Praise! This year, for Christmas I thought it would be much harder than it really was. I was actually dreading this season because friends and family are what seem to give more of a distinct meaning to these special dates that lie on the calendar. These ‘stationary figures’ trigger our desires to celebrate in certain ways that are familiar and become family traditions. Although we know somewhere in the back of our minds that these figures have nothing to do with the real meaning of Jesus’s birth, rarely do we have the opportunity to ‘prove’ that we understand it. Since I knew that these stationary figures in my life were no longer there to keep the ‘spirit of the Holiday’ the same as usual, this was hard to accept. This meant that my comfortable, stationary role, all planned out within this holiday chaos was about to become an unknown without any kind of familiarity. GREAT, many of you know how much I love to embrace change! UGH! This is probably why I get so many opportunities for a ‘do-over’? Try once AGAIN to embrace some sort of change, with a heart that is no longer bent on what I am used to. Re-occurring theme in my life! Instead of dread, I had to ask the Lord to change my focus so that I could embrace change with the attitude that these are new opportunities and exciting things that God wants for me and my family.
I guess you could say this year was different in the fact that I realized something pretty simple, but imperative. We had the opportunity to change head knowledge into heart application, due to our circumstances. Sometimes, due to all the hub-bub of familiarities and chaos during Christmas, the simplicity of gratefulness and celebration of our saviors birth can easily be lost. The obligations of family pictures, gatherings of friends and family, school plays, work parties, ect. can take the simplicity of the celebration and turn it into an overblown production of obligations. All Jesus cares about is the simplicity of a relationship with Him and remembering to celebration the gift of His son to us. With or without familiarities, Jesus’s birth is still the real meaning behind this date! Christmas is not about traditions or everybody in the family being present and accounted for, but a deeper reverence for what the Lord has done for us and our desire to grow closer to Him everyday. In being so out of my element this year, I also realized that I had to ask the Lord to make me “feel like” celebrating Christmas because there was such a huge temptation to let the Grinch take over! Since I wasn’t able to cling to traditions and familiarities, I instead had the opportunity to cling to the Lord instead. Can we all say DUH? As usual, God is faithful to meet us where we are at and then bless our socks off when we stop concentrating on what we do not have and shift our focus on the true blessing of having Him in our lives.
The weekend before Christmas, John took some time off & Sarah offered to babysit the kiddos while we did our Christmas shopping. SO the kids had a fun day of playing with their big sister and we got all of the items on our shopping list taken care of.
Christmas day, John was working, but we were invited over to Chris & Donna’s house (pastor and his wife) for Christmas dinner. John did join us once he got off. We all had a nice time of fellowship, spending the day with friends and eating Christmas dinner with our church family. Unfortunately, due to our fun time of spending Christmas away from home, we missed out on family phone calls but because of the time difference we still got the opportunity to chat a small amount.
On the 26th, the kids woke us up at around 7am to celebrate Christmas. Tons of fun and grateful kiddos were so excited to see what was hiding under that tree. After inspecting their new toys and fun stuff we hooked up the newest family toy. The Wii. There were quite a few hours of play before getting ready for the family function later that afternoon. We were ever so fortunate to be invited to a holiday dinner at Sarah & Matt’s house in Naples. I guess it is a family tradition that both sides of their family’s come together for a combined dinner the day after Christmas at their home. We were privileged to get to be apart of this gathering and meet all the members of their families. (On Matt’s side: his parents, grandma, sister & friend of the family Lisa were there and on Sarah’s side: her parents, Aunt Julie and brother Jared were there). We were a bit nervous about being ‘the odd man out’ in the mix of both families; however, we were made to feel very welcomed and were warmly received by all. Even though our kids were the only ones there, they also seemed to have a lot of fun chatting with all the adults and pretty much talking everyone’s ears off who would listen. The kids were also terribly spoiled rotten by their sister & her parents. I was shocked that Sarah’s parents seemed pretty excited at the chance to Christmas shop for our kids and see their eyes light as they played with their new & unexpected gifts. After I got Ben’s Batman toys out of their package, John & Sarah’s brother, Jared couldn’t get outside fast enough to play with Ben and show him how his new toys worked. It was quite funny watching those big boys play with the toys and revert back to childhood! It was quite nice to feel as if God had taken the huge gap that was filled by our family & friends from back home and replaced it with HIS designed plan for us. God is very good! There were also a lot of pictures taken at Sarah’s, so once I get some sent to me I will post them for you all to see! Hope you all had a nice Christmas full of blessings and family memories!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Some holiday pictures.......
