Ringing in the holidays Topic: God things Today it was just me and Maggie here at home. Our two teen daughters and Charles attended the Acqire the Fire youth evangelism conference with our youth group. So Maggie and I cut and baked bunches of gingerbread men (and a few ladies) and we hunkered down with blankets in between batches to watch some movies on the Halmark Movie Channel. This afternoon from 3pm til 8pm, the channel had 2 American Girl movies. That's five hours people! In order to make room on the video we were recording for both movies, we were trying to catch all the commercials and pause the tape so we didn't have a bunch of commercials to fast forward through.
In the midst of commercials about refrigerated cookie dough, restaurants, shopping online, cereal, men enjoying their soup waaaay too much, popcorn, candy, jewelry, cell phones, cavemen being offended, holiday movie ads, and ads for men with special needs that really should not be shown during children's movies (!), one commercial kept catching me off guard...every time! I've seen this commercial before, but it captures me, it just about sends me to my knees and definitely brings tears to my eyes, causes a catch in my throat, and a prayer to my mind. It is a Salvation Army commercial. Have you seen it?
A disaster scene with fire.... a bell rings and as the camera pans out, you see a Salvation Army bell ringer standing amid the flames ringing the bell. Then you see a man, collapsed from alcohol consumption, a bell ringer standing near, ringing. A flood scene and a family on a roof trying to escape the waters, and there is a bell ringer beside them, ringing. The ringer is shown in many traumatic, desperate situations, ringing as if to get our attention. I see those scenes in my mind now, as I walk past bell ringers in front of stores. I hear them ringing as we're getting out of our car and I search for change for Maggie to put in the collection bucket.
The commercial brings it all together, it makes a connection between the anonymous ringer with the red kettle and what the money is helping to accomplish. The Salvation Army really is there during disasters or for people who are hurting with no one to help them. That they do it in the name of Christ is absolutely the icing on the cake!
They're doing the work of the church....throw your change in and make change happen.
Movie review: The Nativity Story Topic: God things Charles and I found ourselves with no kids this afternoon, so we went to the movies. It was opening day for The Nativity Story, so we bought our tickets an hour and a half early, then went to lunch while we waited. We got back to the theater 20 minutes early to get good seats. (I like to sit in the front row of the second section, where there is a railing in front of you instead of a tall man's bobbing head.) There was only one other man in the entire theater and by the time the previews began, only 5 more had come in! I couldn't believe it didn't get more of an audience on it's first day...but it was only 1:30 in the afternoon, so I'm hoping that was the only reason.
The movie begins right away...no opening credits....with a view of the cloudy, heavenly looking sky. In front of the clouds, come the written words giving the setting of the movie. The Roman empire has taken over Israel and is oppressing the people. All the while they are waiting for their Messiah to come and deliver them. The only sound is the song O Come O Come Emmanuel being sung in Latin (I think?) This is one of my husband's favorite Christmas songs.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.
Most of the story is set before the birth of Jesus. It is a story about Mary and Joseph, and it is a beautiful story, very Biblical and yet very creative and thoughtful. There is much strife in the daily life of the Jews. The Roman soldiers are in a lot of scenes, giving the strong presence of oppression and hardship.
Within Mary, there are struggles. Keisha Castle-Hughes did an excellent portrayal of this young woman who was placed in a very difficult circumstance of being pregnant out of wedlock. (And I never thought of Whale Rider once, as I thought I would.) She knew it was from God and gained confidence with the confirmation of Elizabeth and of Joseph being assured by an angel. She was not portrayed as a starry eyed, mystical woman, but in a very real way, as a baffled young woman. She struggled with being between childhood and a woman, she was very unsure of Joseph's proposal and at first did not want to marry him, she was often disheveled looking and dirty, and when she began to be in labor on the way to Bethlehem, true panic and fear was evident in both Mary and Joseph.
