Heaven Everywhere

                         

Maybe it’s that I am getting older and thinking more about “legacy” – the world that we are leaving to future generations.

Maybe it’s the sermon during Mass that encourages me to “bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners”. (Isaiah 61:1)

Maybe it’s Christmas song lyrics, especially “Heaven Everywhere”, by Francesca Battistelli, reminding me of the potential for positive change if people choose to embrace the joy, love and hope that is the true meaning of Christmas.

Whatever it is, I am motivated to share a few photos from this summer.  They illustrate a minuscule piece of this planet we call home, a little corner that I desire to leave in better shape than I found it.  Maybe these snapshots will be “glad tidings” for you, or a balm for an aching heart.   And just maybe, they might inspire you to make change where you can.  

I hear the bells, they're ringing loud and clear
You can't help but love this time of year
It's Christmastime, there's something in the air
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere

Somehow there's a little more of love
Maybe there's a little less of us
Or maybe we're just slightly more aware
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere

It's the smile on a man who has finally found hope
It's the tears of a mother whose child has come home
It's the joy that we feel and the love that we share
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere

It's funny how it takes a holiday
To show us how the world could truly change
If we all took the time to really care
There'd be a little more of Heaven everywhere

It's the grace that we show to a world that needs hope
It's giving our lives knowing they're not our own
It's the joy that we feel and the love that we share
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Hallelujah (hallelujah)
Hallelujah (ooh)

 

 

 

 

It's the joy that we feel and the love that we share
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere
There's a little bit of Heaven everywhere

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains

- Francesca Battistelli 

Audio of song 

*****

I am linking to I Like Thursday with Leeanna of Not Afraid of Color.  The prompt this week is "Do you unwrap gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?  Do you prefer Christmas or New Year's?  Do you have a customary way to spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day?"  We unwrap our gifts on Christmas Day, starting with the items that Santa put in our stocking (if we have been good).  We don't have any traditions for New Year's Eve/Day, so I strongly prefer Christmas given the joyful hoopla, and celebrating the birth of our Savior.  

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Linking to Thankful Thursday

Linking to Mosaic Monday