First Praise Video

Here is one of the small ensembles that leads praise singing at our church. I'm in the middle, and my dad is next to me! Be blessed!

Faithbook page

I haven't done a faithbook page in several months. I just can't seem to find the time to do everything I want to do in life. *sigh* But here goes: I used The Luckiest Girl kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow and Jennilyn Designs.

Bookmarks

Here's the freebie, even though I put the link in yesterday, I didn't do a preview. So if you want to know what they look like before you download...here they are!

Writing and Scrapping

One of my goals this year was to work on my writing. I joined a great website community called FaithWriters. They have a weekly writing challenge and a LOT of support from other Christians, all of whom are trying to serve God with their gifts and talents. It's been so much fun. I entered my first challenge 2 weeks ago and won third place in the Beginner's category...it was a pleasant surprise. If you're interested in reading the other beginner-level entries, go to Entries. Otherwise, here is the entry (with better formatting than the one I submitted :)

I squinted to get a better look, but no matter how I turned my head, the paper still contained only a string of letters, which held little meaning for me. I looked down at the yarn in my lap and crochet hook in my hand. A frustrated noise escaped my mouth and I threw the contents of my hands on the floor.

“I don’t get it! It’s too hard!” I bit my lip to keep from crying, but my chin shook and the tears just wouldn’t be stopped.

Oma frowned slightly and looked at me over the rims of her reading glasses. “Come here, Liebchen.” She removed her glasses, letting them dangle from the silver chain she always wore around her neck. I snuggled into her and she ran her hands over my hair. My eight-year-old ego was fragile and she was better suited to soothe it, in my eyes, than anyone else in the world.

In a moment, my burst of tears slowed and she wiped my eyes, saying, “Well, then. Now you are ready for the secret, yes?” I sniffed loudly, and nodded.

“I let you choose the pattern. You picked it for its beauty. It is beautiful, no?” She smiled. “It is a flower made from a simple strand of yarn. But the pattern is harder than anything you’ve ever done. The stitches that work together to make this flower must be learned first, otherwise…” Her voice drifted off and she picked up the “flower” that I had made. With affection in her laugh, she said, “It just makes a mess.” I laughed too.

“Do what you know how to do, Liebchen. That is the secret. If you do it well and keep doing it, soon you will be surprised at the flowers you can make. “ She glanced at the Bible that lay open on the coffee table. “God knows this secret too. He lets us in on just what we need to know, when we need it and not a moment before.”
She leaned over and picked the yarn and hook from off of the floor. My eyes got large as I watched her begin to unravel my creation. When I started to protest, she held up her hand. “Liebchen, if you want to learn, we must do it again. And again if we have to. And each time it will be better.”

When she finished only a pile of yarn was left, puddled in her lap. My Oma reached out and took my hand. Her strong wrinkled hand closed over mine and as we sat together, she began to teach me the pattern—stitch by stitch.

Thanks for reading !

**On another note, I've been posting some quotes and thoughts about prayer on my Faith Forum at DragonFlaire Studios, a scrapping website I frequent. I took a bunch of those quotes and made bookmarks out of them and would like to share them with you. Click here to download. Please enjoy!

Isaiah 9:2-7

Here is a set of verses that we hear often at Christmastime, from Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

I know that many times I read these verses half-heartedly, thinking 'I already know this!' But to read them with intention to me means to put myself in the shoes of the people for whom this was originally given and it reminds me again what a word of HOPE this passage embodies.

Remember that Israel had been oppressed, embattled, enslaved and for generations had led very difficult lives. And now to be told that that oppression would not last forever, but would be lifted by a saviour in the form of a child.

This is where all the famliar attributes of the Messiah are listed: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God...Prince of Peace. Read those words slowly. Let them sink into your heart, because they are the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is all of those things to those who love Him.

In the midst of the crazy, hectic season of Christmas let us remember to rejoice for our salvation is at hand!

The Word

Since advent starts this Sunday, I thought we should start focusing on what Christmas means to us as Christians.

From John 1:1-5, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ....
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It amazes me every year when I really start to think about what Jesus did. He IS GOD and He left heaven to come and live with us. To become one of us. He was tempted, yet was perfect. He lived a life that was full of love so that we would see the grace and love of His Father. He died to reconcile us to God. He is the Light, the Glory of the Father, wrapped in flesh.

Praise God today for sending His Light into the world to save us!

With Thanksgiving coming up here in America this week, I wanted to share one of my favorite psalms:

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations. - Psalm 100

**This is a short psalm, but contains so many important items. The first stanza is an element of sheer, unashamed praise. Shouldn't we always start our day like that?

The second stanza is an acknowledgement of who God is and who we are in context of His reign: He is our Creator, our loving Shepherd and we are the sheep. Remembering our place in the universe keeps us humble.

The third stanza is more praise, but it reminds us that only He makes us worthy to stand in His presence and bless His name. Wow!

The psalm ends with a reminder that the Lord is good. We have been showered with blessings, even though our lives are hard. We have a loving God; always with us, willing to do so much to bring us back to Him.

Praise God this week for His many, many blessings!