A Timely Book

We purchased this book for Christine this Christmas. It is beautifully written and illustrated. On the back cover of this charming book, Jennie Bishop, the author has written the following.

"Christmas as come again to the kingdom, but the king and queen (the original princess in "The Princess & the Kiss) have a serious problem. Their precious daughter is becoming spoiled. No longer does she appreciate her gifts as she should nor does she remember the true meaning of Christmas. Her troubled parents come up with a plan to cure the princess of her selfishness. This Christmas will be different---she will receive on three gifts, each one as precious as the princess is to her parents.

What will the princess do with the gifts she receives? Will she at last discover the true meaning of Christmas?

Children and parents alike will treasure this timeless story that reveals the biblical truth---the best gifts come from the heart."

(source: The Princess and the Kiss: The Three Gifts of Christmas, published by Warner Press Kids)

C.S Lewis's surviving BBC radio address

Sarah's Choice ~ A Must See DVD!

Our Greater Focus

Whenever God changes our traditions

during this Christmas season,

don't be dismayed or alarmed.

Perhaps He desires to do a new work

in you and your families.

Reflecting on the video that I've posted below,

"Who Is There Like You?"

Let's not allow the distractions or our agendas

keep us from worshipping

the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

(original quote by Kathy Lundberg, 12/22/09)

Peppermint Bark

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients/Materials:
* white chocolate
* crush peppermint
* waxed paper.

Directions:
Melt the white chocolate as directed on the package. Add crush peppermint. Spread the chocolate onto waxed paper and let cool. Break into pieces and serve. Or place into beautiful Christmas gift bags and/or tins to give as gifts.

It's About The CROSS!

Ten Commandments in a Fun Version

New Twist to Learn the Books of the Bible

Motherhood in Living Pictures

Christmas with a Capital "C"

Keeping Christ in Christmas

We keep our Christmas books and even past Christian magazines and some secular ones that have excellent articles about Christmas. In fact, we have one box devoted to Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last night I pulled out our Christmas books and found two magazines with 2 wonderful articles to help us with our focus during this blessed season. Rob is going to use one and I will use the other in this morning's entry to my blog.

The ABCs of Keeping Christ in CHRISTmas

by Tonya Grant

With all the glitz and glamour of the holiday season, it is easy to lose sight of what is important. Reclaim Christmas and make the holidays more meaningful with this A to Z list.

A - Accept - Accept responsibility to model your faith this season.

B - Blessings - Take the time to count your blessings.

C - Carols - Gather as a family one evening to rejoice in the season and sing carols.

D - Donate - Go through your closets and find gently worn clothing, shoes, and coats to donate to a local charity.

E - Encourage - Challenge family members to say one word of encouragement to someone every day in December.

F - Friends - Call or meet with friends and family during the holidays to let them know that you are thinking of them.

G - Remember the gift God gave to you --- JESUS! Give to others this Christmas.

H - Happiness - Bring joy and happiness to others by doing simple things, such as surprising a neighbor with freshly baked batch of cookies.

I - Invitations - Invite others to church with you this Christmas.

J - Jesus - Read aloud from the Bible to your child about the birth of Jesus. Discuss how Jesus is the reason for the season.

K - Kindness - Show acts of Christian kindness to others. Smile and say thank you to a salesperson or postal worker for all of her hard work during this hectic season.

L - Light - Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." Make sure you let your light shine this holiday by performing good deeds that overflow from the love God has given you.

M - Money - Instead of spending too much money buying many expensive gifts, try making ifts or setting a limit for each gift you buy.

N - Nourish - Nourish your soul by praying and making a stronger commitment to reading your Bible every day.

O - Openness - Openly tell others of your relationship with Jesus. Remember, the seeds you plant today may one day result in fruit.

P - Peace - After the birth of Jesus, the angels appeared and said, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors." (Luke 2:14). Discuss this verse with your family. How can you help bring peace.?

Q - Quiet - Take time this holiday to sit quietly, pray, and think about the birth of Jesus and what it means to you.

