My New Year Challenge

Philippians 1:27 says, whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ... stand firm in one spirit. If I am to grow in Christian maturity, I must promote resolve in my future with a settled determination to improve my Christian condition.. therefore, I resolve to:
~Read the scriptures daily as well as dwell on them richly to gain competency of the entire Bible so wisdom will permeate my life.
~Contemplate the scriptures through memorization and meditation... to love what God loves and desire what He desires!
~To live in a peaceful state of mind...living in the present...practicing patience...and vocational composure.
~To pray daily as an act of total dependence on the Triune God...as an act of faith.
~To practice silence and solitude to cultivate and interior life...listening to God.
To deny myself unfitting expressions of criticism and sarcasm... to talk less and listen more.
To work hard to develop physical well-being by exercising more, eating less, and getting more sleep.
~Serve my family with joy and happiness by seeing acts of service as a means of self denial and really die to self.
~ Strive to live below my means.. giving more.
~Show neighbor love in tangible ways... including the jerk in the parking lot.
~To write a handwritten note to someone every week.
~To deny myself of any lingering lustful glance.
~To repent daily/ weekly of root sins such as greed, gossip, envy, jealousy, pride, and anger
~Invite those whom I trust to observe the details of my life to help me keep these things
~To assess my progress on a quarterly basis.
So... I challenge any and all to contemplate these resolutions and decide for yourself if being really true to your self and your own Christian maturity is worth it all. It certainly is to me.

Pink Saturday

Happy PINK Saturday!!

Happy New Year!

The light of 2010 is rapidly fading... a new year is on the horizon... we ponder the joys and disappointments of the old and look with expectation to the new... for this new year we pray for peace, good will , and God's blessing on us all. We know that there will be times of trouble, there will be times of testing, but through it all God will be on His throne waiting for us to put our trust and hope in Him!


Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more PINK SATURDAY!!

Skywatch Friday

One of my favorite Skywatch posts of 2010 was taken last summer when we visited our daughter and SIL in Boston.


We had attended church with the kids at Park Street Church which is on Boston Commons and then were strolling through the Commons on our way to lunch. This gorgeous edifice, The John Hancock Building, was reflecting the most lovely sky... or is it because we were with our very favorite people in the world...
at any rate.....

Have a very Happy New Year!!!

Check out Skyley for more wonderful photos!

Pink Saturday

Merry Christmas!
Happy PINK Saturday!!

What a fabulous Christmas this has been already... last night around our family tree with our daughter and son-in-law along with my parents we shared what it is that gives us that Christmas feeling... for aside from the true meaning of Christmas... that is the advent of the Savior of the World... Jesus' birth... Christmas is a state of mind...we recalled Christmasses of our lives and just what it was about past celebrations that lingered so comfortingly in our minds.. For me, it has always been the anticipation... the build up... the decorating,, the baking, creating the mood .. for it is through these happy family experiences that memories evolve.

One very happy memory was the Christmas in the country when it snowed and my Uncle June, dad, amd I walked down in the woods and Uncle June shot the mistletoe out of the tree with his .22 caliber rifle. Or the year on Thanksgiving weekend Lynn and I drove over to Thelma Vaughan's house to pick up our homemade pine roping and we got stuck in the snow and had to push our car out of a rut... sounds not too Christmassy you might say but it ranks high on my memory register!
Today we dont visit the country during the holidays as in the past, so creating memories revolve around creating a festive tone in the home! This year it seems like I am attuned to the miracle of light... which reminds me that Christ is the Light of the World and therefore the play of light in the Christmas home is essential whether created by firelight,

treelight,

candles in the windows,

or strategic lamplight...

or even the play of filtered daylight streaming in through the windows on snowy afternoons..

the low light creates a contemplative mood of wonder during the Christmas season.

....while bright glorious light reveals the festive tone that holidays evoke!

But when it is all said and done "Christmas" can't actually come until the family assembles....

Amanda and Joshua arrived this year late Thursday evening on a train from Boston.
And this year again we are so blessed to have mom and dad with us...

God is good to give them the strength and ability to spend Christmas Eve with us yesterday.
Our dinner was festive and delicious!

All the favorite food for Christmas... baked ham, sweet potatoes, brandied cranberries, winter salad, fresh baked rolls...

Not too many side dishes... because we like to leave room for an evening dessert and coffee!

.... and the presents brought joy around the room!

