A Few Christmas Highlights

Saying Cheese



Looking for Josie the dog




She was loaded down with animals for Christmas



Sunrise in the Mountains



Our little bit of Christmas Snow

I took a million pictures for Christmas but something was wrong with my camera, I think mainly it focused on a moving child and so most of my pictures were blurry..  Joey and I went to the mountains to see snow for Christmas, unfortunately it was just cold and a little dusting for the day.  I needed a much welcomed rest, my back went out when I got there so I mainly rested and read a couple books.  Came back good as new......Christmas was such a great time this year with Harper.  She was such a pleasant child through the whole time. She enjoyed the whole experience at every house she went too.



Merry Christmas

King Herod

Pastor preached today from Matthew about King Herod and the Magi.  It said that mid week the Holy Spirit led him in a different direction for his Christmas sermon.  With the deaths of the children and teachers in Connecticut he said he realized that even in the midst of Christ birth, the same thing was happening then.  King Herod sent out his soldiers to go into homes and for no reason other than Kind Herod was scared, they killed little boys under the age of two.  He said that parents did not know what was happening, soldiers knocking on doors, walking in and murdering their helpless little boys. Satan is a murderer, was from the beginning and still is today, his hand was in the evil a few weeks ago just as it was in Bethlehem many many years ago.  Evil cannot be explained away, evil exist no matter what we try to get rid of, violent movies, guns. and violent music.  We can take responsibility for what we watch and listen too, but in the end it all boils down to a spiritual issue.  Realizing that without Christ as our savior and the Holy Spirit leading us in our daily lives evil will always exist,  Until that day with Christ returns, not as a baby in a manager but as a powerful king.

Mary

As a mother, I can only imagine what Mary's thought process was, she was a young girl, with a great responsibility. God knew her, knew the love she could give, and knew how strong she really was.

     I love a cold Christmas, but  I would probably like to try one at a warm beach someday....

IT Christmas

Children are Great

I have to say that I could just squeeze these cheeks.....

This is the personality of this child, wouldn't the world be a peaceful place if we all were like her.
As I read the headlines a moment ago of the shooting at the elementary school, I cannot imagine what
goes through the mind of a person who purposely chooses to plan and then puts into action the killing of innocent little children. My heart breaks for the parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters of these distraught families.  I pray for a peace that one cannot humanly understand comes over them and that they feel the arms and presence of God on their family today. Because without him there is no peace........

Finally James

Last night was our final night with the Book of James series.  We watched our final video last week and to say it was powerful is an understatement.  Last night we recapped and put into thought what the book was about for each of us.  For me, it all began with don't look in the mirror and then forget what you see, remember what you learn, know what it looks like on a daily basis. Be able to see what goes against the Word quickly, know what doesn't look right in the mirror. Next came the control the tongue and check the temper.  This seem to be a underlying statement throughout the book.  This is the hardest for me and where I am still stuck at.  I do genuinely care about others but I have gotten to a point where I call a spade a spade.  I expect so much that I have become critical and complaining at times with the Christian behavior of some. I have to realize that I need more self control and let God do his thing and me back off.  The problem is I don't love easy. I don't trust easy. If I truly have the love that James is talking about for others, I think this will come easier   I have decided to continue to study the Book of James for a little longer on my own and try to grasp all I need to learn and not forget.  I went to a few ladies in the small group to see if any were interested in leading the study for a few weeks, because it is hard to study one thing and teach another.  I have led a Bible study for about 6 years or more and do believe that I need to hear from others and not lead all the time.  So my friend Diane, who by the way is a great teacher, felt led to teach on the "Organic God" for 6 weeks, so I am very excited to start in January learning the character of the real GOD.

While my family doesn't get why I will listen to this type of music, I really appreciate God-given talent.

Christmas IS.......

Unseasonable

 Because of the beautiful weather we had this week, Harper and I stayed outside most the the day on Monday and Tuesday.  Joey has been teaching her to drive the mini backhoe.  She loves riding on it, he has taught her how to start it, how to make it move and as you can see how to control the bucket to go up and down.

This was her parade outfit, she saw the trees and I guess thought they were her size and she stood still for a picture.  She is a person who likes busyness, so the parade was perfect for her, she danced and just clapped when the tractors came down the road.  Joey loves the Christmas parade in Lexington, mainly because it is at night and the streets are lighted so pretty.

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