R - Reflect - Reflect on what Christmas has meant to you over the years. Talk with your family about how each member can make the holidays even more special. Make a list of the ideas. Then hang the list where everyone can see it.

S - Spirit - Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to the true meaning of Christmas and then share it with others. One way to do this is to take your family to view a live Nativity scene. If one is not available where you worship, visit a nearby church that has one.

T - Tradition - If your family does not observe a holiday tradition, start a new one this year. Several years ago, my husband and I decided to rethink our traditional gift-giving. Instead of giving our children lots of gifts, we decided to limit gifts to three per child just like the wise men who brought three gifts to Jesus. [Personal note: There may have been more than 3 wise men; I encourage one to keep the symbolism in perspective. Plus the wise men were not at the stable. See Matthew 1:9, "young Child."]

U - Understand - Make sure your child understands that there is more to Christmas than gifts and decorations. It is a time to spend with loved ones. Tell them that Jesus is the reason for the season.

V - Volunteer - Volunteer as a family to serve and bless others. Trying spending time in a hospital, nursing home, or shelter. Look for opportunities in your community to help others. [Use discernment this flu season; some places are limiting the visits from outsiders but you can bring items to these places.]

W - Worship - Enjoy a Christmas program or service. Talk with your family about how you can worship Jesus.

X - eXamine - Examine your past Christmas habits. Ask yourself which habits you should keep and which habits you need to eliminate. Start making changes today.

Y - Yield - Avoid overspending. Write a gift lift and decide on the amount you plan to spend. Do not give in to temptations to overspend. Instead, yield to God and His perfect guidance toward good stewardship.

Z - Zero - Zero in on how you and your family can keep Christ in Christmas. This may mean spending less, volunteering more, ore becoming more Christlike in your actions.

How will you spend your holiday? Decide as a family how you will celebrate the true reason for the season. Get started today.

-------------------------

Tonya Grant is a teacher and freelance writer. She lives with her husband and their two children in Lithonia, Georgia.

Article is from ParentLife, December 2006, pages 36-37

Not a Lo-Calorie Cookie But Delicious!!!

Today I'm baking cookies for our Ladies' Fellowship tonight at church. We're having a cookie exchange. Normally, I would bake only what I've tried before. I did make my favorite oatmeal cookies. So as not to be on "cruise-control," and wanting to be somewhat adventuresome; I baked two new kinds. Here's a delicious and very nice looking cookie to make for your family or to give as gifts. I found the recipe at the Family Fun website. Click here to read the recipe for "Chocolate Crinkles." They're yummy!!!!

A Treasured Christmas Memory

Today I've been baking Christmas cookies for our Ladies' Fellowship at our church. The Lord brought to my mind a treasured Christmas memory I had back when Christine was born. Christine's original due date was July 15 but she came 12 weeks early the day after my birthday, April 24 on Thursday, April 25, 1996 at 7:29 p.m. at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Needless to say, Rob and I were pretty well spent dealing with all the facets of having a premature baby

One Sunday in November or early December, after church I went out to my car and in the backseat was a bags of baking supplies so I could bake Christmas cookies. Although I wasn't able to bake them during Christmas, several months later I did. At that particular time, I didn't know who was the person who blessed our family. By December, Christine was 8 months old chronologically but was about 5-6 months in her actual development. As you can imagine, Rob and I were first time parents and our family was in Massachusetts and my family in Texas. We had to be extra careful insofar as Christine's outings and such. Back in October we had a scare of RSV so we were extra careful.

We did manage to put up our Christmas tree and decorations. The daily routine of caring for a premature infant and early doctor's appointment. Let's say, my motivation level to put up our Christmas decorations after Christmas was zero. You know how it is when you have a "heart's cry moment," and only you know what your need is along with your Heavenly Father. God in His amazing grace had Cindy Jurewicz, a friend from Trinity Baptist Church call and asked me what my needs were. During our conversation, I shared that it was early February and that our Christmas decorations were still up. She arranged for a time and came over, lovingly packed them and put them up in our attic. Now that is love in action.

