Family life

Freshen Up Friday

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One of the best things about holidays are the traditions that go with them.  They create special family ties and memories that can’t be replaced by anything electronic!  They will long be remembered by your family with, “Remember how we always…”

One special tradition that has special memories for me was at Christmastime when my mom would purchase a taper candle and make 25 notches in it to mark each day in December, counting down to Christmas.  Each night at supper, we would burn the candle to the next notch.  It was such fun to have the flickering candle on the table and watch to see that it didn’t burn past its allotted mark.  My sisters and I would take turns blowing it out each night.  We  knew how close Christmas was, simply by seeing how small the candle was getting with each passing day!  I carried this tradition to my family as well, maybe more for myself and the sentiment it brought.  I trust my girls remember it with fondness as I do.

If you’re looking for a fun tradition, why not find a short taper candle (since it’s more than half way through the month) and mark it for the remaining days ’til Christmas?  Not only does it create a memory for your family, it also provides family time at the dinner table.  You could also use the flame to create conversation about Jesus, the Light of the world.  Perhaps each evening you could also read  some Scripture about Christ’s light and explain what it means.

Family times need refreshment, and a great way to experience that is with  traditions – maybe even a new one!  By the way, this isn’t just for children, a couple, young or old, could hold this same tradition and make special memories together.

What traditions do you hold or remember having?

Be refreshed,

Christian Life

Terrific!

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Last weekend I had the joy of taking my four and five year-old Sunday school class to the nursing home where we sang, recited a poem, and then my husband gave a short Bible challenge to a group of the residents.  Here the children are getting ready to sing.  Are they precious, or what?

While they were singing, one of the sweet female residents came in, and with each step she took closer to the children she said, “This is terrific! Terrific! Terrific! You’re terrific!  He’s terrific!”  Then she walked up to each child as she made her way down the line, cupped their face in her hands and said to each one, “Pretty, pretty, pretty!”  The children were so kind to her and weren’t afraid.  I think it was due to her sweet nature.  It was apparent that she was in this particular locked down area of the nursing home for a reason,  but I have to tell you, I have thought about that dear lady all week.  You know, some people grow old and crabby, but this sweet lady had obviously spent her life looking for things to praise, and now that she didn’t quite have all her mind, she was still in that same attitude!

While reading through Luke 15 this week I found over and over the words joy and rejoicing.  Verses 4/5 say, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 

Verse 7a –I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.

Verses 8, 9 say Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 

Verses 23, 24 add – Bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.


Heaven is a place of joy and rejoicing.  Jesus has joy and He came to give us joy.  He said in John 15: 11- These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. We may think we have reason to be downhearted today, but that’s not what Jesus wants for us!  Joy and rejoicing should be a part of every day for the believer.  If there’s nothing in your life to be joyful about, look to heaven and rejoice over sinners coming to Christ.  Rejoice in the birth of Christ.  Rejoice in the coming of our Savior – it will be soon!  Rejoice in the things around you that are “pretty, pretty, pretty!”  Encourage others by telling them how “terrific” they are!

The truth is, we will be what we have been becoming.  Will you and I be “little old ladies” of praise?  If so, we better be praising now.  Take a look around – things really are “terrific!”

With love,

Marriage

A Peek Inside the Parsonage

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Every year when we put our Christmas tree up in the parsonage, my husband and I, together, hang the ornament that says, Our First Christmas, then we exchange a kiss.  It’s a tradition that we’ve held all these 30 Christmases. 

This side of the ornament reads – “Christmas is the season for sharing the spirit of Love”

  However, last year Our ornament had a little fall onto the hardwood floor and broke.  ~Sadness~  We were able to glue it at the bottom (notice the crack in the bottom of the ornament in the  picture  above).  From that side it doesn’t look too bad – just a little flaw.  But…

the other side had major damage that wouldn’t hold together with glue.  Its ugly fix is a piece of scotch tape that’s bridging the huge gap with the jagged edges.  There was NO WAY I was going to throw that piece of sentimentality in the trash!  We’d shared too many memories with that piece of glass!  The simple answer is to turn the taped side to the back of the tree!  Who will know?  (Only my sweet blog readers!)

