Holiday Season

This Thanksgiving season, I think I watched more football than I have in the past 5 years!! For some reason the particular game that was on was "the games to see"!!! I admit I do like to watch a game, especially when the Razorbacks or Packers are playing. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we enter the Christmas season -  yes, I say merry Christmas even if store clerks say happy holidays. As Advent approaches, we seem to forget the true meaning of it. Advent” from the Latin adventus means the “coming” or “arrival” of the Christ Child and is marked by the four Sundays preceding Christmas, commemorated in some churches and homes by lighting four Advent candles. We are encouraged to shop early, go to Black Friday sales, or take advantage of the special sales. This is all traditional and full of anticipation, but let us try to forget the worldly celebration and concentrate on the true meaning. Our Thanksgiving was a day of family and food. The great grandchildren were asked what they were thankful for - some answers were family, homes, teachers, and from almost 5 year old Jaylen, cars! Jaylen loves cars and can name the "fast" car if he sees them go by. His grandma's  Jeep is not fast because it does not have spoilers and the engine does not stick out. We had three days of great grandchildren -  Thanksgiving Day - the following day as the twins' parents went deer hunting, and then the other two on Saturday as those parents went Christmas shopping. I did not realize how the little ones really wear a person out!!!It was fun though, and the quiet of Sunday was a relief! As we were decorating the tree, one of the great granddaughters found an ornament with Baby Jesus on it. It gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about what Christmas was all about. 

the twin great granddaughters helping their Dad  grind deer meat into hamburger. Their Mom shot a deer that was cleaned and processed at Grandpa's house, then wrapped, ready to be frozen.

some of our great grandchildren - poor Jaylen was the only boy until the latest, Connor, was born. 

The weather is cooler, but even though the leaves are off the trees, it is still beautiful in the woods - even all of the leaves on the ground create a beautiful scenery. It does not snow much here in NW Arkansas, but when it does, it is beautiful. I even loved the snow when we lived in Wisconsin especially when there were huge, fluffy flakes that piled up for a few days. The kids played in it often when they were little - lots of wet clothing drying downstairs. With 4 girls, we always seemed to have a lot of single socks in the wash - they were piled in a basket. When it snowed they just grabbed mismatched socks to to play outside - after all, no one saw them in their boots. After they were grown, we adults took advantage of the winter weather to snowmobile or cross country ski, never worrying about the cold. Now I would rather curl up under a blanket and read a good book. A sign of getting older?  Hmmm.

We finished up I Peter this last Sunday as Vance will be preaching the Advent sermons now until Christmas. God is large and in charge. Do not grow weary and lose heart. We need encouragement in our walk with Jesus. We need to do what it takes to stay connected to God. We are in the season of the great Resignation or the Big Quit. Because of the struggles of the past 2 years and COVID, many people are quitting their jobs because of mandates - some folks are so discouraged that they even quit attending church. Chapter 5 in I Peter is Peter's final instructions to those who want to follow the Lord. We need to surrender our will to God. Peter tells us that we all need to clothe ourselves in humility. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humility is having confidence in God. We need God - we cannot do it on our own. Surrender is not giving up but giving over to God. We want clarity - the ability to understand what He wants for us, but it can turn into us wanting control. Having more clarity is to have more trust in God. Surrender your worry to God. Strive to strengthen your walk with God. It is time for us to be awake and alert because we have an enemy - Satan.  Peter wants us to not fear the roar of the lion but to stand firm in our faith. Make a choice to be engaged in God. The devil is not stronger than God - resist the temptation of the devil. See the work of God all around you. He will hold you up where you need to be held up. 

Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving -the time of year when we think of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Almost the end of fall and the promise of winter. Some folks are anticipating Thanksgiving so they can rush out the following day and shop. How in the world did Black Friday ever get started?? The term ‘Black Friday’ first appeared on September 24, 1869, when two ruthless Wall Street stockbrokers named Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, hatched a plan to buy up as much of the country’s gold as possible and sell it for massive profit. This ruthless plan unraveled on that fateful Friday, causing the stock market to crash and the rich and poor alike to become bankrupt in the process. Following a law that passed in 1941 that officially made Thanksgiving the forth Thursday in November, in the early 1950’s people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving, both to extend their holiday and to take advantage of the fact that stores were open. Rather than cause a HR headache by trying to determine who was genuinely sick and who was playing hooky, many bosses decided to include the Friday after Thanksgiving as an additional paid holiday. This trend spread, and soon many people were taking advantage of the extra day to get a head start on their Christmas shopping. But the craziest part of all? Black Friday isn’t actually the busiest shopping day of the year – that award  is given to the Saturday before Christmas. Shopping is not what should be thinking about though. It should be a day that you concentrate on thanking God for all the blessings He has bestowed on you and your family and not dwell on the negative. Many have had tragedies, deaths, loss of family through separation and divorce, etc. but in all of this we need to thank God for each and every day and know that all has happened for His glory. And don't let your thanks end on Thursday - be thankful every day of the year. 

A friend of Fred's passed away last week - end - a friend for  over 60 years when they were kids back on the farm in Wisconsin. I have had him and his wife for friends for over 60 also when we were first married - she and I became friends because our husbands were. We are about as different as day and night and learned to respect each other's differences and have a great time together. It seems as if they were there though all the fun and sad times, too. We are so thankful (there's that word again) that we spent some time with the last summer in their beautiful Northern Wisconsin home on a lake. Please keep his wife and family in your prayers for strength and peace in the coming holiday season.

    I love it hen Pastor Vance takes a book of the Bible and goes through it chapter by chapter so we come to a better understanding of the circumstances as to how, why, and when it was written. We are continuing in I Peter. We usually go over it in our Bible Study class on Wednesday with Vance leading, but thus week we have no class so all can get ready for the holiday. We had to be more alert Sunday to his sermon on Sunday! This is the week on Thanksgiving where we need to be thankful for everyone and everything.  Make amends with those who need it. The good news has been proclaimed. When Jesus came He came as the blameless lamb for the sins of all. Jesus dies for you. We are human and sinners and cannot change that - we have rebelled against God. The Good News is that God gave His son Jesus for us. Jesus died to bring us to God. Do you want to be in heaven forever with God? This is what God really wants for us. Your sins were paid for in full through the resurrection of Jesus. Here is the Good News explained:

1) It is salvation from sin. We are saved from the mistakes in our lives. God gave us baptism to give us a clear victory over Satan, sin, and death. Baptism is a way for God to give you a new look on life through Him. Baptism does not remove dirt from the body, but saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is nothing more humble than submitting yourself to God. Baptism is a submission to God through Jesus Christ.

2) The Good News is Victory over Satan. Jesus took His time to go to the hill to preach His Victory. The letter from Peter was written to encourage those who were persecuted for their belief in Him.

3) The Good New sis the hope of heaven. He conquered the grave so we can conquer the grave. Jesus is now at the right hand of God. He is there to intercede for us to His Father. 

Are you in Christ? Give a confession of what you believe, repent, and be baptized. His blood will wash away your sin. Be thankful for HIs death.

Everyone have a truly happy Thanksgiving - enjoy the day with family, clear up any discontent, leave some pumpkin pie for me.

  

Reflections

 A thought - whatever the biggest thing in your life is will make you feel that it is the biggest thing in your life. Whatever it is that takes precedence in your thoughts and mind is your biggest issue today. It probably was not so last week and probably will be not so next week. You are the one who chooses what is the biggest issue in your life.  Make God the biggest thing in your life - put your trust in Him. Everything else will seem smaller by comparison. 

And now it is brag time - a picture of our latest  great grandchild - Connor James, born Sept. 11. I bet you can't tell what state he lives in!!!! What a wonderful, happy smile. 

 Who could have imagined that when we were married over 59 years ago that our little family of two would grow to  21?? (not including 1 foster and 2 step-greats). I am sure more families have more members that that (hmm - perhaps Adam and Eve). Which brings another thought to mind - there were only two times in the history of the world that the entire population believed in God - during the time of Adam and Eve, and then after the flood with Noah and family. I wonder if this entire blog will be wandering in all directions? Seems like that kind of day.

