Merry Christmas

We have been very busy enjoying all the activities that come with preparing for Christmas. Last weekend was the town parade that included an entry from our church. The girls both rode on the float and waved their arms off. Friday night was our church Christmas party and Saturday evening we enjoyed a wonderful visit with family that came in from out of town. The girls decorated their annual gingerbread house and gifts are being wrapped. I have a ladies brunch on Thursday and the school party is on Friday.

The tree is trimmed and the lights are all on...................

This is all wonderful and fun. If we aren't careful we can forget the meaning of Christmas.

Last week, while I was waiting to tell the judge why I can't serve jury duty, I pulled a little book out of my purse that I always carry with me. You have probably read through one yourself, Our Daily Bread. I will share the entry for that day:

As we approach Christmas, it's good to remember why Jesus was born. The Son of God did not come to establish a nostalgic, family-oriented, commercially successful holiday. The angel told Joseph: "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins"(Matt. 1:21).

Christmas began with a present from God to his sin-damaged world: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

The masterpiece of God's human creation, marred by turning away from Him, can be restored when we give our hearts to Christ. ---David McCasland

I think it is wonderful to have family-oriented memories that include traditions and activities as long as we give God the praise and glory for everything and put Him above all else!

I will be taking a blog break until after Christmas. The girls will be on Christmas break after Friday and I am really looking forward to having them home. God Bless everyone and again have a Merry Christmas.

Church was so wonderful last night. It is always wonderful. We are working through the book of Judges. We started chapter 17 last night. Samson died in the previous chapter and we are now introduced to Micah. Micah stole from his mother. He later returned her silver for fear of her curse, not for fear of the Lord. They used a portion of the silver to make a graven image as the mother said she had wholly dedicated the silver to the Lord. Verse six then says, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." The mother did what she thought to be acceptable. We know that God abhors false idols and would not want her to make one.


We have to be very careful not to use the world's standards to live by. Our hearts and eyes are deceptive. The rejection of God's authority is the main problem in the world. We often look to man's authority and measure our behavior and beliefs. We should use God's standard to choose music, activites, clothes and behavior. Colossians 3:23 says, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Just a little picture of our sparkly living room all ready for Christmas. I added a few more things to the mantel after I took this picture.

Remember making these?

When I was a kid, we used to string cranberries and popcorn to decorate the Christmas tree. It was lots of fun. Our tree had the homemade garland mixed with crazy blinking colored lights and store bought ornaments. I have always favored clear lights on our trees and really never thought of making the garland again until this weekend. I think it turned out really cute. I didn't have any fresh cranberries on hand so I used a bit of ribbon to add the fun color. We have been busy with decorating and working on our homemade Christmas projects. What are some of your homemade Christmas decorating traditions?

See the popcorn on our little tree too? We made a mini paper chain for it last year.