I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with those you love remembering the birth of our Savior and Lord, who came from everything familiar, comfortable, right, and glorious to live among sinful people who would misunderstand and reject Him, in order to provide salvation for us.
By John R. Van Gelderen, sung by Mary Lynne Van Gelderen
Mystery of Christmas night,
Prophecies of old come true —
Infant lies in candle light,
Prince of peace in wondrous view.
Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.
Gift of God and hope of man,
King of glory born on earth.
God’s eternal master plan
Offers man a second birth.
Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.
Mystery of Christmas glow,
Shining still with saving light
Christ the Savior man may know
Miracle of Christmas night.
Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.
(Sound clip and download available here.)
The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the last Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button. This month’s participants are here.
I just posted about the books I finished reading for the Fall Into Reading Challenge a few days ago, so I won’t list all those again here. I do have several books waiting to curl up with me on some of those long winter nights ahead:
I am currently reading @ Home for the Holidays with the same characters from SAHM I Am by Meredith Efken about a group of stay-at-home moms who stay in touch via an e-mail loop as well as the complete unabridged Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I’m on page 366 of this 1,463 page book.
Also in the queue, not necessarily in this order:
Every Now and Then by Karen Kingsbury
Thread of Deceit by Catherine Palmer
To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson about Americas’ first missionary, Adoniram Judson. I have read it before but wanted to revisit it.
American Haven by Elisabeth Yates. I gad mentioned somewhere a book I had read as a child about a girl named Merry from England, but I couldn’t remember the title or author, and Sally mentioned this might be it.
Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser.
What Women Wish You Knew About Dating: A Single Guy’s Guide to Romantic Relationships by Stephen W. Simpson. Having sons in or coming up to the age of dating, this caught my eye. When I saw it reviewed at Deena‘s, one of the incidents mentioned sounded a lot like one son, so I thought I’d check it out before recommending it.
Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman.
Falling For You Again and Winter Turns to Spring, the last two in the Four Seasons series dealing with marriage by Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman.
The Heirloom by Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco, just given to me by my friend, Carol.
No Place Like Home by Brad Williams.
The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.
Hannah’s Hope: A Journey of Faith by Hope Houchins about Hannah Sobeski, a young woman with cancer who had lived in our state.
House Blend: Warm Stories From Your Favorite Authors.
Housewives Desperate For God by Jennie Chauncey and Stacy McDonald. This has been on my shelf for a long time.
Will I finish all these? Probably not. But they’ll wait for me. And looking at the stack of them is making want to lay everything aside and start reading! Can’t do it now, but soon….
Smiling Sally hosts a Blue Monday in which we can post about anything blue — pretty, ugly, serious or funny — and then link up to other Blue Monday participants.
Believe it or not, I actually forgot one of my favorite blue ornaments in my list of them last week.
This is a Boyd’s Bear ornament my dear friend Carol gave me:
And, believe it or not, blue really isn’t the predominant color of my Christmas decorations, though it might look like it with the things I showed last week. We have multicolored decorations. But I like blue as a Christmas color. In fact, our wedding was blue and silver because I didn’t want a typical red wedding for December. (Maybe I should have shown blue wedding photos in light of our anniversary yesterday!! But as it is already midday and I’d need to scan them, I think I’ll wait.)
I did want to show a couple more blue ornaments I got last week at the Christian bookstore. They look like they are from the same artist who did the “Believe” and “Rejoice” ornaments I showed last week, but they are a little different style.
Then I also found there this beautiful blue heart. If you’ve read here long, you know I love hearts, and this was just gorgeous.
I’ve thought about putting all my blue ornaments on a skinny tree in the family room where the predominant color is blue. I’ll have to see if any more of those trees are left in the store — or plan for it next year.
Then this little guy usually greets people at the front door, but we forgot him this year.
With all the rain we’ve been having, it is probably for the best that he wasn’t out in it. And I do believe in saying “Merry Christmas” but I’ve also said “Happy Holidays” for years to include both Christmas and New Year’s, not to be politically correct. More thoughts on that here.
I hope you all have a blessed Christmas! I’ll be back with a few things between now and then, but I likely won’t see many “Blue Monday” folks til next week.
Today is my 29th anniversary of marriage to my wonderful husband!
I’ve loved this song since I first heard it.
“The Voyage” by Johnny Duhan, sung here by Irish Tenor John McDermott
I am a sailor and you`re my first mate.
We signed on together, we coupled our fate;
We hauled up our anchor determined not to fail,
For the heart`s treasure, together we set sail.
With no maps to guide us we steered our own course.
