Word-Filled Wednesday

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so."  Genesis 1:14-15

Praise God for his love and care for us in all seasons!

Happy New Year

Our Grandson's First Christmas

Our grandson liked his gifts, but the boxes, tags, and such, he had the most fun with!  he was such a joy!

Here he is with his mommy on Christmas Day, studying the tag from his new clothes.

Christmas Eve, notice Dad has the stuffed animal that was in the sack.

What a great sound the lovely red tissue makes when shaken!

Oh, but the favorite of all was the red ribbon, which entertained him for quite a long time!

Back to Christmas Day at Larry's sister's.  Our daughter, the aunt, gave baby lots of giggles and fun sliding around in the box we brought our food in.

Happy Holidays!

My Family's New Year's Eve Tradition

When our son and daughter were young, there were a few years that we changed the time on a clock, so that it would turn "midnight" around 9 or so, so we could celebrate, then go to bed at a normal time.   We also started the tradition of having root beer floats, which we enjoyed over the years, and Larry and I have kept doing, even though they rarely join us.  They do come over some time the next day or so and have floats with us.

When our daughter was in the sixth grade, she spent New Year's Eve with a neighbor/school friend.  At one point she asked the friend when they were going to have floats.  She had not realized that was a family thing.  Our son said he had thought others did it, too.

I think we must have watched movies, too, or played board games.  Larry and I sometimes get invited to parties, but we prefer to stay home and watch movies.  Some years we make it to midnight, and other years we don't.

Please feel free to share your traditions here in the comments section.  Have a safe, fun, blessed New Year's Eve and New Year!

Sue

After looking for a photo of a root beer float, I tried to put a whole article that I got a code for to embed on a blog, but didn't know how to put it here, so I'm going to try a different way to put it in.  I see it went to my sidebar, even though I had put it in the bottom one, thinking it would go above the posts.  The photo I just added here, is the one that was on the article I put on the side.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing has the wonderful Gospel Message

I love this hymn.  The words, "God and sinners reconciled" show us we receive God's forgiveness before any changes that are made in us that we somehow think will make us more acceptable to him.  Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  The whole hymn, though, is packed with the message of who Jesus is, and what he does for us.  Something I thought a bit interesting and sad, is that I noticed several of the sites have "offspring of the chosen one" instead of what I think was the original "virgin's womb."  

Have a blessed Christmas, and pray for God's help forgiving those who hurt us with their words or actions over the holidays with the forgiveness we have received from him.  

Hark the Herald Angel Sing:

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored;

Christ the everlasting Lord

Late in time behold him come,

Offspring of the virgin's womb,

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with men to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild he lays his glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark!  the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King"

(Added Wednesday morning:  I got up too early this morning, so hopefully I'll find time for a nap today.  I'm going to go ahead and make a gluten free pie for our daughter, and then clean our dining room, which has become a catch all space.  I am tickled that I got the kitchen clean yesterday!

Over the last several years, our daughter, son, and daughter in law have come to our house on Christmas eve for soup.  Our son makes gumbo, and I make oyster stew, to carry on the tradition of Larry's dad.  I also make several other kinds of soup.  Tomorrow, we will take leftovers to Larry's sister's house.  My family is joining us tonight, and it will be our grandson's first Christmas. Well, I better get busy!) 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Something happened to this picture of my son and grandson, which had been the second one until it disappeared.  I don't know if these are limitations of the blog format, or mine, but I can only put a picture at the top of the blog, and not after any words I've typed or after another picture.  Also, I can't cut and paste in the body of the post.  It will cut, but then usually, but not always, it will paste under the post. Does anyone know more about these things?

Our grandson spent the night Friday night, and Saturday, our son came over on his way to work to see him, and they put some decorations on the tree I've written about in the paragraph under this picture.

My husband usually resists decorating for Christmas, and for the last 4 years, we haven't had our tree up due to our dog being a puppy for a prolonged amount of time.  This year, Larry told me we should get a smaller tree to put up for our grandson. His parents are busy with working on the house his mom grew up in so they can move there.  So, we went out and bought a 4.5 foot one, complete with lights!  

We have many of the decorations my husband's family used over the years, and still have the ones we picked up over the years.  We also used some from the basket of decorations I got very cheap at a post Christmas sale that I had planned to use for gifts, but forgot about.  Maybe I'll remember next year.

Mom came after installing some bamboo flooring and the decorating continued.

