All I want for Christmas...

...my two front teeth!

...is a white Christmas.

...is world peace and goodwill toward men.

These are the sayings. All I want for Christmas... When did Christmas become a "wanting" holiday? Was it big businesses trying to cash in on the holiday or was it a simple act of giving to one another and it was taken over by greed and sin? God did "gift" us on Christmas, with a gift that should shadow no other. But are we satisfied with that at Christmas or do we buy into the frazzle and craziness of the holiday. I would have to say that I don't, but I love giving gifts and buying them. I love to see a smile and surprise on some one's face when they receive. These are material things, things that fade, break and collect dust. There is one Gift that a Giver has blessed us with that will last forever. That gift was given on the day called, Christmas. The Gift came in a tiny package but it has lasted for thousands of generations. That Gift had a humble beginning but is everlasting in power and joy. That Gift is a Gift that we can give to others by telling them. Can you imagine the joy that God feels when someone unwraps His Gift - to see the smile and surprise on a new believers face! May this be what we want for Christmas too! May you give the Gift this year to someone! Merry Christmas!

Cole's Birthday

Oh, I am so late. It was Cole's Birthday on Dec 4. Cole is 8 this year! We have been having programs, baking day, snow storm and I haven't had time to post. Cole is a great kid. He loves to laugh and will make himself laugh over the tiniest things. God knew we needed him in our family and I love him so much! Here are some pictures from his birthday and the snow storm! This is his cousin, Kate. Kate's birthday is the 3rd of December, so we always celebrate together! Cole's cake has a 12 on it because that's his favorite Vikings player, Percy Harvin. Cole did not turn 12~!

Jesus was in the kitchen

This past weekend was a new adventure for me. I helped cook for 15o+ people! The kitchen was at a spiritual retreat and 3 other ladies and I cooked for the group. I had fun and we made a lot of food. You don't get much down time because when you are done with one meal, you start another. Actually you are starting another meal before you are finished with the other! It went well, and I saw Jesus in the kitchen!
Friday night's menu was ham balls, cheesy potatoes, beans with almonds, dinner rolls and ice cream sundaes. I was in charge of making the potatoes in the morning. I made the amount that was designated. The first group that eats is served family style and their potato bowls kept coming back for seconds! The potatoes were yummy! But that posed a problem for the second half of people to eat. It looked that there may not be enough potatoes for everyone! Well, the other cook said that there was potato salad in the fridge, so we could get that if we needed to. But seriously, potato salad with ham balls? We started to dish up plates for the second group. I was on potato duty. I gave everyone one scoop but it so looked like it was going to run out! I sent up a short prayer, "Lord, you fed the 5,000 with loaves of bread and a couple fish, you can make the potatoes last." I was scraping the edges. I just kept praying, and everyone was eying the pan to see if there was any left. We scooped the last plate, someone said stop, that's enough. There were 5 complete plates left - one for each of the cooks!
I looked back just as I was going to sit down and there was the extra plate (remember we had 4 cooks). It was Jesus speaking to me, saying, "I will provide for you, and see, this one is for me!"
I just sent praises to the Lord! I am telling everyone of His Glory! He is my Provider! In this Thanksgiving season, whatever you are going through, may you give thanks too, for His unending faithfulness!
And may Jesus be in your kitchen too!

Points to ponder

Deuteronomy 29:29 (New Living Translation)
29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

An eleventh-century English monk, Anselm, said,
"I do not seek, O Lord, to penetrate thy depths. I by no means think my intellect equal to them: but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe, that I may understand." James A. Boice. Psalms, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998) 1149

Today is Grant's Birthday. I can't believe it's been 11 years ago that we received a call at about 9:30 am that we had a son! Glenn was at my folks helping my dad, so we had a conference call with Grant's birthmom. She then told us that we had a son! I couldn't wait to go to the hospital and see him for the first time. He was so tiny- 6lbs 3 oz.! We had a blizzard the next day but on placement day we took the 4-wheel drive pickup to get our son - because nothing was going to stop us - not wind, rain, sleet or hail!

Happy Birthday Grant, I am so proud of you! You are growing into a young man, I can't beleive you are eleven! Time goes by so fast! Love you much!

Harvest

There was smog on the plains today and I am praising God for it! The sun was a grey-white this morning at 8 AM on my way to work. The fog was prevalent, but there was something that broke the stillness - a humming noise. This humming noise is a welcome sound for it has been too silent for too long. The harvest has been shut down because of rain, but yesterday the wind blew! You could hear the hum of combines from far away this morning. The bean dust created a wonderful, glorious smog! I've been praying for the farmers and the harvest. The weather man says that there is a chance of rain for tomorrow night and Wednesday - let's hope he is wrong.

Football Season Won!

Saturday, we had our first snow of the season. The wind blew and it was a "balmy" 37 degrees outside! I was not inside my comfy house, I was attending my son's football game!

This year is the first year my son, Grant, joined a tackle-football league. My husband, Glenn, is helping to coach Grant's team. Glenn is having fun with coaching, and is learning to appreciate the game in a whole new way.
We have had 4 games and now are in the playoffs. I can see improvement every week in the players, not in the area of the score but the team keeps accomplishing techniques. The last game of the season they came up with a win and they won the Saturday playoff game.

For me the winning is not the important part. I just kept encouraging Grant to do his best and that is all anyone is asking of him. For me the important part is seeing a dad and his son bonding. To hear a son saying, "Thanks, Dad, for coaching me" is a prize. Football to me is seeing my son in a whole new way. He is the center for the team. The center is in charge of the huddle, so he has taken on that role, which is so unlike him.

The team may not have a winning record. The team may not win their bracket in the championship. But my son has already won! And this mom, couldn't be more proud!