Joshua loves Alton Brown's cooking...
Mom and dad looked with anticipation as Joshua passed out the gifts!

Amanda always looks happy especially with smallish boxes to unwrap... one always hopes for something sparkly!

Yes, Christmas is a time of hope... and we are never any more aware of our greatest hope... that is our hope in Jesus Christ who condescended to step down out of heaven and take on mortality as a propitiation for us.. for our sin, which separates us from God, the Father...
For the Father desires one things from us...

He desires our love and relationship with Him... but our sin separates us from Him. It is by the sacrifice of Jesus, His only begotten Son coming to earth, living a sinless life, sharing the love of God with a dying world, and offering his own life as a sacrifice in his death on the cross. This Christ makes atonement for our sin and He promises that if we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, then he is faithful to save us from our sins and have fellowship with us.. That is the true meaning of Christmas.... the birth of a small baby... born in a lowly stable yet.. King of all kings and Lord of all Lords! We celebrate this joyous and loving season.. we deck the halls, and reverently contemplate the advent of our Lord! That is Christmas in our Home.
We send merry Christmas greetings to your's!

and Happy Pink Saturday!

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more PINK SATURDAY!!

Skywatch Friday

This morning the sky was aglow with a rosy hue as the COld Moon was stretching across the horizon seeking it's rest in the western sky! It seemed to get tangled in the mass of branches but a brisk wind disentangled it and it drifted on til it nestled beyond the rosy clouds!


Check out Skyley for more wonderful photos!

Pink Saturday

Happy PINK Saturday!!

This week I was privileged to get to visit with my dear friend, Lois, who authors Heart to Heart blog. Lois has written this newsletter for years and has just recently uploaded it in blog form. It is a treasure trove of wondrous tips for creating a cosy, health conscious, thrifty, organized home. Lois is a fabulous homemaker and friend and just for a bit of help I have been to her in offering a few of my own blogging tips, she gave this this wonderfully PINK handmade tote. To honor her in offering such fabulus organizational tips I have designated my tote to carry my current project items... . Here it hosts my address book, stamps, return label, and various leftover Christmas Cards as I finish up those never ending missives. Now I dont need to have this clutter spread out all over the dining room!

My Christmas playlist this week features Christmas songs performed by Michael W. Smith, one of my favorite Christian artists.

Enjoy PINK Saturday!!!

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more PINK SATURDAY!!

Skywatch Friday

This winter sunset heralds fair weather ahead!
Check out Skyley for more wonderful photos!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas

Today the snows came and the inspiration teamed up with the opportunity to get a lot done around the house. It was marvelous to get the Christmas cards and wrapping completed... thus my dining room table has been reclaimed!


That was the first step... then the decorating could begin in earnest!

Since I'm not using the garland on the mantle, I like it here!

This arrangement inspires me to consider a Christmas Tea this year! HMM!
Last week the mantle looked like this:

But , eh, I wasnt quite happy with that! So, today it looks like this!

I have always loved those snow villages, and my collection isnt quite as great in number, but I do love the pieces I do have and I like them on the mantle this year! I even got to start a bit of something in the sunroom, usually my last room to work on during this season,,, At least, this is a start!

And then evening fell, and the house was aglow! Now that's what I really like!


It is such a good feeling to be this far along... for my goodness, the kids will be here in exeactly one week! Oh, I cant wait!

Skywatch Friday

I took this photo out my studio window this morning... what a glorious way to begin my day!

Check out Skyley for more wonderful photos!

This beautiful sky photo brings to mind a wonderful song that a friend so kindly reminded me of as well!

Who made the mountains, who made the trees
Who made the rivers flow to the sea
And who sends the rain when the earth is dry
Somebody bigger than you and I

Who made the flowers to bloom in the spring
Who made the song for the robins to sing
And who hung the moon in the starry sky
Somebody bigger than you and I

He lights the way when the road is long
He keeps you company
And with His love to guide you
He walks beside you
Just like He walks with me

When I am weary, filled with despair
Who gives me courage to go on from there
And who gives me faith that will never die
Somebody bigger than you and I
Bigger than you and I