We rode out the storms when the winds were gale force.
We sat out the doldrums in patience and hope.
Working together we learned how to cope.
Life is an ocean, love is a boat.
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat.
When we started the voyage
there was just me and you —
Now gathered around us we have our own crew.
Together we`re in this relationship.
We’ve built it with care to last the whole trip.
Our true destination is not marked on any chart;
We`re navigating for the shores of the heart.
Life is an ocean, love is a boat.
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat.
When we started the voyage
there was just me and you —
Now gathered around us we have our own crew.
I can’t believe it is time to wrap up this year’s Fall Into Reading challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. I’ve always felt our lists that we make for the challenge were just guidelines, a way to be a bit more purposeful in our reading, and not hard and fast resolutions to feel guilty about not completing. I always feel it is ok to veer away from what was originally planned. Nevertheless, I think I veered the farthest I ever have in a challenge.
Here are the questions Katrina suggested for the wrap-up:
Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why not?
No, I didn’t, partly because one book was much longer than anticipated and partly because I changed gears.
Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?
I changed because I remembered I had a Christmas book from last year plus I found a few more on sale at our Christian bookstore this year that I wanted to read during this season.
What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?
My favorites were probably Stepping Into Sunlight by Sharon Hinck and Summer Breeze by Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman. Both were very realistic with good instruction embedded into the stories. Least favorite: Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz. It’s not a bad book: I wouldn’t say don’t read it. It just didn’t really resonate with me, but it might with someone else.
Did you discover a new author or genre this fall? Did you love them? Not love them?
I did, a couple. I guess I am ambivalent — I don’t love or hate them.
Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?
I’m learning much more then I ever wanted to know about French history. More on that later.
What was your favorite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge?
Getting ideas from other people’s lists and actually reading books I planned to get to “someday.”
Would you like to participate in another challenge here this spring?
Sure! I enjoy them.
Here is what I completed reading:
These are Christmas books I added in and completed:
I am currently reading:
Books on my original list which I did not complete:
I had mentioned several other possibilities I might consider in my original post, but did not add any of them. I’ve bought (and won!!) a few more, and I am looking forward to those keeping me company in the long winter months ahead.
Katrina’s wrap-up post with links to other Fall Into Reading participants is here.
Julie at Joyful Days tagged me for a meme about six things that make me happy.
1. God.
2. The Bible
3. My family
4. Friends
5. Books
6. Good food
It’s hard to stop on that one once you get started!
Then Smiling Sally tagged me with the Game of Addictions in which I am supposed to name five things I am addicted to.
1. Chocolate
2. Blogging
3. Word games
4. Pink roses
5. Reading
Then I saw this meme of Christmas favorites at Melli’s as well as several other places I forgot to make note of:
*Favorite Christmas Song*
It’s hard to pick just one, but if I had to it would be Infant Holy, Infant Lowly.
*Favorite Christmas Movie*
“A Christmas Carol” with George C. Scott. Or maybe “White Christmas.”
*Favorite Christmas Gift to Give*
I really like to tailor the gift to the specific person, so there is not one gift I like to give everyone, but I love to give books if the person likes to read, and CDs of good Christian music as well as something personal and handmade if possible.
*Favorite Christmas Gift to Get*
Probably books.
*Favorite Christmas Cookie*
Gingerbread Bears, though I don’t make them every year because they’re labor intensive. I still hope to this year, and if I do I’ll post pictures and the recipe.
*Favorite Christmas Candy*
I can’t think of a specifically Christmas candy I like — just all the usuals “dressed up” for Christmas: Reese’s and M&Ms would top the list, though come to think of it, last year I did discover Lindor truffles last year….sooo good.
*Favorite Christmas Color*
Green.
*Favorite Christmas Tradition*
Decorating the tree together as a family and reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning.
It’s such a busy time of year, I won’t tag anyone, but feel free to do any or all of these and let me know so I can come see your answers.
(Photo courtesy of the stock.xchng.)
Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.
I’ve been wanting to put a miniature Christmas tree on my dry sink for a long time, and got some components in previous years, but this is the first year I got everything I needed to complete it and actually put it up.
It’s a smidgen too tall for the space there — I think I might snip the top of it so the little star topper fits under the shelf. I love the tree skirt (half off at Hobby Lobby, as were some of the other decorations). I’m pleased with how it turned out.
I won from a giveaway Miss Sandy had at Quill Cottage this lovely Nativity decoration she made.
She has one she uses as a tree topper. I don’t want to put mine there but I haven’t decided exactly where to put it yet. But it’s lovely — thank you, Sandy!
