Archive for December, 2009

And So We Wait For Christmas

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~W.T. Ellis
Let Christmas not become a thing
Merely of merchant’s trafficking,
Of tinsel, bell and holly wreath
And surface pleasure, but beneath
The childish glamour, let us find
Nourishment for soul and mind.
Let us follow kinder ways
Through our teeming human maze,
And help the age of peace to come
From a Dreamer’s martyrdom.
~Madeline Morse

P.S. The kids are having a hard time understanding how long this waiting will last and I didn’t feel inspired by the chocolate boxed advent calendars I saw when shopping… looking for something we can use every year so it has some tradition to it… any ideas where we could find something?

TTFN

Jeremiah 42 and 43

Johanan and Azariah approached Jeremiah the prophet and asked him to pray to the Lord for them…. they mentioned ‘pray to the Lord your God for us…’ a clear sign that they weren’t owning their relationship with Jehovah. The prophet warned he would keep nothing back and they insisted ‘ May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the Lord your God sends us through you.’

Ten days later he shared God’s word and it was not what they wanted to hear. They had plans to escape to Egypt in hopes of avoiding Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and the Lord spoke through Jeremiah that the people must remain in their land, trusting in God for their safety and ‘…if you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there…’

They immediately proclaimed Jeremiah a trader and packed up and left…

The point was made in our study that they obviously came for blessing on their plan. There was no real heart of submission to God’s plan in the situation. They want a tag along God and not a God who actually answers and leads.

So relative to my last post.

TTFN

Lifted (phew)

(Baby Boy practicing prayer as his heart welled up in thankfulness for his gingersnap cookie.)“I urge you to slow your pace, to approach His hallowed name thoughtfully. Take time! Give Him the respect He deserves. Wait on God. In return, He will give you a clearer vision. Furthermore, He will soften your will and make you want to know and do His will.”

From Simple Faith by Charles Swindoll.

Here I go again, borrowing from Prairie Chick ; quotes she has made, posts she is sharing and things she is being taught and sharing in our little online devotional. More appreciating and standing in joyful agreement with her I suppose!

THE LEADING

A few days ago I posted about changing your point of view, specifically in prayer but it leads into all aspects of life (IT MUST lead into all aspects of life). Making your focus being lead by God and not letting him tag alone with you… selflessness verses selfishness… listening verses pleading…

Prairie Chick’s thoughts completed a lot of the Spirits call to me lately with … desiring after him and not after your own plans! He is truly teaching us how to love by insisting we long for him, for love has not one selfish mutant cell!

THE MOOD

Just yesterday I was being crushed with a mood… a mood brought on by a burden I wasn’t meant to be carrying… I was frustrated and letting myself be confused about my ability to discern… After a few days of depressive thoughts I realised the only thing I was doing wrong was trying to fix it myself… this only realised when I stopped pleading for God to make this work for me and instead asking him what he wanted from me… he wanted me to let go…

This burden was valuable and nothing insignificant in the spiritual sense but I realise it therefore was valuable to God too and he could handle it better then I!

THE LIFTING

After letting it go in prayer I took a step of faith and called a friend who was involved and basically called off the desperate and feeble battle… ‘We are leaving it in his hands for now!’ I couldn’t believe how relieved we both where! The reaction was immediate! My physical self was energized and my emotions where happy and my heart was no longer heavy!

Following God, seeking to be in his ultimate will, is always better then taking the bull by the horn yourself, even when you think it is a worthy cause you must first LET GOD!

THE WAITING AND LISTENING

So now I am in another place of waiting and listening for what is next and I am so much happier here! There is one constant that today and yesterday share… both days I was clueless about how to deal with it all but the difference is BIG… yesterday I was desperate to carry it and solve it and praying for blessing… Today I have surrendered to Gods will and the unknown is completely manageable because of the little seed of faith he has given me for it!

TTFN

Noth’n Says Christmas Like…

Like a knock at the door just after breakfast,
and a friend standing there in -35 weather to bring you a treat!
I didn’t exactly know what to say when I saw Kim on my step in a beautiful red coat.
She had brought some of her home made Pepernoten cookies (a Mennonite tradition)!
I was humbled because I had made a little comment on a photo of hers about childhood memories wrapped around these treats.
I really do cherish such kindness and thoughtfulness.

As a little girl I used to attend a little Mennonite Chapel.
Each Christmas they would have bake sales and for 50cents I would buy a pretty big tub of peppernuts from the older ladies.
I would then rush home and devour them all alone in my room.
I looked forward to them every year.
They really are a perfect winter treat!

Little Woman, Baby Boy and I ate them with some very warm tea in between naps all afternoon…
no reason to leave the house when you have cookies, tea and babies to snuggle!
Thanks so much Kim:)

Merry Christmas!

TTFN

Craft Day!

