Thank you High-Calling Blogs

I want to thank High-Calling Blogs for the book I received in the mail the other day. I was one of the first to fill out their survey and they graciously sent me the book, Epiphanies: Stories for the Christian Year. It was a wonderful surprise and I thank you. Most of the stories are written by friends of TheHighCalling.org and Laity Lodge. One author is Jim Schaap over at http://siouxlander.blogspot.com . Check his blog out - it's great! Thank you again.

Happy New Year! I am only a tad bit late. We have had an eventful start. The friends who moved to the big city were back because her dad passed away, then we had 5 more inches of snow on top of the 20+ inches already on the ground. The boys only had 2 full days of school and then had snow days. It was cold but yesterday it warmed up enough for everyone to get suited up and play outside. We have a retaining wall under our deck that is close to 4.5 feet tall. The snow was piled nearly to the top! So we took turns jumping off our deck! You would land almost waist deep in the snow! The boys had a blast, it was so deep they had to roll out of the snow to a patch where they could stand up.

So this does tie to my hope for you this new year. I guess it's my blessing to you: That you may jump into God's plan and His love that he has for you. That you may cast all your worries aside and jump! That you may end up covered with His blessings and awesome love. That His love may go before you, behind you and hem you in on both sides. That you won't be afraid. That you will be able to listen to His voice and act on it! I know that it can be scarey, but God does not want you to be comfortable in this world. So that's what my goal is this year --- how about you?Go ahead, come join me and .... JUMP!

It's a good day

It's a good day to start a life. Dec 29. Twenty years ago, I said, "I do" to my best friend. It does not seem like twenty years. It only seems like two years..... or maybe a lifetime. I don't remember life without Glenn. He is my rock, my shelter, a gift from my Rock and Shelter.
Last night, I had to say goodbye to a good friend who is moving away. She and her family left today to start life in a new city. Dec 29. A friend of ours put it this way, "You are starting a new chapter but it's all in the same book." Yes, a new chapter is beginning for them, today on Dec 29. It's a good day.

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