O little town of Bethlehem

Matthew 2:6 " But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessèd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Words by Phillips Brooks
Music by Lewis Redner

Wordless Wednesday

It's Up!!

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The Sovereign's Daughter

I just received a book from Glass Road Public Relations called The Sovereign's Daughter. This looks to be an exciting read. I am a huge fan of historical fiction.

The press release for review says:
Set in the backdrop of post World‐War I Russia and the Bolshevik revolution, The Sovereign's Daughter uses Russia's imperial Romanov family to weave a fictional tale of honor, devotion and ultimately unconditional love.

With revolutionaries occupying the nearby town of Tsarskoe Selo and trying to breach the palace walls, Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov sets out to protect crucial state secrets via the most unlikely of people – a lowly chambermaid and ayoung Mennonite. These two, together with another palace servant and her brother, flee to protect the secrets of the Romanov family. Failure could cost the Romanov family control of the entire country.

But what started as a brief exile becomes a dangerous cat and mouse game with bloodthirsty revolutionaries bent on discovering the imperial secrets.

All four profess to trust in God's provision during the dark days ahead, however, will they be willing to lay it all on the line when the moment is at hand? With the revolutionaries bearing in on all sides and an unknown assailant hunting them, how can they best protect all that is dear? When their very lives are threatened, can they continue to put their faith in God?

Authors Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren's information includes:

Susan K.Downs:Susan served as the Russian adoption program coordinator for one of America's oldest adoption agencies prior to her decision to leave the social work field and devote herself full‐time to writing and editing fiction. Through her adoption work, however, she developed a love for all things Russian and an unquenchable curiosity about Russian history and culture. A series of miraculously events led Susan and her minister‐husband to adopt from Korea two of their five children. The adoptions of their daughters precipitated a five‐year mission assignment in South Korea, which in turn paved the way for Susan's work in international adoption and her Russian experiences. The Downses currently reside in Canton, OH. Read more about Susan's writing and editing ministry and her family at http://www.susankdowns.com/

Susan May Warren:Susan and her family recently returned home after working for eight years in Khabarovsk, Far East Russia. Deeply influenced and blessed by the faith of the Russian Christians, she longed to write a story that revealed their faith during their dark years of persecution and a story of their impact on today's generation. The Sovereign's Daughter is the fruition of these hopes. Now writing full‐time in northern Minnesota while her husband, Andrew manages a lodge, Susan is the author of both novels and novellas. She draws upon her rich experience on both sides of the ocean to write stories that stir the Christian soul. Find out more about Susan and her writing at http://www.susanmaywarren.com/.

The Sovereign's Daughter will be available January 2008. I will have my personal review out as soon as possible.

I WON

I never win. But I did!! And it was a BOOK!! Books are better than chocolate in my...ummm...well...book.

I won To Catch a Theif from Jendi's book giveaway. Jendi's blog is Musings and Mommy stuff.

I am really looking forward to reading this. Thanks, Jendi!!

What Doesn't Get Said in the Christmas Letter

My purse is full of Kleenex, three flavors of Riccola, Honey-lemon Halls and Germ-X.

My most used phrase is, "That is your shirt sleeve, this is a Kleenex--No, don't use ME!! Gahh!!"

If I'm not saying that it's, "Don't touch me until you wash your hands.” Yes, thank you, I am such a sensitive mom.

School is getting done, we have clean clothes to wear and dishes to eat off of. The tree, garland, lights and tchotchkes are all put up. I’ve only moved the Ferris-Coaster Wheel around the living room about seventy-nine times and the telescope follows behind. It’s parked in front of the television right now. Once a friend came over and as we were sitting and talking, she told me, “I always like to come here because it feels so lived in.” After she realized that didn’t come out as quite a compliment, she went on to explain that you could see our interests and that living occurred in our house on a day to day basis. And she wasn’t afraid to touch things. (Thankfully she didn’t know about the dust monsters that lurk beneath the sofa. They would make anyone afraid.) No one would ever accuse me of having an elegant home.

My husband, kind soul, drove to dance Saturday night—to the second of ten performances the boys had. He worked backstage with all the moms! And I actually had three hours alone. I felt like I should be blogging, but turned up the Christmas carols, finished the garland and sat in the twinkling lights and listened. And just sat there. I don’t remember how long it’s been since I just sat. It was nice.

Church was lovely, we had a pianist and an organist and a large choir and several accompanying instruments. The homily was so pertinent and the boys were well behaved and the two older couples who sat behind stopped us to tell me how much they enjoyed sitting behind my children. And that they were handsome too! That was a “Mommy present” that can’t be wrapped and put under the tree.

The boys did their lessons today without a fuss. Their piano practice included some Christmas songs and they are now in bed pretending they are going to sleep. I’m pretending I can’t hear them quietly telling stories.

