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This contest is now closed. The winner of the Amish-made wall hanging is Marilyn of Catlettsburg, Kentucky.

Congratulations, Marilyn!

Orignal post:

Last Tuesday, President Obama’s inauguration reminded me of something I bought from an Amish friend of mine—an Amish-made American flag wall hanging.

If you’d like a chance to win this, just leave a comment below.

Last week, our youngest son was in the throes of that American tradition called Inauguration Day. He left the Friday night before and came home Wednesday at six a.m. We heard from him every day. He called for less than a minute each time—usually to assure us he was safe and having fun. Our favorite call from him was on Sunday morning, before seven a.m., asking me where I packed his tie.

“Uh, right where I showed you it would be . . . four times.”

It wasn’t easy helping him find it via phone. The room he was in was noisy, and he was a bit uptight—both of which made hearing me difficult.

The tie was tucked safely inside a hidden pocket of his new suit. I knew when we were packing his suitcase that in his excitement he wasn’t paying attention, so I showed him several times, and then I had his dad show him, and then I handed my son the jacket and had him locate the tie before the suit was packed.

He finally discovered it. His dad and I couldn’t help but laugh. Good thing the young man is cute!

I wonder, does President Obama have this kind of issue with his daughters? I would hope so, since they are years younger than my son. But our son’s deal is probably a case of “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Our youngest son is about as scattered and distractible as I was at his age. I couldn’t find the pencil I’d had in my hand two seconds earlier, but I could read a novel and never miss the faintest inferred emotion. I fought to concentrate in a classroom, but a parade could be happening around me once a book was open in my hand, and I never heard anything but the silent words on the page. My mother went with the flow, always curious who I’d grow up to be.

If you’d like to see a satellite image of DC during the inauguration, click

Inauguration Satellite View.

Very cool!

It’s time for me to get the next school subject taught and edit marketing blurbs my publisher sent last night, so I’ll leave you with a gentle reminder.

Please remember to pray for our president, for our leaders, and for our children. A favorite Scripture of mine is Psalm 127:1. “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes in vain.”

On our own, we can do nothing that will grow the fruit we desire, but if we unite our efforts with faith in Him, He will build a house and keep watch over the city.

Em Gott sei Friede (God’s peace),

Cindy

P.S. We have a winner for the 2008 Amish-made quilt contest. Nedra Wright of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee is the winner. The 2009 Amish-made quilt contest has begun! Go to: Quilt Contest to enter.

The 2008 Christmas season gave its own special memories—times of laughter, excitement, peace, renewed faith, and tiresome duty. We shared times that were well-planned, spur-of-the-moment, and mundane. All of them too fleeting.

I have a lot of goals for 2009. Contracts to fill. Marketing to accomplish. School lessons to teach. Suppers to cook. Souls to feed. My soul to feed. There is no way to keep up with all I need to.

We all know the drill—prioritize, which feels like a euphemism for: make a list, make choices, make people angry.

Sometimes I long for the ease of days when infants wakened me in the middle of the night or when teen sleepovers never ended soon enough. Not that long ago, I homeschooled two middle-schoolers while nurturing a newborn into toddlerhood. Those middle-schoolers are men now—one married, one soon to be. And the once-toddler is studying for his learner’s permit.

Each Christmas season offers so many, many things and one of them is a reason to gather. It gives us festivities for renewing fellowships, and for making new as well as keeping old traditions. It allows us to embrace the very best of life in preparation for a year that is sure to have times of sorrow.

But whether the Christmas season was what you’d hoped it would be or not, the new year will keep marching on. And it’ll be filled with opportunities to try again, forgive, dream, work, and try again.

Happy New Day. Happy New Year!