It's always good and very healthy to have moments of personal reflections during the Christmas season. The temptation to allow the frustrations and disappointments to take root in our thinking is pointless and expends unnecessary energy. With the homecoming of Mom (Rob's Mom) to Heaven back on September 25, it would be easy to allow the sadness to overtake my thoughts. Instead, I'm finding ways to honor her by keeping my focus on Christ, serving my family and ministering to others.

My Mom said, "if you need something, give it away." If I'm in need of kindness, why not focus on being kind to others and re shifting my focus.

Thankful for this particular treasured Christmas memory! What ones do you have? Let's be deliberate and make many more.

Daystar

While You Were Sleeping - Casting Crowns

I dedicate this video to all our service personnel

and their families.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

You are most appreciated and not forgotten.

I can blog tonight in freedom

because of you keeping our country safe.

Merry Christmas to all!

Kathy, Rob & Christine

Christmas is all in the Heart

Buzzwords

Responding to Cultural Buzzwords: Tolerance, Multiculturalism, and Relativism

Have you ever been placed in a situation when you have pointed out particular problems in our culture, only to have someone respond back with "Judge not, lest you be judged..."? In that encounter were you ever given the chance to finish it for them? In many cases, Christians are not given a chance. It is because we are told that "toleration" in a pluralistic, multicultural society is the "new edict."

To read Rob's entire posting, please click here.

Fleeting Moments

Whenever one has a small living space; how to decorate for Christmas can be quite challenging. We do not have our tree up nor our decorations. Yet we are preparing our hearts. My highlight earlier this evening was cuddling with Christine on the couch as we opened my two favorite Advent books to read. I thought to myself, "be careful girl not to allow such moments to fade." This is my exhortation to each of us this Christmas season.

In the busyness of this season, let's evaluate and choose the "best," over activities that are good or perhaps expected to attend and/or participate in. As a child, my family didn't have a lot of materials things as we were growing up. However, I have treasured memories of my Christmases both in Texas and at both sets of grandparents in Oklahoma. Time goes way too fast so let's make sure we don't squander our time away.

I must confess that I had good intentions of starting the Advent books Sunday evening. Alas, I allowed things to crowd in on those plans. God's grace and mercies are new every day. Tonight we began our Advent celebration. The book, "Let Every Heart," is unique in that it has a ready for each day and the music for a Christmas carol. It's the actual music and not just the words. We sat down at the piano and sang the songs for each day from Sunday up to this evening. We have a picture of Rob's Mom on our piano. Mom would be so pleased. She was always encouraging me to reminder what was "the main thing."

As I share honestly and candidly; I exhort us as Moms to guard your family time during this Christmas season. If you find yourself on the go way too much, do not complain. Instead, take ownership of your decisions and try to limit your commitments. God never intends for us to be totally stressed regardless of the season. Our time with our spouses and children goes so quickly. I know there are things perhaps we cannot change. However, I'm convinced that we are our worse enemy in that we sabotage ourselves and our families loose in the process.

Dear one, you can start fresh right now. Sit down as a family and decide what is truly priority and perhaps take things off the calendar. The word, "no," is okay to incorporate into your family's vocabulary. We cannot do it all.

Truly this can be a great time to reflect and bask in our Father's love for each of us! Let's don't miss these special moments during the Christmas season.

Thankful To Have Been Blogging for 2 Years!

As of today, have 184 entries to my blog. I'm thinking that when I do entry "200," I will celebrate with a special article. So keep reading and utilizing the excellent resources that are on my blog. Thank you for clicking on and reading. May God continue to bless you and encourage each one of you.

In His Grip!
Kathy

Fun Ways to Decorate for Christmas

Quick Ways to Add Pizazz to Your Home

To Mediate or To Visualize . . . What Is a Person to Do?

