2011

2011 was a year full of miracles...

 

Miracle:  a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of divine agency

We had lots of works of divine agency this year:

• Andrew's job... Last year he was teaching as an interim, but was hired OFFICIALLY effective January 2011.
• My NEW job... I had been working as a social worker at a non-profit for a year and a half, but thanks to GOD, and to my parents, I now work at their office.  AND I LOVE IT!!!
• Our house... It feels so good to come home to a HOME each day.  It is a great home in a wonderful location.  In a way, I feel like God gave us this house.
• Andrew's medical discharge from the Army.  We are sooooooo thankful for that!
• Our new church.  Wow.
• And... Andrew FINALLY shot a deer on the very last day of hunting season.  He went all season without seeing a thing!  Normally, my heart would break for the deer, but my heart broke much more for my hubby who sat in the cold, in the wee hours of the morning, in a tree, alone, weekend after weekend. 

And now we are looking forward to 2012 in anticipation of NEW miracles.

As 2012 approaches, these are the miracles we are praying for.  These are the miracles we are expecting:

• Andrew to get successfully enrolled in each and every class that he needs to take at MTSU... 
• Us to be able to pay for those classes and the books up front.
• For him to PASS THOSE CLASSES,
• And then for him to get into the graduate program that he is hoping for. 

It is gonna be a good year, folks.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares to LORD. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future."  

-Jeremiah 29:11 

The Dawn Has Broken

"By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."

-Luke 1:78-79

Winter Snow Song - Audrey Assad with Chris Tomlin from Eric Rutgrink on Vimeo.

Happy Monday!

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."- 2 Corinthians 8:9 

Photo from here

And that is Christmas.  Now we know the grace of our Christ, who left His glorious riches in heaven and became a humble commoner.  He lived and breathed among us, suffered with us (Matthew 9:36 describes His "suffering with," His compassion, for His creation).

When we give up our lives, and our rags that we THINK are our riches, we become rich in Him... in our revolutionary Lord. 

7 Days and Counting

It seems like each year I pick one Christmas song that I absolutely wear out.  Last year it was this one, which will remain one of my FAVORITES. 

Here is my new favorite for this year: 

Joyful

 "His life is our light-- our purpose and meaning and reason for living." -Anne Graham Lotz

During the season of Advent, we light five different candles.  Yesterday, the third Sunday of Advent, we lit the candle of joy.

Photo from here

 I am a pretty serious person, very introverted and reflective in nature, and also mellow.  But I am also happy most of the time.  And, I am a Christian whose life God has blessed IMMEASURABLY MORE than I ever could have imagined.  Thus, I have joy in my heart.  And I want this joy to overflow onto others.  I want it to radiate so that others see it immediately.  I want them to see the joy of Christ when they look at my.  Because, in my own nature, I am quiet and not typically bouncy or giddy, expressing my joy as my witness is something I have had to commit to prayer and to God.

As Christians, we are called to joy.  And we have SO MANY REASONS to be joyful!!!

The light of Christ in our hearts manifests expressions of joy in our lives.

Photo from here... And it is worth taking a few minutes to check out the rest of her house too!!!

 "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth;

burst into song, O mountains! 

For the Lord comforts His people

and will have compassion on his afflicted ones." 

-Isaiah 48:13

This photo also from here

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." 

-Luke 2:8-14

One Day Closer

Today was the first truly COLD, WINTRY day we have had this year.  It was the kind of day when the sun never seemed to actually come out.  It was dark and overcast all day, and this weird not-quite-rain was in the air all day long.

It would have been a perfect day for cuddling in front of the fire with a good book... or just for sleeping in!  Except that it is a Tuesday... when people go to work.  And I am SO THANKFUL to have work to go to!!!  But I did miss that fireplace and book periodically throughout the day.

Aside from the weather, it was an absolutely crazy day at work.  There is no way that I could fully describe some of the things that happened or the people we saw today.  I do not even want to try because I could not do it justice.  All day I just wondered where the candid camera was.  It is like something you would watch on a sitcom... But it isn't quite so funny in the heat of the moment and in real life.

So, in the midst of the craziness, I longed for a little corner of the world that was my peaceful and quiet place.  And that is Jesus.  The peaceful and calm in the midst of a crazy world.

