Don't look at the manger with out seeing the Cross.
Merry CHRISTmas to you all!
Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><
As you can see, posting has been a little light the past couple of weeks! I'm sure you guys have been as busy as us preparing for the Christmas holidays.
We will try to post if anything interesting pops up over the next couple of weeks, but time with our families is the top priority as I'm sure it is in your home. 
In case we don't get back in here before Friday, we wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas! And as a final little fun thing to enjoy, you can follow this link to a great coloring book of beautiful pictures to go with the 12 days of Christmas song. Whatever you are doing this Holiday season - enjoy the time with family and friends and remember..........
Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!
Merry Christmas from Deedee and Sarah
I came across this great blog article from Terri Johnson from Knowledge Quest. On her blog she posted up a list of 17 of the best FREE (gotta love it!) geography resources! What a great list!! So, I thought I'd direct you over to her blog post instead of trying to recreate the wheel. LOL! Click here to go and check out these brilliant resources, and don't forget to check out Terri's great products too at the Knowledge Quest website. Lots of her products are available in a downloadable form from her website and from Currclick, so instantly available and no shipping fees - hooray! - Deedee
Hannah and Moi
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and God's blessings on you in 2010! Your friend, Kate
"Gentle as a dove". We have all heard that saying. While I cannot stand the sound of doves, I know that they are extremely loyal and gentle creatures. I am not a gentle person by nature. I don't have a syrupy voice, my hands aren't soft and dainty, I am not petite and tiny. Physically I do not look gentle, and sometimes my spirit isn't gentle either. Actually... lately, I haven't been gentle at all, and Mom has had to get on to me about being gentler. I really need to like memorize:
Proverbs 15:1I've come to realize most of the time I do not answer gently. That is not good. I have been thinking lately about being gentle. I am going to be a mama soon and I want to be so gentle and loving to my sweeties. I don't want to raise my voice at them and be harsh. I don't want to be harsh to them, I want to be gentle.
A gentle response deflects fury, but a harsh word makes tempers rise.
Gentleness is not only a physical attribute, but a spiritual and behavior attribute. It also shows others that we are chosen of God.
Colossians 3:12I want everything I do to show that I am a child of God and that its Him they see, not me. When I am harsh to anyone, I am not showing them the gentleness of our loving God. If you are a believer and follower of Christ, then you must be gentle to everyone!
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
2 Timothy 2:24-26We are supposed to be gentle, kind and inclined to teach others. By doing those things we show everyone how they can be brought out of the snare of satan and into the hand of God. When we are gentle physically we cause others to be gentle. When I am harsh to someone, I get harshness back and then I want to return the harshness. It is a vicious cycle. When someone is harsh, show gentleness to them and you will show gentleness.
And a slave of the Lord shouldn't fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will.
Titus 3:2Being gentle is holding your temper when you want to be harsh to someone, being gentle is biting your tongue when you want to yell at your sibling, being gentle is being tender. I am trying to be more gentle in the way I talk, act, behave, and carry myself. I want to be gentle. Jesus was gentle. He spake softly and was very gentle with everyone He came in contact with. I want to be like my Savior and I want to be gentle!
To slander no one, to avoid quarreling, to be friendly, and to behave gently towards everyone .
Ephesians 4:2I need to learn that and do it!
Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love.
©AmandaDixon2009
Outside my window...grey, "wanting-to-snow" skies; another 1/2" of snow on the ground. It's beginning to look alot like CHRISTmas.
I am thinking...that I can't believe CHRISTmas is almost here. I'm hoping the strains my mom has put on our family won't 'show' so much when we all get together.
I am thankful for...my wonderful husband who takes such good care of us, even when we have so little.
From the kitchen...lazagna & salad.
I am wearing...burgandy leggings & sweat shirt - it's COLD!
I am remembering…wonderful CHRISTmases past.
I am going…to take DD#2 to work.
I am reading..."Lies Women Believe"
I am hoping...for the peace of God to settle over my mom & brother so that they will stop causing so much strife.
On my mind…the passing of time.
I am creating...a peaceful home. Great memories for our little family.
