Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to you and your's -

The Message of Christmas

As Matthew Henry once wrote on John 3:16 & 17,
"Here is all in a little":

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16 & 17)

Christ was given up by God BEFORE He was crucified, BEFORE He was born, BEFORE He was conceived, BEFORE He was prophesied of, even BEFORE Adam & Eve's sin. God gave up His Son from the foundations of the world for us, for you and me.

God gave up His right to condemn the world and instead chose to love it by giving His Son. How dare I not give up my "rights" when I'm offended and choose to love? To give up my gifts, abilities, possessions and time (and they aren't even mine but given by God) as God gave up His All - His Son - for me. This day, Christmas Day, and every day.

Help me to constantly remember Your great Gift to me, Abba. May the thought of it motivate all I do.

Animal Finger Puppets

Need a last-minute gift idea for toddlers? Last Christmas, Caleb, Eli and I spent a snowy afternoon crafting these little animal finger puppets for my then two-year-old nephew. Use your pinkie finger as a pattern for toddler fingers and cut out two pieces of felt for each animal. Hand sew using a running stitch around the outer edge - don't forget to tuck in any ears as you go. Add embellishments with glue and a felt tip permanent marker. This gift is fun for little ones and can be a sweet memory of afternoon Christmas crafting . . .

Alone With God

"The walk of faith that she proposed required a fellowship with the Father as current as breathing. This was no vague, mystical "communion" wrought of some secret formula. Quite simply, Lilias put the highest priority on spending time completely alone with God, studying His Word with a heart open and receptive to His voice - an activity requiring utmost commitment from her, given the many demands on her time. Just as she had found, in the early years, a quiet spot in a nearby woods, later she made sure a place of prayer was prepared in a rooftop room, "so beautifully out of the way of all the sounds of the house." It was called the melja, Arabic for "refuge," and no one was to be disturbed there. Even within her summer breaks, rich with family and friends, she actively pursued "two weeks alone with God," considering them essential to her soul."

-- From "A Passion for the Impossible - The Life of Lilias Trotter" by Miriam Huffman Rockness

Christmas Ribbon

Here's an easy little hostess gift to give this season. My sister brought this to me one day as a little thank you for watching her baby for a bit [as if I needed an incentive to do that :) ] Simply tie a ribbon through two rolls of pretty Christmas ribbon. It came in handy while wrapping some small gifts the other day.

What Are You Building?

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain."

- Psalm 127:1

What are you building and investing in WITH the Lord?
What are you building and investing in WITHOUT the Lord?

Christmas Peanut Butter Cups

Need a sweet treat for a holiday gathering this weekend? These little peanut butter cups are quick, easy and yummy. Simply pick up a roll of peanut butter cookie dough. Cut off a small amount of dough and place in a greased mini muffin pan (fill each about half-way with dough). Bake at temperature indicated on package for about 8 minutes or until a toothpick poked in each is clean. Immediately after removing from oven, press a peanut butter cup into each middle. Add a few seasonal sprinkles at this point if desired. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Using a knife, gently pry the cookies from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a rack. Enjoy!

A Christmas Favor

My mom and I each received a little favor like this at a church Christmas bazaar. The cardstock cup is stapled to a packet of cocoa and was presented in a basket. Mom decided that it would be a good idea to make a pile of these to hand out during her church's time of Christmas caroling. I also did something similar to this for the children in my Sunday school class one year at Christmastime. Maybe you can take the idea and adapt it for your own use as well -

Fighter Verses 12

Fighter memory verses for weeks of 12/14 & 12/21 -

John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Cocoa Munch Mix

I picked up this bag of Cocoa Munch Mix from a church's Christmas bazaar, and the boys really enjoyed snacking on it. It would be really simple to make - just combine desired amounts of the following: Chex and Cheerios cereal sprinkled with cocoa, white chocolate chips, raisins and sliced almonds. Fun for taking along when driving around looking at Christmas lights or on a winter nature walk. Enjoy!

