Ask Elnora--About Diamonds??? Lenora Worth

Elnora has diamonds on her mind. And in celebration of my current release "The Diamond Secret" I'm going to give away one book and one very pretty kind-of-diamond-looking necklace. (Since I can't actually afford to give away a real diamond!)All you have to do is tell me about your favorite piece of jewelry. Or what kind of jewelry you'd like to have. I'll draw a name from all the blinging bloggers!

The necklace is lovely. All the talk about diamonds got me to thinking about the real jewels in life. Friends. Some friends are like rubies--they are vibrant, bold and willing to take on the world. Other friends are pretty blue sapphires--dainty, happy and always sparkling. And some friends are emeralds--lush and quiet and strong, earthy. Then there are diamonds--brilliant, shining, multi-faceted, elegant and full of possibilties. What would we do without our friends? Right now, I have a friend who is suffering greatly. She needs our prayers. She is a true gem. It would be good for her to look up and feel the prayers of so many other gems sparkling around her. We can do that, right? We all started out like a lump of coal, but we've been refined by fire, shaped by the Master's hand and formed in His image. Some friends are truly more precious than rubies. Do you have a friend who is a jewel? Let's discuss.

Ask Elnora--about diamonds and pearls?????

We were all sad to hear that Ellizabeth Taylor died this week. She lived a very colorful and full life and Elnora has always admired her beauty and her jewelry. Let's face it, the lady knew her diamonds. And she had some very big jewelry. But then, Elnora believes in having wonderful shiny bling. There is something about sparkly things that just brightens the day. Now Elnora prefers pearls, lots and lots of pearls. I think Southern girls are practically born wearing pearls. I've seen babies with little pearls in their tiny ears. Elnora doesn't go that far, but I do recall wearing baubles and those feathered Barbie shoes around the house when I was a tiny tot. And I always had a handbag on my arm.

What is it about bling that makes women happy? Marilyn Monroe sang "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" and maybe she was onto something. It might seem frivolous to some, but size doesn't matter when it comes to jewelry. I still have the simple pearl earrings my darling Big Daddy gave me over twenty-five years ago and I love them. He gave me the matching necklace one Christmas, early, so I could wear my pearls with a little black dress to a party. One year, he gave me tiny diamond stud earrings and I wear those a lot. He hid the matching darling tiny diamond necklace inside a book like a shiny bookmark. The man does have his moments. So, let's talk, ladies and Vince. Why do we love jewelry, small or large??

And thank you, Elizabeth Taylor, for your timeless beauty.

On the fifth day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five sparkling Ipods
Four kissing frogs
Three chocolate bars
Two sparkling gems
And a flamingo in a tutu

Okay, I am the most technically challenged person on this blog site. I can't ever remember my past words and I usually misplace my blog notes. I'm scatterbrained--it's true. But the funny thing is that when it comes to writing, I can stay focused on the story for days on end and forget everything else around me. So which day of Christmas do I get? I-pods. Fear the little things. Don't have one. Don't know how to use one or download one but if I had five---well now that's different. I'd want them to be in different colors--like five different presents underneath the tree. I'd want them to be hot pink and bright purple and lime green and pearl white and shining red, and all with lots of bling on them. I love presents, I'm a girly-girl, and I love my bling.

But that's what Christmas is all about, right? Presents and shining bows and bright lights and songs running through our heads? Christmas is the advent season. And it is a true adventure--the anticipation of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ always makes me stop and pause for just a few minutes, usually on Christmas Eve, with that song "Do you see what I see?" traveling through my mind the old-fashioned way. I hum it as I look out at the stars. I love Christmas music so I guess I really should ask Santa for an I-pod. But knowing me, I'd trip over the little cord and break a leg just trying to get the thing connected to my ear. The other night, our neighbor who is in middle school came over to ask for our help with a science project. She wanted my husband and me to listen to music for thirty minutes. She took our blood pressure before we listened and then after, to see if the annoying music she'd picked raised our blood pressure. I thought this would be fun and ... I'd actually get to sit still for thirty minutes. The only trouble I had was with the little ear things. I couldn't get them to stay in because I am not I-pod smart. She had to show me how to make them hang off my earlobe. Now if that had been a set of pearls--- Anyway, I have high blood pressure and take medication for it but when the songs finished my pressure had gone down. And these were not my usual choice in music, trust me.

That little lesson can be applied to the holidays. We rush and run around and search for all those shining baubles and perfect gifts and really, the real treasure is being able to just sit still long enough to feel the presence of peace and to know that the Lord is watching over us. It's hard to just "be still and know that He is God" but we really should do that.

I remember one Christmas years ago when I had to have a minor surgery done to make sure all my female parts were working correctly. I was put to sleep but when I woke up, I felt ill because of the medicine. My husband came to pick me up from the day surgery and since it was close to Christmas and I guess because he was a bit worried about me, he'd bought me a gift. It was an Aaron Neville Christmas CD. Now I'm a Louisiana girl and I love Aaron Neville. My husband loaded me into the Yukon and presented me with this sweet gift. The first song I heard was "Please Come Home for Christmas." I remember tears streaming down my face and a bit of nausea searing my stomach, but I will always remember that sweet gift.

This is the gift the Lord gives us--a gift of thoughtfulness and love, an unexpected gift that we didn't even ask for. It's ours for the taking. And maybe we do need a little speaker in our ears to hear of this precious gift. Do you see what I see? I hope so. Do you hear what I hear? I'm thinking you do. Take the time to listen, just listen, to the quiet amongst this busy season.
And if Santa brings you an I-pod, please post here on how the things really work. I'd love to know. Merry Christmas and I hope you always hear a song of joy each time you wish upon a star.