Is there a direct correlations to Eastern religions and practices when once chooses to mediate or to visualize? No, I'm not talking about mediating on God's Word, God's way. What I have reference to is blatant Eastern practices and even occult practices that are in the church. There are folks in the Emerging Church movement that have put a spin on it and folks are buying into it.

Our friend Marcia Montenegro, of Christian Answers for the New Age (CANA) has written an excellent article on the subject. Here is a sample of it for your exhortation and edification.

OUT OF YOUR MIND: MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION

By Marcia Montenegro

[Note: The writer formerly practiced Tibetan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, and Hindu meditation, as well as visualization and psychic techniques taught to her by those deeply involved in those traditions. She also experienced the trance/meditative states as part of her practice of astrology and methods learned in psychic development classes. ]

A voice intones: "Close your eyes...relax...let each muscle relax...let your mind go blank...see yourself as a cloud...floating...getting lighter and lighter..."

Click here to read the entire article. May we not be guilty of call evil good. (Isaiah 5:19-21).

(graphic courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

A Description of Our World

2 Timothy 3

"Difficult Times Will Come"

¹ But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

² For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³ unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵ holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

⁶ For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

⁹ But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also.

¹⁰ Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

¹¹ persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

¹² Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹³ But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴ You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

¹⁷ so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:1-17

NASB

Calling Evil Good When God Calls it Darkness!

19) Who say, "Let Him make speed,

let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;

And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near

And come to pass, that we may know it!"

20) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;

Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

And clever in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:19-21

(New American Standard)

The True Meaning of Psalm 46:10

In recent years, there is such a buzz in the evangelical world on meditation and "being still before God." Yet in their quest, they are being misled and misguided.

Please take the time to read, Meditation and Psalm 46:10 by Marcia Montenegro. Click here to read the article.

What is Contemplative Prayer?

Dear ones, we have an onslaught of various Trojan horses in many evangelical churches. What I'm referring to is "Contemplative Prayer."

Marcia Montenegro from Christian Answers for the New Age or CANA has an excellent three page article on this subject. Please click here to read the whole article.

(graphic courtesy: www.heartlight.org)

Thoughts on the "Be Still DVD"

A personal note, both Rob and myself own the DVD, "Be Still." We have watched it at least twice. Personally I found it disturbing in that folks we had admired were aligning themselves with New Age and Eastern forms of mediation. I immediately did some preliminary research on the subject. The more I read about it, my spirit was deeply disturbed. My purpose in sharing this article by Marcia Montenegro is to help us become more discerning in what we read and participate in.

THE BE STILL DVD: AN ODE TO SILENCE
By Marcia Montenegro
[First published in the Midwest Christian Journal, Spring/Summer 2006; modified for website March, 2008]

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.
Col. 4:2 NASB

NOTE: This is an evaluation of the DVD "Be Still," and not an attack on the participants who appear to be genuinely sincere in their assertions. However, as instructed in God's word, we are to test all teachings carefully. DVD participants include Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Max Lucado, Beth Moore, Henry Cloud, Peter Kreeft, and others.

Before salvation in Christ, the writer of this article was involved for many years in New Age and Eastern forms of mediation, including Tibetan Buddhist and Zen Buddhist meditation.

To read the rest of the article, please click here.

Thankful for my family!

Speak O Lord

Cranberries ~ An Excellent Fruit!

Compounds in Cranberries May Be

Antibacterial Agents

ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2007) — Cranberry sauce is not the star of the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, but when it comes to health benefits, the lowly condiment takes center stage. In fact, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have found that compounds in cranberries are able to alter E. coli bacteria, which are responsible for a host of human illnesses (from kidney infections to gastroenteritis to tooth decay), in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection.

To read this article in it's entirety, please click here.

What You Can Do With Fresh Cranberries?

Cranberries are so nutritional. Here are two recipes we found at the Ocean Spray website. Click here for more recipes.

Bon Appetite!

