While You Were Sleeping (Christmas)

Hubby is singing at our Christmas Eve service tonight. He is singing one of my all-time favorite songs, "While You Were Sleeping" (Christmas version) by Casting Crowns. The lyrics are so powerful.

While You Were Sleeping

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Mary shivers in the cold
Trying to keep the Savior warm
Born among the animals wrapped in dirty rags
Because there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night

Christmas Glow

Christmas is a
Whispering candle
Heard all over the world....
Whose fragile and flickering
Light touched men
Everywhere,
Leading them through
The night...in prayer
And understanding,
So that all men might share
The sacredness of the season,
And walk and talk together
With the Prince of Peace.

-Annette Victorin

Copied from Christmas Ideals, Vol 27, No. 6, November, 1970.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Another Attempt at Advent

The last few years, I have felt led to celebrate Advent with our family. I started just with reading advent scriptures the first couple of weeks only to have it fall by the wayside with the busyness of the season. Last year we actually did some Advent activities for several days and stayed with the scriptures longer.

It is obvious that finishing what I started is something with which I struggle. The pile of unfinished scarves and socks is further evidence of this shortcoming.

So, I have been pondering Advent and how to create a situation I must see through. I decided the key is in the planning. So, as is my way, I started planning waaaay ahead. On Sunday. Ahem.

Okay, so I'll have to let you know later if it works. The idea, however, is that I bought some of those miniature stockings at our local discount store for $1 each. In each will be be tucked a scripture and a location. There are 24, with little white tags (straight from the office products dept of same store) labeling the days. I also picked up some treats. With four kids and a roommate (I'm sending a box to The Big Boy at college and including his roomie), it can be costly, so we are talking very low cost treats. It isn't about the wonderful gift, it is about the anticipation of our Savior. The treats just make it an exciting activity. I bought candy, chap stick, cheap toys, playing cards, beef jerky, and other whimsical items. I'm thinking the beef jerky was the most costly of the lot. Many little gifts like this can be purchased in the seasonal department. Another place to check out is the travel item section. Those little sodas in six packs are another idea. Boxes of snacks are always good.

I'll string the stockings across the front of the mantel and each day they will read the scripture and ponder it in their hearts. Of course they will. Then they will look at the location where their treat for that day is hidden.

The big boy has a box and the treats are in little bags and labeled by day, with scriptures attached. Well, almost. I'm doing that next. His covers him through finals, then he will join the rest of the family in our Advent adventure at home.

I'm hearing voices from "Christmas Vacation" in my head, "Sparky, you create expectations no family gathering can meet..." (or something like that) Voices, be gone!!!

Two great places for Advent ideas are:

Cathy's Christmas Cottage Advent Calendar

Teaching Mom's Advent Calendar

Even if you just do a couple of activities and a few scripture readings, it still is a step toward making Christmas about Jesus in your family.

The Stockings Were Hung

When I was small, one of my favorite parts of Christmas was getting out my one very own ornament & my stocking. They were the two decorations that had my name on them. In the mix of things, they were mine. Allllllll mine.

Then, my mom started making stockings for everyone. Some were knitted, some crocheted, and some were stitched using counted cross-stitch. All were beautiful, and more importantly, all were different. Each pattern was chosen with the recipient in mind. Holly, whose nickname was Holly-Bear, had a red stocking, knitted, with a bear design. The bear was holding a sprig of holly. Mom made a stocking for each of her four kids, each of her four kids-in-law, and every single one of her grand kids. All 13. That would be 21. She also made a few as gifts, I believe.

Then, the tragedy of cancer entered in. Mom never met her last two grandchildren, numbers 14 & 15. That would be my Things 1 & 2. So we have dug around all these years, using old pet stockings and extras that were gifts for the older two. I kept thinking I would make them one, so theirs would be homemade, too. Last year was attempt #1. It was ok, but not just what I wanted. I only had one stocking, too. And by the time I finished it, I wasn't up for another one. Each year about this time I think about it, and either I get new ideas, or I have no hope of accomplishing the task in time for this year. Regardless, at ages 11 & 13, my Things remain stockingless. Until now.

Today, I ordered The Things stockings from Pottery Barn. No, they are not homemade. But they will have their names on them.

For Thing 1:



For Thing 2:



As much as I would love to, I'll never be able to make them a stocking from my mom. It's just one of those things that happens in life. Some day, maybe I'll make them all stockings. Maybe not. But at least now, they have their very own stockings, that are not hand-me-downs from siblings, (or worse yet, pets), and I don't have to cringe when we hang them up on Christmas Eve.

