Christmas Checklist

Tree up and decorated. 
Nativities set up
Lights on the house
Field trip to tree farm with Andrews class, since we use a fake one.
Chtristmas cards sent out
The Nutcracker seen and enjoyed with girls
A Christmas Carol  seen and enjoyed with Aaron's class
Winter parties at school done and gifts for all the teachers and bus drivers
Christmas dinners with friends
Baked goodies passed out for all of our neighbors(17)
More baking than I care to count up!
Gingerbread house made
Advent calendar opened every day
Ornaments made and given
Gifts bought and wrapped
More basketball games gone to than I care to count
Sledding in our front yard
Work Christmas parties gone to
Reaker Family Christmas done
Bennett family Christmas done

All that is left is Christmas with my family on Christmas eve, here.  Christmas eve eve service on the 23rd due to the aforementioned.

And most of all Rejoicing in the Promises kept so many years ago to John the Baptist, Joseph, Mary and for all people.

We are so very grateful to be doing life with so many wonderful people.  Thanking God every day for our abundance of blessings.
tia
May God richly bless you this Christms season

Health Care Reform

Is anyone interested in this health care reform vote which happened this morning at 1am?

here is an article which, in my estimation, does a good job of explaining the current status.

not exactly the most exciting stuff yet very relevant.

jb

Benefit #2

Here we go again:

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;


all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

Benefit #2:
4 who redeems your life from the pit



and crowns you with love and compassion,
 
I am not certain that the "pit" alluded to here specifically means "hell". 
 
However...
 
I am absolutely certain that we all have fallen into "pits" in our lifetimes and have needed  a Redeemer.
 
So....
 
Not only are we dragged up from a pit....which is amazing enough... we are then crowned (like a King) with love and compassion.  I am not sure what this means exactly. To be crowned with love and compassion?  As I think about its impact on me in 2009 I feel comforted and buoyed to be more than I have been.
 
jb

You're Beautiful

If you haven't had the opportunity to enjoy the song by Phil Wickham, "You're Beautiful" then you should.

Please press here to enjoy the song and see an excellent video.

jb

Mercy Again

PSALM 103
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;



all my inmost being, praise his holy name.


2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,


and forget not all his benefits-

Guess what the first benefit listed is?

3 who forgives all your sins



and heals all your diseases,
 
I, as well like David the Psalmist, would like to remind us all of His benefits:
 
Chiefly.... mercy.  Its free. Its freeing. And Its Amazingly Wonderful. (is that redundant?)
 
David continues to describe more benefits.... but I will talk about those in another post....
 
jb

Oh Christmas Tree...

Funny thing is the star is too heavy so it is sitting on the mantel and there is a paper angel on the top now!Aaron is showing us his "Zumba" moves from PE class.  I laughed until I cried.

Pre lit trees are nice, this one is 2 years old and all the lights still work.  The tree has all the kids ornaments on it and all of my meaningful ones.  They get tired of my stories behind each one.  One day they will appreciate it!

    The reason we have a fake tree is many fold.  Joe and I both grew up in homes with artificial trees, we have a dog, allergies etc.
     They first few years we were married we did have a real tree.  Our first one looked like Charlie Browns Tree, after Joe had a fit at the cost of a tree.  "Its dead, why do I have to pay $15 for a dead tree."  Granted that was cheap, but it started our first Christmas together on a sour note.
     The next year we went to a big box store and bought a real tree from the parking lot the week before Christmas. Meaning, I got a bigger tree at a cheaper price.  We got the tree home and the trunk was crooked.  We didn't know you had to cut the trunk down to size sometimes.  He calls his friend Curt and gets a saw of some sort and after 4 trips in and out of the house with the tree, its up.  Joe vows to never get a real tree again- Merry Christmas.  We also had a big dog and a small house.  The dogs tail knocked it over a few times, broke ornaments etc.