Cranberried Lemon Yogurt Bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour2 teaspoons baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lowfat yogurt, plain
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 6 ounce package Ocean Spray® Original Craisins® Dried Cranberries
1 lemon, zest of 1

GLAZE:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar in a medium mixing bowl, until light and fluffy. Add yogurt, eggs and lemon juice; mix well. Stir in dried cranberries and lemon zest. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf.

CRANBERRY APRICOT BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs

FILLING:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
3 1/4- 3 3/4 cups flour
1 cup Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

Combine 2 cups flour, sugar and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Combine milk and butter and heat to a temperature of 120ºF - 130ºF. Add to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Add eggs; mix well. Add enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough that is not sticky when handled.

Lightly grease a medium mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl and roll around so that it is lightly covered with grease. Place bowl with dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Set aside. Meanwhile, combine egg and water in a small mixing bowl; set aside. Combine filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat until jam has melted, stirring occasionally.

Bake at 350ºF. Grease a cookie sheet.

Punch down dough and place on a floured surface. Roll into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle. Cut into 3 11 x 4-inch strips.

Spread about 1/3-cup filling on each strip, leaving 1/4-inch all around. Brush egg mixture on edges. Fold strips over lengthwise, pressing to seal edges. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Repeat with other 2 strips.

Braid the 3 strips. Press ends together to seal, tucking underneath braid. Brush with egg mixture. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 1 loaf.

Seven things we can be thankful for

November 25, 2009 | By Amanda Reinecker, The Heritage Foundation

As we gather with family and friends to celebrate our blessings at Thanksgiving, we should remember how fortunate we Americans are to live in a free and just nation.

America was founded upon sound conservative principles grounded firmly in human nature and not in radical idealism. And today, we see that these principles, though under attack from the Left, are still very much alive. As Heritage Foundation scholar Matthew Spalding explained in 2003, Thanksgiving maintains the tradition of the American Founding and affirms that "while we are committed to upholding religious liberty, we remain one nation under God."

Click here to read the rest of Amanda Reinecker's article off MyHeritage.org. I am certain you'll be encouraged.

Meanwhile, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathy

Heart Full of Thanks!

Frugal Homemaking Tips

This morning as I was cleaning our kitchen, I wondered if there was a homemade type solution that I could make up that would clean our floors better. So I did a Google Search, "homemade floor cleaners," to discover this excellent site.

Creative Homemaking . . . Dedicated to your homemaking needs ~
Cleaning tips for kitchens, carpets, floors, laundry, general cleaning, and more! ~

You can access it by typing in: http://www.creativehomemaking.com/cleaning/floor-cleaners.shtml

Of course, there are many resources available that have similar recipes for homemade products. Just think of the immediate benefits, no harsh chemicals, more money in your household budget plus it's fun learning better ways to clean our homes.

Just a side note, you can buy the squirt bottles at Dollar Tree and other discount places for reasonable prices. Get your children involved and have

them make their own labels for their own cleaning products. Yes, I realize that perhaps some of the cleaning recipes you find online will not be original but you may experiment; soon they will become personal favorites.

Maria, in "Sound of Music," had a song, "My Favorite Things." Well here are some of my favorite things to use when I'm cleaning.

* White Vinegar (help with the smell; add lavender essential oil and lemon juice)

* Baking Soda

* Lemons or Lemon Juice

* Borax (use wisely; it can scratch items; if in doubt, use baking soda)

* Salt

* Peroxide

* Club soda (carpet mishaps)

* Tea tree oil

Here is an idea that I picked up from a web site; "the tree hugging family." Although their worldview and mine are different. We can learn from others.

A Glass Cleaner That Doesn't Smell Like Vinegar

Use straight up lemon juice or club soda. If you use club soda than newspaper is the best scrubber to use. If you use lemon juice than use an old less linty cloth.

I'm a work in progress insofar as learning to use the items I have in my kitchen to clean our home.

A sweet reminder from God's Word, "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men," - Colossians 3:23 (Amplified Bible)

Happy Cleaning!

Kathy