Monday, December 19, 2011

Singing the Gospel

Singing the Gospel:

Today’s Truth


But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ – the Lord (Luke 2:10-11, NIV).


Friend to Friend


I love hearing children sing Christmas carols! One little girl was heard singing that the shepherds were “washing their socks by night!” When my son was four-years-old, I overheard him singing “O Holy Night” in his best vibrato voice. I chuckled as I heard him boom, “Long lay the world in sin and ever whining!” Sin and error pining wasn’t in his vocabulary, but he definitely understood the concept of ever whining.


When I became a Christian, the words to familiar Christmas carols began jumping off the pages of the hymnal. It seems the gospel was right there in the words to the carols, and I had missed it before. I began to see what God had done in my life in the words of Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.


For example, let’s look at the words to Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.


First, look at all those exclamation marks in the song! These angels must have been very excited, and no wonder! They were proclaiming the birth of Jesus, the “newborn King.”


The second line says “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” Some people are not too crazy about the word “sinner.” But originally it was an archery term that meant the distance between the bull’s eye and where the arrow landed on the target. Therefore, “sin” meant “to miss the perfect mark.” And it still means that today. Sin means to miss the mark of God’s perfection. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And because of that sin, we have been separated from God. The first verse of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing tells us WHY Jesus came – to reconcile or join us back together with God. It also tells us TO WHOM Jesus came – “to all nations.” No wonder the angels were so excited!


Verse one tells us why Jesus came. Verse two tells us WHO He was. He is adored in heaven. He is the everlasting Lord. He is the offspring of a Virgin’s womb. He is God with flesh and bones. He is Deity. He is Emmanuel – God with us.


Verse three tells us HOW the Christ child made eternal life available to all mankind. He laid aside His glorious heavenly position, came to Earth as a man, and gave His life so that we could experience second birth (be born again) and live eternally in heaven.


Hark! The Herald Angels Sing tells us WHY Jesus came, WHO He was, and HOW He would accomplish His purposes to reconcile a lost world to God. That’s the gospel in a nutshell, and it’s all packed into one Christmas Carol.


This holiday season, as you sing the familiar Christmas Carols, look for the gospel among the verses and let the melody of God’s great Gift fill your heart.


Let’s Pray


Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the men and women who have gone before us to pen the words to the carols we sing today. I pray that as I sing the familiar words, You will stir me to praise You afresh. And I also pray for those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I pray that as they sing the words to carols or even hear them on the radio, they will recognize the gospel and understand that Jesus came as the babe in the manger to die on the cross…because of His great love for them. I pray that they will hear the gospel and embrace the truth.


In Jesus’ Name,


Amen.


Now It’s Your Turn


Pretend that you did not have a Bible handy, but only a hymnal or book of Christmas carols. Could you explain the gospel through the words in the songs? Why not give it a try.


If you have children, consider using a hymnal for a family devotion, explaining the meaning to various Christmas songs.


More from the Girlfriends:


It is hard not to get caught up in the pre-Christmas swirl of activity and lose focus on what’s important. If you would like ways to keep Jesus the focus of your holiday season, you’ll love Celebrating a Christ Centered Christmas by Sharon Jaynes. It’s packed with helpful ideas and inspiration.


It’s finally here! Sharon, Gwen and Mary’s new 12-week devotion book, Trusting God, is now available. This is the perfect book for individual study or for gathering a group of friends in what we call GiG Groups. With impactful devotions, study questions, journal pages, free on-line video intros, and an index of trust-building Scriptures…this book is a resource you’ll refer to time-and-time again.

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( MERRY CHRISTMAS )
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

{holiday colour inspiration : warm & woodsy}

c{holiday colour inspiration : warm & woodsy}: I just Love the Holiday's don't you ? Tell me what you adore some much about this time of year.
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. . . gilded candelabras and champagne, velvet and sequins and the scent of pine cones -- a little holiday inspiration for this, the most wonderful time of the year . . .

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{images: belgian pearls // manzanita candelabra via apartment therapy // signature style // that kind of woman // a lovely escape via pretty stuff // beligan pearls // soft beauty // soft beauty // my girly side}
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Friday, December 2, 2011

How to Clothe 4 Children for 8 Dollars... Fashionably.

How to Clothe 4 Children for 8 Dollars... Fashionably.: ( THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL BLOG GO CHECK OUT )
Alors...
It wasn't eight dollars exactly but the title caught your attention hugh?