We visited a place called Sanibel Island today. We had heard it was a beautiful island with a $6 toll fee to get over the bridge. It really is quite a lovely place but much too rich for our blood. Still made some nice pictures though. Here is the litehouse all spiffied up for Christmas. John thinks they need a Calvary Chapel on that Island but this is the island that gets evacuated when the hurricanes come our way...... I enjoy being safe more inland and visiting the pretty places?
Here are the kiddos on some driftwood!
Close-up!
Here they are with daddy!
Tried to make sand castles but with playing in the water as well and finding treasures like shells, sea urchins and sea sponges....... too many exciting things to do besides building a castle. A lot of digging and moving sand around though....
It's so bright it makes it hard to look at the camera with your eyes open!
Here is our neighbors dog. The neighbor is a single guy who works a lot of hours during the day in landscaping. Since his dog is very well trained, we asked if he could come over and play with the kids & our dog, instead of him being locked in a crate all day! I think it is a good situation for both of us since he gets to be around people who will give him lots of love and we get to have another dog that goes home at night! His name is picket........ I think the guy gave him that name due to the white stripe in between his eyes looks like a fence picket? IDK? He is a sweet doggie!
Merry Christmas all!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Long time no hear.....
I know I haven't been very good about keeping you all updated on what is going on but there really isn't much I can tell. We have been struggling with some things having to do with what our purpose is here, but God is always faithful to continue to encourage us and give us glimpses of the possibilities and purposes of His plan for our church family and this area as a whole. The solution to all of that was to keep our focus on the Lord rather than our limited circumstances. John has started a weekly Men's prayer group on Thursdays evenings at the church. This was rather neat to give the men that desire to reach out, an opportunity to have an accountability group, fellowship and encourage each other.
I hear you Tri-Citians got snow........ apart of me is jelous but apart of me is not so much! The kids saw that New Orleans got snow and got all excited that it might make it down where we are but unfortunately we are too far down in the tropics for that possibility? With the weird weather though I am sure anything is possible even if it isn't likely...... It would definately answer one Christmas wish even if it would be catastophic for native Floridians who know nothing about driving in the stuff. That would be a day to stay home and off the roads!
Thanksgiving was a bit hard being so far away from family but it was really no different than every other year in some ways. John spend the day of Thanksgiving working so we celebrated on Friday instead. Sarah was going to come over but was informed by her employer earlier in the week that she was expected to work on Black Friday. We still had people from church join us though and they were a hoot to visit with and share this holiday with!
Some neat things that have happened lately at church. We have had some new couples come and join us. One couple moved recently from NY and were apart of Bill Galitins church when it was very small and watched it grow. Her health was one of the main reasons they moved to a warmer climate but it is exciting to hear them talk about the fact that God moved them here to US! It is nice to have some Vetran Calvary-ites who really seem to have a mature faith along with a heart to serve.
This last week we had a YOUNG (late 20s I would guess) couple visit us at church. They had 3 children and their oldest was a boy and Ben's age. (We have been praying for little boys Ben's age since our church doesn't have any) They live in the Port Charlotte/Englewood area which is about 30-45 minutes North of us. I guess they are California natives who were also called to the area just North of us to begin a Calvary. He was a Youth pastor at his church in Ca but then, like us began to see the Lord leading them elsewhere. They were visiting us since we were the nearest Calvary to them. It was very neat to hear their story and get the fellowship from folks closer to MY age....... Not sure if they are going to keep coming for a while or continue to try and offer a fellowship for those in their area up north. I, selfishly, pray that they get to stay with us and maybe do a homefellowship thing during the week for those in their area!!!!