A Christmas Meme

. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I usually use them both. I begin with wrapping paper and really love to decorate the packages as much as I can. I love to use wired fabric ribbons that stand up to marvelous bows with long trailing tails... I find that gift bags make great Santa's for Christmas morning
2. Real tree or artificial? Both. We use a prelit tree in the living room and a real tree in the sunroom so that the wonderful smell of fresh cut spruce fills the air when guests arrive. Our daughter Amanda enjoys the real tree best of all!
3. When do you put up the tree? We put up our ‘everlasting’ tree a month in advance and put up the real one closer to Christmas. My hostess said it best so I am just copying her answer. Our artificial tree has been up for a couple of weeks and we just put the real tree up last night!
4. When do you take the tree down? I dont take anything down until after Jan 6th, Epiphany!
5. Do you like eggnog? I love eggnog, but just a little bit will do me! So rich!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? It was my Lady Alexander baby doll I got when I was six years old.
6. Hardest person to buy for? Now it is probably my son-in-law! Its not that he is finicky at all, it is just that I can never think of that special something that he would really love to have.. Actually he is very accommodating and acts happy with all he ever gets, but I always want to give him something he would "really, really" like... that we can afford!!

7. Easiest person to buy for? Love to buy for our daughter Amanda and my mom... they re the easiest to find fun surprises for.
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I hate to say it, and Im sure if any family member reads these they will think Im terrible, but one year my grandmother decided to clean out the house ands give away some token she hadhad for years and years and as the oldest granddaughter I had relatively high hopes for something nice.... my box was small and enticing and I waited until it was my last to open in excited anticia[petion.. It was the ugliest blue and grey brooch.. I dont think it even was of anything just a mass of stuff... and well, I dont even think I made it home with it... hope it wasnt an heirloom!
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? I love to mail out Christmas cards ... and I usually send out around 80. This year it will be more because I have many more friends at church I want to send to. If I dont have an address I will email one, but I generally try to get addresses from everyone.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love White Christmas. and of course, the Nativity..
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometimes I will shop bit all through the year when I see great sales... but generally about mid November
12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Well, yes, I taught elementary school for 30 years, and there were somethings that would just be more appreciated by someone else,,, because of the decor or the calories.... for me it was the thought and the accompanying hug that counted the most!
13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love ham biscuits, and quiche, my mother's pecan tassies, and what I wouldnt give for my grannie's apple cake with caramel icing!
14. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear on the tree in the living room and colored on the fun, real tree!


15. Favorite Christmas song? There are so many…I too, love Christmas carols. I also love Merry Christmas, Darling, sung by the Carpenters. My husband was in the military while I was at college when that song first came out and every time I hear it I think about how I felt at that time. And too many others to recount. I love Sleigh Ride and Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travelled every Christmas from 1972-1997 when my parents moved here. Now the kids come to us, but I imagine we'll be going to them some day.
17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid Donder Blitzen, Rudolph

18. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star in the living room, and angel on fun tree!19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning after our wonderful festive Christmas morning breakfast
20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Rush and commercialism.. this year I commit to spending quality time contemplating the advent of our Lord!
21. Favorite tradition of the season? It is the anticipation of it, the preparing, the setting the table, the actually time with family and the expectation of gifts around the tree and the wonderful music on the air.. the crackling fire in the fireplace
22. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes.... I bought a nicer one about 10 years ago and it is unbreakable in the hopes that when grand kids do come along they can put it up, telling and retelling the Christmas story!
23. Family member I try to stay away from? Well, in the long ago past there may have been one but that was long ago... now absolutely. no one.... Cant wait to get together!
24. Favorite colour of poinsettia? Red!
25. Do you attend church services at Christmas? If our church doesnt have one we find one that does to attend! That is the reason for the season!
I have done lovely programs around our own living room with family and close friends!


Visit here for more Christmas !

Marvelous Festive Day

I love a day like today. It started out well, listening to my favorite conservative radio host, Bill Bennett on Morning in America on KSKY radio... chatting with my online friends about the radio topics and the weather and the season... and then preparing food to take to our senior chorale function. Our group, the New Spring Singers entertained the folks at Pheasant Rodge this morning with a medley of festive songs.. We were all dressed to the nines in our red and green garb and bangles... and it was just a marvelous time of sharing love with the folks there... then we were most priveleged to have our luncheon at Linda's home... such an amazing and gracious hostess..
Situated atop a ridge on the outskirts of town this home enjoys 360 views that blow your socks off.
Linda makes feeding 40 seem like a breeze..

Christmas is such a fun time of year and the decor is absolute delight, and at Linda's everything is just perfection!
Church friends and church food is the best!