Joseph was a complete surprise to me....a very pleasant surprise! He was a wonderful character. I read that the only thing they could glean from the Bible about Joseph was that he was a righteous man. So his strength of character was really played up and done in a way that was loving and self sacrificial, yet protective. He jokes to Mary as they head out of Nazareth on their journey to Bethlehem, under the judgemental glares of their friends and neighbors, "We will really be missed, eh?" Their growing in love is a beautiful part of the movie. I won't spoil it for you by giving the details. =)
UPDATE: E-mom, at Chrysalis has an interview up, with Oscar Isaac, the man who portrays Joseph! He did a great job and truly was my favorite character in the movie.
One of the most enjoyable things about the movie for Charles and I was the scenery and daily customs of Israel that moved naturally throughout the story line. We were able to go to Israel last year and were recognizing a lot of things in the movie. I loved the scenes in the olive groves, the journeying up into Jerusalem, with the Temple gleaming, majestic on the Temple mount. The sheep and shepherds around Bethlehem reminded me of a few years ago, when I heard a story about the hills around Bethlehem. They were famous for producing flawless lambs for the Temple for sacrifice at Passover. Jesus, the Lamb of God was born there too, with the hills of Jerusalem looming over. And it was the shepherds who God chose to first announce the news to. I am not sure of the authenticity of the information in that story, but the thought was definitely interesting!
There are a few violent scenes, but no violence is on camera. There are 2 dead men hung on trees along the road while Mary is going back to Nazareth. There is a quick scene of men dying on crosses, there is a scene of Roman soldiers pillaging homes to find baby boys to murder, and the cruelty of Roman soldiers is shown throughout.
The only thing I was disappointed about was that there was no scene after Jesus' birth when they went to the Temple to dedicate him...... no Simeon or Anna. The Magi scenes were delightful, sometimes humorous, and the gift giving scene was quite moving.
There is so much more to mention, but I will just say, go see the movie! It is not the solemn, predictable story you've seen a hundred times. It is fresh, intriguing and thoughtfully done, really delving into the characters of the story. And when the baby is born, the scene is so touching, I had big old tears running down my face.
Talking blog? Topic: Other
I noticed yesterday that my blog has been uttering words. Do not be alarmed, it's only an advertisement on the top of the page. Simply push the button that says sound off. My appologies....it's a free blog, so they do advertise without my permission on here.
Also, here is a helpful tool if you check on a lot of blogs each day to see if there is a new post. It's called bloglines, www.bloglines.com and it's free. After putting in all the blog addresses you would like to keep track of, you bookmark your bloglines page. My daughter saw the bookmark for my bloglines and was amazed that there was a service to keep track of your favorite blogs for you. Your page will have a list of blogs that you've subscribed to and the ones with new information added will be highlighted. That way you only check in on your favorite blogs when there is something new to see and you never miss an entry. I've been using it for over a month now and it is very very helpful!
Oh, I love this verse of the day today,
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom... Colossians 3:16
And speaking of admonishment, I was visiting e-mom's e-magazine, Chrysalis on which she has posted a really good article on postmodernist subjective truth and classic literature. Just go read it.... =)
Thanksmas season updates Topic: Holidays/Vacations
We had Thanksgiving dinner at the church a week ago and the whole place was packed! We paid for tickets this year because it was catered by Boston Market...it was really good food. We sat around table of 8-12 and ate family style, passing the serving bowls around which the deacons brought to each table. There was a ministry there called Set Free from down town Phoenix that our church helps support and 2 of their guys gave testimonies. This ministry helps get men off the street (they live there for up to a year), requires them to get off drugs and alcohol and provides daily discipleship, counseling and worship. They are always so inspiring to be around. It's so true that he who is forgiven much loves much. They are exuberant!
We sang songs of worship and thanks around the tables too, led by a powerpoint with beautiful video behind it. During dinner, the powerpoint screen had cartoon turkeys telling jokes. My back was to the screen, but I heard each joke because Maggie was reading them out loud and laughing her head off!
Example: *turkey with serious look on his face* "What would Jesus eat??"......"FISH"
or
"As you're enjoying your dinner, I just want you to think about my wife and kids at home."
Silly....but we had a fun time, wonderful testimonies of thanks for what God has done and worship together.
