Wednesday Treasures

 It's been a busy few days since I last wrote. Got a little Christmas shopping done, but still not done. It's coming together slowly, but I am trying not to stress over it and just enjoy the journey.  I've also been busy with decorations and am pretty much done with that, with the exception of the train and village under the tree. We shall see if that even happens this year. At this point, it pretty much depends upon whether or not the kids will come back and help put it together or not. If not, then it probably won't happen because that getting down on the floor business (and then getting back up) is a little more than us old folks can handle these days. LOL  

So here are a few snippets of what has been accomplished. Every day is kind of like opening a new window on the Advent Calendar! I may not show you everything at once, and save some things for the rest of the days to follow.  That way you won't be too overwhelmed with pictures!  

For today's Advent window we are looking in on the Carolers singing their songs:

I think they must be singing "Joy to the World, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King..."

"Let heaven and nature sing...let heaven and nature sing, let heaven and heaven and nature sing..."

Have you ever gone caroling?  I'm afraid it is becoming a lost tradition...but we truly enjoyed going back a few years ago, going around to the homes of people we knew who were shut ins, and we stood outside and sang Christmas carols to them. They'd come to the door and sing along or sometimes cry because it meant so much to them to be remembered. It's a lovely tradition, and it would be nice to keep it going.

And then this arrived today in the mail as a big surprise!  It is from a dear blogging friend who loves to send surprises in the mail! I am always amazed and humbled by her thoughtfulness and giving spirit.  

It's like a giant snow globe with carolers singing outside a church...really really sweet!!

Here is a video of it in action. 

The Carolers remind me of our choir...we are currently practicing for our Christmas Cantata, which will be presented on Christmas Eve morning at church.  Last night we practiced the cantata all the way through, and it really is going to be special.  We are very small in number this year as several choir members haven't been able to participate with us, but for those of us who are there, we are singing our hearts out! We pray that God will be glorified by what we offer in song, and that hearts will be blessed with the Christmas story once again.  We will be recording it the week before at our dress rehearsal, so maybe I'll be able to share it with you then.

Speaking of our church, if you recall I mentioned that we have recently been approved to  disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, and we are becoming a part of the new Global Methodist Church, which is Biblically conservative and follows the Wesleyan Tradition.  Since we are no longer affiliated with the United Methodist denomination we must remove all signs that have the logo of the UMC, which is the cross with the red flame beside it.  I am sad we have to remove the red flame, which signifies the Holy Spirit, but it is a requirement of the agreement.  So today our Building and Grounds manager planned to remove the small signs on the sides of the church bell tower. 

 He knew that I like to take pictures of all church events for our church Facebook page, so he invited me to come and watch and take pictures!  The Pastor was also helping by holding the ladder, and my hubby was there giving moral support.  It was a very chilly, windy day, but the job got done.

This little plaque will remain on the church as it gives historical information.  We may change the wording eventually to put the correct name, which is now Interlachen Methodist Church. That is actually the original name of the church. It didn't become a United Methodist Church until the denomination merged with the United Brethren denomination back in 1968. So now we have come full circle back to our original beginnings. There's a LOT of history in this little building. It has always stood strong for Christ in this community, and we pray it will continue to do so for many years to come.

Well, I guess that's enough for today's Advent Calendar Window.  We have great hope and joy in our hearts at this Christmas season. God is blessing our home and family with His peace and health and healing, and He is also blessing our little church with a glorious new beginning.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

2 

2 The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

And now to close this post with a little "levity"...The darkness in this photo is a little bit enhanced, but this was our sunset one day last week.  After I shared it on Facebook, my sister wrote and said it looked like Santa and his reindeer were already flying up in the sky...Do you see him?  "Well, you'd better watch out, you'd better not shout, you'd better not cry, I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming to town!" LOL.

And with that I will bid you good night my friends. 

Santa Claus may be coming to town, 

but Jesus is coming too...so we'd best be ready...

Until next time,

Good night and God bless you all.

Monday Monday

 Happy Monday Morning! Afternoon   Evening!!...been a busy day!  I hope this Monday finds you feeling refreshed and ready to start the new week!  (I know, I'm probably much too chipper for some folks on a Monday morning! Sorry, but not sorry!...It's a great day to be alive and well and praising God for another day of life!)

It was a busy but happy weekend here in our neck of the woods.  Saturday, November 11th, in addition to being Veteran's Day, was also our "kids", Benton and Rose's 6th wedding anniversary!  HERE is a link to the post I wrote back then about their wedding day.  Although we didn't celebrate with them on Saturday as we each had different things going on for the day, we did get together Sunday afternoon after church for a delicious steak dinner.  Our son Scott came home and grilled the steaks to perfection, and we had a delightful time of celebrating together.

Here's the "kids" , ready to cut into their steak dinner.  The hands dishing up the salad belong to our son Scott. (photo bomber!) LOL.

I know this table scene is probably becoming quite common to everyone who has followed me since we moved to this house...this is where we sit to celebrate all kinds of special occasions, as well as just getting together for plain and ordinary events as well!  And really, anytime we can be together with family and/or friends is a special occasion, even if we are only eating peanut butter and jelly! LOL.

That steak was so large I barely touched it because I was enjoying the huge baked potato, broccoli and cauliflower, salad and Hawaiian Roll too much. I saved my steak for later, and I may have a steak sandwich for lunch...or add it to a salad...that would be healthier, right?

