SUN!

O.K. If you haven't noticed by now I really like the sun streaming through windows and onto things! So here is a picture of the sun shinning on some marbles and a candle.

Hoarfrost

From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

Job 38:29

making a color wheel

snow and a squirrel in our garden

The Birth of Christ

Luke 2:1-20

¶ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 ¶ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" 15 ¶ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

A Peaceful Evening With Friends and Family

The promise of Romans 8:28-29

There is nothing- no circumstances, no trouble,
no testing- that can ever touch me until, first of
all it has gone past God and past Christ, right
through to me. If it has come that far, it has come
with a great purpose, which I may not under-
stand at the moment. But as I refuse to become
panicky, as I lift up my eyes to him and accept it
as coming from the throne of God for some great
purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow
will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me,
no circumstance will cause me to fret- for I
shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is- That is
the rest of victory.

-Alan Redpath on the promise of Romans 8:28-29

Christmas Beauties

Christmas Cookies

(christmas wreaths~ white chocolate with mints~oreo's and ritz with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate~ oreo's dipped in white chocolate~ seasoned oaster crackers~ "Mint Clouds" meriange cookies)

Plain Blue

She went running down the long hall looking for a room she could escape to. Her long blue dress billowing out behind her as she ran. Her blonde hair was coming out of the bun from which she had stationed it in and was now blowing in her face.

She found a room and quickly went in. She shut door quietly and braced it with her back and hands as if to stop any intruder from coming in. Her hair gentle caressed her face as she glanced quickly over the room looking for a hiding place. It was her father’s study.

To her left were bookshelves and a table with the world globe on it. Straight in front of her was a desk and a man was seated at it, but she unconsciously overlooked him in an effort to find a hiding place. Behind the man was a beautiful bay window looking out on the garden, to her right was the seating area. As she finished glancing over the room she finally realized that her father was at this desk, the only man that could save her now.

She didn’t stop to ask him what he was doing or if she was interrupting him. She just came and poured out her case to him hoping to find some overruling in what had happened that morning.

“Father you’ve got to help me!” She cried, floating over to the front of his desk were she knelt on the Victorian rug in front of the desk in order to appear more helpless. “Father she’s gone absolutely mad!”

“Who’s gone mad dear?” he asked with a quizzical look on his face.

“Jolene!”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“This morning when I was getting dressed she said that I must wear bigger, more full dresses and that they must be pink and purple so as to make me more feminine. She says I must were lace so as to look more wealthy. Then she tried to get me to wear it and I said I wouldn’t but she said that no matter how much I protested she would find a way to get me to wear it.”

She rose to her feet, went to the bay window and looked over the garden in utter despair. Although feeling several sets of eyes on her she ignored the feeling and continued her complaint.

“She also said that I shall never find a husband if I don’t change the way I dress and act and get my pretty little head out of those silly little books that I read because no man will want a plain girl that reads books all day but Father I like my plain blue dresses and my silly little books.” She paused and sighed heavily so as to make this seem as a bigger tragedy then she knew it was. “And I think that a man should love me for who I am and not for what I look like or what I wear,” She said rather dramatically.

Just as she was finishing the last words in her report she turned around to see her father and in the seats in front of his desk an older gentlemen and a young man, all three men having a look of surprise on their faces.

Sheepishly she looked to her feet, which she found were barefoot, for when she fled to find some safety from Jolene she had just finished putting on her dress and had not enough time for shoes, her only concern was with finding some way to save herself.

Her blonde hair fell in front of her lowered faced, then she lifted her grey-blue eyes up to find a grin on the young man’s face, oddly she found him quite attractive. He was maybe a little older then her, she thought.

He had deep blue eyes that caused one to be almost frozen in their mesmerizing gaze. A few pieces of his dark brown hair had managed to escape the rest and were dangling on his forehead.

She pulled herself from his eyes and once again looked down at her feet, blushing again at the site of them, made an attempt to bury them into the floor.

She had blonde hairs that always seemed to fall were she didn’t want them to and never wanted to stay were she put them. She had fair skin and rosie cheeks, which were extra rosie right now. Her dress was blue with little flowers on it and a cream sash around the waist, which seemed to outline her slender middle.

Then raising her body to her full height, being quite tall for the age of fifteen, she apologized to the men.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know that you had company Father, please excuse me.” She curtsied slightly, and then left the room swiftly.

She closed the door and leaned against the wall, embarrassment rushed over her. How could she do such a thing? She knew it was her father’s room, why didn’t she stop and think? What were the two men doing talking to her father and what business did they have now at this hour? She stood almost as though she were nailed to the wall, her chest going up and down as she breathed heavily.