John is finding his job a little more challenging than he thought it would be. He was really hoping for a housing unit where he could build relationships and get to know the inmates and therefore get opportunities to witness more often. Instead he is at a post where he shares with another officer. They spend half the shift with the mentally insane and half the post with 'normal but high risk' criminals. The high risk criminals is the 'good' part of the day whereas dealing with those that are not all there is not really very easy. Most of them are either yelling at you or screaming at the top of their lungs because of the fact that they are in jail and might not exactly know why. You can't really get them to stop either through means that get normal inmates to stop their antics since it is really a mental health issue. So all you can really do is hope you can tune it out and WISH your time would go by faster. There have been a couple times John has entertained asking to be transferred out of this assignment but apparently God hasn't given him the go-ahead to do so yet. Although there haven't been many witnessing opportunities at his assignment there, God has put other people in our separate paths to witness to and show them Jesus.
The kids have gotten plugged in to a drama club from the homeschool group we joined. I figured a smaller group might more easily allow them to form connections and make them feel more comfortable if or when we attend bigger events. The kids will be singing at some old folks homes for Christmas and spreading some much needed Christmas cheer! To sum up some other stuff......
Things I miss about home:
~Knowing the difference between really cold verses needing to wear pants if the temperature stays in the high 60s. SO SAD how fast your blood thins out here!
~Snow and my first thought at the first sight of snow is to call Kristy Good and ask her if she is watching it sipping moondust tea!
~Watching the kiddos play in the fresh snow!
~SLOW news days where there is no mention of child abuse or homicide. Here it is pretty common to have both in the news daily.
~Gardening according to seasons.
~Spending time with family during the holidays.
~Sending my leftover food to my neighbors or family.
~Being oblivious to the economic devastation going on in the rest of the country while the Tri-cities was insulated from much of it.
~Living around 'real people' rather than abandon/forclosed homes.
~Having a dozen people I could call and get together with for coffee or a playdate or BOTH.
~Having many excuses to get out of doing school and being a bad example for others not wanting to take a day off until I gave them something more fun to do!
~Not having my mom shop for me when I need something somewhat stylish to wear. SAD I KNOW!
~Smelling Christmas in the chill of the air and the weather getting us in the 'feel' of Christmas coming. It is weird putting up a tree when it feels a little more like spring.....
Things I don't miss about home:
~If we had stayed we would not be in the center of God's will and would be reaping the consequences of that. Don't even want to imagine what that spanking would be like. OUCH!
~The stress that came with the on-going saga of Politics at John's old job...... As The County Turns! Sorry for those of you still dealing with this!
~Being used in the lives of people who have hit rock bottom and due to their economic situation are totally open to the gospel. Hard to see but at least we get to offer the only Hope that only God can give regardless of situation.
~Being in shorts & T-shirts right now, spending time at the beach in and the kids getting to play outside ALL in the middle of winter.
~Watching the kids get to know their sister. Watching she and John interact with that same sense of humor and sarcasm. I am out of my league there so all I can do is watch!!
SO, this is what is going on here in our world! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and PLEASE remember to pray for all those that are hurting this Holiday season.
I hear you Tri-Citians got snow........ apart of me is jelous but apart of me is not so much! The kids saw that New Orleans got snow and got all excited that it might make it down where we are but unfortunately we are too far down in the tropics for that possibility? With the weird weather though I am sure anything is possible even if it isn't likely...... It would definately answer one Christmas wish even if it would be catastophic for native Floridians who know nothing about driving in the stuff. That would be a day to stay home and off the roads!