************************************** Here at home, we had 15 for dinner on Thanksgiving. We had the usual, traditional meal, with my mother-in-law's dressing recipe, my neice's mashed potatoes and fancy almond green beans with carmelized shallots *yeah, they were good*, rolls, cranberries, maple glazed turkey and gravy. I also tried a new recipe for corn pudding....it was a hit and easy schmeazy! Then more relatives came for dessert, which we had outside by the fire with coffee and cocoa.
We are very thankful for God's great blessings of famiy, comfort, healing and growth.
************************************** My daughter tried to justify starting Christmas almost the evening of Thanksgiving by saying she is most thankful for the Christmas season. It was also the only weekend she will be here with us to help decorate until right before Christmas. So we rushed out and brought in the lights and boxes. We bought a real tree this year, after years of using an artificial one due to our wood stove heating in the old house. We bought it from the cutest little Boy Scout tree lot, it was so quaint with light bulbs on wires strung across the top of the lot and they even had wood burning in a metal barrel in the middle. (I felt like Charlie Brown and Linus!) The smell in our house is amazingly piney!!!!
And the weather finally turned chilly!
************************************** Are you going to see The Nativity Story? It is in theaters December 1.
************************************** Do you celebrate Advent?
I found this today off the Advent website above: "Advent is the special season that comes just before Christmas. The word advent comes to us from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." Advent is a beautiful and worshipful way of preparing our hearts and minds for the celebration of the first coming (the birth) of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also a time of preparation as we look forward to His Second Coming."
************************************** I hope you have a wonder-full Christmas season!
Songs of Thanks Topic: Holidays/Vacations
We are so detached to the harvest season, living in American. Our food comes from grocery store shelves and is available to us all year round. Full cupboards, full refrigerator, plenty of things on hand to simply pop into the microwave. I want to consider the people who wrote these hymns of Thanksgiving. They are so basic...thank you for grain, for the seasons, human love, a Savior, for the beauty of nature, for bringing us through another year with food to eat and sound minds and bodies. They are beautiful hymns and bring us back to the basics of giving thanks.
Click on the titles to see the hymn's background and hear the tune. Happy Thanksgiving!
We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known. The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing. Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!
We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant, And pray that Thou still our Defender will be. Let Thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield; Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown. First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear; Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home; From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away, Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast; But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.
Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home; Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin, There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide; Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.
For the dogs Topic: Humor/memes
My sister sent me these sayings in an email. I love dogs!
~*~My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am. ~*~
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous
Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -Ben Williams
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. -Andy Rooney
I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -Rita Rudner
A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. -Robert Benchley
Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. -Franklin P. Jones
My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money! -Joe Weinstein
Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come from a grocery with the most amazing haul, chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! -Anne Tyler
Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!' - Dave Barry
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras
If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them. -Phil Pastoret
Keep me near the cross Topic: God things
A song caught in my throat unexpectedly this morning during Sunday worship. This hymn brought my dad's death (back in August) to my memory. And all in one mili-second, I remembered his frailty at the end of his life....and how times like that really make Heaven seem like a nearby reality. In that mili-second, I was reminded of the depth of my infirmity (especially here in the U.S. where we all think we're pretty wonderful) and of the over abundance of grace He shows to me each day.
It's all about Him.
Near the Cross words by Fanny Crosby
Jesus, keep me near the cross, There a precious fountain Free to all, a healing stream Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross, Be my glory ever; Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul, Love and mercy found me; There the bright and morning star Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God, Bring its scenes before me; Help me walk from day to day, With its shadows o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever, Till I reach the golden strand, Just beyond the river.
In the cross, in the cross, Be my glory ever; Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river.
