There are nights when exhaustion settles into my bones, yet sleep refuses to come. And it always seems to happen at the most inconvenient times — like now, when Christmas is just around the corner. A season that sparkles once a year, bringing light, joy, and that familiar warmth I usually cherish. But life doesn’t…
Tag: christmas
The Beauty of Advent
There is something about Advent that reaches into me very deeply. Every year, when it comes around again, I feel it before I can properly explain it. It comes quietly, like a soft stillness settling over my soul, like the first pale light of morning slipping through the dark. And in that quietness, I feel…
This World Needs Christmas
There are some stories that don’t fade with time. They settle into the soul and stay there. One of them is the Christmas of 1914. I often try to picture it. Young men far from home, shivering in muddy trenches along the Western Front during World War I. Cold. Exhausted. Surrounded by the constant thunder…
Christmas Wish
Sometimes life has a way of stopping us in our tracks, quietly urging us to reflect. It’s so easy to get swept up in the holiday buzz — the endless plans, the lists, the preparations. This year my Christmas tree is surrounded by a growing pile of gifts, a testament to my large and loving…
Love at First Sip
Allow me to share a little secret with you. Every morning, without fail, I begin my day with a steaming cup of Masala Chai tea, lovingly made and brought to my bedside by my husband, Peter. It is one of the small but deeply cherished pleasures of my life. This is no ordinary cup of…
Christmas 1939
Written by Jaana M. H. JokinenTold by my father, Matti Samuli30th November 1939, Helsinki, Finland “All aboard!” The conductor’s booming cry drew my mother to her feet. “The train is leaving, let’s go!” I clapped my hands in delight. I could hardly contain my excitement. Though I was barely four years old, I had already…
Apples of Gold 