Thanksgiving was a bit hard being so far away from family but it was really no different than every other year in some ways. John spend the day of Thanksgiving working so we celebrated on Friday instead. Sarah was going to come over but was informed by her employer earlier in the week that she was expected to work on Black Friday. We still had people from church join us though and they were a hoot to visit with and share this holiday with!
Some neat things that have happened lately at church. We have had some new couples come and join us. One couple moved recently from NY and were apart of Bill Galitins church when it was very small and watched it grow. Her health was one of the main reasons they moved to a warmer climate but it is exciting to hear them talk about the fact that God moved them here to US! It is nice to have some Vetran Calvary-ites who really seem to have a mature faith along with a heart to serve.
This last week we had a YOUNG (late 20s I would guess) couple visit us at church. They had 3 children and their oldest was a boy and Ben's age. (We have been praying for little boys Ben's age since our church doesn't have any) They live in the Port Charlotte/Englewood area which is about 30-45 minutes North of us. I guess they are California natives who were also called to the area just North of us to begin a Calvary. He was a Youth pastor at his church in Ca but then, like us began to see the Lord leading them elsewhere. They were visiting us since we were the nearest Calvary to them. It was very neat to hear their story and get the fellowship from folks closer to MY age....... Not sure if they are going to keep coming for a while or continue to try and offer a fellowship for those in their area up north. I, selfishly, pray that they get to stay with us and maybe do a homefellowship thing during the week for those in their area!!!!
John is finding his job a little more challenging than he thought it would be. He was really hoping for a housing unit where he could build relationships and get to know the inmates and therefore get opportunities to witness more often. Instead he is at a post where he shares with another officer. They spend half the shift with the mentally insane and half the post with 'normal but high risk' criminals. The high risk criminals is the 'good' part of the day whereas dealing with those that are not all there is not really very easy. Most of them are either yelling at you or screaming at the top of their lungs because of the fact that they are in jail and might not exactly know why. You can't really get them to stop either through means that get normal inmates to stop their antics since it is really a mental health issue. So all you can really do is hope you can tune it out and WISH your time would go by faster. There have been a couple times John has entertained asking to be transferred out of this assignment but apparently God hasn't given him the go-ahead to do so yet. Although there haven't been many witnessing opportunities at his assignment there, God has put other people in our separate paths to witness to and show them Jesus.
The kids have gotten plugged in to a drama club from the homeschool group we joined. I figured a smaller group might more easily allow them to form connections and make them feel more comfortable if or when we attend bigger events. The kids will be singing at some old folks homes for Christmas and spreading some much needed Christmas cheer! To sum up some other stuff......
Things I miss about home:
~Knowing the difference between really cold verses needing to wear pants if the temperature stays in the high 60s. SO SAD how fast your blood thins out here!
~Snow and my first thought at the first sight of snow is to call Kristy Good and ask her if she is watching it sipping moondust tea!
~Watching the kiddos play in the fresh snow!
~SLOW news days where there is no mention of child abuse or homicide. Here it is pretty common to have both in the news daily.
~Gardening according to seasons.
~Spending time with family during the holidays.
~Sending my leftover food to my neighbors or family.
~Being oblivious to the economic devastation going on in the rest of the country while the Tri-cities was insulated from much of it.
~Living around 'real people' rather than abandon/forclosed homes.
~Having a dozen people I could call and get together with for coffee or a playdate or BOTH.
~Having many excuses to get out of doing school and being a bad example for others not wanting to take a day off until I gave them something more fun to do!
~Not having my mom shop for me when I need something somewhat stylish to wear. SAD I KNOW!
~Smelling Christmas in the chill of the air and the weather getting us in the 'feel' of Christmas coming. It is weird putting up a tree when it feels a little more like spring.....
Things I don't miss about home:
~If we had stayed we would not be in the center of God's will and would be reaping the consequences of that. Don't even want to imagine what that spanking would be like. OUCH!