I am hearing...the radio, DD#2 getting ready for work.
Noticing that…my attitude effects the attitudes of my whole family. If I greet them every mornig w/a smile, it goes a long way.
Pondering these words…"In as much as it depends on you, live in peace w/all men."
Around the house...CHRISTmas baking!
One of my favorite things...CHRISTmas baking! lol
A Scripture thought..."And Mary pondered all these things in her heart." ~Luke 2
A few plans for the rest of the week...last minute CHRISTmas 'doings', baking, DD#1 will be home for OUR family's little CHRISTmas doings on CHRISTmas Eve day, DH & I will be singing the special music at our CHRISTmas Eve service (!), CHRISTmas w/our extended families; tonight will the Alumni game w/the Miami Valley Saints - our awesome homeschool basketball team!
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Enjoy other Daybooks at: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><
Psalms 51:7Ok... so I need to stop complaining about the snow since it serves as a reminder that I am clean in His sight and my sins are no more. HalleluYah! What a blessed sign from our Savior!
"Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now," says ADONAI, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool."
Sometimes we just need a little smack upside our heads to come back to where we need to be.
©AmandaDixon2009
Each Saturday join Jacque (Mama) @ Walking Therein, and many others who are taking their Saturdays and expressing their praise to the Lord. To participate, you can post a Psalm or a praise and tell what impact it has had on you. Make sure to link up your SP&P too! I hope to see you on there!
Well, it's been awhile, hasn't it? What a weird, six-plus months since Charming lost his job. I had hoped it wouldn't be a journey this long, you know?
OF COURSE, God has provided, as He always does. As He has promised. As His character dictates. We still have food and lights and heat. And even internet. But I am looking forward to the time our bills are paid on time, and we have a plan "in place" to get out of debt, which is our "heart's desire."
The Lord has taken us many places in this journey. At first, it was a little scary. Breaking the habits of a lifetime of sloppy spending took a little time, but we have accomplished it. Every dollar is weighed. Sometimes we even have a "pros and cons" list to decide where it will be best used. Fast food is not just an easy answer to a busy afternoon. We may have leftovers from a meal, but they never get so old that they are thrown away. It's a Good Thing.
In five months, Charming had only two interviews. In the past two weeks, he has had three. There will be an end to this, Sometime. Nobody stays unemployed forever, after all.
Very lately, I've been a tad discouraged. Maybe weary is a better word. I seem to be in a "holding pattern" where I'm just surviving. At times in this journey, I've discovered jewels in God's word. I've felt that the Lord had something for me to learn, and, by golly, I was learning! But sometimes He leads us to a desert place. Not exactly a Dark Night of the Soul or anything (at least this time!) but someplace Dry. Windy. Lookin' like it will go on Forever.
Yesterday I had the thought, "just what is God doing?" And the answer immediately came to me: He is doing His best for me.
His Best. That is what He always does. In every situation, for every person. That is His only way--He doesn't have a good, better, best plan. Only the Best plan, always. And doesn't that make sense? Why would the Creator of the universe waste time with anything other than Best? Didn't He plan the earth and the heavens? They are perfect in their design for us. We're the ones who introduced sin into the equation.
You know how the pastor will say "God is good!" and we respond "all the time!" Do we believe it?
When Forget-me-not had had her driver's license only a few months, she took four of her friends to the mall to get t-shirts for a school event. She rear-ended a car in front of her which had braked suddenly. I picked up all of the kids, and took them home one-by-one. I told the first and second parents I spoke to the same thing: God was good; there was no one hurt. After that, the Lord gently rebuked me. He said, "I would be "good" if all of the children had died."
Wow.
How many people have you known that have gone through a crisis and said this: "I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, but I wouldn't trade what the Lord has taught me through it for a million dollars." I'll bet you've said that, as well. That is because He is giving you His best plan, always.
God gave His best when He gave us His Son. The magnitude of the sacrifice in Jesus coming to earth as a human, then giving up His life so that we could be reconciled to God, when we messed up the thing to begin with? Unbelievable. Unspeakable.
So as this Christmas approaches, that's what I'm thinking about.
"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."