We are still in search of a place to live - but it does look like the housing market is slowing down a bit. We had a good prospect yesterday, but again it was not what we thought. We know the Lord has a place for us - we need to listen and wait for Him to speak. He is certainly testing my weakness - patience.

We are the only Bible that some people ever read. Do we represent Jesus Christ? In order to show that we follow Him we need to be an example. Live in harmony with one another. "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate, and humble". I Peter 3:8. We as the body of Christ have to be an alternative culture in today's world. Live in harmony - be united in how we live with on another. Have sympathy - rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Just be in their presence - words are not necessary. Love one another - have a family relationship with others. Be compassionate and tender with others. Be humble and have a servant's spirit. Be a blessing to others Do not repay evil with evil. Love those who are our enemies- love those who do not love us. Be courageous. there is no promise that we would not suffer from being good. Fear the Lord's wrath by letting Him be the example for us. Be prepared to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have but do this with gentleness. Be respectful. Win others to Christ by being respectful and do so with gentleness. Seems as if this message is full of directives - sum it up two words. Be Christlike.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift…that’s why it’s called the present."~Unknown

Excuses

 I have no excuse for being so late with the blog this week. I have not been overly busy, nor sick, just totally slipped my mind when I finally realized last night that I had not done the blog, it was too late to get up out of bed and blog. So please overlook my forgetfulness.

I had inadvertently forgotten to post pictures of our great grand kids at Halloween - they all came to visit and get their goodies. It must be very difficult to take the kiddos trick or treating today - seems as their is too many dangers out there. I can still remember the fun and excitement of running around i the neighborhood trying to get our plastic pumpkin filled with treats. We received different things when I was younger - a lot of homemade items - cookies, popcorn balls, apples, etc. I would love to do that today, but know it would not be well received.   I do believe I mentioned before tyht we lived in Wisconsin when our girls were younger, so all costumes had to be bought or made with the thought in mind that they had to fit over snowsuits!!

                                                     

                                                              the pandas are the twins, Shelby id the half angel, half devil                                                 (when she came to hug me goodbye, I asked her if I was hugging the angel or                                             devil - she replied "the angel of course",  Harmony in the back took off her                                           costume - she was a dinosaur, but the batteries worn out on whatever was part of                                                                                her costume. 

                                                         

                                                          Brielle nad Jaylen , not sure who or what they are

The trees are turning so beautiful here in NW Arkansas - there are tons of color from red to orange and yellow, with  lots of green thrown in. I love the change on season. Just looking at the mountains all aglow in color reminds me of how great the Lord is - He does all of this for our viewing pleasure.

                                                   

                                                           all of the streets are lined with natural color

The twins were guests for the weekend. The cooler weather was perfect for roasting smores. Ii even indulged, as I have not had one in many years - and they were just as good as I remember.     

                                                           the fire is ready for the roasting

                           such serious looks on their faces - trying to get the perfectly roasted marshmallow

                               Now I may have the wrong, but I do believe this is Kinley - a happy smile

                                               her sister Kinsey - looks like she was a bit colder than her sister

We still do miss the Valley and Caring Hearts ministry - especially when we talk to those who were involved in it with us. The ministry still exists, but on a smaller level. We talked to our dear Ida today and are getting her all arranged to receive produce along with the other donations that she receives. Our contacts there are doing all they can to help her receive the food she needs for the folks in need. 

Vance continued in his series with I Peter. We have Bible Study on Wednesday where we discuss the sermon - it s great because everyone seems to get a new and inspiring view of what we heard.  I Peter 3 is often misunderstood as saying that women are subservient to men and have to obey their every wish. 