I have a couple of Christmas pins, one a little more dressy and one more casual:
I got them both at an annual craft show when we lived in GA. That’s one of the things I miss most about that area. Unfortunately it’s a little too far to drive there just for this event, but I’ve been tempted.
And, finally, it has been a little while since I showed my “work in progress,” so I thought I’d do that today as well.
I’ve had to lay it aside to get other things done over the holidays, but I’m looking forward to getting back to it soon.
My college student’s last day of school was yesterday, and my youngest’s last day is today. My husband is working from home today and then off next week, so we’re about to enjoy some vacation time. I got a late start on Christmas tasks — I don’t know what kind of fog I was in, but it suddenly dawned on me that December was nearly half over and I needed to get down to business. I kicked it into high gear, and praying much and leaning on the Lord for grace, got out-of-town packages in the mail as well as the Christmas cards to far-flung relatives. I’ll finish the other Christmas cards today and have some odds and ends shopping to finish up. Last night was the last “official” event to go to, my youngest son’s Christmas concert at school. We do have a Christmas Eve service at church, and my anniversary is Sunday, for which my husband is taking me out to dinner Saturday night. We may go to one of the drive-through Christmas light displays nearby. I haven’t done any baking and hope to get some Harvest Loaf Cake made this weekend. But overall I am feeling good about the progress on holiday activities and looking forward to next week. Have a great weekend!
I mentioned in an earlier post about decorating the Christmas tree that “the island of misfit ornaments” was the designation my oldest son gave to some of our ornaments that were not quite picture perfect. Some of them got broken or misshapen over the years and we’ve just never gotten around to fixing them — I think when we get them out I’ll fix them some time during the season, and then when that doesn’t happen I think I’ll get to them before next year, but somehow I never throw them away. Others of them are just a little offbeat. But as we unpack the ornaments every year and ooh and ah over the pretty ones and remember the stories and significance behind several of them, we have a lot of fun with the “misfits” as well. I thought I’d show you some of them. I’ll forewarn you, though, that with teen/young adult boys, our sense of humor is a little warped.
This one used to be a little Nativity ornament.
We don’t hang this one any more. One year the roof broke off, and it looks like we lost Mary, or at least her head, along the way. My kids found this at the bottom of the box and were asking about it (I guess it has been so long since it was whole that they didn’t even remember it). As I was telling them what it used to be, Jeremy, my oldest, said it looked more like Abraham getting ready to sacrifice Isaac…
I mentioned in that earlier post that there was one angel whose head got separated from its body somehow, and the boys have done strange things with it every year since. One year they just hung the head as an ornament and placed another ornament that was a little hat on top of it. This is where it ended up this year:
I told them they reminded me of Sid on Toy Story.
These were little wax candle ornaments that we got our first Christmas together.
The brown-haired boy represented Jim, and the blond girl represented me. But one year they got a little melted up in the attic. I couldn’t even get them out of the plastic bags because they were stuck. I don’t know why I haven’t thrown them away. I put all my Christmas candles in a box in a storage closest now so they don’t melt any more up in the attic, and I keep these in with them.
I think one of the boys got this little misshapen bear at a school or Sunday School exchange. I don’t know what happened to him.
But they seem to have special affection for him.
Someone gave us this one year. Jason called her the octopus angel.
She looks a little depressed to me.
This was a little crystal angel whose lower end keeps getting broken off in pieces even though it is kept in its own little box.
This is what Jeremy did with it this year.
For those of you familiar with the BJU Unusual films, their logo was the angel flying with the video camera — this reminds me of that.
This is something Jesse made when he was little.
We have several kid-made ornaments like that that have their place of honor.
And there is nothing wrong with this one…I’ve just always thought it was a little strange.
Doesn’t every tree need a Hershey’s Kiss ornament?
Finally, I also told in that post about how we have a stray hook on the ceiling that the previous owners had, I think, a hanging lamp on. We’ve just never taken it out, and one year one of the boys put one of our snowflake ornaments on it. I fussed about it the first year, and then it became kind of a game every year to get it up there before I could say anything. I’ve accepted it now as one of our unique traditions.
You can also see in that picture that they put a little crown ornament I got on clearance last year on our angel tree topper.
I’ve always preferred that our tree be a meaningful family-oriented tree rather than a perfect decorator tree, but I’ll have to admit there have been some years I wished some of these remained in the box, or after everyone was done decorating I moved them to a less conspicuous place on the tree. But now I’ve pretty much embraced them as part of the fun of our particular tree decorations.
Do you have any offbeat or “misfit” ornaments?
