Month: December 2024

The Door Left Open

Published on by Rebecca Gilbreath4 Comments

After stumbling around looking for contentment for years, I suddenly learned that you cannot find it by hunting furiously for it. Happiness sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.

John Barrymore, as quoted in The Reader’s Digest, 1934

Thank you to everyone who has followed along with my recording of the graces in 2024. Your weekly encouragement and conversations about the shared stray gifts mean so much. Those of you who text me photos of your daily gifts and blessings inspire me to keep looking for more!

“Happiness sneaks through a door you didn’t know you left open”. Keeping open eyes, hearts, and hands to what God may provide in a day is keeping life’s door open so that He can enter the everyday ordinary. While 2024 had its challenges, it was full of stray gifts that kept me noticing God in ways I hadn’t seen before. I enjoy texts from friends and family who have little surprises throughout their day, too – a bright red cardinal at the feeder, a set of keys that was lost but found, gifts of time used to make art, wildflowers gathered to bring during a hospital visit, a card in the mail on a day when you felt forgotten, beautiful days to sit on a back porch, and many prayers answered. Do you keep a journal? Do you write on a blog? Or do you keep stray gift photos on your cellphone to look back over occasionally? God shows up in the big and the little things. I was reviewing past blog posts of 2024 and am so glad I keep a record. There’s so much to thank Him for.

With that in mind, here are the last stray gifts shared for December. I wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year. A description of the photos will be after the collage.

Top Row: 1) Eggs. I love eggs for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, or dinner. Twice this month, two eggs came out of one shell. It was a little exciting. (Did I mention I love eggs?) 2) Sometimes, we get stuck in a rut and watch TV for hours in the evening. One night, we plugged in the Wii and the three of us played a few games of bowling instead. We had forgotten how fun it was. Jonathan and I played tennis afterwards and tried to ‘whip the tar’ out of each other. haha. 3) Postage dies and stamps have been my favorite to work with this year in cardmaking. This year’s Christmas cards were made with a few new crafty supplies and Christmas paper I’d had in store for a few years.

Middle Row: 1) I used a new-to-me large ‘Merry’ die to make Christmas cards this year. 2) and 3) I played around with pinecone paper and made two similar cards for two different people. I liked the non-traditional holiday card colors.

Bottom Row: 1) Christmas cards I received from friends and family! One of them is handmade! 2) I enjoy the snow photos my friends from PA text to me. I also enjoy looking at them here in the 60-degree desert weather at the same time. 3) The church was clearing out the live poinsettias that were used to decorate for Christmas, so I brought one home. It needs to be repotted and I “just so happen” to have a flower pot the right size. Stray gifts!

The Joyous Day to Come

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Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:14

We heard this beautiful song for the first time during a Christmas program a few weeks ago and thought I would share it with you. The music video is posted after the lyrics.


Merry Christmas to you all!

“Still, Still, Still” – an Austrian Lullaby, 1865

Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
For all is hushed,
The world is sleeping,
Holy Star its vigil keeping.
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,
‘Tis the eve of our Saviour’s birth.
The night is peaceful all around you,
Close your eyes,
Let sleep surround you.
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
‘Tis the eve of our Saviour’s birth.

Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.
While guardian angels without number,
Watch you as you sweetly slumber.
Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.

What We Share

Published on by Rebecca Gilbreath2 Comments

Not that which we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare.

James Russell Lowell, 1848

Stray Gifts December-

Something nostalgic: We’ve been to two children’s Christmas programs in the past few weeks, and they brought back memories of participating in a few when I was younger. I’ve also helped put programs together and it is no small task! Hearing children share Christ’s birth in Scripture reading and song was a blessing. I’m also amazed at how much little ones can memorize!

Something enjoyable: The last decade has been difficult. We’ve been a bit secluded due to John’s health issues and have just started to get out more in the last two years. We had been invited to a few church Christmas parties by several local churches and not knowing many people, we were unsure about attending. We did choose to go to one and we had such a good time!