I think our ornament is a pretty good representation of all marriages.  At times it looks great to all that behold it.  Oh, there may be a little crack somewhere, but that’s to be expected.  After all – each spouse comes into that relationship with all kinds of extra baggage and it takes time and true love to work through those things.  But if you flipped that marriage over and gave it a closer inspection, you may see a huge hole due to some very hard crisis that has hit their home.  They could throw the whole thing in the trash and get a divorce, but they know that the Lord has put them together.  So now, with the “tape” of God’s Word, His love forgiveness, and maybe also His servant that gave some godly counseling, they’ve stuck together.  There are scars, but those will be overlooked in time, both by one another and those that watched while they suffered through the hardship.

Every marriage has cracks, and though yours may seem to be bigger than another couples’, stay in it for the long haul.  With the Lord’s help get the “tape” necessary to keep your relationship secure.  Our marriage is no different than yours, it has cracks from falls over the years, but what a blessing that we can still “hang” together!

From inside the parsonage windows,

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Lights That Shine

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One day last week my husband and I were driving through a neighborhood.  As we passed by one home I could see many, many lights in the yard.  There were white cords hanging over bushes and fences, as well as brown plugs and extensions dangling from the rooftop like loose teeth in a first grader’s mouth.  There was nothing attractive about it.  As we drove past, I considered what I had just seen, and knew that in a few hours when darkness fell, that little shabby house with the tangle of cords would be transformed into a twinkling fairyland.

What a vivid reminder that illustration is in our spiritual lives.  What looks to us like a tangled, ugly mess and arrives in the form of trials, troubles, disasters, difficulties, hardships or confusion can be turned into a thing of beauty when the darkness falls.  It’s not until things get truly dark that our light can shine.  When we show our trust in the Lord and His Word in the midst of hard times, no longer is the mess seen because our light is shining instead.  Ye are the light of the world.  Matthew 5:14 

What are others seeing in our lives…the mess of the dangling cords?  Or are they seeing our light that points them to the One Who is able to make beauty from ashes?  That will only happen if we are reacting to the trials with trust in our sovereign God.  That doesn’t mean we don’t have questions, but even in the midst of asking the Lord what He wants to teach us, we must be nodding with the understanding that whatever He is up to, He will make it beautiful in His time.  While we wait, though, we can let our lights shine!

With love,

main dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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We weren’t in the parsonage this weekend, but I had the blessing of having Sunday dinner in my sister, Sharee’s home yesterday!  My husband and I got to go to Kentucky where we attended church with my parents, then had dinner with  Sharee afterwards (while her poor hubby was at work missing out!).  The meal was so good, and served in a lovely way, but the best thing was sitting around the table in the comfy chairs talking and laughing for a nice long while.  Family times – they’re rare…and precious!

Sharee found a new lasagna recipe a couple of years ago that is now her favorite.  It came from Southern Living (their recipes are always keepers!).  It was delicious. 

One thing I like about being in someone else’s kitchen is learning about new/different products. She served a tossed salad and offered a Balsamic Vinaigrette by Ken’s that I am going to have to look for; it was a nice change from the creamy dressings I usually have on hand. 

Her menu:

Tossed Salad
Rolls
Peppermint Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce
Lovely and so good!!!
Sharee told me that one time-saving method in this lasagna recipe is the way they tell you to cook the noodles; you pour boiling water over the noodles that are in a 9×13 pan and let them set for 15 minutes.  How easy is that?!  She also likes the recipe better using small curd cottage cheese instead of the ricotta cheese that it calls for.  This was really good lasagna.  If you need a little boost to your old standard recipe, this would be a great replacement!
Thanks, Sharee, for a great recipe and a wonderful, relaxing afternoon!
What was cooking in your kitchen this week?
With love,