He's guarding my heart and mind.....as promised! Topic: God things
I am so thankful that God not only brought me through this very stress-filled year, but He gave me peace through it. Moving, buying a house for the first time, putting my kids in public school after homeschooling, the death of my father from dementia, and now major surgery. It was quite a stressful year, but I was freshly reminded again that the verse I have put my trust in all these years is still true. I will always stand by it, believe it, cling to it and experience it.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
....the days fly by Topic: Humor/memes I must be getting my strength back. Yesterday I walked almost a mile at the park and today we walked a mile around the neighborhood. We're having record temperature highs and it feels like the beginning of summer, when the nights are cool and you wake up with a chilly feeling, then the temps climb about 30 degrees by 2pm. Our highs are in the high 70's this week, including Thanksgiving being forcast as reaching 80! Anyone for barbeque turkey burgers at the park? =)
Well, back to today: we walked Maggie and her friend who is visiting over to our neighborhood park, around the block. The girls played while Charles and I walked the outskirts of the park. Then I sat in the shade at a picnic table while Charles helped the girls shoot off air rockets. It's a toy Maggie got last Christmas, you pump the air pressure up, pull the cord and *pop*, up goes the lightweight rocket. It shoots up to 100 feet in the air, so it's really quite spectacular...if you're 9....or 40something. Charles was right there with the girls, pumping, trying to catch the elusive rocket as it plummeted to earth, laughing out loud each time he missed it. (they never did catch it, it goes so fast!) I enjoyed it all from a distance under my tree and laughed my head off.
As I sat at my picnic table, watching the goings on of the park, I sorted out my day. I've been flying by the seat of my pants this past week. It was a busy week already and then unexpected things kept coming up! It was all I could do to keep from hiding in my bed and playing sick! It's all done now though and I say to myself *once again* that I'll never get that booked up again....overlapping things I was supposed to be there for even! So this morning, with no appointments or activities planned *for me* I puttered around a bit, then decided to fix a big breakfast for the family....bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes. Everyone was rushing off to different activities for the day, so I cleaned up the kitchen. I had just finished putting dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed a pile of things to put back in the refrigerator.
(if you've ever watched Rachael Ray grab things from around her kitchen on 30 minute meals...you know, the way she makes it a game to see how many things she can carry at once to save trips to the fridge or pantry....that is what I do sometimes)
And this was one of those times....
.....only my coordination is still a little 'off' and as I opened the fridge to put away my stuff, the pancake syrup slipped from my grip. The impact of the bottle and the stone tile resulted in the bottom popping complETEly off of the plastic bottle. Who would have even guessed that could happen! But there it was. Our brand new, FULL bottle of 100percent maple syrup from Canada....gushing out onto the tile, into the grout, slipping UNDER the fridge, dripping from the cabinets and my pajammas. A roll of paper towels, bowl of warm cleaning solution, 2 wash rags, and a lot of muttering under my breath later, Charles attempted to move the 2006 side by side fridge that we tightly wedged into a 1970's small, freezer on top, gold refrigerator space so we could clean under it....no deal, lucille. Then he tried to tip it ever so slightly back, as to settle a brick under the front and reach in to swipe clean the sticky stuff. Nope. We ended up just putting a wash rag over the end of a long flat tool of some sort that was fetched from the garage and running it back and forth, as far back as we could.
I never hated 100 percent pure maple syrup more in all my life. The NERVE of the company who made that bottle! And who does Rachael Ray think she is carrying all that stuff at once! She's a show off, that's what!
I'm ok now though....sorry Miss Ray.
The rest of the day was relaxing. (it wouldn't dare mess with me after that) In fact by 3pm it felt as if it had to be at least 5 or 6pm, but it wasn't....so we went to the park. It's like finding money tucked back in an unused pocket of your wallet. My days have been running so short lately, it was nice to find a little stash of time, saved up to enjoy. More time to spend....I liked it!
ETA: Be sure to read all the comments. People are picking their favorite gingerbread men! lol NO stealing legs though! Look only! The comments are only 10 per page, so you have to hit 'next page' at the bottom.
Maggie has that look on her face because she wasn't supposed to be eating the frosting. It's the heavy, hard drying kind for houses that has raw eggs in it. It's an 'ut oh, got caught and they will have pictures to prove it' look. lol
Thanksmas Topic: Holidays/Vacations How's the Christmas shopping going? *errrg* That is not a good question to ask me this time of year. It's not that I have many gifts to buy, but it reminds me of all the things I need to do in the next 5 weeks. (5 weeks!!!) I do like doing said 'things'.....it's just that the pressure of having a list of things to DO intimidates me greatly! *whimper*
See, I told you that as the holidays wind up into gear I'd probably blog more in order to avoid the DO's.