Extraordinary Ordinary Work for God

(Photo is from the mountains on Thanksgiving - not our cabin but one where we stopped so the boys could sled down the mountain road)

"The apostle Paul tells us we are "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3, NIV). There is a mystery there, but when I think of the life of Mary, I see some facets of that mystery that I missed when I read the apostle. Hers was a hidden life, a faithful one, a holy one - holy in the context of a humble home in a small village where there was not much diversion. She knew that the ordinary duties were ordained for her as much as the extraordinary way in which they became her assignment. She struck no poses. She was the mother of a baby, willing to be known simply as his mother for the rest of her life. He was an extraordinary baby, the Eternal Word, but His needs were very ordinary, very daily, to his mother. Did she imagine that she deserved to be the chosen mother? Did she see herself as fully qualified? Surely not. Surely not more than any other woman who finds herself endowed with the awesome gift of a child. It is the most humbling experience of a woman's life, the most revealing of her own helplessness. Yet we know this mother, Mary, the humble virgin from Nazareth, as "most highly exalted."

I am thanking God that unto us a Child was born. I am thanking Him also that there was a pure-hearted woman prepared to receive that Child with all that motherhood would mean of daily trust, daily dependence, daily obedience. I thank Him for her silence. That spirit is not in me at all, not naturally. I want to learn what she had learned so early: the deep guarding in her heart of each event, mulling over its' meaning from God, waiting in silence for His word to her.

I want to learn, too, that it is not an extraordinary spirtuality that makes one refuse to do ordinary work, but a wish to prove that one is not ordinary - which is a dead giveaway of spiritual conceit. I want to respond in unhesitating obedience as she did: Anything You say, Lord.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

-- From "Keeping A Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot

Musical Wrapping Paper

Here's another lovely little idea that my sister shared with me. She recently purchased some old sheet music from an auction and used it to wrap gifts and then add a few pretty embellishments. (She also framed some of the older music that had lovely photos on the front to hang in her 1930's style living room.) The wrapping is a gift in itself!

Still Here

Just to let you all know that I haven't run off! Blogger hasn't let me load photos for 3 days now - hopefully, the issue will resolve itself soon.

Our Unchanging God

I've been overwhelmed a bit lately with some things that are sad, things that are ugly. These things most often plague me in the early morning and the late evening - when my hands are still and my mind quiet.

This morning's sunrise was magnificent. I grabbed the camera and ran out to try and catch the moment. As I stood marveling over the beauty, God spoke encouragement to my heart. I was reminded of God's faithfulness in the fact that the sun continues to rise at God's command every morning - even amidst the hurt that sometimes overwhelms me. I was also reminded that though circumstances change, He never does. God always was, is, and will be. I'm so glad that this place of earth is just temporary for me - one day I will be Home and away from pain. Until then, I can trust that my unchanging God has all things in hand, including my heart. May you be encouraged in those thoughts today as well -

Keep a Quiet Heart

"I think I find most help in trying to look on all the interruptions and hindrances to work that one has planned out for oneself as discipline, trials sent by God to help one against getting selfish over one's work. Then one can feel that perhaps one's true work - one's work for God - consists in doing some trifling haphazard thing that has been thrown into one's day. It is not a waste of time, as one is tempted to think, it is the most important part of the work of the day - the part one can best offer to God. After such a hindrance, do not rush after the planned work; trust that the time to finish it will be given sometime, and keep a quiet heart about it."

-- by Annie Keary, 1825-1879, from the book "Keeping A Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot

Christmas Book List

(Photo taken on last year's visit to National Christmas Center in Paradise, PA - a wonderful place full of all kinds of Christmas goodness - visit www.nationalchristmascenter.com.)

Below you'll find a list of some of our favorite Christmas books that we've collected over the years:

* "Baker's Dozen - A Saint Nicholas Tale" by Aaron Shepard (a good one to read on St. Nicholas Day - today!)
* "Santa Comes to Little House" from "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Renee Graef
* "One Wintry Night" by Ruth Bell Graham (beautiful illustrations with a rich story)
* "Jotham's Journey" & "Bartholomew's Passage" by Arnold Ytreeide (to read day-by-day through Advent)
* "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" by Dr. Seuss (so much fun to read aloud!)
* "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado (one of Eli's favorites because of all the animals)
* "The Wild Christmas Reindeer" by Jan Brett (Jan Brett's colorful and creative illustrations set her books off)
* "Franklin's Christmas Gift" by Paulette Bourgeois (nothing intense but I love sweet Franklin the Turtle!)
* "Silent Night - A Mouse Tale" by Betsy Hernandez & Donny Monk (I've used this one to read to my Sunday school class about the history of the song "Silent Night")

Lessons From A Young Mom

This week I've been studying through the part of the Christmas story in Luke 1:26-56 where Mary is visited by Gabriel and then goes to visit Elizabeth. Below I've listed several lessons learned and/or reminders from this passage along with the verse from where the lesson comes. I encourage you to look up this passage and use this little list as a springboard for your own study.