Since I am on such a plaid kick I just HAD to share with you the ensembles My Chickens wore for Thanksgiving! (I have been on a plaid kick as long as I can remember but REALLY so since last year when I made myself something for the first time... the skirt that made the cover of Where Women Cook!) Always on the lookout for a unqiue find I went to a garage sale this past summer around the corner from our house and bought a remnant of fabric that caught my eye... plaid... mais bien sur.
$4.00.
I have been sitting on it since then waiting to make something for My Chickens to wear for Thanksgiving... now that I think about it, I made the girls dresses last year for Thanksgiving too... in plaid! I didn't want to take any chances without a pattern since I was working with a VERY limited amount a fabric. One bad design and my whole idea would be shot so I hit our horrendous new Super Wal(Hell)mart (there is nothing "super" about it except that it's super gross) and bought some lame, Easy-Sew patterns.
$4.00
Turns out I really did have enough fabric to make all four kids (Chickens) something to wear! And two headbands for the girls!

Aidan & Cousin Sofia
So far, I had spent $8.00 - here's how much it cost to pull off the rest...Now, Aidan's sweater is Janie and Jack. If you are going to buy retail and buy quality you gotta buy Janie and Jack. Regular price is outrageous but they have wonderful sale racks and I have found that the way their clothing is cut that my children have ALWAYS been able to get two to THREE years out of any particular piece. I'm serious. It's so bizarre but it never fails. Aidan is six years old and that is the sweater he wore the Christmas when Amélie was born. You can just make their stuff work - it's incredible. That sweater was a gift.
$ Free.
The orange polo shirt is a neighborhood hand-me-down
$ Free.
I am all about the hand-me-downs. I sort thru the stuff that is totally not "us" and keep the basics.
Speaking of... those little shoes Julien is wearing are from a friends son who was a baby 11 years ago. They've been in a tub in my basement until this moment.
$ FREE

Now back to the girls for a moment.
What to do when it's the day before Thanksgiving and you need tops? Why you pile the kids in the truck, say a prayer and head over to Target of course. I am always in need of solid color tops for the girls and on top of that, I love to dress them alike when I can.
I found these two cream color shirts, one in each their size on clearance...
$4.00 a piece! And cute to boot.

My sister's wedding this summer.
Now for the fascinators. Ever since the wedding this summer and the fun I had designing and making the girl's hats and fascinators I have designed a hundred in my head. It all starts with an inspiration. What you probably can't see is that on everyones piece of clothing I used the selvage edge of the fabric as the hem (I LOVE doing that) and on the little pocket on Julien's romper I did not stitch the fabric under but left the left, right and bottom edges raw so they became all fringy... and super cute. I decided to go with the whole raw, fringy, Chanel thing for the headbands... The only Chanel I wear is No. 5 but Coco Chanel and that particular look thru the years is a major source of inspiration in many of my personal clothing selections. Now, if only I was a rich, 110 pound ingenue who epitomized the look...
I digress...


I love the gnarly rosettes and added the pearls at the last minute (at about midnight Wednesday night). After deciding they desperately needed pearls to cap of the Chanel thing I was considering cutting up a strand of my own and then I stumbled upon an old stretched out bracelet in my stash! JACK POT!
I KNEW there was a reason I never threw that piece of junk out!

Now for Julien's Onsie and Juliette's tights...

What do you do when the theme is plaid with CREME and all you've got is white tights and a white Onsie???
Why you bust out the tea and TEA STAIN of course!!!

Problem solved!

Oh, Juliette's navy blue Mary Janes are from the thrift shop, Striderite's... never-been-worn
$2.00
And Amélie's brown boots are from that semi-annual swanky children's resale thing I go to. Gymboree never-been-worn $9.00.

So, shoes-n-all what is that, like $29.00??!!!!
Sa-weet~
Here's a few more pics...
All the Grandkids in our family. My SIL makes those sweet knit headbands! Have you seen her Butterbean shop? Victoria is one of the most creative people I know. Like the rest of us, if she had more time and more money... we'd all have to watch out!

Time for mashed potatoes!

SIL Victoria et Moi

Me and My Sisters!


Necessity is the mother of invention.
A creative spirt MUST create.
No matter how flat a$ broke she is.
Grab ahold of those crazy ideas in your head, whether it's selling your house in a horrible market to find your dream farm or making an elusive plaid taffeta dress and go for it!!!

Keep on creating girls!
Who knows what you will come up with next!!!