Something surprising: Recently on a Sunday evening, a teenage girl came to church by herself and sat behind us. During a time of handshaking, I introduced myself and asked a few questions. She explained that her grandfather attended this church and she was thinking about visiting more. Much to my surprise, she came to the Christmas party – by herself. She was the first guest there and we arrived soon after. I sat down next to her on the couch and started asking about her day, her school classes, etc. As others started to show up, it seemed that they knew her a bit and conversations started flowing as the hosts were finishing getting dinner ready. We saw her again in church on Wednesday night and her grandpa was with her this time. When he was talking to John before service, the young lady told her grandpa that we were the ones she mentioned to him. The grandpa’s face lit up and he heartily thanked us for being so friendly to his granddaughter. The exchanges I had with her weren’t lengthy or deep, just simple conversations, but they seemed to have made a difference.

Something impressive: A set of five-year-old girl and boy twins sat in front of us during Wednesday night church service. We have seen them before and have talked briefly. I asked the girl how her day was and she responded that it was good. She talked about her day in kindergarten and about her family moving soon. She then asked me, “How was your day and what did you do?”. I shared that I had done some house cleaning and she said that she helps her mom clean the house…especially when company is coming over. Both the twins were great at keeping a conversation going, asking questions, and responding politely and with interest. During the service time, she sang, “Mary Did You Know?” and it was the best version of it I’ve ever heard. The pleasant spirit we had seen beforehand made the special song so much sweeter.

The Try-Angle

Published on by Rebecca Gilbreath4 Comments

The best angle from which to approach any problem is the try-angle.

-Author Unknown, c.1920s

At the end of the day, if the kitchen sink is full of dishes and other tasks need attention, it can be such a letdown when there is more work to do. It’s easy to just leave it until tomorrow and go to bed, but when tomorrow comes and before breakfast is even cooked, yesterday’s work casts a shadow and has now become extra work for today. With the shift of energy in me over the last few years, every little thing can become a big thing in a hurry. I came across a video recently of a woman who was sharing the same struggle. At night, when she just wanted to be done with the day, she asked herself how she would feel if she took a few minutes and tried to reset the kitchen so the next morning would be easier. She looked at getting the few tasks done as if she were doing it for a friend. If she was a guest and knew her friend was tired, she would offer to clean up to make life easier. She mentioned we do more good for others than we sometimes do for ourselves. “If tonight, I try to tidy up a few things, then tomorrow I will have appreciated the effort”, she said. I’ve started to say, “Tonight’s Rebecca will get these few things done for Tomorrow’s Rebecca”. John and Jonathan help all the time, but sometimes there are a few extra things the guys don’t notice (or care about as much as I do). It has helped me think about the next day and how I would feel if I left certain “today” things undone. This happens more when I’ve spent all day crafting! I’m in the zone of making Christmas cards currently, and it’s easy to let tasks pile up so I can play with pretty paper instead! When Tonight’s Rebecca takes a few minutes to get a few needed things done, Tomorrow’s Rebecca is quite relieved in the morning! I don’t always accomplish this, but I never regret it when I take a few minutes to make tomorrow easier.

Stray Gifts Update! (Comments below collage)

Fall Cards: I think I love making fall cards most of all! The top three are examples of Thanksgiving cards I sent out this year. The “Thanks” card was made for a friend using 3-D leaf stickers I found at Dollar Tree!

Flower Photos: While visiting my dad last month, I saw a few Morning Glory flowers blooming in his yard that Jonathan and I had planted years ago. They grow in the desert quite well and can make a plain rock wall or a trellis look so pretty. When we moved from El Paso, I brought the yellow bell plant with me. It looks so pretty by our front door.

Nature photos: My friend Marie in Pennsylvania shared with me her view from her back porch in early November. My friend Kara (also from PA and Marie’s daughter) sent me the snow photo (taken November 22). She that said one day, ten and a half inches of snow fell before noon! Thankfully, she was able to get a fire going in their stove to help keep them warm.