~Open Windows: Fingerprint Friday~

Whenever God closes a door, He opens a window. So many times, we wait and wait for the door to reopen. We stare impatiently at it. We shake angrily at the lock. Why did it close? Why isn’t it opening? We are so focused that we fail to see that right there, nearby, is the wide-open window. Fresh. New. Waiting.

Thank you, God, for the doors that are closed, and the windows that are open. Your Fingerprints are truly everywhere. We just need to open our eyes and our hearts to see them.

Take a peak at Beki’s blog for more Fingerprints.

Blessings to each of you on this Friday~

~FingerPrints Friday~

"Home For Christmas"

There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called, Fingerprints, that starts:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

'Home for Christmas' never meant as much to me as it does now that I have raised a family, and the kids have grown up, and left to live their own lives, in their own homes. Yes...I always treasured going to my parents and in-law's house on Christmas Eve. It was tradition. It was the Christmas that I had known my whole life. But all-of-a-sudden, that Christmas Eve tradition doesn't happen anymore. My in-laws and my father are in heaven now for Christmas Eve. So now, we have a new tradition: the kids and grandchildren come home to US.

Our home is now the one they travel to to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Home to our tree. Our presents. With their presence.

We are building a whole new set of traditions. A whole new set of memories our children and grandchildren will recall fondly once we are celebrating Christmas in heaven. Fingerprints to be sure!

May you have a memorable day today. Be sure to look for the Fingerprints in your life this Friday in December....wherever you are in the world!

Stop by Beki's blog to read about more Fingerprints!

~FingerPrints Friday~

There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called, Fingerprints, that starts:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

Each Christmas I find my heart and my home flooded with memories of long-ago Christmases. Each one has its own distinct 'fingerprint'. We had our sons seven years apart....so Jeffrey, our oldest, had many Christmases with Mom and Dad all to himself. And oh did he have our undivided attention! I just couldn't imagine loving another child as much as I loved him. I feared that I couldn't 'mother' any child with the passion I had for this child. Yes...he was covered in God's fingerprints. I was happy to be the mother to this brilliant (of course!) precious child of God. I would dedicate my life to being the best mother I could be.

Jeffrey got on his knees every nite before bed and prayed for a baby brother. I tried my darndest to persuade him to pray for a baby 'sister'....to no avail! You know what they say about God always listening closely to the prayers of children. He did. And He sent us a new little set of fingerprints when Jeffrey was almost seven: Tommy. We were blessed with another brilliant (of course!) precious son.....and then there were two. The fingerprints continued.

We were going to name this new beautiful bundle, Ryan. Much to our chagrin, Jeffrey refused to call him 'Ryan', calling him 'Tom' after his favorite person in the world: his cousin and our Godchild, Tom. And although I had two gold little boy charms Jim had already had engraved with 'Jeffrey' and 'Tommy', you guessed it: Jeffrey won. We named our new little one Tommy! (Our Godson, Tom is Tommy's Godfather!)

The next Christmas we had two sons. They are the greatest gifts God could ever have sent us. I get very nostalgic each Christmas as the memories flood my heart and my mind with those long-ago memories. Sigh. They seem like just yesterday.


May you have a memorable day today. Be sure to look for the Fingerprints in your life this Friday in December....wherever you are in the world!





Stop by Beki's blog to read about more Fingerprints!


Thank you, David for the mention on Post of the Day!

Stop by his blog for some fine reads! You'll be glad you did!

~Fingerprint Friday~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
Youre a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

My son, Tom, made me a CD for my car that has that song on it. It's one of my favorites.

This photo shows my son, Jeff, introducing Ella to her baby brother, Jackson, for the very first time. Fingerprints of God at its finest!

Stop by Pampering Beki's blog to read other interpretations of FingerPrint Friday!

Look for God's Fingerprints throughout your Friday, wherever you are in the world!