Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. ~Matthew 5:16
I know, I know. Many of you have already dismantled your Christmas decorations and stowed them safely in their designated bins and boxes until next year's Advent. You are all set to welcome the New Year this evening at midnight, or if you are like me, you will turn in at your usual bedtime, as if tomorrow is simply another day. Whichever you choose to do, that's entirely up to you and fine by me!
We enjoy seeing our Christmas lights and decorations through Epiphany. They are such a gracious reminder of the time when the Light of the World, Jesus, came to earth as one of us. And seeing this warm illumination at the darkest season of the year gives us hope, purpose and assurance that we, too, can shine the light of the Lord each and every day.
So, here's to wishing all of you, dear friends, no matter how you choose to celebrate, the happiest, healthiest and blessed New Year in 2025! May you greet the turning of the calendar with optimism, joy and anticipation of all that God will bring your way.
And let your light ever shine for God's glory and honor.
Amen!
Our tree stays up until after New Year's, but the battle begins over the outside Christmas lights. Someone in our household (and it's not me) would prefer to keep them up year round. Happy New Year, Martha!
ReplyDeleteI bet I know who that is - LOL! Our lights are strictly inside, so there isn't a contention there, Glynn.
DeleteLove and blessings!
We got back from Ohio the day after Christmas. Jo was taking the tree down before the afternoon was through. I was taking the lights off the tree (she can't reach high enough). Stuff was packed away and is waiting for a trip to the attic. My new knee sort of balks at those steps on the ladder to the attic. As for staying up tonight? NOT A CHANCE! i will be in bed at the normal time (9-9:30). Have a blessed new year Martha (and Danny).
ReplyDeleteNo knee replacements here, Bill, but I thought Danny was going to have a fit bringing the tree upstairs from the garage. That won't happen again as we've decided to store it in an empty upstairs closet when we do put it away. Fortunately, our lights are already connected to the tree, but I will need Danny's help taking down the higher up decorations. I'll be in bed a little after ten, my usual time.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Nope, not yet (putting things away). Hubby told me when I go back to work Thursday, he will put things away as I need to be out of the way lol. Wishing you a beautiful New Year. smiles
ReplyDeleteWhat a considerate husband you have, Linda, to save you all that work. He's a keeper!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Your tree is beautiful, and that is such a lovely picture. You should print that for next year's Christmas card! Our tree/decor is still up and probably will be until next week. I, too, love the lights and the warmth of the beauty of those soft lights around us in the still dark evenings that are so long in winter. I may start putting away some of the little stuff, but the tree still stands for a little while. Happy New Year to you and Danny. Praying for a year of good health and much joy for you all.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Pamela, for your New Year wishes, especially when it comes to our health. 2024 has been a nightmare as far as that goes, and we hope and pray that things will be better for us, especially Danny, in the 2025. Glad to know I'm in such good company, too, when it comes to enjoying the lights of Christmas.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Happy New Year Martha! I plan to take my decorations down on Thursday
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Christine. We all have our schedules and preferences, don't we?
DeleteLove and blessings!
What a warm and welcoming image, Martha! I'm besotted by the rock fireplace! Like y'all, our tree will be lit 24/7 until Epiphany. Happy New Year blessings to you and Danny!
ReplyDeleteI do so love our fireplace, too, Myra. It reminds me of the one we had at my home when my parents decided to add some rooms onto our house. I still miss that place. Enjoy all your lights through Epiphany!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Happy New Year, Dear Friend! May you both come to know him in an even deeper way in the year to come. May His face shine upon you both❤️
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Lulu
Thanks so much, Lulu, for your well-wishes and prayers for the New Year. I appreciate your friendship dearly.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Your tree is beautiful. I don’t blame you wanting to keep it up longer. Every year it’s different for us. One year we took everything down except for the tree all through January. This year, Everything is put away but I do miss the Christmas lights. Happy New year.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debby! Yes, the lights are always my favorite part of the season and I always hate to see them go. But if they were here all the time, then Christmas wouldn't be so special, would it?
DeleteLove and blessings!
Thank you for your wishes. Our tree and decorations are still up. We also stay up until midnight and ring in the New Year. Blessing to you and your family for 2025. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Debby! I just don't have the stamina to stay up for the actual New Year's greeting, but I'll watch the recap in the morning, for sure.
DeleteLove and blessings!
We too will wait until after Epiphany to dismantle the tree and put other decorations away. Such a distasteful chore! And the house looks so bare afterward. I noticed in one of your comments above that you have a pre-lit tree, Martha. It certainly looks lovely! Are you happy with it? We're considering getting one!
