The Week Before CHRISTmas

"'Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!'"  Luke 1:45

Remember our Advent calendar?  Well, it didn't exactly go as I had planned.  After about the sixth day, the Roosters started asking if they could trade out treats they saw in future bags.  Really?!!  I finally decided to just read the story of the day and let them choose a bag number.  I don't think this will become a tradition.  HA!

Had engine issues this past week.  The Colonel took care of that for me.  I drove his truck to work.  He said, "Can you please keep it clean?"  To which I replied, "Gesh!  I'll only have it one day."  To which he said, "I know.  Will you please keep it clean?"  I ended up leaving my breakfast wrapper in his cup holder.  I didn't want to disappoint him.  HA!

The big rooster has been tolerating the little clucks a little more lately.  Blake has such a laid back, quiet personality.  The twins just drive him nuts b/c they are so NOT laid back when they are together.

Monopoly Jr. is another favorite board game.  Santa is bringing another version of this game.  Nick calls it "Monopholy".

Art work from school.  I might get these framed and hang them for decorations each year.

John Ryan drew this nutcracker in class.  I was really impressed with it.  Not bad for a six year old.

Um, Hello!!!  What about "the mom"?  (I love the way he wrote "playing".)

I taught a literature unit revolving around salmon so on Friday I brought in salmon stew for the students to eat.  They loved it.  I don't eat it.  The Colonel loves it.  He likes his minus the corn and potatoes though.

I got permission to put this student's picture on my blog.  I get a hug every morning before she walks into my class.  What a sweet way to start my day!!

Yesterday Blake went shopping with me for last minute Santa stuff.  (No, he never smiles for a picture.)  We had the best time together.  He is such a funny kid.  Keeps me laughing.  I just love him!!

We've all been sick lately.  This is what a portion of my kitchen counter looked like for about two weeks when we all seemed to have something going on at the same time.  Between vitamins, OTC and RX medications, I felt like a pharmacist counting and measuring medicine.

My new addiction--honey lemon bread.  I could bake myself in the middle of a loaf and eat my way out.  I love bread.  Total break freak!!

Got to the sanctuary early today while Mr. Lee was rehearsing with the orchestra.  Alberta sang my favorite CHRISTmas carol today ~ "Oh, Holy Night".  I love the words and the key in which it was written.  I can sing that song just like Alberta in my car and alone at home.  HA!  

I loved all the flowers.  Just a happy, joyful place.

A "selfie" after church...I wore a little gold sparkle today...After church and work, the first place I head is to my room where I immediately change into t-shirt and sweats or shorts depending upon the weather...I can't stand to stay in dress clothes at home...I am definitely not a Lisa Douglas off "Green Acres"...

The next few days will be house cleaning, meal planning, grocery shopping and present wrapping...I am also hoping for a nap or two in between some of that...

Merry CHRISTmas!!

"Ketchup" of the Crew in Pictures

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God."  Luke 1:  35

Just a few pictures of happenings in our corner of the world...

I've been stuck in traffic on my way to work.

I've cooked stromboli.

I was going to buy a really nice life planner but based on my track record, I purchased one from Target.  I figured I won't feel as guilty when I lose it or fail to keep up with appointments after January.

I bought a new "things to do" memo book.  Love the saying-- "A girl can do anything with the right pair of shoes!"

I've bought more clothes on sale.  This was a leather-trimmed tunic I found online.  I bought it to wear with leggings and boots.  Now I'm trying to get brave enough to wear it.

I've done laundry.  This is Blake's laundry he bought up out of his room.  I don't get it.  It is winter yet I folded long pants, shorts, sweats, and gym pants.  There are only five school days.  Why so many clothes.  He says it is because of wrestling practice.  Huh?

I've caught Mouse trying to catch the fish.  I keep hoping...haha.  

Alberta said she thought I looked good in plaid, so I bought more.  They were on sale and these are so comfortable.

The boys and I have played more "Trouble" than I care to think about lately.  They love this game.  

We went to the Singing CHRISTmas Tree this past weekend.  I took this picture at church Sunday.  Music and dancers were wonderful!!

Went back in time a little this week...Found this picture of Blake.  I can't believe he was ever this little.  Sorry, I have no idea how to turn the pictures once I get them into my Google album.  

Hope you have had a wonderful week!!

