Merry Christmas

On the night of the 23rd we had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a "pick up pageant" at a friend's house. The main roles (those we could only have one of) were asked ahead of time to participate. (Our youngest was thrilled to be asked to be Mary.) The kids were then asked to come dressed as an angel, shepherd, king, or animal to participate in the pageant. It was on her front yard and they used a work light as a spot light. A friend of theirs played guitar music which we sang to during appropriate times during the pageant. Their pastor retold the Christmas story while the kids acted out their parts. (One of the cutest things - was a donkey cut out attached to the side of a wagon. This, of course, was how Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem.) :) It was very precious and sweet. We were so thankful to participate in it. Afterward, three of the families (including ours) stayed and went caroling in the neighborhood. What a fun precious time.

Christmas Eve was special too. My honey worked all day and the girls and I enjoyed baking, listening to carols, and watching Christmas specials. That night we visited our old church for a lessons and carols communion service - always enjoy getting to see everyone and give hugs. We were blessed to have my mom with us. On the way home we looked at Christmas lights. We got home and did our advent wreath and read Jotham's Journey. Then we (my honey and I) then stayed up entirely too late. Didn't mean to procrastinate and leave all that wrapping until Christmas Eve. We finally went to sleep sometime between 1:30 and 2. The girls, however, who weren't up that late, slept in the same room and had the alarm set for 6 a.m.! So, we got up early :) and had fun around the Christmas tree.

The girls waiting in the hallway.

Finally being allowed into the den. :)

My mom and dad came over to enjoy it with us.

The dog enjoyed his gift too. (The cat enjoyed crawling into the boxes and chasing his toy - a bell and streamers on a stick. Just forgot to get a photo of that too.)

Around midday we went to visit my grandma (who was sick and couldn't come to my mom & dad's that day). We then spent the afternoon with my mom & dad and brother, sister-in-law and sweet nephews and niece.

Around supper time we went to my honey's grandmothers to spend the evening with her, my mother-in-law and her husband, and aunts, uncles, & cousins. Blessed time but we were wiped out by the time we got home.

It was a great day full of family time as we celebrated Jesus' birth. However, we were so thankful that Christmas was on a Friday and thoroughly enjoyed resting and enjoying a quiet time at home on the 26th. :)

Hope you had fun and are continuing to celebrate. Growing up the church I attended paid a lot of attention to the church calendar. What a joy to celebrate the time before Christmas as Advent (looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and His second coming) and then Christmas runs from Dec. 25 - Jan. 6th. So I'm still enjoying the Christmas tree and Christmas carols and am thankful that it doesn't have to all stop abruptly on the 26th.

Looking forward to going to a local zoo tonight to see Christmas lights with some of my honey's family and then looking forward to a quiet New Year's Eve at home - our traditional time of pizza and movies and toasting in the New Year with sparkling grape juice. (Truth be known I'm normally sacked out on the couch by midnight, but my family sweetly wakes me up to toast in the new year with them.) :) Then we normally enjoy a traditional New Year's dinner with my side of the family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. :)

toy packaging

I love this song - I think it's quite funny. It's sung by Sarah Groves, a Christian singer that we like. Thought it might bring you a smile. (Wish I'd thought to share this with you last week - must say that I thought of this song Christmas morning when I was helping the girls with some toy packaging.) :)

Merry Christmas

(Photo credit goes to my sweet 10 year old daughter, who also took the header photo.)

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful Christmas filled with quiet moments of worship and loud moments of joy! :)
(By the way, I'm still working on the Mary Christmas part. Thankfully God is so patient during the journey. The weekend was wonderful - the play went really well. The girls had a great time Sunday afternoon watching another local play with their grandmother while my honey & I tried to finish up some Christmas shopping. Yesterday I had a great day at produce co-op in the morning and we enjoyed visiting with some sweet friends in the afternoon. Looking forward to a day at home all day today - hoping to enjoy watching Christmas movies, baking Christmas cookies & some bread, and wrapping some gifts.)
Have a wonderful Christmas!

Mary Christmas

The other day I heard someone say that she wanted to have a Mary Christmas rather than a Martha Christmas. That really stuck with me. Yes, that's what I want too - a "Mary" Christmas. As I pondered it the day I heard it, I wondered which Mary & Martha they were originally talking about. To be honest, I realized that the natural comparison was Mary & Martha - the sisters in the Bible. But, to me, I first thought of Mary, Jesus' mother, & Martha Stewart! :) Either comparison was just what I needed to hear.

