2011

Well as of tonight at 12:00 2010 has ended. 

no more.

all gone.

over and done.

will not see it later.

no chance to redo anything in it.

as of 12:00 2011 has begun.

fresh and new.

no blemishes yet.

a blank canvas.

365 days with no sadness, no mistakes...yet (is it a leap year, that would give us 366)

According to the Mayans it's the last year we have before the destruction of the earth as we know it.

I don't believe them.

I believe that God is in control of the life of this world we live in.

He said we will not know the day or the hour of Christ's return, he said nothing about how we have to worry and stress about the end of the world.

there are people, I am sure, that believe this is it.

2011 is our last year.

they are probably going to spend their year either preparing for the destruction and making sure they have all the resources to survive whatever is left.

OR they are going to live however they want, enjoying this last year before the end.

as Christ followers we do not have to worry about the Mayan calendar - we are not to worry about tomorrow. 

we do not know the hour or the day of Christ's return.

What if Christ decides to return tonight as the ball drops at midnight?



just liked this picture :)

Merry Christmas

O Holy Night

the stars are brightly shining

this is the night

of our dear Savior's birth.

Merry Christmas!

not happy holidays, not season's greetings...not even happy festivus.

(but if you're a Seinfeld fan, have a Happy Festivus)

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

I celebrate Christ's birthday.

so I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Happy birthday Jesus!

or in the words of the song I knew from our Sunshine and Snowflakes record:

Happy birthday baby jesus

even when your birthday's through

all year long i'll remember

to sing happy birthday to you.

WHY?

Forgiveness.... reconciliation.... grace....

are these just words Christians throw out to people because they are the 'right' thing to say.

do people truly believe them when they say they are needed for everyone?

or are there limits as to who those should be given to?

i understand the "we're only human and we screw up" line.  But if we're seriously striving to follow Jesus Christ's example don't we need to truly strive to bless others and ourselves with forgiveness, reconciliation and grace - in as much as we're able to humanly do - and to trust that the Lord will give us the strength to mean it and to do the rest of the work in our own hearts and the hearts of others??

yes we're human....

yes we screw up...

so why, when a person screws up and is completely, genuinely, humbly apologetic for the mess up, WHY do we make them feel even more like shit?

Why do we hold it against them and make them fight their way back to acceptance? 

Why do we make them feel as though they are the only ones who have ever messed up? 

Why do we make them feel ALONE?

if they are genuinely asking for forgiveness (I'm not getting into a situation where someone isn't remorseful) why can't we try to give them that? 

why must we make ourselves feel 'high-and-mighty'?

why do we avoid them in the streets or halls and not even acknowledge their existence?

why do we turn our eyes away with hopes that they didn't see us glance at them?

what happened to forgiveness?

what happened to reconciliation?

what happened to grace?

or are those things only something God can bestow on someone?

when someone asks for forgiveness.. when someone apologizes.. when someone acknowledges having messed up...

how is it 'helping them heal' by turning away from them.

if you're hurt by them, then understandably, there's healing on your side too; but for both your sakes - and both your healing... if paths are crossed make eye contact and acknowledge.  

(conversation isn't needed, hugs aren't needed, even a big welcoming smile isn't needed... but making the other feel like a leper isn't going to help anyone.)

I don't recall in the Scriptures where Christ walked by and avoided a person because they had messed up their life more than He could handle,(and I happen to believe He would have been hurt by a lot of these people.) 

forgiveness isn't an option.

reconciliation isn't an option. 

grace isn't an option.

not if you're truly striving to be like Christ.

in as much as we can humanly do those three things.  Christ needs to take care of the rest. 

Someone who is genuinely remorseful, can be forgiven by Christ and the wrongs 'forgotten'. 

why then, do we as humans feel the need to make sure to remind others of their screw ups - small or large. 

God can raise people from the dead.

God could forgive Paul - a killer of Christians.

God heals the lame, makes the blind see...

God can give the strength to forgive, to heal...

He created the earth, the seas, the living creatures, etc in SIX days, I think He can help us forgive, reconcile and give someone grace. 

i am working on these things daily, and I understand they're not easy, if I try to do them by myself.. sometimes I don't want to do them, but i have learned over the last year just how important and healing these can be when i get out of my self-focused little bubble and realize how needed they are for my own healing and for other's healing. 

no one should feel shunned by people who call themselves Christ followers, if they have seen their wrongs and now attempt to right their wrongs and mistakes. 

followers of Christ?

what does that really mean to you? 

Christmas music

I used to start playing Christmas music as soon as it got cold out.

Then I started playing it when the stores got out their Christmas stuff 

(it didn't used to be at halloween time)

Then I started playing it after US Thanksgiving - it made more sense to me.

now I don't want to hear it until at earliest - Dec 1st.

I'm listening to the radio, Life 98.9 right now, and it is Christmas music all day.