"In peace I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety."

-Psalm 4:8

Image from here

“The LORD bless you
   and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
   and be gracious to you;
 the LORD turn his face toward you
   and give you PEACE.”
-Numbers 6:24-26 

Image from here

^"Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."
-Thelssalonians 5:19,23

One Day Closer

Yesterday was a lazy Saturday, and it is looking like today is going to be a lazy Sunday... and those are often the best kind!  Andrew has drill this weekend so I have the house to myself today.  And other than a few loads of laundry, I have not done much of anything!  (:

The first thing I did after waking up this morning (AFTER having my first cup of coffee) was flip the page on our new advent calender.  I made this Christmas Countdown last week, and am very pleased with the result!

We started, obviously, with 25 days, and now we are working our way down to 1!  And then to CHRISTMAS!!!

Each day has a little snippet of the Christmas story on it.... The versions from the books of Luke and Matthew, and some of the prophesies from Isaiah.

I painted a wooden clipboard, and hot glued the big bow to the front to disguise the ugly clip. I had the Christmas-themed scrapbook paper left over from last year.  The bow was also a left over scrap.  I cut the numbers out with a Cricut.  The clipboard cost only a dollar.  The whole project was very easy and cheap, and hopefully we will get a few years out of it! 

For our coffee table, I set out both last year's and this year's December editions of REAL SIMPLE magazine.  And then I filled a glass vase (originally used for our wedding) with plastic, gold ornaments and pine cones.  I snagged the pine cones from our neighbor's yard and then sprayed some canned snow on them. 

For practicality and pizazz, I made some Christmas-themed coasters, which I also put on the coffee table.

I did not invest much into our tree this year, since I have just a hodge-podge of ornaments that do not really go together.  We put black and white photos on the tree to spice it up some... some of Andrew and me, some of my family, some of his, etc.  I would love to perfect this idea, and start putting pictures of Christmases past on it each year.

This is the message of Christmas:  We are never alone.  ~Taylor Caldwell

3rd Day of Christmas Countdown

I am a sucker for pretty home decor... plain and simple. 

And that's just my style... plain and simple.

And cheap.

Or better yet... free!!!

Here is a great idea (via Martha Stewart) for using what you already have to Christmas-ify your space:

All you would need to buy is garland, but you could also use twine or ribbon if you have either of those on hand already.  It is also a great way to display Christmas cards. 

I absolutely LOVE the idea of hanging pine cones on the front door.  It would also be pretty to spray some canned snow (HA!) on the cones:

This photo came from here.

There is so much I like about this tree. The whole set-up is so homey and cozy looking. I love that the tree is sitting in the big tin.  That is a great way to hide the legs of an artificial tree.  And I LOVE the pictures hanging on the tree.  We kind of used a spin-off of this idea on our tree, which I will show you tomorrow!  

Countdown to Christmas

Okay.... let the countdown begin!  (: 

24 days. 

I love this time of year:  The anticipation, the preparation, the excitement, the hubbub, the lights, the wrapping paper, and what ALL of it represents.... the glorious arrival of the Savior of our World!  

 

 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

-John 1:14

Meanwhile...

Yes, I realize that tomorrow will be ONE WHOLE MONTH since my last blog post.  So, since then, LOTS of crafts have been made, and LOTS of goodies have been baked.  I don't have many pictures, but here are the few I did remember to take:

 We sold coasters (made by me), and crocheted flowers (made by my mom) at the adoption craft fair in November to benefit the Chalos Adoption effort. 

 The church plans on making the craft fair an annual event, and each year's proceeds will go toward a new family's adoption fund. 

The craft fair left me itching for a new craft to work on. 

Hence, these flower headbands. 

  I have made SEVERAL versions since these three early attempts, and have made improvements each time. 

 I will post new pictures of my improved products as soon as I can.  These were my guinea pigs!  (:

In the spirit of Christmas, I also made a few greeting cards.  

And in the spirit of Hanukkah (which I am totally unfamiliar with), I made these coasters... per request of a friend.

And learned a lot about this Jewish tradition that I probably never would have learned had it not been for these coasters.