Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: Christmas

  • It’s ALL Better En Masse

    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

    So here we are it’s Christmas,
    The most wonderful time of year,
    When our minds turn to our loved ones,
    And those we hold most dear,
    May the memories and traditions,
    That have always played a part,
    Make this season special,
    Bringing joy into your heart.

    I had intended to post this on Facebook, in fact, I thought I had, but we were navigating lengthy internet outages on Sunday and Monday morning. I just now found the unpublished post, so it will launch today’s Merry Christmas and Happy New Year message.

    Yesterday a precious Jewish friend sent an email wishing me a Merry Christmas. When I asked Google to search, “What is Christmas to non-Christians?” this was the response: For many, it’s an opportunity to connect with family and friends, enjoy festive traditions, and embrace the warm atmosphere of the season. The appeal of decorations, music, and shared meals transcends religious boundaries, making Christmas a celebration of human connection.

    The days leading up to Christmas this year are filled with more raw emotion than any I recall. On Sunday Jane Foster surprised me with a telephone call after her major complications following a 12-hour ileostomy surgery in late September. She has been hospitalized for weeks now. When she was not able to talk on the phone we figured out I could send brief text messages recorded with Voice Memos.

    Our beloved Florida friends are still in Canada as they continue to navigate her having been diagnosed in June with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

    Yesterday, Stacey’s dear friends made one of life’s toughest decisions and removed life-support for their wife and mother following a severe stroke this past weekend. She passed 8 hours later.

    Also, yesterday, John’s cousin posted on Facebook that his beloved wife passed the previous evening.

    Tonight, on Christmas Eve 2025, John and I have tickets to attend the 7:45 pm showing of the film Wicked For Good. When I selected our seats online late last evening, we were the only seats purchased for this time and date. My only other “private” showing at a cinema was for Lion King in 1994. It is bittersweet because last year we were with our grand children when we saw Wicked in Smyrna, Tennessee, and then met the rest of the family (including our great-grandson Jackson) for Mexican food afterwards.

    Zan Henigan Lombardo is a beloved artist friend here on Pine Island I have mentioned many times over the years because she paints amazingly significant ginormous (30-foot!) water color paintings. She hosted a Flash Mob Art event for her current project “Swimming Towards the Light” this past Saturday. I would have loved to attend but we were going to the magical musical launch for Bonnie Makepeace with Rochelle Morris that day. This morning I saw a video of Zan’s group and this is what I replied: This looks like a visual-version of a group meditation or a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir — the good stuff is all better en masse!

    As all are wished a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my heart holds the pleasant and the unpleasant life events happening simultaneously. Perhaps the simplest truth may be the same for everyone: It’s ALL better en masse….

  • Ornament Hanger

    Wintering together in Florida, with no chance for a white Christmas, they had both gone to a neighborhood tree-lighting with hot chocolate and cookies. Santa (the President of the neighborhood association) gifted each of them with an ornament he had made in his workshop. (He is also quite accomplished in stained glass as well!)

    She was able to hang hers in an ornamental tree in the great room of their tiny rental. She showed her friend the photo.

    But when she asked her friend if she had hung hers yet, her friend told her,”Not yet. I don’t know where to hang it.”

    The following morning, while out on a bike ride with her husband, she spotted a perfect table-top ornament hanger! It was one of the ‘free’ gifts on the lawn of a home in another neighborhood. They left it on the table in the porch for their friend to find.

    Knowing immediately who had left the ornament hanger, she sent this text message to her friend, “I found the perfect thing to hang my ornament on!”

    “I hope it was convenient where you found it,” her friend replied.

    “Great! It just appeared!” came the response.

    The Bible scripture “You have not because you ask not,” is found in James 4:2b and it explains that people often lack things like peace and provision because they don’t ask God. It seems a wonderful scripture to close this Sacred Story!

    A wonderful holy-day reminder, the following day the ornament hanger was adorned with lights.

  • LOVE Came Down at Christmas

    I am grateful John and I had a practice run at not being physically with Stacey and her family for Christmas in 2019.

    Last year we attended a Christmas Day potluck at Pine Island Cove with Michigan friends, Linda and Fred, who also winter here in Florida.

    This year, John and I share our day with all of you in our hearts.


    Our hearts are uplifted by the truth: “We isolate this year so that when we can meet again next year no one will be missing.”

    Today, our home-away-from-home may be empty of friends and family, but my heart is full of love for each of you!

    Our hearts are filled with memories!

    Our hearts are warmed by Christmases past.

    Our hearts are nourished with the true meaning of Christmas:

      That Mary and Joseph—Mary heavy with child—traveled through the countryside.

      She was at the time of giving birth to the child.

      They found shelter, simple shelter.

      And many beings experiencing, “The light has been born! Ah… The light is back!”

      It wasn’t me, it was more that my birth opened the doorway so that the Heavenly light—the Love, the remembrance of Love—could pour through.

      What was that star? Let us metaphorically call it an opening in the dark heavens where the remembrance of light and Love could pour through—pour through to where I lay as an infant, not to highlight me but to remind humans nothing is hopeless.

      Light IS.

      Love IS.

      And it is right here.

      And it was pointing at me, but it could be pointing at any of you.

      Here is the ground of love and light.

      And the earth sang, “Halleluiah!” not for my birth but for the remembrance: LIGHT IS, LOVE IS.*

    * Jeshua, channeled by Barbara Brodsky on Christmas Eve 2020, sharing some thoughts about what Christmas means to him and how we can carry the meaning of Christmas through to our times.

  • Word for the Day

    Sacred Stories

    It was Christmas day. She had just finished reading Barbara Brodsky’s channeled message from Jeshua, when, not 30 seconds later, she opened this email:

    What a perfect Christmas message! She smiled….

    ‘Word for the Day’ is free. Go to Gratefulness.org to sign up now.

    These are sacred stories. Pay attention to happenings in your life. Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Somebody Hit My Car!

    Sacred Stories

    It was Christmas day. She drove her new car to her parents’ home. As she parked near the barn, she said, “I don’t want to park here and have somebody hit my new car.”

    She moved the car across the street next to the house, but that did not feel right, so she moved back to the barn, headed in the opposite direction.

    As the family celebration began, she said, “Somebody hit my car!”

    A moment later they heard a crash.

    Someone did hit her new car, but because of the way it was parked, they were OK and her car was not seriously damaged. She announced the crash before they heard the sound…

    A Christmas angel had given her the gift of a warning. Fortunately, she was paying attention.

    These are sacred stories. Have one to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.