1.) vs. 28 - "And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" - Just as Mary is called to rejoice because the Lord is with her, so do I have cause to rejoice as the Lord is continually with me.

2.) vs. 29 - "But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was." - Mary was troubled and seemingly unnerved by this visitor (wouldn't we all be?!), yet she doesn't lose her head. The verse said that she "considered" - meaning she "reckoned thoroughly, reflected." This verse reminds me not to lose my head in the midst of fear, stress or trouble. Though these feelings are real, I need not be controlled by them. By God's grace, I can choose to consider, reflect and think - even in the midst of fear.

3.) vs. 31 - "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS." - Mary is given a job to do: that of bearing and raising the Messiah. Motherhood was Mary's work for God. I must NEVER forget that being a mother and raising my sons as Christ's followers is of valuable service to God. It IS my work for Him, not something to get done so I can do REAL ministry for the Lord.

4.) vs. 38 - "Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." - Mary not only accepted God's will but desired it. She didn't say, "Woe is me! OK, Lord, I'll carry this cross. (But I won't like it!)." What a lesson for me! To do God's work with will and joy and desire - even when it's not pretty.

5.) vs. 46-56 - Mary's song of praise reminds me to praise Him in the difficult times. I'm sure there was joy in Mary's heart about being given the honor of carrying the Messiah. Yet I'm also sure that she knew it would be no picnic. In fact, it would be life-altering. Yet Mary's song focuses on God, not worry over herself. She focuses on eternal, not temporal. Reminds me to focus on the blessings of hard situations and on the good God who uses hard things for His glory and my good.

Christmas Placecards

Last time I was over at my sister's, she showed me one of her latest projects - placecards for the Christmas dinner table. She took a wood cut-out of a Christmas tree and traced around it on the center of old Christmas cards. She then cut out her placecards and will add each person's name to the back. Simple yet lovely!

The King's Ambassadors

(Photo by Eli)

"Paul says (in II Corin. 5:14-6:2) that God has called us all to function as his ambassadors. Our lives do not belong to us for our own fulfillment. The primary issue is, "How can I best represent the King in this place, with this particular person?" This is not a part-time calling; it is a lifestyle. When an ambassador assumes his responsibilities, his life ceases to be his own. Everything he says and does has import because of the king he represents. Anything less is an affront to the king and a denial of the ambassadorial calling.

What is God calling you to in your marriage? To be an ambassador. What is God calling you to as a parent? To be an ambassador. What is God calling you to regarding your friends and neighbors? To be an ambassador. What is God calling you to at work and in leisure? To be an ambassador. We represent God's purposes to the people He places in our lives. This is much broader than a commitment to formal ministry occupying a portion of our schedule. It acknowledges that our lives belong to the King."

-- From "Instruments In The Redeemer's Hands - People Who Need to Change Helping People Who Need to Change" by Paul David Tripp

Winter Spice Scones

The boys and I love these scones for breakfast this time of year! The original recipe comes from an issue of "Southern Living," though I adapted it a bit. The recipe makes 16 large triangular scones to accomodate my big boys' appetites. You can make the full recipe and freeze the left-overs or simply cut the recipe in half. Enjoy!

Winter Spice Scones

4 1/2 C. flour
1 tabl. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 C. Pumpkin Spice OR Gingerbread Coffee Creamer (reserve a bit for the icing if desired)

Mix all dry ingredients. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Add the creamer. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add a bit more flour. On a floured surface, divide dough in half and shape into two large circles. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until done throughout and golden.

Icing: Mix 2 C. 10X sugar and approx. 5 tabl. of creamer. Mix until smooth. Spread or drizzle on warm scones.

Fighter Verses 11

(Photo by Eli)

Fighter Memory Verses for the weeks of 11/30 & 12/7 -

Daniel 2:20-21: "Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.'"