this is certainly not true. We have an opportunity to show others our love for Christ is through the love of our family. Peter was an evangelist. As Christians we are different - so that makes a difference on how people receive Christ. It is at this time that we almost Peter structured his life to be an example for Christ. Do people you live with know you are a Christian? Be a witness to Christ in your marriage. Are you a good witness to your spouse? Your home should be the first pace that your Christianity shows up. Peter was married (remember when Jesus healed Pater's mother-in-law - (see Luke 4:38-39).  In that culture, when man was a Christian, his whole household  were all Christians. But if a wife was a Christian and not her husband, it was unprecedented. Peter was encouraging Christian wives to be a witness to their husband who was not. Any submission we give is following Jesus' way. It makes us free to see our spouse's view, but being able to sacrifice and appreciate it. Show proper respect so it opens the door for him to listen to you. Submission does not follow a husband into sin. It does not allow abuse. In any relationship we need to influence people without words. Submission is not a sig of weakness - it is a symbol of great redemption - a voluntary selfishness. Husband need to be considerate of your wives the same way Christ submitted to His Father. A husband can be an example to his unbelieving friends. Men should treat their wives as something precious - like a fine china cup. Treat her with utmost respect. Cherish your wife - who is a precious gift. they are heirs with you in the family of Christ.  Learn to lead but not dominate. If you don't, it may hinder your prayers. 

Lift all of those who are in pain and suffering with illnesses - God does answer prayers. 

Total Seclusion

We spent this last week-end in total seclusion with our daughter and husband deep in the Ozark National Forest. Our son-in-law's cousin owns a cedar lodge and were were blessed to be able to spend the week-end there - free of charge but then there was a bit of work that needed to be done which was perfectly ok with us all. If you get a chance google Waterfall House in Deer, Arkansas.  Yep, it has a beautiful waterfall right next to the house that flows most of the time except in the dry season. It is so gorgeous, so secluded that there is no TV or cell phone service. We were able to hook up to the internet to use our phones. They do have Netflex,  etc, lots of DVD's, tons of board games - enough to keep a person busy if they don't feel like hiking the beautiful trails around there. The county road to the house is unpaved - actually a trail through the woods, accessible only by 4 wheel drive or truck or jeep. In order to even get there ( from Prairie Grove) it is a 2-1/2 hour drive, on mostly very curvy, hilly roads. After you drive that for awhile you have to cross a creek before you get to the home. It is difficult to describe such a beautiful place so here are a few pictures. 

                    

                                               

                               It was rainy as we drove to Deer on this road, which is miles of curves

                                              

                                                             there were even patches of fog

                     this is the county road to the house in the National Forest  -a few miles of this

the stream before you get to the house

the cedar log cabin - 

                                                        a relaxing patio space with fire pit

kitchen as seen from the living room

a warm, inviting fire - as the others did the manual work my job was to keep the fire going and tend to the slow cooker for supper! (well, someone has to do it - it gave me tme to snuggle in and read, too).

the Arkansas red cedar walls and ceiling

the fire in the evening from the loft area - we slept in the lower bedroom as I could not envision

 sleeping in the loft and having to come down that spiral staircase at night in the dark!!!

It was truly a special week-end - a beautiful place to spend some time, but I think a bit too secluded for me as the closest bigger town is 45 minutes away. 

Do you have the feeling of not being in control? We may be in that season season right now. We may need a dose of the serenity prayer. Peter discusses what it is to be submissive. He followed Jesus but wanted to keep his own agenda. There were times in his life when he had trouble surrendering to Jesus' plan. Jesus let Peter do it his own way until it didn't work anymore. Jesus allowed Peter to get to that place so he would submit to His will After the Resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter and finally Peter ununderstood what it meant to follow Jesus. Jesus will not meet us on us terms but will meet us on His terms. It is a life long process to always submit to Jesus. It is in our weakness that we find Jesus' strength. In I Peter 2:11 and following, Peter talks about religion and politics - things we tend to avoid talking about. The people that he was talking to at the time tended to have a feeing that they lost control. How we live today has an evangelistic effect on other people. Voluntarily submit to someone in authority. God ordained government and put it in place, as well as putting in place church and family. He did so to retain order. It is hard for us to submit to authority. We cannot agree to everything that is going on in this world today. We need to be free to choose. Learn to submit for the right reasons for His sake and for His will. Live as a servant of God. Fear God. Be conscious of God. we have to trust God for the outcome of our lives. Let God have control of your lives. Submit with the right heart, live as a free man but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil. Live as servants of God. Learn to submit at the right time. Love your church, your people - honor those in authority. A disrespectful attitude turns people form Christ. We are to be the best possible citizens as we can be, but ultimately we honor and obey Christ. We are called to be respectful, loving, kind people on the planet.