So I'm thinking today as I sat in the park with my sister and our kids, "Gee, I need to think about Christmas stuff.....er, no, I have to think about Thanksgiving! But Christmas DO's need to get rolling! However, first we need to make it through the Thanksgiving cooking and shopping." mmmmmhmmm If someone wants to know my opinion, I think we need to space these 2 very meaningful holidays further apart....at least by 2 months. That way we could enjoy each one for it's own meaning and busyness.
Thanksgiving could be such a wonderful celebration if it were not for the after Thanksgiving sales the next morning ....or football for that matter! It just so happens however, that this is exactly what I think about when I think of Thanksgiving. Here is why:
For many years of our 22 year marriage, my husband and I had a Thanksgiving ritual. We would go to Oklahoma every year for Thanksgiving, quite a drive. But I would have my Christmas lists in hand, because I would go through the stack of 'the day after Thanksgiving sale' fliers Thanksgiving night. We stayed at Charles' parents' home, so with them to watch the girls, we would sneak off at 4:00am and go by ourselves to stand in line for very, very reduced prices on gifts for the girls.
We would pick the store that had the most list items and attack, Charles going to the toys or sporting goods department while I went to the music or clothing departments. We would meet at the front, waving like crazy at each other over the pressing masses of people and come together all happy and slightly giddy from the good buys we had found. Then more stores and more good buys. Finally, we would go out to breakfast, and back to his parents house to wrap the loot before the kids could see it!
We would get all of our Christmas shopping done, plus buy gifts from his parents to our kids for them, so that they didn't have to get out in the Christmas crowds.
And yes, doing this year after year did get tiring. I would try to wimp out of doing it each year, but Charles would talk me into it again. He really enjoyed it way more than me..... that was annoying! Our kids are older now and we don't do that tradition anymore. It just isn't necessary and Charles does most of our Christmas gift buying online. Now the day after Thanksgiving sales have gone the way of memories for us.....or the dinosaurs....left to future generations to follow in our steps.
It was quite an adventure, very very COLD, but a memory we'll always giggle at.....how silly we are to enjoy such madness!!
We're not having a huge crowd this year for Thanksgiving and my sister is helping me a lot with the cooking......so I think there may even be time in the day for a little reflecting.....some actual giving thanks for making it through this stress-filled year.
Happy Thanksmas....er, Christgiving....ummm, we really do need to do a petition or something to get more time in there and seperate these 2 great holidays....
Today it was just me and Maggie here at home. Our two teen daughters and Charles attended the Acqire the Fire youth evangelism conference with our youth group. So Maggie and I cut and baked bunches of gingerbread men (and a few ladies) and we hunkered down with blankets in between batches to watch some movies on the Halmark Movie Channel. This afternoon from 3pm til 8pm, the channel had 2 American Girl movies. That's five hours people! In order to make room on the video we were recording for both movies, we were trying to catch all the commercials and pause the tape so we didn't have a bunch of commercials to fast forward through. 
Charles and I found ourselves with no kids this afternoon, so we went to the movies. It was opening day for 
very stress-filled year, but He gave me peace through it. Moving, buying a house for the first time, putting my kids in public school after homeschooling, the death of my father from dementia, and now major surgery. It was quite a stressful year, but I was freshly reminded again that 
How's the Christmas shopping going? *errrg* That is not a good question to ask me this time of year. It's not that I have many gifts to buy, but it reminds me of all the things I need to do in the next 5 weeks. (5 weeks!!!) I do like doing said 'things'.....it's just that the pressure of having a list of things to DO intimidates me greatly! *whimper*
We would pick the store that had the most list items and attack, Charles going to the toys or sporting goods department while I went to the music or clothing departments. We would meet at the front, waving like crazy at each other over the pressing masses of people and come together all happy and slightly giddy from the good buys we had found. Then more stores and more good buys. Finally, we would go out to breakfast, and back to his parents house to wrap the loot before the kids could see it! 
sister is helping me a lot with the cooking......so I think there may even be time in the day for a little reflecting.....some actual giving thanks for making it through this stress-filled year.
