. He was a great kid and grew into a wonderful man. I was stressed out about Christmas. Anthony told me not to worry. As long as we were together and our basic needs were met, it was okay. Pretty mature for a fifteen year old. But than again this is the kid that worked in cabbage fields all summer to buy school clothes and put a bit back for extras like pictures and dances. But this was beyond bad, I wouldn't even be able to afford a Christmas dinner.

I am a very traditional person and had always made a big deal of the holidays. Because, well because life is too short not be joyous. We looked for reasons to celebrate life. I was miserable knowing I wouldn't be able to provide a Christmas dinner. Christmas morning arrived and I just knew my son would be scarred for life. I knew that all the great holidays of the past would be wiped from his mind by this one meager Christmas. I went in to the kitchen and took inventory. A package of sliced ham for sandwiches, canned fruit, potatoes, some very sad looking bananas, flour, sugar, you know basic staples. I went to work. I rolled up the ham slices and sprinkled a little brown sugar on them, I than tooth-picked them with a pineapple chunk. I mashed potatoes, turned the sad bananas into banana bread, opened up some green beans, made a pitcher of Iced Tea and threw some Pillsbury biscuits in the oven.

I called my son to dinner and began my apology for the poor holiday fare. He took one look at the ham and said "why Mom, you've invented Ham Roll-ups" he then timidly tasted one and said "MMM” that was the only thing he said. We joked about the Ham roll ups for months.

My son is now a grown man with children of his own. My life is very different than that sad Christmas nine years ago. Last week my son and I were walking down memory lane and talking about other Christmas'. I asked him which one was his favorite Christmas. I was expecting the year he got his new bike or Nintendo year. But what he replied with nearly knocked me off my chair. A big grin spread across his face and he said "Ham Roll-Up" what???? I asked surprised "WHY?" and this is what he said "Because you took nothing and made something, you taught me the meaning of Christmas isn't in a fancy ham or big presents.

And that my friends is my Christmas miracle. It didn't happen when we didn't have much food or lived in a cold house. It happened last week. The thing I most feared had happened. That Christmas did stay with him, but it wasn't bad. That's why I Love the Lord. He never gives me more than I can carry and I learn a lesson from every pain. Oh, and Grace, I love my Fathers saving grace.

I wrote this last year and since have married and have been blessed with a new grand daughter. The miracles just keep coming but then again isn’t that life?

BY: April Lipscomb 12-18-06 ©

Imladybug270@aol.com

~**~**~

ANTICIPATION

Leonia Ebling

Anticipation!

Could this happen on Christmas Day? Could this happen even before? Well, let me know what you think? I am in anxious anticipation and looking for this wedding supper where I will be HIS bride.

"The Spirit of a wedding is prevalent, a day long awaited. Now it has arrived! The breathlessness hush of knowing the time is nearing for the joining in the Marriage Supper. The bridegroom, in his supreme majesty is openly radiating his love. It is felt with ardent fever. The urgency of expectation now draws the eagerness from those who have answered the invitation...the time has came to begin the last preparation. It is to the most splendorous party or occasion ever given though many have refused to come.

Millions will be there old and feeble to the youngest and most innocent. Crippled, halt, maimed, deaf, dumb, blind those groping for breath. They will be ushered into a completely different environment, and as the bride is joined together with the groom, eternity will begin! And for the millions in that Marriage Party a beautiful and perfect and endless eternity to spend with the bridegroom.

The Bride! So prefect and beautiful in snow white garments! No flaws! No faults! No imperfections! Perfect in HIS eyes!

The Father watches HIS Son and revels in HIS utter happiness. The Father's glory shines bright upon the union of the Bride and the Bridegroom. Is this just a dream? Is this just a fantasy of my mind? Can this really be happening ...Someday soon?

In a moment , in the twinkling of an eye, oh yes! I await with anticipation and with hope that I will be caught up to be with HIM (the bridegroom) in the air...Alive or dead..(for though I live I live in HIM and though I die I will live with HIM) .I will be resurrected and appear with HIM as the Marriage Supper waits our arrival. As the trumpet blows to announce HIS coming to meet us what a day that will be! Yes! I do live in anticipation!

as HIS word tells us in revelations ending...even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

Leonia Ebling

wwjdleona@aol.com

~**~**~

ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.net

HAPPY NEW YOU!

I hate New Year’s Eve. I really do.

And not just because it’s sort of a scary holiday, with the primary tradition for many revelers focusing on the heartily spiked punch bowl (you think Halloween is frightening? Try driving along a lonely two-lane highway early New Year’s morning wondering whether or not the person operating the truck hurtling toward you was the designated driver).

No, the thing that really bugs me about New Year’s Eve is me. Or, at least, the things that I’ve done during the past year. I can’t help it. Every New Year’s Eve my conscience thinks it has to do one of those “Year in Review” numbers on me. And for some reason, it always seems to play like a sports blooper reel.

Let’s go to the video tape:

-- “Here’s Joe resolving to give more of himself to his family in 2007, and then, just hours later, getting after them for interrupting his enjoyment of the Rose Bowl.”