      Needless to say we had no tree for the next 2 years until my parents bought a new one.  Now the one they passed down to us was bought in 1982.  So it was quality!  I think they felt bad, since Amy had no tree for her first Christmas.  I am pretty sure she won't need counseling for it.
     After the ornaments had been in storage for a few years, we pull them out and they are all moldy!  I am devastated, some were irreplaceable.  I cry and cry and then realize they are things and we will make new memories.
     Christmas's trees have been pretty uneventful since then.  Oh yeah, except for the year Aaron(2) pulled the tree down and cut himself on a broken ornament.  We still have a bloody precious moment ornament on the tree as a reminder(I cleaned it off as best I could).
     The last few years of our last tree it was tied with dental floss to a nail in the wall, so no one could knock it down.

This year will be different. Only time will tell.

Tooth Fairy Visits

Andrew noticed a few days ago that it felt funny behind is bottom teeth.  His new teeth were coming in before he lost his baby teeth.  We visited the dentist yesterday and they decided to remove 2 of his bottom teeth.  He did great and was very brave.  They gave him laughing gas and numbed it up and pulled the 2 out.  He didn't like his chin being numb.  "It feels like my chin is a big bubbble."

 He got to put 2 teeth under his pillow last night.  $2.  was waiting for him this morning. 

He also gets to announce to his class that he lost the teeth, and he is calendar helper this week.
 "No one has ever lost a tooth while being calendar helper." 

St. Louis Wrap up

I know this has taken me forever to finish.  I am cleaning out the office today while Joe is out of town, so I had 3 hours to download the pictures(only a slight exaggeration!). 
Joe's Brother and SIL took s to the Colts game while in St. Louis.  It ws a lot of fun and since it was so close, there were a lot of colts fans there. Seats were great, and the company was too!  It was a beautiful fall day.  I love the Arch, I think it looks majestic.
We had to pry the kids off of the trampoline to leave- they love playing with their cousins!

In conclusion;  If you want a family friendly, pocket book friendly, close by vacation, head to St. Louis.

Free: St. Louis science museum-very nice!, Purina Farms, St. Louis Zoo, St Louis Art Museum. There is beautiful scenery and parks everywhere. 

For a fee: Looking at the Arch and the museum is free, but riding up in it costs a little.
The City Musseum was pricey, but worth it.  One of a kind and so much to do and see. Kids loved it.
The Magic House- childrens museum- very hands on and fun.
Grants farm- we had a beautiful day, a lot of history there.  Minimal cost.  Looking at the Clydesdales is free and they are beautiful.

We are looking forward to the Reeds moving back next summer, but we have loved visiting too.  Of course, they are our main attraction!

Suffering Well

I found this devotional on a friends web page and thought that it was so good.  I know it is the Chrismas season and the True season of Joy, but I can't not think that Mary and Joseph had to suffer greatly in their journey( the donkey ride alone would have done me in!).

Today is also World AIDS day.  I used to be so judgmental about AIDS.  God has definitely softened my heart to the millions of INNOCENT people and children who suffer and die due to this cruel disease all over the world. 

Suffering Well


1 Peter 2:4-25



"WHAT GOOD IS SUFFERING?"

Have you ever asked that question? If so, you're not alone. The problem of pain and suffering in the world has turned many people away from faith in God and has inspired countless books and articles. Scholars and laypeople have tried for centuries to unravel the mystery of how God's plan can include evil in any form.

We live in a corrupt, fallen world in which illness occurs, violence happens and evil, for the time being, is allowed to run its course. Suffering is inevitable... our passage today even tells us we were "called" to suffer. It's not a matter of if we will suffer but when we will suffer. As believers in Jesus Christ, however, suffering offers the opportunity to display Christ's character and grace. For Christians, rather than asking, "Why does God allow suffering?" or even, "Why am I suffering?" we should ask, "How can I suffer well?"

Most of the early church leaders suffered violent deaths because of their outspoken and radical faith in Jesus. But every time one of them was martyred, the number of Christians grew. Why? Because people long to give themselves fully to a cause worth dying for. We all long for purpose and peace- and Jesus Christ offers both.

In his book Velvet Elvis, Bible teacher Rob Bell writes, "Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. It is what we all need- hope that comes not from going around suffering but from going through it."

Let's pray that God will allow us the privilege and strength of suffering well... for our sake, for his sake and for the sake of those who don't yet know him.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."- 1 Peter 2:9