The Work of Christmas Begins

The Work of Christmas Begins

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with the flocks,

then the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal those broken in spirit,

to feed the hungry,

to release the oppressed,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among all peoples,

to make a little music with the heart…

And to radiate the Light of Christ,

every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.

Then the work of Christmas begins.

-- Howard Thurman, adapted

This was sent to me by my friend Marie, and I loved it.

Thanks Marie!

Celebrate the birth of the King--Jesus!

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

 which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”-

Luke 2:11-14

The words printed above contain all my hope!

The Words printed above ARE CHRISTMAS!

God came to earth and became flesh...

13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:13-15

Have a Merry Christmas celebrating Jesus!

Click here to learn more about how to receive the salvation that Jesus was born to bring...and died to bring...

It's Cookie Day!

Yep, it's here already...annual cookie day with Mommom!

Below, Bri gets the bowls ready...

We make cookies, but we also make handdipped chocolates too--Bri is starting those...

Dishwasher...

Sampler...

Bri doesn't like messy hands :)  The peanut butter candy is sticky...

Whoops messed that one up...no problem--I'll take care of it!

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies...

This is the buttercream dough wrapped cherries before they're dipped...

Mommom rolling the peanut butter candies...

Hot out of the oven chocolate chips...

The girls (Mommom doesn't like her pic taken)

Bri dipping the candy...

A new Peppermint Meltaway recipe that we tried (we love them!)

Brad taking a turn dipping...

Reward time!

Chippy and Muffy observe it all...

What a merry time we all had! These memories are precious!

Hope you're have fun making your own this Christmas season...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!! Our White Christmas...early!

Anyone who knows me even remotely well...knows that I LOVE SNOW!

So, needless to say, the kids and I were thrilled to hear we had a huge snow storm approaching our area!

The picture above is how it kind of started out...it was snowing, and piling up...we probably had around 6" here...Brad and Chippy went out to fill up the feeders for our feathered friends.

(See Chippy wearing his little coat?)

While they were out there, Chippy's friend MacGyver came by to play. :)

My son loves snow too!

These are some shots we took while it was still snowing...our Christmas lights...

the Birdbath has a huge "stack"!

My neighbor's tree

Our Sled/Skates decoration...

Wanna have a picnic? :)

When it was all said and done, they said we had 20"+!

It was too deep for Chippy, Daddy gives him a lift because he's too short for the snow! LOL

A friendly snowball fight...

Winter Wonderland

My son worked hard on the outside decorations...I love the way they look in the snow.

All I can say is...Yipppeeee!  Early Christmas present!

Adorable Aprons!

A dear friend of ours makes the most adorable aprons ever! I couldn't resist the picture of her modeling one of her aprons! She sells them through my dear pal Marci's store--whose button is to the right. The Amazing Graze General Store.

She has other sweet patterns available too. Go check them out, and peruse the other neat stuff in the store too!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Recipe

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Recipe

6 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed peppermint or spearmint candies, divided

Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate at 70% power; stir until smooth.
 Repeat with chocolate chips. Stir 6 tablespoons of crushed candies into each bowl.
Drop white chocolate and semisweet chocolate in alternating spoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet.
With a metal spatula, cut through chocolate to swirl, spreading to 1/4-in. thickness.
 Sprinkle with remaining crushed candies.
Chill until firm. Break into pieces.
 Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
 Yield: about 1 pound.
This great recipe is from Taste of Home

Sufficiency of Scripture...Family Roadtrip...part 3

These are vingettes from the conference...

This post covers pictures from in and around the Northern Kentucky Convention Center at the Sufficiency of Scripture conference...

These lovely trees were in the upstairs lobby--surrounded by glass and a view of the surrounding city

Briana meets her sweet "internet friend" Sarah!

Making new friends...

Spending time with dear friends was a wonderful bonus of the conference!

Below is Paul Washer--this man has a huge burden for souls. He gave the clearest presentation of the gospel I've ever heard!

Brad with Dr. Voddie Baucham

Below is Rev. Joe Morecraft

Below is Kevin Swanson-who we heard for the first time in person at the conference, and really learned alot from, and enjoyed his messages. (He is always in motion!)

Below, Peter Bradrick is handling announcements.

Thought maybe you could get a "flavor" of the conference just by seeing some of the sights and people there...

It was a wonderful God-centered/Scripture-centered conference.

I learned so much, and realized just how many areas I am lacking, and how much I need to grow in my spiritual life/Christian walk!

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.


18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:17-18