No, Christmas isn't about the stockings. It's about Jesus. It's also about family. Each year when we get out those stockings we talk about their Grandma and how much she loved them and how proud she would be of each of them. We remember how she always had Pringles and gum and lots of love and hugs for her grandchildren. We wonder just what stockings she might have made for The Things. Then we laugh, because she would have laughed. She knew how much it meant to have something that was just yours, with your name on it. She would be glad those Things finally have stockings.

Thankful

Thankful, thankful, thankful.

As I scurry about the kitchen, I hear it on the tv in the next room. I hear it on the radio. I hear it at church, see it on the blogs, and on Twitter. Everyone is thankful. Even my little Clementine orange sports a sticker, "Thankful for Cuties".

Thankful.

Grateful. Webster says thankful means "conscious of benefit received", or "well-pleased; glad".

Thankful.

Full of thanks.

Thankful.

Am I?

Thankful.

Why, yes, I am.

I'm thankful for my health. I'm thankful for my home. I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful for everytime I laugh. Oh, yes, and I'm thankful for my orange Cuties.

Those are all good things. It's easy to be thankful for those.

What does God's word say about thankfulness? It says a whole lot. For example, Ephesians 5:19b-20 says, "Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Sing & make music....from your heart to the Lord.......ALWAYS GIVING THANKS.....to God the Father.....for EVERYTHING....in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ.

There is a lot to be learned there.

Thankfulness is from our heart. Sayin' "I'm thankful" doesn't make it from the heart. Can you sing about it? Compose a trill about it? Search it out. Do you really mean it? Are you really glad?

Who do we thank? God the Father in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ. The Creator. The Prince of Peace. The Almighty. Makes sense.

We are supposed to always be thankful.

For everything.

Uh-oh.

I'm not up for composing a trill about the 9x13 glass pan that dropped on my foot last night.

Nope. Thankful is not what I was just then.

I'm not really sure that is what that means. Honestly. I can say, however, things sometimes happen that I just don't like, and I have learned that God always gives me a reason to be thankful.

I have a long way to go. I know that gratitude is a state of heart, and I need to be more grateful. I'm getting there. Sometimes it just takes living life to learn thankfulness. I'm thankful that I'm learning.

I think just pondering it all & searching my heart is another step on the journey.

Juggling Phantom Balls

I was inspired to write a post about this weekend after reading Staci's post about her weekend. I'm a copycat that way. Staci, just remember, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery....or something like that.

The last three or four weeks have been really busy with a vast array of activities & commitments. I kept thinking this week would be MUCH calmer. Heh.

Last Thursday, The Big Girl came home from a wonderful week at nursing camp to get turned around and leave again on Saturday morning for church camp. Unbelievably, Thing 1 also attended youth camp. I'm still astounded that he has aged so!

Youth camp required a 5:15 arrival at our church, requiring a 4 am wake up call. As is typical, bedtime was midnight-ish. You can do the math.

Once Thing 1 & The Big Girl were safely deposited on the bus, I headed to Walmart to make a grocery run. I feared returning to our home again with no groceries, as my remaining children may well have been planning a mutiny. After a fairly long grocery run, I got home, we had breakfast and headed out to the Air Show.

Now if anything makes a person more weary than a 4 am wake up call, it is standing out in hot, humid weather all day. However, I think I would have walked on coals to see the Blue Angels perform. There were many air acrobats that had us in suspense and amazed. My dad was there with us, and as a former pilot, he was a wealth of information. The Blue Angels performance filled me with awe. Each time they zoomed by, Thing 2 and I squealed giddily. I'm sure it was less than attractive for this middle-aged woman to squeal, but it was what it was.

We ended the evening cooking a few things for Father's Day dinner, then, exhausted, we hit the sack at 11ish. Wow, it was a long day.

Now we begin a new week. I have termed the phenomenon that is this week "Juggling Phantom Balls". You see, we may or may not be showing our house this week (no, it isn't listed yet. There is a reason for that. It isn't READY). If we don't show it this week, we will next week. We may or may not be going to Cedarville next week for a college visit. I may or may not be picking a friend up from the airport a couple of hours from here on Wednesday. I don't know if I'm juggling these balls or if they really aren't there, because I don't know what will happen yet. They aren't anything I can really grab on to, but there is something there, to be sure.

Tonight, though, we are definitely hosting our long-time friends in hopes of hiring him to be the general contractor on our new Timber-Frame house.

Kids at camp. House showings. College visits. Timber-Frame construction planning. I think I need to stop & take some time to pray a little more.