Yesterday, Larry finished decorating the tree as I sorted through the decorations and put some other things around the room.  He took this picture:

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Friends on the Internet and "in the Flesh"

I have been spending a lot of time with people for holiday gatherings.  It's fun to be around them and catch up, but guess what my favorite thing to talk about is?  I love talking about blogging!  I even talk about it to students I don't know in the media center of the school I work at when they are on the computer next to me.  I think there is at least one student who seemed interested in checking it out.  Whenever I talk about blogging, I say I have a Christian and a gardening blog.  I tell people how I'm meeting people from all over the world.  

I feel blessed that I have friends from different countries, including those I've met in ways other than the internet.  One of my friends is from South Korea.  I met her when she was auditing a class I was taking at UNL.  She keeps having to go back home because her visas expire.  Her goal has been to learn English well enough to get a green card.  I hadn't heard from her in quite awhile, but she emailed me last week to let me know she and her younger son are living in Virginia.  Her older son stayed with an American family the last time she and her younger son had to go back, and is now going to college in New York.  (I haven't noticed any blogs from S. Korea, have you?)

Please pray for my friend so she knows God's will for her life, and if he is willing, that it works out for her to live in the U.S. as she so strongly desires.

I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas season!  We have our grandson tonight for an overnight stay.  It's his third one.  He is asleep in the Pack n Play next to me.  He's going to be one January 4th, and is walking up to 14 steps or so now.  He actually walked back and forth between me in the living room to Larry in the computer room several times.  

God's Blessings,

Sue

ABCs of the Word, "U"

I thought this would be a good one around Christmas time, because it's good to remember who Jesus is and the reason why he was born.  Yes, he died on the cross, but he did rise and is still working in our lives.  Please click on the icon in my sidebar to see Pam's blog, Grey Like Snuffie, and her list of others participating.

Hebrews 1:1-3:

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

Hi Pam, scroll down to see the "joy" decoration you gave me in your drawing.  We found a good place for it in the hallway between the kitchen and the dining room.

Word-Filled Wednesday

Proverbs 16:1

"To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue."  

I tried to find a verse that went with this pic, but none seemed to fit.  This verse sort of does. We make plans, and "walk" in them, but the Lord guides us on our way.  Please click on the icon in my sidebar for more WWFs.

Christmas Joy!

Merry Christmas!  I hope your holidays are joyful and peaceful.

"The ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their  heads.  Gladness and joy with overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."  

Isaiah 51:11

Thanks Pam, for the prize you sent me from your drawing.  It's lovely!

Blessings, 

Sue

ABCs of the Word, "T"

Psalm 28:7

"The Lord is the strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Visit Grey Like Snuffie for more ABCs of the Word.

Word-Filled Wednesday

2 Timothy 2:1-4:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

Something I like about this passage is that God does not expect us to be out preaching or doing things only for others all the time.  I love to be at home, and yet find myself on the go a lot.  I need to pray more, and for more people than those I do.  I feel no condemnation from God, though.  I have that knowledge of the truth, and peace with God through faith and trust in him alone for my salvation.

For more Word-Filled Wednesday posts, click on the icon in my sidebar.

Hello!

It's been busy around here!  I have a post in mind, but am waiting for my husband to help me put some music on here from a CD I bought at a concert at our church Sunday night.  We put it on itunes, now I need to figure out how to get it from there to here.

I put a post on my Corner Garden blog about things I collect if you are interested.

Blessings, Sue

ABCs of the Word, "S"

"By day the Lord directs his love at night his song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life."

Psalm 42:8

For more ABCs of the Word, visit Grey Like Snuffie's blog.

Word-Filled Wednesday

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:9

Find the button in my sidebar, and it will take you to Word-Filled Wednesday posts by others.

Added 12/3- A Link to AmyDeane's blog

Family Time at Grandma's Funeral

Last night we had a family greeting friends evening at the mortuary.  There weren't a lot of friends there, so the relatives got to visit with each other.  One of my uncles told me a woman who worked with Grandma told them that the last few weeks, Grandma had kept saying she wanted to go home, and it wasn't her own home she was talking about.

Not only had I not seen my grandmother in a long time, it had been as long or longer since I'd seen my cousins, aunts, and uncles.  When we were kids, and up until a few years after we started having children, we got together every Christmas, usually Christmas Eve.  I remember Grandma used to give all her kids and their spouses the same or similar gifts, and the grandchildren would also get similar gifts to each other.

The cousins enjoyed trying to catch up today.  We were the pall bearers.  Most of us rode in the hearse.  It was actually quite pleasant.  

I was pleased when we got the mail, and there was an invitation from one of the cousins for a Christmas gathering the middle of the month.