Wise Men Still Seek Him

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. ~ Matthew 2: 9-12

I ponder that saying every time I see it or read it somewhere:  Wise men still seek Him (Jesus).  Seek Him?  But HE isn't lost!  We don't have to look for Christ; He is with us.  Remember that He is our shepherd; HE seeks us!!  So maybe that saying actually means that wise men should seek His ways, should seek His direction, should seek the calling He has for us.  Jesus is right where He should be when we call out to Him in faith and repentance.  When I accepted Christ as my Savior, I didn't have to look for Him.  I just had to open the door and let Him in.

So what about these wise men?  After pondering the shepherds, I did a little pondering about these wise men.  Wise men were magi.  They studied the stars.  They were scholars.  God gave them a miraculous star that announced to them the birth of Christ.  These "smart" men followed the star God set before them and when they found Christ, they worshiped Him.  It seems these men understood that they had been led to the Christ where in Him "are hid all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3), and in Him dwells "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2: 9).  The wise men were seeking the King!  What's more these wise men were Gentiles yet God gave them a star to follow so that they might see the King of Kings.  Is this God's way of showing us that from the very beginning, Jesus came to be "the Savior of the world" (John 4: 42). 

I found it so ironic that the Jewish priests that knew the scriptures and pointed others to the Savior would not go worship Him themselves.  These priests quoted Micah 5: 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."  The priests quoted this scripture yet did not obey it.  They were FIVE MILES from the Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him.  The Gentiles sought and found Him, but the Jews did not.  AND "Bethlehem" means "house of bread" and this is the place where the "Bread of Life" was born!!!

Then there are the gifts of the magi:  the gold, frankincense and myrrh.  When I was little these gifts were cigar boxes covered in macaroni noodles and spray painted gold.  We made them in Sunday school for the Christmas program we would participate in on a Sunday evening.  However, no one ever said much about these gifts other than they were valuable.  So was there anything about these gifts that made them more than just gifts fit for a king?  Ah, it seems that there was. 

The gold was fairly easy for me.  Gold was a gift presented to kings.  It was the most precious metal when Jesus was born and it symbolized royalty.  The wise men (Gentiles) recognized that Jesus Christ was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  The wise men realized that they were in the presence of a king--THE King! 

Frankincense, which was often burned, symbolized a prayer rising to the heavens.  Frankincense was a gift that symbolized the worship due a king.  These wise men recognized the sinless deity of Jesus that deserved their worship.  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government shall be upon HIs shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9: 6  Not only was Jesus born a king, but He was God in human flesh. 

Another gift the wise men brought was myrrh.  Myrrh was a gum-like substance that was used to embalm the dead.  It was also used to dull pain.  Think about the significance of this gift.  Could these wise men somehow understand that this King they worshiped was born to die?  Myrrh was also offered to Jesus ~wine with myrrh~ in Mark 15: 22-23 "And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.  And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh:  but He received it not."  Instead of taking the drink that might numb His pain, the King of King CHOSE to taste death and endure the punishment meant for us because He loves us more than we could ever comprehend.  And, finally, to prepare Jesus' body for burial, Nicodemus brought myrrh (John 19:  38-40) 

So, the wise men brought the gold that symbolized that Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  They brought frankincense which symbolized Christ's sinless deity.  He was THE king worthy of worship!  And finally, they laid myrrh at His feet which symbolized the price that this King was willing to pay as Savior of the world--His sinless life given to save us all.  I don't think that kind of love can be bought from a store, wrapped up in a pretty package or found under anyone's tree.  THAT kind of love was found ON a tree  not under one where our Shepherd and King died for us.  Is there anything we can give Christ this CHRISTmas?  Everything is already His.  What can we give?  I think the wise men have the answer--We can worship Christ our King.  We can fall on our knees and worship Jesus and be a witness for Him.  He wants the WORLD to know that He died for me, for you, for them.  Are you willing to worship Him in all areas of your life?  Are you willing to be a witness for the King?  Herod opposed the King.  The Jews ignored the King.  The wise men sought and worshiped the King.  What will you do? 

Sheep Stink. Shepherds Stink. I Stink.

