Happy Holidays to all from Nonny! Best wishes for a safe & joyful holiday season. Thank you for being a reader of Nonny’s Blog. The photo below is of my Christmas Cactus in full bloom... Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays from Nonny!Connie Carlisle Polley, 2025ConnieCarlislePolley.comNonnyDay.com Shop for Play Clay Hooray! or Learn about all my … Continue reading Season’s Greetings & Happy Holidays from Nonny
In times of conflict, disappointment, or even utter despair in our lives, is there a place where can we go to find Hope? Yes, there is. Jesus, the Author of Hope, tells us in Holy Scripture, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has … Continue reading Heavy Hearts Sustained by Hope
The months of May and June bring with them the celebration of Mother's Day and then Father's Day in the U.S.A. as well as many other countries throughout the world. As my family treated me this past Mother's Day with helpful hands, sawing up tree branches, trimming bushes, clearing out poison ivy, and more, I … Continue reading Tell Mother I’ll Be There… A Celebration of Mothers & Fathers
This weekend many of us are thinking about the Moms who birthed us, the Moms who raised us, or another parent figure who guided our lives. All of us began our existence totally dependent on a caregiver, without whom we wouldn't have survived. No matter who that special person is, my hope for you is … Continue reading Thanks to Our Moms!
You can’t sing The Twelve Days of Christmas without smiling. Its references from the sublime “swans a-swimming” to the merry “lords a-leaping” keep us in a festive mood. However, the early Christian Church did not view these twelve images as trivial; each was viewed as signifying a spiritual truth. The book of Christmas Carols that … Continue reading More Than A Rollicking Christmas Song: The True Meaning of the Twelve Days of Christmas
At this time of the year I love to watch my Christmas Cactus as its blooms increase every day! But it makes me a little sad to think that I will see this spectacular show only for a season. However, even when it is no longer blooming, it retains its healthy green leaves and the … Continue reading A Christmas Cactus Greeting
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah, in the midst of many other prophecies, foretells the birth of the Messiah this way: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel.” Isaiah 7:14, Holy Bible, New International Version. Emmanuel means “God dwells … Continue reading The Emmanuel Who Dwells With Me: 2024 Christmas Devotional & Poem
Like all of Nonny’s children’s books, Play Clay Hooray! includes activity instructions and Nonny’s Nurturing Tips. This particular book features a recipe for homemade play clay from everyday kitchen ingredients. Reading a book, making & playing with some play clay… makes for a great day! You can view Play Clay Hooray! and all my children’s … Continue reading Holiday Cheer: Discover Fun Activities in Nonny’s New Book!
Hello, Blog Readers! Thank you for being along with me on the journey to the publication of my most recent children’s book, Play Clay Hooray! As the holiday season approaches, I invite you to consider my books as delightful and educational gifts for the little ones in your life. I appreciate greatly your sharing of … Continue reading Gift the Joy of Language, Learning, and Life: Exploring My Children’s Book Series
My new book is out! If you have children ages 3-8 on your shopping list for this holiday season, this might just be the perfect gift for them. It’s also great for their parents or other caregivers, too. PLAY CLAY HOORAY! is not only beautifully illustrated and fun to read, but also includes activities and … Continue reading Unwrap Joy This Holiday Season: My New Children’s Book, PLAY CLAY HOORAY!
I feel this is one of the most important things I have ever written. Join me in hope...
The Holy Spirit troubles our hearts that we are missing something—like a puzzle piece needed to make the picture complete. And the Holy Spirit turns us around, so we are facing and going in a new direction. Whereas before we were following our own physical desires, through this new awareness we are brought to repentance … Continue reading The Reason I Have Hope: The Power of Pentacost (Part 4 of 4)
In his Pentacost sermon, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and the miraculous event of ‘speaking in tongues’ occurred. One insight for ‘speaking in tongues’ as I interpret it is speaking a language or languages beyond one’s mother tongue. However, some persons do attest that they have experienced ‘speaking’ in a language which even … Continue reading The Reason I Have Hope: The Power of Pentacost (Part 3 of 4)
Pentacost is a New Testament event at which the power of the Holy Spirit became evident to many. See Acts chapters 1 and 2. Chapter and verse subdivisions of the Bible did not exist in the early Scriptures which were written on scrolls. Thus, knowing how much time elapsed between the events of verses 14 … Continue reading The Reason I Have Hope: The Power of Pentacost (Part 2 of 4)
Every book in the Holy Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, speaks of the Holy Spirit. And yet, many do not understand the Holy Spirit’s personhood and work, even those who identify themselves with a particular church or denomination. There are so many verses of Scripture on this subject, it is difficult for … Continue reading The Reason I Have Hope: The Power of Pentacost (Part 1 of 4)
We should always be mindful that young children want to be like their parents (or other primary caregivers). That's the message of the following lyric especially for dads of boys. Just as little girls like to walk in the high heels of their moms, little boys relish scooting along in their daddies' seemingly gigantic shoes; … Continue reading Watch Your Step, Daddy
Have you ever started out on a road trip knowing the highway you were going to take, but not quite sure how many miles you were going to travel, or exactly what would become your final destination? This was the kind of journey the “Magi,” or "Wise Men from the East” found themselves on as … Continue reading A Journey Full of Hope
The seasons of Christmas and Easter are intimately related. Below you will find a video of my song of praise for all seasons, "Sing Hallelujah, Give Him Your Heart." It tells the story of the birth and life of Jesus in a way that is understandable to children as well as adults. Along with the … Continue reading A Song for All Seasons: Sing Hallelujah, Give Him Your Heart
As a working mom whose first two children (a boy and then a girl) were born 21 months apart, by the time “Child Number Three” came along—4 ¾ years after her sister—I didn’t always do things the traditional way. One example is how “Number Three” became a Santa’s Helper in what many of you might … Continue reading A Delightful Santa’s Helper
Some of you may be thinking, “What in the world is a house for Toddler Jesus?” Let me give you some background information before I jump into telling you how my two school age granddaughters and I recently made a little cardboard and popsicle stick house. We are going to use it at Christmastime alongside … Continue reading A House for Toddler Jesus (craft project)
A first cousin on my maternal (Marcum) side of the family recently passed away. Memories flooded into my mind when I received a text from his son Mike that he was gone. Actually, I sat down and cried for a while for there were so many good memories that I had of “Billy” as he … Continue reading An Unexpected Special Thanksgiving — In Memory of My Cousin Bill Warren
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