Softly she heard her father’s voice apologizing for her rude interruption and then the older man’s deep chuckle and his “That’s O.K, I’ve got a girl myself.”

She blushed again and noticing that her feet were bare, and that it was getting a little cold, rushed to the protection of the library.

That afternoon as she was reading a book in the confines of the garden, her thoughts drifted from her book of Shakespeare to the event that was going to take place that evening.

Later that morning her Father had come to her room and assured her that the men were not offended by her outburst. He also informed her that they were going to have guests for supper.

She asked who was coming and he said that it was a surprise, and that she would find them quite amusing. The slightly mischievous grin on his face made her wonder what was in store for the evening.

Now here she was, her mind going over all the people she could think of that would come for supper. Why would she find them amusing? Grandma Flora? No she was traveling and she wasn’t very amusing. Besides father said that they were amusing, which meant there was more then one person. She couldn’t put her finger on it so she forced her mind back to the book.

The birds chirped around her and she once again turned from her book. She wished she was a bird so that she could fly. Oh how she had wanted wings that morning in the study! Anyways she had to figure out what to wear for supper.

She rose from the bench were she was sitting, picked up her book, and started for the house.

As she approached the house she saw her sister coming towards her. How come she liked pink and looked good in it? It wasn’t fair.

“Lydia you will never guess whom father has invited for supper,” She exclaimed with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“I don’t know, tell me,” She said rather excited, for she wanted to know who was coming.

“It’s our neighbors, the Hartensons!”

They were the neighbors that lived not very far off, but they had never come over for a visit.

She didn’t know a thing about them or what they looked like. Did they have kids? Were they wealthy? Would they be rude?

-by Leah (A.K.A. Me) I wrote this a couple years ago. Hehe as you can tell. :)

Giving in Goodness

The sound of hooves at midnight- horsemen gal-
loping into the courtyard- and the clatter of armor
as soldiers surround the house wake the old man.
Two officers dismount and pound on the wooden
door with the butt ends of their spears.


Maids in disheveled nightclothes rush upstairs and
urge the white-haired fugitive to hide under the
bed, in a closet...anywhere. Instead, he hushes them.
drapes a cloak over his frail shoulder, descends the
stairs, opens the door and invites the men who have
come to arrest him inside.


He instructs the maids, "Quickly prepare hot food
and something to drink. Can't you see these men
have ridden hard tonight? They need refreshment;
give them the best in the house."


Confused by this unexpected reception, the arresting
officers crowd into the room and cluster around a
bronze charcoal brazier on the floor.


As they warm their numb hands against the cold
night of February 22, 166, Polycarp, elderly bishop
of Smyrna...makes every effort to see that his guests
are comfortable. He personally serves the officers
and soldiers alike from the warm dishes his maids
have prepared.


-A Woman's Walk With God, Elizabeth George, pg. 120

(lavender leaves in beautiful bottles~ a Christmas present being pinned~ wrapping paper~ a picture from my little green book)

Men, Do You Know?

A Woman's Question
by Lena Lathrop

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing,
Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman's heart and a woman's life,
And a woman's wonderful love.


Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing,
As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.


You have written my lesson of duty out,
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul,
Until I have questioned thee.


You require that your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and your shirts be whole;
I require that your heart be as true as Yah's stars,
And as pure as His heaven, your soul.


You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing.
A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts,
I look for a man and a king.


A king for the beautiful realm called Home,
And a man that his Maker Yah, could,
Look upon just as He did at the first,
And say, 'it is very good'.


I am fair and young but the rose may fade,
From this soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me amid the falling leaves,
As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?


Is your heart an ocean, strong and true,
I may launch my all on its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell,
On the day she is made a bride.


I require all things that are grand and free,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life,
To be all you demand of me.


If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook,
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman's heart and a woman's life
Are not to be won that way.



(I found this quote on the blog Robert's Thoughts. A very good blog!)

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

Spurgeon

I do not come into this pulpit hoping that somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Sunlight on Chickenwire

Girly Blanket

Christmas Beauty

Experiencing God's Peace

It's plain to see that you and I need to remember something the disciples didn't: Our days are in God's hands. Our God is all-sufficient to meet our needs , and the Saviour is with us every step of the way. And just as the disciples could have rested if they had trusted, we can experience the peace of God when we offer the sacrifice of trust. Panic is needless, wasted energy, and stewing, fretting, and worrying signal a failure to trust our faithful Father. But when we choose to trust God, we can have the same peace in God that Christ had in the storm at sea and in many other scenes from His life. Our Jesus, even when He was threatened with death, confronted by enemies, and walking to the cross, rested in God and always acknowledged that His times were in God's hands and that His all-sufficient Father would meet His every need.

-Elizabeth George, A Woman's Walk With God, pg. 67