~The stress that came with the on-going saga of Politics at John's old job...... As The County Turns! Sorry for those of you still dealing with this!
~Being used in the lives of people who have hit rock bottom and due to their economic situation are totally open to the gospel. Hard to see but at least we get to offer the only Hope that only God can give regardless of situation.
~Being in shorts & T-shirts right now, spending time at the beach in and the kids getting to play outside ALL in the middle of winter.
~Watching the kids get to know their sister. Watching she and John interact with that same sense of humor and sarcasm. I am out of my league there so all I can do is watch!!
SO, this is what is going on here in our world! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and PLEASE remember to pray for all those that are hurting this Holiday season.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Neat Ideas for Christmas trees
These we a couple neat Christmas tree ideas to get kids to understand tie in some neat analogies for Christmas! ENJOY!
The Jesse Tree
Excerpted from 'Advent and Lent Activities for Children' with permission of Twenty-Third Publications. BY: Sheila Kielly and Sheila GeraghtyOrigin: The Jesse tree represents Jesus' family tree. The name is taken from Isaiah 11:1, in which Jesus is referred to as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, the father of David. The ornaments on the Jesse tree tell of Jesus' ancestors, and of the events leading to Jesus' birth.
Symbols:
Adam and Eve ~ Apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
Noah ~ Ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)
Abraham ~ Knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)
Isaac ~ Ram (Genesis 22:1-19)
Jacob ~ Ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)
Joseph ~ Colorful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)
Moses ~ Tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)
David ~ Harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)
Isaiah ~ Lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)
Mary ~ Lily (Luke 1:26-38)
Elizabeth ~ Small home (Luke 1:39-55)
Joseph ~ Hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)
Connection: Roots are important parts of a tree. As people, we need to know our roots, as well. Often, we run from one thing to another without reflecting on where we've been or where we are going. As we create a Jesse tree during this Advent season, let us pause and look at our lives to see on whose shoulders we stand.
Activity: Make a Jesse tree for your home. First, take a large, bare branch and secure it in a pot of sand or rocks. (You can also use a large potted plant or evergreen.) Create ornaments that trace Jesus' royal line by making symbols for some of the people found in the Hebrew testament. Make the ornaments out of cardboard or construction paper and decorate as you like. Instead of hanging all the ornaments on the tree at one time, you may want to hang one on every other day of Advent. Read the Scripture citation given here as you hang each ornament on the tree.
Here is a link to see one that is done up: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7202/advent.html
Here is another neat idea for those of you with little kids or for those that are looking for neat ideas to get the kiddos thinking; saw this on another blog so I figured I would pass along her neat ideas!:
We decorate our tree with deliberately chosen ornaments, each one is one of the following shapes or images, all symbolizing the Gospel Message. We have a "tree trimming party" with family and friends Thanksgiving Weekend and put up the tree. As we decorate, we read the scriptures for each ornament to help us remember God's love for us!
Our Christmas Tree Ornaments… what they mean to us:
ANGELS: God's messengers were the first to announce the birth of the Christ child.
Luke 1: 26-38,
BELLS: Bells ring to call people to worship. Psalm 100,
CANDLES AND LIGHTS: Our home glows with light during this time of the year to remind us that Jesus came as the Light of the World.Matthew 5:14-16, John 8:12,
CHRISTMAS TREE: Symbolizes that our God is eternal and we have eternal life through His Son when we put our trust in Him. 2 Peter 3:17-18,
CROSS: Reminding us of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross to pay for our sins, but also our call to take up our cross and follow Him.Matthew 16:24,
GIFTS: God sent His son and that's the greatest gift of all. Gifts also represent the significant gifts of the Magi. If they don't show our love for our family or friend, then they shouldn't be given.Matthew 2:10-11,
HEART: God LOVED us so much that He sacrificed His Son for us!