Hope you all are well in your corner of the world…

Still Here...

I'm still here. Well, actually I've been mostly "in the car, driving to dance" and backstage helping with getting boys into their costumes. Today is the first show for one cast, my sons' cast and after tomorrow we should find a new routine of sorts.

I've managed to wrestle manhandle fight quietly bring the trees and only a thousand hundred few boxes full of ornaments upstairs. I'll share some photos of the heavyweight champion Christmas tree in a few days.

I have been adding new links to the "Blessed by the Best" post, so check those out if you have a moment. And certainly leave me a link if you would like me to share a link to your blog & post sharing how you keep the focus on Jesus during the holidays.

I only have about 250 posts to read this morning if my Bloglines account is to be believed. I'm a tad bit behind on commenting, but will be catching up soon.

How are your holiday preparations coming along??

Always in Him,

Julie

Gifts

Sometimes I am slow. Well...okay, I am slow most of the time. You would think I would be nominated for the "Moves Like a Turtle Award." But sweet Maria at Free to Fly gave me the Ray of Sunshine award almost a gazzillion two weeks ago. And it really blessed me. Thanks Marie! Those rays of sunshine gave me the warm fuzzies!

And then today Renee at 2 Peas in a Pod shared her Spirit of Christmas award with me. The award note says: This award is for those who talk about and show the spirit of Christmas in their blogs. What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask?Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the “Spirit of Christmas”. This was like getting a hug across the internet! Thanks Renee!

What I would like to do is to share both these awards with all the bloggers who have contributed to my Blessed by the Best post. You all are the ones keeping me reminded of the joy of this holiday season. And if you are going to let me share a wonderful Christmas post, but just havent' gotten that post finished yet--you can share the award too.

We'll be sharing ideas for quite awhile. I've enjoyed visiting and reading all that's been shared so far.

Black Friday: A Look Back

I’ve never been a “Black Friday” fan, I worked at least twelve years in some form of retail and saw more pushing, shoving and herding of hordes than anyone should have to. I remember the last Black Friday I was working. I knew I would be leaving retail after the first of the year. I was sooooooo excited. I was probably merrier then, than all the previous Day after Thanksgivings before.

After I did leave retail my mother and I did start a little tradition of our own on the day following Thanksgiving. For almost fifteen years (we missed one or two) we would get up early and drive to two very tiny towns (populations less than 500, I suppose) near their home. It was all very sweet and the pace was as slow as we liked. The crowds were in the malls at the city and we got the fresh air and cozy atmosphere. Both towns were decorated simply and in an old-fashioned manner.

The first town is an antiquing town. The main street has stores filled with antiques and craft shops. Sometimes we would start at the bakery with a pastry. And often we would warm up at a small coffee and tea shop about halfway through our shopping. There was a store with one floor devoted entirely to Christmas. That was mandatory to visit. Also a must stop shop was the Victorian shop—so small it could fit into my living room, but packed with delicate and beautiful ornaments, tantalizing scents and peaceful music. Every store was filled with holiday cheer and even though it was, technically, a retail environment it was just different and special.

The second town is filled with many Danish descendants. We would head first to the local craft fair. My mother worked with the public for a long time and knew so many people. She would take at least twice my time in getting through the stalls & booths because she would stop and talk to everyone she knew. And she knew everyone. Then we would go to several other shops, including the one in the windmill and finally straggle toward home. If we had any energy left we might stop at the town square in my parents’ hometown to visit three shops we were particularly fond of.

Then I would spend most of the weekend decorating her house. And there were lots of things that followed just because “that’s how we did things.”

Because this is our first holiday without my mother, and for a few reasons, this year isn’t going to be like that. Maybe some year in the future I will retrace our steps alone or with one of the children (none of whom seem to have inherited the “browsing gene”). Maybe I will find something nearer my home for the day after Thanksgiving.

Which brings me back to my search…for ways to bless our families during the holidays. Please join me and share your ways to make the holidays really holy days.

What was your “Black Friday” like today?

Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday Thirteen

It just wouldn't seem right to do anything but a "thankful" post today. So, while not original, a very heartfelt Thirteen Things I am thankful for:

1. My faith
2. My husband
3. My sons
4. My father & the time with my mother
5. My sister
6. Her children
7. My friends both IRL & internets
8. The opportunity to homeschool my boys
9. Food in the cupboard
10. A roof over our heads
11. Vehicles to drive
12. My pets
13. An endless supply of other things to be thankful for.

THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE THURSDAY THIRTEEN:
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. What do you do? Write Thirteen things about yourself, summarize your week in one entry, make it easy for other bloggers to get to know you on a weekly basis. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
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Wordless Wednesday

Long ago and faraway...

My husband used to do this.

And I used to do that.

It was fun.

But I think I am happy where we are now.

But I wish I just looked like that again!

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