I love Mary & Martha in the Bible - I want to be Mary but find myself so often distracted like Martha. Martha's heart was right - she invited Jesus into her home and was doing all this work to serve Him; however, her heart was distracted by the work. (A funny side story. When my oldest two were younger, I passed a church board that said something about Mary & Martha. I wasn't sure if the girls had heard of them or not, so I told them the story as we drove. As I told about Martha being stressed out trying to get everything done, I heard a little voice pipe up from the back, "Mommy, that sounds like you!" I had to tell her I was just thinking the same thing.) :)

I also love the comparison of Mary, Jesus' mother, and Martha Stewart. Nothing against Martha personally. To me though, it just spoke in my mind the differences of focusing on Jesus - whose birth is Christmas - and all the busy, fun Christmasy things we can do to "make this Christmas wonderful."

I, for one, needed the reminder to slow down and get my focus on Jesus. This doesn't mean idleness, simply not getting distracted.

As you can probably tell, this month has been busy and I was extremely anxious earlier this week. It's all good things, but I've been distracted. Not the fault of the activities, just the fault of my focus.

Here's some of what's been going on with us (and why my posts aren't very regular). :)

The girls had an all day speech marathon in a city 1 1/2 hours away the beginning of the month. It went well and they had a great time.

That weekend we cut down our Christmas tree. (A family tradition that's treasured.) We also got to enjoy a quick visit with my brother and his family.

That afternoon the oldest had a puppet team performance and the oldest two were in the local Christmas parade, which we all attended and enjoyed.

That night, we came home and decorated the tree.

The following day, we enjoyed the oldest three's Christmas piano recital.

The following week we also enjoyed attending a Christmas play in another city (1 1/2 hours away).

The girls are participating in a local Christmas musical. It's wonderful - such a Christ honoring, original production! (It's by a very talented young woman who's written, directed, choreographed, and taught all the dances.) The older three have parts in the play and the youngest is dancing to a song in the play. It's wonderful. They've enjoyed the practices, performing the songs and reading Scripture at a local nursing home, and are enjoying the performances this weekend.

We enjoyed a wonderful time at missionary geography club learning about how Christmas is celebrated in 5 different countries and enjoying treats from each of those countries.

We also snuck in a camping weekend at an area about 3 hours away with wonderful Christmas activities. It was cold but lots of fun!

I've grown up using an advent wreath this time of year. It's such a special part of advent - looking forward to celebrating Christ's birth in Bethlehem and looking forward to His return. It's a tradition that we've continued with our children. This year, thanks to recommendations from a couple homeschool mom's I know, we've added Jotham's Journey.

It's wonderful and leaves us hanging on the edge of our seats. (The kids often beg to read the next night's portion, but we've stuck to our grounds and not read ahead - even though I'm tempted.) It's kept us faithful in our advent devotions. (To be honest, we normally miss at least one Sunday of the advent wreath - but not this year!) :) The story is a bit intense for little ones, but we are loving it!

Wishing you a "Mary" Christmas and that you will enjoy this wonderful time of year and find yourself drawn to Christ and focused on Him, thankful for His coming & His sacrifice for our salvation, and looking forward to His return!

Dockers Manifesto

The Call for Men to Wear the Pants: Dockers’ Manifesto

Thanks to posts at Generation Cedar and at Your Sacred Calling, I was made aware of "The Dockers Manifesto". My husband and I loved it and thought you'd enjoy it too. :)

“Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khaki’s and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by and cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants.”

http://www.us.dockers.com/season/landing.aspx

Have a great weekend.

Thank You

"On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4



As I was reading this morning, these verses jumped out at me. Paul was talking to the Corinthians thanking them for praying for him - the afflictions they faced were those of persecution, death threats & attempts. The situation is different, however, I know that the truth remains. Prayer is an effective means of lifting up those we love. Thank you, Linda, Connie, and for those of you who I've spoken with via email or phone/in person, for the encouragement you've shared and for lifting up my brother, sister-in-law, the baby, and the whole family. Thank you for helping them.

In His love.

Christmas

One thing I love about Christmas - hearing the good new of Jesus' birth sung in so many places. I especially love to hear it on secular stations and while in shopping malls. Something so encouraging about hearing the gospel proclaimed in places that don't normally mention Jesus. :)
Hope you're having a great season looking forward to celebrating the Messiah's birth.

Life is hard but God is good

I have a prayer request to share with you. My brother and his wife learned this week that their newest little one (due in April) will possibly only be with us on this side of heaven for 24-48 hours. This is so difficult. Please lift them and their newest little one up in prayer. (Also, please pray for their three children and the grandparents.) God is in control and can do whatever He desires in this situation. God's hand is all over them and He's enabled them to desire to glorify Him in this. He's given them a strength in the face of this that is only described by His Spirit. Still, the whole situation really needs to be bathed in prayer. (Of course, we are praying for a miraculous healing and know that God is more than able to do that. However, the over riding prayer request from my brother and sister-in-law is that His will be done and that He be glorified in this.)

Thank you for your faithful prayers.