John 3:16-18
NATIVITY: Reminding us of the story of Christ’s BirtBible: Luke 2
SHEPHERD'S STAFF: We call it a candy cane. But truly it is a shepherd's staff. The colors symbolize the blood and purity of Christ. Psalm 23,
SNOWFLAKES: Reminding us that Jesus’ blood washes our sins white as snow.Isaiah 1:18, STAR: God proclaimed His truth in creation by lighting up the heavens with a star that announced the birth of Christ the King.Matthew 2:1-12
The Jesse Tree
Excerpted from 'Advent and Lent Activities for Children' with permission of Twenty-Third Publications. BY: Sheila Kielly and Sheila GeraghtyOrigin: The Jesse tree represents Jesus' family tree. The name is taken from Isaiah 11:1, in which Jesus is referred to as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, the father of David. The ornaments on the Jesse tree tell of Jesus' ancestors, and of the events leading to Jesus' birth.
Symbols:
Adam and Eve ~ Apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
Noah ~ Ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)
Abraham ~ Knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)
Isaac ~ Ram (Genesis 22:1-19)
Jacob ~ Ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)
Joseph ~ Colorful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)
Moses ~ Tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)
David ~ Harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)
Isaiah ~ Lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)
Mary ~ Lily (Luke 1:26-38)
Elizabeth ~ Small home (Luke 1:39-55)
Joseph ~ Hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)
Connection: Roots are important parts of a tree. As people, we need to know our roots, as well. Often, we run from one thing to another without reflecting on where we've been or where we are going. As we create a Jesse tree during this Advent season, let us pause and look at our lives to see on whose shoulders we stand.
Activity: Make a Jesse tree for your home. First, take a large, bare branch and secure it in a pot of sand or rocks. (You can also use a large potted plant or evergreen.) Create ornaments that trace Jesus' royal line by making symbols for some of the people found in the Hebrew testament. Make the ornaments out of cardboard or construction paper and decorate as you like. Instead of hanging all the ornaments on the tree at one time, you may want to hang one on every other day of Advent. Read the Scripture citation given here as you hang each ornament on the tree.
Here is a link to see one that is done up: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7202/advent.html
Here is another neat idea for those of you with little kids or for those that are looking for neat ideas to get the kiddos thinking; saw this on another blog so I figured I would pass along her neat ideas!:
We decorate our tree with deliberately chosen ornaments, each one is one of the following shapes or images, all symbolizing the Gospel Message. We have a "tree trimming party" with family and friends Thanksgiving Weekend and put up the tree. As we decorate, we read the scriptures for each ornament to help us remember God's love for us!
Our Christmas Tree Ornaments… what they mean to us:
ANGELS: God's messengers were the first to announce the birth of the Christ child.
Luke 1: 26-38,
BELLS: Bells ring to call people to worship. Psalm 100,
CANDLES AND LIGHTS: Our home glows with light during this time of the year to remind us that Jesus came as the Light of the World.Matthew 5:14-16, John 8:12,
CHRISTMAS TREE: Symbolizes that our God is eternal and we have eternal life through His Son when we put our trust in Him. 2 Peter 3:17-18,
CROSS: Reminding us of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross to pay for our sins, but also our call to take up our cross and follow Him.Matthew 16:24,
GIFTS: God sent His son and that's the greatest gift of all. Gifts also represent the significant gifts of the Magi. If they don't show our love for our family or friend, then they shouldn't be given.Matthew 2:10-11,
HEART: God LOVED us so much that He sacrificed His Son for us!
John 3:16-18
NATIVITY: Reminding us of the story of Christ’s BirtBible: Luke 2
SHEPHERD'S STAFF: We call it a candy cane. But truly it is a shepherd's staff. The colors symbolize the blood and purity of Christ. Psalm 23,
SNOWFLAKES: Reminding us that Jesus’ blood washes our sins white as snow.Isaiah 1:18, STAR: God proclaimed His truth in creation by lighting up the heavens with a star that announced the birth of Christ the King.Matthew 2:1-12
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