A little fun gift I gave them was a set of six of these cute  "North Pole Christmas red truck" mugs.  They love that little red truck design, and actually I found these, brand new, for sale at the flea market. I figured giving them to them now instead of at Christmas would enable them to be used throughout the Christmas season...or they can use them to decorate some of their furniture at Dixie Cottage...where, yes, they still do put furniture for sale in the store even though they no longer own the business.  And actually, starting in December,  Dixie Cottage is growing! They are annexing the store space right next door and Benton and Rose will be putting more of their furniture for sale in there...some that Benton actually builds himself...unfinished or finished, whichever anyone desires.  It will be an added adventure for them, but without the constraints of owning and operating a store...which is very time consuming and confining.  So we wish them well in their new adventure!

While still on the topic of yesterday, November 12th, I got to thinking that that date was familiar for some reason, and I remembered that it was the birthdate of my paternal Grandpa (Mursch).  It seems as though I've written lots and lots about my paternal Grandma (Elva) Mursch in the past, but my Grandpa hasn't gotten as much attention!  So in honor of his memory, here's a few pictures of my Grandpa Mursch, who was born on November 12, 1890, in Utica, NY.  He died on December 17, 1975, in Mt. Dora, Florida.  He worked as an engineer for the U.S. Steel company in Pittsburgh, PA, for all of his adult life and retired from there in the mid 1950's, and then they moved to Florida. He was a brilliant man, and actually had a few inventions at U.S. Steel, but because he was employed by them, the patents belonged to the company.  He and my Daddy built the log cabin vacation home in PA. that I've written about many times, which they sold when they retired and moved to Florida.  He was very talented in woodworking as well as other skills.  My father inherited a lot of his woodworking abilities from him, and then those skills I believe were also passed down to my son Benton.    Okay, so here's a few pictures of my Grandpa:

This is my favorite one...at the cabin:

(that's my Aunt Ruth peeking around the corner)

This is his family that he grew up in...His father and stepmother on the front row (his own mother died when he was about 12 years old).  

Here's who is in the picture.  My Grandpa is on the far right end, standing.

Back Row: My Grandpa's brother Fred, sister Louise, brother Jack Mursch, Step-brother Jack Humphrey, Step Sister Margaret Humphrey , My Grandpa William, front row: my Great Grandpa Frederick Wilhelm Mursch, my grandpa's half sister Marie, and Step Mother Hannah Humphrey Mursch

Here he is as a middle aged- man.

I love this picture of him with my Grandma.

And in later years with all his children. Sadly, by this time he had Parkinson's Disease, and soon became totally debilitated by it. This was before they had all the good medicines they have now for Parkinsons. It was very sad to see him suffer with it.

Uncle Paul, Grandpa Mursch, Aunt Marion, Grandma (Elva) Mursch, my Dad Bill Mursch, 

and Aunt Ruth.

Grandpa died at the age of 85, but the last few years he was wheel-chair bound and the Parkinson's had robbed him of his ability to talk as well as walk. I feel like I missed out on really getting to ask him a lot of things because those were the years that I was "mature" enough to want to know him better.  My Grandpa was a good Christian man, very active in their Lutheran Church in which they were charter members because when they moved to Florida there was no Lutheran church anywhere close by.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Grandpa!!!  I look forward to seeing you again some day in heaven, where you will be able to move around freely and without pain or suffering!

My father also ended up with Parkinson's disease, but thankfully by the time he had it the treatment plan was much better and he never totally lost his ability to get around and communicate. 

Let's see, what else has been going on?  Well, on Saturday our church had what we call an "Agape" Potluck luncheon. We do this once a month and it's just a gathering of whoever wants to come and bring a dish to share and a time of fellowship.  This time we also celebrated the 80th birthday of one of our members, who also happens to be our church Sound Technician and Building and Grounds person. In other words, if it needs fixing, call Denny!  Every church needs someone like him!!

Denny was also a Navy Veteran, so it was appropriate that his birthday was on Veteran's Day!

There was a great crowd and lots of really good food!

Speaking of our church, I am so excited that our little United Methodist Church has voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist denomination and will officially become a part of the Global Methodist Church in December of this year.  This has been a long process, with a LOT of paper-work and financial considerations that had to be met in order for the UMC to release us with our property intact.  I won't go into all of those details, but suffice it to say that we are VERY thankful to be able to withdraw from the UMC and be free to preach and teach the true Word of God without fear of being forced to accept the false indoctrination of the UMC.  If you aren't familiar with the issue that is facing the UMC, or if you don't know what the difference is between the Global Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, here is a good link with more information: Global Methodist Church: Our beliefs and governance.  We are very thankful to have a very committed Bible teaching/believing/Spirit led Pastor, who preaches the true Word of God.  Here is a link to this past Sunday's sermon, in case you are interested:    From Matthew 25:31-46, "What if Jesus Showed Up at Church Today?"   

I was also excited to find out that my home church where I grew up has also disaffiliated from the UMC and has become a part of the Global Methodist Church.  I know that there are several of you who are blogging friends who are also a part of Methodist churches who are leaving the UMC, whether or not they have decided to join the Global Methodist Church or are now independent/non-denominational churches, they have decided to follow Jesus, "no turning back, no turning back".  

Sing along with us:

1. I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.

2. Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,

Tho' none go with me I still will follow,

Tho' none go with me, I still will follow;

No turning back, no turning back.

3. My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus;

My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,

My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus;

No turning back, No turning back.

4. The world behind me, the cross before me,

The world behind me, the cross before me;

The world behind me, the cross before me;

No turning back, no turning back.

Amen!

In this day and age of so much turmoil and false teachings running rampant in the world and in so many main-line denominations, it is important to stand strong on the Word of God...and to stand with Joshua of old when he said:

Joshua 24:15 NKJV

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. 

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

"No turning back, no turning back..."