(sunday was a day of praise and worhip with some Christmas music thrown in)

I am not a fan of that much Christmas music.. 

I miss the regular 'Christian' music.  

i get annoyed with the same carols over and over just by different artists.  

variety is not there.  and some of them I find quite boring or just plain annoying. 

I wish it would be a mix. 

I wish we could have the regular music with some carols. 

"Switch the station or put on some other music" you say.

I do. 

when I get annoyed enough i do - or i just turn it off completely.

or I just put on Sharon, Lois or Bram and dance around with the kids to the Elephant song.

Some of the non-traditional Christmas music are really good - and they're a nice change.

oh, I am not Scrooge McDuck, I am not the Grinch.

I do love Christmas. 

I love the Santa Claus parade.

I do love the Christmas specials on tv, and wish I would have some of them on dvd - 

i just need to buy my favorites.

I love White Christmas with Bing Crosby.

I love Lampoons Christmas vacation with Chevy Chase, It's a Wonderful Life, Scrooge (B&W version)... 

I love the Christmas story.

I love nativity scenes - although the wise men weren't actually at the stable with the baby.

I love reading the Easter Story at Christmastime to be reminded why Christ even came as a baby, why we have Christmas in the first place.

and I do love Christmas Music.  

just not 24-7. 

this is just me taking time on my blog to write my annoyance at that much repetition of Carols... 

so call me Scrooge if you want, but to me, most carols are sung without depth or emotion being revealed.. they are just sung - the words not really thought of -

now, Jingle Bell Rock (it just came on the radio) is one I don't like much at all - but that's not a real Carol.  

the ones about Christ are the ones I'm talking about. 

 people sing those all the time but don't mean the words or even believe them - they're just Christmas Carols.

O Holy Night is in fact one of my favorites... or What Child is this...and Mary's Boy Child

So, you see I do like the songs - i sang the 12 days of Christmas to the kids at lunch - although I got stuck on days 11 & 12...my true love didn't give me anything on these days - oh well.

I guess I rambled long enough.  

if you made it this far before quitting then Thank You, and I am sorry if you're now confused at the purpose of this entry... if it makes you feel better i am too.

anyway...

Merry Christmas

J@de

I have 5 nephews and 3 nieces. (i hope I counted right)

Today my oldest niece turns 17.

me and J@de

I first met Jade (she prefers to write it J@de) when she was a baby.

I know that sounds like that is the most expected thing, but Jade is in no way blood-related.  

although I think she is.  

Her mom and my brother dated when Jade was a baby and I wanted her to be my niece back then. 

it took a few years but Jade is my niece.  

and I am so glad she is.

Jade is a beautiful young woman with a huge heart.  

She loves everyone.

family is so very important to her.  

friends are the world.  

God is crucial to living. 

I am proud of the young woman she has become.

She is extremely gifted in the arts - drawing, photography, and drama is in her scope too.

She loves music - music is her soul. 

I think she is overlooked too often because she is so willing to give of herself to her family and friends (and as a teen I know it doesn't come across so obviously sometimes)

She is quiet, but funny.

She adores her step-dad, my brother, and loves to go to his comedy shows.  

What a support and encouragement I know she's been to him as he starts off his comedy career.

She loves serving God - even though it is a thankless job a lot of the time.  

(on mission trips, and at camp)

I have a gorgeous niece and i pray often for her.  

I see myself in this girl who joined our family at a young age.  

i adore her.  

She is wise - but doesn't realize it.  

She is absolutely beautiful, but doesn't realize it. 

I am blessed to have her in my life.  

She is an encouragement to me in many ways. 

I pray this next year of her life is full of many unexpected blessings, many friendships strengthening and forming, many dreams accomplished and dreamt. 

Love you J@de. 

helping

today the kids and I made rice krispies squares.

The boy thinks Rice Krispies are the best ever - they are green!!

not fuzzy mouldy green.

but colored green by the kelloggs factory for Christmas.

only some are green, but the green ones were the ones that the boy was excited about.

we made a batch of squares - the kids helped. 

• the girl tried 2 marshmallows - exclaiming both times "don't like".  and then attempting to put the now gross marshmallow into the mix. - - the boy and i successfully stopped her.
• the boy ate about 6 Large marshmallows before i reminded him that eating too many marshmallows may make his tummy sick.
• he helped me put the marshmallows into the pot with the melted butter.
• she tried to grab all the rice krispies.
• he asked multiple times "can I put in the krispies yet?" 
• she successfully grabbed a handful of rice krispies and, after putting some into her mouth, put them into the pan.
• he helped me get those rice krispies out of the pan.
• he poured the rice krispies into the pot for me to mix.
• she played with the sink stopper after tossing a half eaten marshmallow into the drain.
• he licked the spatula with the remaining stuck krispies.

The kids then were so hungry after helping that they needed some green and red rice krispies with some milk.  the boy ate 2 bowls.

What great helpers I have.