I am not a craft person. Not enough patience or good ideas and I am overwhelmed when ever I try to find all the stuff needed to do crafts, BUT once a year I find I end up having a good time doing them with the kids. We always seem to make something around Christmas. The ideas we come up with are pretty humble but we all have a good time. Last year we made angels out of yarn, for the tree, and a silver angel, out of a cereal box and some wrapping paper, for the top of the tree… This year we have three plans and they have kept us busy most of the day.
Garlands of snowmen, gingerbread people and snowflakes for the kitchen (CHECK)
Wreath out of some of the many pine cones collected off of our drive way (COMING SOON)
Decorate all the brown wrapped gifts ( COMING SOON)
The house is a disaster on craft day. All the chores get forgotten as we become wrapped up in our creations (another reason I don’t do this a lot). But today the paper clippings can keep building up on the floor and the dishes can wait for we are having a family adventure!

(Here we all are, still in our pj’s… breakfast clutter not yet removed from the table, we where all so eager to get started!)

TTFN

Decoration Day!

And then we decorated the house!This is our second year with a tree and we all agreed we really like our iddy bitty tree a lot. The kids and I worked hard at decorating it and Little Woman put the star on top. I am particularly proud of our star. Our tartan star gets my Scottish pride worked right up, he he he…
Big Girl was amazed at all the Christmas STUFF we had when I started unpacking it. Big Boy was very impressed when he saw decorations he had made through the years and very happy with me when we put them on the tree.

We started the evening with a lovely supper, Christmas music playing in the background, watched Elf while we decorated the house and even managed to get our family photo taken for our Christmas card… to be sent out soon! There wasn’t to much crying and screaming… who am I kidding, I think there was more then last year!

Once the kids where in bed my man and I had a more relaxing time. We had tea and bree cheese with dried cranberries, bananas and spicy almonds. Ahhhh it still sounds good this morning!
As usually my mind is full of little romantic moments I want to have with my family this Christmas season! I hope to find the time to capture some fuzzy Christmas memories, fuzzy moments in time, and put them in a bottle for the cold months of winter that follow the holidays!

TTFN

What Does Your Man Think About Christmas?

Trying to feel more Christmas-y with a question period for my man… ha ha ha, it was interesting…

1. Describe your ideal Christmas?

Lotsa time off with family, that is the only thing that counts.

2. How do you think our expectations differ at Christmas?

I expect to servive the holidays… you are all about the fuzzy moments, a true romantic with visions of sugar plums and fluttery angels dancing around in your plans…

3. Share your thoughts on exchanging gifts?

Awe, thinking about that stuff makes my brain hurt.

4. How do you focus on the true meaning of Christmas, Christs birth?

I don’t, tend to think about it more other times of the year where there isn’t so much din…

Well, this was supposed to be a relationship building exercise to help me get to know my man a little more (got it off of another blog)… but I don’t think my man was taking it seriously… ah well…

TTFN

Grime Of Life

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how gross this life is? This world is? On many levels! Like the molds that so quickly start in your house if you turn your back too long all the way up to the warfare tactic of raping communities! The mold is gross; the crime against fellow humans is horrific… Been thinking about how filthy this life is… how it builds and sticks and weights you down…
It is messy and so easily can cloud your vision with all the dust and grime. A new struggle in our family this week brought home that feeling of filth and with it I showed such poor character that I was hit with disgust at how messy I can let my focus and my heart become. Ever find the worse you feel about your behavior the worse you behave??

It is hard to continue a misdirected focus in life when you are singing word so carefully written to glorify God… often in life I have been pulled out of a stupor by words and song… even when teaching your daughter a carol you can be redirected! I had never really noticed this verse in ‘It Came Upon A Midnight Clear’ before…

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.

A song on the radio as I headed home from the grocery store as well as a message that came out of a program my man and I watched tonight pushed the prick of his Spirit deeper and deeper till it hit its mark… Life is dirty but his blood washes clean… life is full of struggle but we are NOT meant to do it on our own … this world is dying but he is the healer… anger, frustration and the filth where rinsed away… It is so much easier to see now…

TTFN

His Bamboo Chair

(Baby Boy managed to find a bowl and spoon, he immediately ran to his favorite chair and pretended to eat contently for about an hour. This is where he escapes to when he has something he isn’t supposed to have and enjoys alone time with his spoils.)

I sure have to watch you when you climb up your favorite chair. A couple times you have tried to kill my plant that is on the side table next to the chair… if you find a fork you like to dig in the poor plants soil… and the other day you climbed up on the table again. Usually you climb up the chair and sit there like a gentleman but every now and then you venture to the couches side table… and do a little jig, momentarily because Mom moves pretty quick when I see you on there! Last week you managed to climb on undetected (you have gotten pretty quiet since you realised your crazy hyper giggles give you away). I was laying on the couch next to the table and looked up just in time to see your big grin and body fly over my head and into my out stretched arms. Guess you wanted to body slam Mommy… I wasn’t really impressed!

TTFN