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord was shining around them.  And the shepherds were very afraid. 'Don't be afraid.  I have some very good news for you--new that will make everyone happy.  Today your Savior was born in David's town.  He is Christ, the Lord.'"  Luke 2: 9-11 (ERV)

This weekend I was sharing a Bible story with the Roosters because we didn't make it to church due to illness. I started thinking about shepherds and the fact that God selected them to first announce the birth of Jesus.  Yes, at one time, shepherds were held in high esteem (sort of like teachers "back in the day).  There are even "famous" shepherds in the Bible.  Remember Abraham? Moses?  David?  All were shepherds, but that is definitely not what they are remembered for, are they?  All three are known for greater things than shepherding, aren't they?  So I started thinking that "maybe" since Abraham, Moses and David were all shepherds, and God made promises to them about deliverance and a Messiah that God is honoring them by sharing the news of Jesus' birth to shepherds first???  

Then I started thinking that when Jesus was born, shepherds were no longer thought of as much of anything.  They smelled like sheep and slept on the ground.  They lived on the outside of cities and made little to no money.  (Am I a shepherd?)  In fact, if you did around a little, shepherds were described as "am haaretz" which means "common folk" or "people of the land."  Definitely not your upper class of people.  They were also considered not to be religious. They tended sheep!  They didn't have time to study the traditions of the religion.  They worked with sheep!  They were too busy working in dirt to be pure enough to be religiously desirables.  They were poor!  A shepherd couldn't afford the money or time to go on any religious pilgrimages to visit the sacred places of worship.  Therefore the "religious" of Jesus' day tended to view shepherds as not being faithful to God.  They were shepherds!  They smelled like sheep!  So, why did God select Shepherds?

Maybe it was because of Abraham, Moses and David that God decided to announce Jesus' birth to shepherds first.  Maybe it was because the Bethlehem shepherds were the shepherds who raised the sheep that were offered as sacrifices at the Passover??  Maybe this was a reminder that Jesus would become our sacrificial lamb??  Maybe God chose the shepherds because Jesus would later use the image of a shepherd to explain His role to us.  He was One who pastors.  He shepherds His sheep and is willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

However, maybe God chose to share His news with shepherds to give us all hope.  Maybe if God chose to reveal His glory to those that were not personally, economically or politically important, then maybe there is hope for my smelly self.  Maybe it was to help us understand that how the world classifies us has absolutely nothing to do with the way God loves us.  (Praise God!!)  Maybe God wants us to realize that He knows us, cares for us, loves us and will never abandon us just like a shepherd.  He wants to be with us and will care for us and correct us in a loving, tender manner.

Then I read about some of the stories Jesus told about the crazy things shepherds did to find their lost sheep.  Remember Matthew 18: 12-14 or Luke 15:1-7)?  One sheep out of 100 gets lost from the flock?  What did the shepherd do?  Crazy shepherd leaves the 99 and goes to look for the lost one and then does a "happy dance" when he finds it.  I bet if we listened to the different ways Jesus has used to "find us" and bring us back to Him, some of those ways would seem pretty crazy to us.  Don't you just love that Jesus is "crazy" about you and me?!!  He really is!!  

So why did God choose stinky shepherds?  I don't know.  What I have learned from thinking about shepherds is that it reminds me that God's grace and mercy is extended to everyone.  God is crazy about all His children and wants to have a relationship with us.  Yes, even if I stink from my multitude of sins, even if I stink from my poor choices, even if I have wandered far down the wrong path--God is crazy about me!!  God loves me so much that He spared not His own son!!  And if we are willing, Jesus will come after us and shepherd us back to His fold and rejoice when we return home to Him!  Are you home yet or are you still wandering lost?  I hope you'll hear the Good Shepherd's voice and RUN back to Him.  

Yep, sheep stink.  Shepherds stink.  I stink.  However, God loves His sheep, His shepherds, and God loves me!!

Sunday At Home

Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone. ~ Acts 10: 34-36 (The Message)

Well, the Dew Crew missed church today.  Two weeks ago, I had an awful cough.  Yesterday and today it was Nick.  The medicine that he can take for it makes him wild.  I didn't think everyone in Sunday school would want to be hacked on, and the Colonel worked today so he couldn't stay home with him. So what did we do today?  I baked honey lemon bread and did laundry.  Laundry never ends around here.  I read the Roosters a Bible story and had them do a CHRISTmas craft for their rooms.  Here are some pictures from our day.

Blake was showing Nicholas how to lift weights.  It was rather funny.