ReplyDeleteWe are really happy with it, Nancy. Our former tree was really getting raggedy, and Danny decided to get this one two years ago; it's smaller and fits this corner in our home perfectly (there is a chair and lamp there in the regular time). We were pretty minimal with our decorations this year, so I'm hoping that taking everything down won't be too difficult when dismantling rolls around.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year filled with hope, faith in the Lord, and His blessings always. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteAnd may God give the same to you and your family, too, Victor.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Thank you for being such a wonderful friend in my life! God bless you dear. Aloha
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for being a caring friend to me, too, Cloudia! I always look forward to visiting your blog each day.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I wish you and your family a Happy New Year filled with joy, peace, love and health. Blessings to you all.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wish you the same, Bill. We can all use more joy, peace, love, and health.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Like you, Martha, Diane and I love the lights and tend to keep them around for a bit longer than some--not 'till summer, though. We're not that weird (yet). We just like hanging onto that special sense of wonder at the thought of God becoming one of us and reflecting a little longer on what it means. As you said so well, the more we're confronted with darkness the more glorious the smallest light becomes. So, one last Merry Christmas and optimistic, God centered, victorious New Year to you and Danny and the family.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your kind and thoughtful words here today, my friend. The lights do give us that same sense of wonder we felt as children, and that wonder that God would become one of us in order that we could be His beloved children. No matter how small our lights might be, we are all important to and treasured by our loving Father. Thank you!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, your words, "seeing this warm illumination at the darkest season of the year ...." tempts me to get my table top tree out of the closet and light it up until Epiphany.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe not, but what a beautiful thought it is to seek to light up our world when all seems at its darkest. And we can surely do that with how we live every single day.
Happy New Year to you and Danny!
Shining our light for the Lord is, indeed, something we can do every day, Barbara, and we can do so with a lasting impression upon others who might not know God's love for them. If you've already put your tree away, so be it - you have something to look forward to when the next Advent rolls around.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I love this....Letting our lights shine!! My decorations are down...My youngest daughter came over on the 28th and took them down for me and boxed them away. With this being such a difficult Christmas day for me, I was just ready and Shanda knew I would need help. I love the lights of the season, but this year, my light has been snuffed out a bit. Prayers need for sure. I wish for you and Danny a wonderful New Year. I know 2025 is going to be great and I am looking forward to it....
ReplyDeleteI have been praying for you, Shug, and your precious family as you faced the sudden and unexpected loss of your dear brother. Of course, this is a difficult time for you! So glad that Shanda offered to help you take down your Christmas decorations for you - such a thoughtful and loving daughter!
DeleteGod will, in time, rekindle that light that always shines in your heart and through your words, my friend. I will keep on praying!
Love and blessings!
I don't usually dismantle the decorations this early, but I was moved to get it done. Probably because my foot surgery is coming up and I just wanted to get it done. I never know if I will watch the ball drop or be fasts asleep. It just depends. This year it is just me and the cats. Whatever... I wish you and Danny a blessed year ahead!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Terri, for sharing your thoughts here today. I can completely understand with your upcoming surgery why you would want to have Christmas packed away. Just common sense! Thanks for your good wishes for Danny and me in the new year.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Happy New Year, Martha, to you and Danny! May we shine the light of Christ brightly in 2025 pointing others to the hope of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Karen! May we shine the light and love of Jesus to this hurting world in the new year.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Until this year, I would leave our lights and decorations up until after Jan. 1. This year I hardly decorated and those I did, came down before New Year's. Just wasn't feelin' it this year. I'm sure next Season will be different.
ReplyDeleteLovely post as always. God bless and Happy New Year! ❄️
I hear you, Sparky. Y'all have endured a difficult year where you live in South Georgia. Let's not give up hope, though, that this New Year will bring joy, peace and good health granted by our loving Father.
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I have never understood why some people pack away all signs of Christmas on Boxing Day, first Boxing Day for me is a day to recover from Christmas Day and is spent doing very little. I do like to have my decorations removed and packed away by the first of January, that said I still have the ones on the windows but they will be removed either today or tomorrow
ReplyDeleteA lot of people here in the States will take all their Christmas decorations down on or by New Year's Day, Jo-Anne, and I can understand why they do, especially if all the lights, etc., have been up since before Thanksgiving. And Boxing Day was explained to me just recently in a news show. A definite show of generosity!
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Happy New Year, Martha! May “this little light of mine” always reflect the Light of the World. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Diana! Yes, I did think of that song when I wrote this post. No matter how small our light might be, let us always shine for the Lord.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Love to you and Danny. Wishing you New Year blessings. May '25 find you in good health and filled with joy and peace. May this year ahead bring you ever closer, day by day, to the light of his glory.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Debra! Yes, joy, peace and better health to you, too. And let our light lit for Jesus always shine bright.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Shine, Jesus, shine! And yes, I'm with you on keeping the tree up for awhile longer, Martha. I couldn't bear parting with these sparkly lights right across from my chair here. Happy new year to you.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a happy new year 2025 with all the beautiful things life has to offer.
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