-- “Here he is on the train, pretending to be so absorbed in that magazine article that he doesn’t notice the tired young mother who could really use some help wrestling three active children and a grocery bag.”

-- “Here he is ignoring the lonely boy from up the street as the child silently stands on the sidewalk watching him shoot hoops with his son.”

-- “Here he is worrying more about the impact of war on the price he’ll pay for gasoline than the very real price being paid by thousands of military men and women and their families.”

-- “And here he is making up an excuse for not donating blood. Or taking his turn serving in the soup kitchen. Or giving a couple of quarters to the man on the street asking for spare change.”

You get the picture? New Year’s Eve is to me what Christmas Eve was to Ebenezer Scrooge – long and humbling, filled with memories of broken promises, shattered dreams and unfulfilled potential.

Which is probably why I love New Year’s Day. Maybe it’s because December 31^st is such a downer. Or maybe it’s just because January 1^st is what it is: a clean slate, a fresh piece of paper, a blank canvas – pick your favorite metaphor. New Year’s Day is a new beginning, a chance to make a fresh start. If December 31^st is Regret, January 1^st is Hope.

There are a number of things I’ll be hoping for this New Year’s Day: A peaceful 2008, for one thing, and maybe a more equitable distribution of prosperity worldwide. But let’s be honest – there isn’t a lot that one individual acting independently can actually do about such things. I can hope for world peace, but unless I get a little help from hundreds of world leaders and opinion shapers, it’s just not going to happen.

But there are some things that I CAN do something about in 2008. I can do less lecturing and more listening with my children. I can write positive, encouraging letters to effective public servants and to film and television producers who create worthwhile entertainment. I can be more patient behind the wheel of my car, and less irritated when my NBA team loses – again. I can be less self-absorbed and more understanding, less demanding and more tolerant, less judgmental and more compassionate.

None of which is going to set this planet on its ear this year. The fact is, I’m not going to change the entire world all by myself. No matter how kind and gentle I am, harshness and cruelty will, unfortunately, continue to exist -- somewhere. Still, I can make my little piece of the planet a better place in which to live. That’s about all any of us can do. But if enough of us are out there trying to do the best we can do, and if we’re looking out for each other – and for our children and our children’s children – the world becomes less intimidating because we know we’re not alone. We’ve got friends. We’ve got family.

And maybe we’ve even got some New Year’s Eve memories to savor – not regret.

Story Feedback

Here are the Published Christmas entries to Date. If you want to review the stories or poems before voting which will come only at the end of this contest, just go to the archives: http://archives.zinester.com/98907

Stories

Name Story Date

Williams, Cheryl Christmas: Look forward to it …. December 20

Haley, Ellie Braun A Christmas Story December 20

Bryant, Sharon I Walked The Halls December 21

Bryant, Sharon Believing December 21

Lock, Joyce Abbreviated Christmas December 21

Smith, Michael Memory Tree December 22

Walker, Bill Mary Did You Know? December 22

Levine, Arthur The Troubled Geese At Christmas December 23

Walker, Bill Christmas Lights December 23

Mazzella, Joe Christmas Gifts December 23

Wilson, Mary Through the Eyes of Mary December 24

Walker, Bill Jesus and Santa December 24

Colasanti, James An Angel In Between December 25

Walker, Joe The Two Sides of Christmas December 25

Dowd, Helen Tintagel The Forest Angel December 26

Walker, Bill The Christmas Gift December 26

Wersterfer, Clara No Christmas Presents December 27

Wainland, David Christmas Doesn’t Get Any Better

At the North Pole December 27

Blaine, Pamela Christmas at Baring School December 28

Bryant, Sharon Thank You December 28

Dowd, Hart Hundreds of Easy to Make Gifts December 29

Haley, Ellie Braun Ripples We Make December 29

Dowd, Helen Our Last Deliverer Has Come December 30

Walker, Joe A Christmas Wish List For You December 30

Dowd, Hart One Unforgettable Christmas December 31

Singh, Dr. Harmander Happy Christmas: Learning Art of

Problem Solving for Prayer December 31

Bryant, Sharon Santa’s Mistake December 31

Apted, Violet An Unexpected Visit January 1

Apted, Violet Confetti Snowballs January 1

Apted, Violet Mary’s Christmas Miracle January 1

Apted, Violet The Ghosts of Christmas January 2

Walker, Joe Finding Christmas January 2

Bryant, Sharon The Greatest Gift January 2

Johnson, Patricia Epiphany January 3

Cassady, B.J. Christmas 1989 January 3

Cassady, B.J. The Pig Who Saved Christmas January 3

Cassady, B.J. One of the Best Presents I ever Received January 3

Cassady, B.J. A Gift of Giving January 4

McCarthy, Janelle Bake A Cake January 6

Hinson, Clarice Scarlet Fever Christmas January 7

Sobkowich, Bev Happy Celebrations January 7

Lipscomb, April My Christmas Miracle January 8

Ebling, Leonia Anticipation January 8

Walker, Joe Happy New You January 8

Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt, Mariane Holbrook, Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker, Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley, Surinder Jandu, Bob Shaw, Carol Meeks, Charlotte Hilliard, Maria Keller