Flexing

More muscle moves

We started making a Nativity scene after our Bible lesson today.  

We still have a few sheep, a shepherd and the wise men to go. 

While I read the CHRISTmas story to the boys today, I did some studying on shepherds and the wise men.  

While I missed being at church today, we still made it a day to worship God here at home.  I am also praying that all this sickness leave my house.  I am tired of everyone passing it along to each other. 

Advent Calendar

The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.  Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils.  For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.  His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9: 1-2; 5-6 

Today the Roosters and I made our Advent calendar.  We are only seven days late.  Pretty good for me.  I am always a day late and dollar short no matter what I plan.  Here are a few pictures of our activity.

This is my serious child.  He takes his time and tries to do his best.

This is my hurry, hurry, hurry child.  Look at the blur from his hand.

I howl at this picture.  Nick is watching TV, trying to use glue and not bite his tongue off. 

This is what the bags looked like when done.

I found some country Christmas twine at Hobby Lobby and hot glued the calendar to a door between our den and kitchen.  I need to get some bows to cover the ratty ends of the twine. 

Here is the entire calendar.  I sorta miss judged the space between each string of bags.  Oops.

The book I am reading with a story each day.

FINALLY a pillow without Santa or a snowman on it!!  I just love Hobby Lobby.

More CHRISTmas Ramblings

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ~ Colossians 1: 15-17

Today one of my packages from Amazon arrived.  I bought a few before CHRISTmas things for the boys.  While we have Ernie the Elf, I don't like for elves and Santa to be the main focus at home.  The children get enough of that every time we walk into a store or turn on the TV.  I can hardly find a CHRISTmas card without a Santa or snowman on it.  It is just so sad.  Anyway, here are a few pictures from today...

Okay, so this before CHRISTmas present was kinda sorta for me.  I collect Nativity scenes.  Every year, if I find one that really speaks to me, I'll buy it.  Technically, it is for the children b/c one day they will inherit them.  This year I searched and searched and finally found The Willow Tree Nativity (at least the first six pieces) at a good price.  I collect Willow Tree figurines and have been eyeing this Nativity for years.  

I need to move things off this table, but I had to go ahead and display it.  It makes me happy to see the simplicity of the figures plus the meaning that it holds.  Isn't this so much better than a gaudy Santa?

The next pictures are just for laughs.  You'll understand once you see them.  

This is a Willow Tree figurine that is supposed to be Grandpa and Grandson.  Blake gave it to the Colonel for Father's Day one year b/c he thought it looked the most like he and his dad.

This is the Mother and Son Willow Tree figurine.  Notice anything unusual?  Yep, the mother has no head.  Thank you, Roosters.  

This one is called "Together".  The Colonel bought it for me a few years ago.  Notice the husband's head is "dislocated".  Again, the roosters.  Why do I even try to collect these?

I bought this Advent book for the boys.  It has a story to read each night.

This was last year's Nativity that I purchased.  I fell in love with it time I saw it.  I found it at Hobby Lobby and it was the last one left.  I loved it because of the scriptures written on each figure.  However, when I got it home, THE BABY JESUS WAS GONE!!  I was going to return it, but I loved it too much, so I made a manger and baby Jesus to go with it.  I haven't put it out yet or I would have taken a picture of it.  This is the outside of the box.  

I hope my children always fill their homes with the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

CHRISTmas Sparkle

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 86: 15

I did a little cyber shopping this week.  A few stores had some really good sales, so I bought a few things I have had my eye on over the last few months.  Have you ever seen something online and just thought it to be perfect?  Well, I saw this really (what I thought) pretty skirt.  It went on sale, was in my size, so I grabbed it up.  It came today.  OMG!  I howled when I saw it.  It literally looks and feels like someone sewed CHRISTmas tree tinsel into the fabric in order to make the skirt.  My second thought was, "Oh, wait until Alberta sees this when I walk into Sunday school.  She's going to take me to the elders for prayer!!"  Of course, since I am writing about it, I have to show you what I am talking about.  Enjoy the glitter.  (And, yes, I am going to wear it!)

 

This is my tinsel skirt.  You can't see it in the picture, but this skirt is VERY textured!! 

 

This was just a pretty long-sleeved T-shirt with a lace collar.  It is so soft.

 

I just liked the price on this skirt.  Ha!  (Oops!  The picture is upside down.  It has been one of those days.)