Merry Christmas!!!

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas! May you be reminded anew of the marvelous gift and perfect sacrifice God gave in giving His only Son, Jesus Christ. May you find your strength, joy and sufficiency in Him and Him alone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I pray that you too will give God thanks--today and everyday--for His abundant blessings!

Reformation Day

He Is Risen!!!

He is risen, indeed!

Naked House...

...that's what I (we) have now that the Christmas tree has been taken down. And yes, as a matter of fact I DO realize it is January 11th!!! :-)

I love our Christmas tree and all the memories it displays. There are the small silky balls that I bought for my first "college student" Christmas tree that was a cedar tree cut near my grandparents ranch in Osage county (Oklahoma), then there are all those "Texas" ornaments that we collected during our seminary days, and the ornaments that document the various vacation spots my husband and I visited B.C. (before children), and of course, now there are the ornaments that document the travels of our girls--some day I will lovingly (and tearfully, I'm sure) pack those ornaments and send them on their way to newly established homes.

Oh yes, I love Christmas and the wonderful memories that hang on our tree each year.

January 7 ~ Christmas in Russia

Today, January 7, is the day Russians celebrate Christmas. Our daughters clearly remember how it was (is) a much smaller less significant holiday than New Years--not too surprising after 70+ years of oppression and persecution.

Somewhere in Russia, an orphan child either has received or will receive gifts with a message attached that is written in Russian rather than English (like the majority of the other gifts)--from two former orphans named Olga and Nina.

Unfortunately, our girls were not in an orphanage that benefited from this ministry while they lived in Russia--the orphan population is staggering--but by God's grace more and more orphanages and orphans are being reached through this annual program!

Our church has participated in the Immanuel's Child program for the past three years, and this year our very own Olga coordinated and completed the effort. If you're unfamiliar with the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) I urge you to get acquainted and consider participating in next year's "Immanuel's Child" program-- it kicks off in October and costs only $25 to provide a Children's Bible in Russian, various toiletries, toys, healthy snacks, and fruit (stuff ALL kids need and like!).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas y'all!

(Originally posted Dec. 17) In light of our recent ice storm, the extended power outage, and the massive clean-up that is underway, I wanted to go ahead and post this since I doubt I'll be doing much blogging in the next few weeks.

Yesterday was a special joy and blessing as our church family gathered for worship even though there was no heat or lights--power had not yet been restored to that part of town. We all bundled up, brought flashlights and worshipped our wonderful God who is in control of everything--including ice storms.

Later in the afternoon three men from church came over--chainsaws in hand--and transformed our yard from a 'war zone' back into a safe place to walk and play. What an amazing and humbling thing that brothers-in-Christ would give up their Sunday afternoon to do this--we have been greatly blessed!

Give Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!

The turkey is in the oven--has been since earlier this morning when hubby and I got our oldest daughter up for some "holiday cooking" training!

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is on the t.v., yummy smells are wafting through the house, my mom and brother will arrive soon, then dear friends will join us later this afternoon when we'll enjoy some movies and games--so much to be thankful for!

What I (we) did on my (our) "summer" vacation...

...which we just returned from at 1:30 this morning!!

Yesterday morning, we were HERE, at Destin, Florida.

The day(s) before that, we were HERE, at Walt Disney World.

Why the "big" vacation trip? Because this Sept. 30 marks our fifth "Gotcha Day" with our girls!! "Gotcha Day" is commonly celebrated by adoptive families remembering the day when the child/children legally and officially became family--the day we "gotcha"!! :-)

So, while all of our previous family vacations have been MUCH more subdued and simple--camping, regional amusement parks, visiting family and friends--we longed to mark our fifth year together in a "big" way since our girls missed a "typical" American childhood, AND are RAPIDLY growing up (currently 17 1/2 and 14)!!! :-)

We had a wonderful time, with only one "bad" memory of losing our video camera along with ALL of the video from our week at Disney, and the girl's FIRST time at a beach. Thankfully, we had three cameras among us so most of the "moments" have been captured on film--still, we're pretty bummed about losing the video footage.

Sidenote: Five years ago today we were in Russia on our second trip waiting to appear before the judge in order to adopt our girls!

And now for something completely different!

This photo is for those who think I'm too serious--I am most of the time, but I can relax--see?

We had a great time New Year's Eve with friends--eating, talking, sharing, crying, praying--we completely ignored the midnight hour celebration! Can't think of a better way to start my new year.

Earlier today I found this at the Jolly Blogger. It reminded me of the sweet time of fellowship we enjoyed New Year's Eve--and all year with dear Xian brothers and sisters.

I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things soon, but we're having company in and out for the next few weeks. I'll see how the blogging goes in the midst of fellowshipping, hosting, cleaning, etc.

Happy New Year!

Hope you'll forgive me, but since it's New Year's Eve (and I've been busy enjoying family and trying to gear back up for school to begin next week) I'm simply going to offer you a link to a list of Ten Questions for the New Year by Don Whitney.

Some view New Year's resolutions to be worthless, but I encourage you to take a look at Don's list of questions (he actually offers more than just ten) and consider how God might use you in 2007!

Merry Christmas!!!

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas! May you be reminded anew of the marvelous gift and perfect sacrifice God gave in giving His only Son, Jesus Christ. May you find your strength, joy and sufficiency in Him and Him alone!

Please visit "Practicing Theology" after Christmas when--Lord willing--I will resume my regular posting schedule.

Christians and Christmas Trees

You're probably thinking, "Here she goes again. She already stirred things up about Halloween, now she wants us to think about Xmas trees!" Just by reading the title of this post, you've probably mentally stated your "position" on the surprisingly controversial topic of Xmas trees. Am I right? :-)

In the 80's my husband managed one of the stores for an independent Xian bookstore chain in the DFW metroplex. Sometime at the beginning of our first holiday season in Dallas my husband told me that the owner of the stores thought that Xmas trees were "wrong". Being a new Xian, I'd never heard such a thing! So, you can imagine my surprise (and confusion) when we were invited to the home of the owner for a Xmas party--complete with a Xmas tree in the family room! Apparently, not everyone in the household shared his "conviction".

In the years since then I've run into other Xians who have the "conviction" that Xmas trees are wrong. Some are tolerant, even kind, toward those of us who choose to enjoy Xmas trees, but far too many use the matter as a sort of measuring stick to determine ones level of spirituality--theirs and mine.

Whether you have no Xmas tree, one Xmas tree, or a whole forest of Xmas trees, I hope you'll take time to read a recent post at Pulpit Magazine titled, "Christians and Christmas Trees". I think they do an excellent job of clearing up some of the misconceptions, and helping us gain a Biblical perspective on true Xian freedom--not just in the area of Xmas trees!

With a Grateful Heart

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow." James 1:17

This week we will celebrate "Thanksgiving" in the U.S.!! Though our culture continues to weaken and obscure the original meaning/intent of the holiday, let us make it our purpose and practice to offer thanks to the giver of "every good thing"--our one, true, and holy God!

In keeping with that, I'd like to know what YOU are thankful to God for? Please share it by commenting to this post--I'd love to hear from everyone!

In closing, here's a song that has been running through my head for several days:

"Give Thanks"

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, "I am strong,"
Let the poor say, "I am rich,"
Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.
Give thanks, give thanks.