December 1st: The First Sunday of Advent! Let the Christmas Advent(ure) Begin!

Today is the First Sunday of Advent...the time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

(this photo is from a previous year. I didn't think to take a picture this morning!)

"This morning we light the first candle, the candle of hope.  This candle reminds us that God's promises give us reason to be filled with hope~hope for unity in a world of division, hope for healing in a world of pain, and hope for peace in a world filled with anger and strife.  We remember that Christ is our light and the source of our hope." 

Click HERE for a previous post about the 1st Sunday of Advent 

And here is an even older post about the 1st Sunday of Advent 

(each of these links helps to explain more about Advent and why we celebrate it each year)

Here is a video of today's choir anthem and our Pastor's sermon about the Annunciation of Jesus' Birth...His Birth Announcement, if you will.  (Luke 1:26-45).  The song the choir is singing is entitled "Christmas is a Time of Joy", and it was written by two of our own church members, which makes it even more beautiful and special.

It was a beautiful service, and something else made it even more wonderful! We had some very special guests visiting our church today, someone especially that some of you may know: Barbara and Gary from My Journal Memories

Here they are across the table from us as we went out to eat at one of our favorite places after church, "Hog Wild Country Cafe'"

And here we are across the table from them:

And here's our handsome guys after a delicious lunch...

And here is Barbara and myself, also after enjoying a great time of good food and wonderful conversation.

It's really nice that Barbara and Gary live only about an hour's drive away from us, so it made it possible for them to make this trip this morning in time for church and then to stay for lunch and get back to their home at a reasonable time. If they are anything like us, maybe even in time to take a nap!  LOL.

This is not our first meeting together, and I hope it will certainly not be the last. I love it when "cyber friends" become "real friends in person".  We have found that the things that drew us together through our blogs have been only enhanced by having an in person friendship as well.  I am very thankful for Barbara and her gift of writing. She has truly been a blessing to me over the past several years that we've known each other. I look forward to that friendship continuing in the years to come.

Today was a rather chilly, but sunny and beautiful day! After our afternoon nap and then a light supper,  hubby and I went outside and took a little walk around our yard. The first thing we noticed was that there were some Canada Geese sitting in Still Waters Pond just off shore.  So of course you know what I did for the next few minutes before the sun went down...yes, I took as many pictures as I could without disturbing the geese too much.

The above photos were all taken with my "real camera", hence the quality is a bit better, until it started getting too dark. Then I switched to my cell phone camera, and the pictures aren't quite as good of quality because it doesn't have as good of a zoom lens, but the lighting is better for a little longer so we can still watch them.

It was a very peaceful evening...a perfect way to end the First Day of December...

The temperature had only reached the low 60's today, after starting out around 36!

Tomorrow morning we actually have a freeze warning! So things might be a bit too cold for me to go out and watch the geese on the pond! (If they are even out there).

The geese were starting to get into a bit of a "face off" in these below, which means  that the "bull goose" was starting to tell the others who's the boss around here. LOL.

After that they swam off into the sunset and I don't know if they will stay here on the pond over night or leave and come back tomorrow.  They have their own routine and schedule...and we are just spectators who are blessed to be able to watch them as they go about their daily lives on Still Waters Pond.

I know that today being December 1st, I should be doing the calendar roll call for the new month. But I think you've seen enough photos already. I will close with just this one from the Thomas Kincade calendar:

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.

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."

Those verses are very fitting for today being the first day of Advent!

Okay, let us go share the "Advent(ure)" of Advent with others! Christmas is all about the birth of a very special baby boy...Jesus...the "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace".  That's very good news!

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 So, I know you are all waiting to hear about our trip to see this movie yesterday:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

I figured sharing that movie trailer above would be the best way to tell you about the movie!  To say it was good would be a great understatement. I went through so many emotions during that movie...laughter, sadness, joy, and tears that I just couldn't hold back...yeah...I loved it.  The characters are still with me today in my mind and I wish I could watch it again.  I did watch an older version of the story that was filmed in 1983, but it just didn't have the pizazz and raw emotion of this movie.  So yes, I would recommend it if it is showing in your area. I did see that you could buy it on Amazon, and it will probably be on TV before long if you want to wait. 

One thing that was said in the middle of the movie just totally blew me away...remember when I talked about "break a leg" HERE in my previous post?  Well, lo! and behold! That very statement was quoted in the movie, and I was so surprised because I had just been talking about that exact thing that morning! That was so funny when I heard it I almost spit out my popcorn! LOL.

But I am getting ahead of myself...Here's the theater...

And here's the lobby/concession area.  Everything is self-serve and you have to check yourself out using a debit or credit card, although I think there was one machine that would take cash.

Here we are, all excited and getting our popcorn and drinks and getting ready to go inside.  Thankfully there was a kind person who worked there who saw that we were unfamiliar with the routine, and so she took extra time to show us where everything was.  We were most appreciative. I told her that I hadn't been to a movie in a theater since the Titanic sank, and she looked at me as if I was crazy. But it's true. That's the last movie I saw in a Theater, and that was in late 1997!  Yeah, that long ago! No wonder I was as excited as a little kid let out of school...

And would you look at this? They had reclining seats with places to hold your drink cups!

That's my popcorn! It was so good!!

And yes, I did recline, those are my feet you see sticking up.  And no, it wasn't crowded at all. We went to a matinee' on a Wednesday afternoon, so we almost had the place to ourselves!

Here's hubby and me settling into our seats.  I won't tell you that hubby was so comfortable in his recliner that he literally slept through a good portion of the movie.  At least he didn't snore. LOL.

And here's Rose and Benton next to us.  We were so glad they were with us to navigate us through all these new-fangled things!  Yep, I don't get out much, and this was more fun than I've had in a long time!

Afterwards we went to Culver's for supper, and I had the shrimp dinner, and it was SO good!

So I asked myself during and after this movie why I was so touched by it, and why did it mean so much to me? Several things...

1.  I loved how the true story of Christmas and Jesus' birth was brought out in this movie. They didn't just gloss over it and make it stay in the background. It was the central core of the movie...the re-telling of the birth of Christ in such a way that a child (and children) who had never heard the story before could grasp it and take it into their own minds and hearts and identify with the main "characters" in Jesus' nativity.

2.  I identified with the mother in the movie who ended up directing the Christmas pageant. I've been there and done that several times, and those were some of my happiest (and hardest and most tiring but rewarding) memories of my life.  Especially when I was able to direct a pageant that my own children participated in so many years ago...Oh yes! This brought back those kinds of memories that brought tears of joy to my eyes.

3.  Seeing how this very dysfunctional family brought out the worst and the best feelings of the high and mighty folks of the church and community, and how in the end the people were brought to their feet in applause, and perhaps figuratively to their knees in repentance for how they had previously treated this family. It made me look at myself and my attitude towards those who may not always meet "my standards" for living, but for whom Jesus came to earth to save for eternal life with Him.

4.  To see the redemption of these children as they came face to face with Jesus, the babe in the manger, and realized that He came  to earth because He loved them...He was the gift to the whole world, and His birth literally changed their lives. 

Yes, this movie touched my heart on a lot of different levels that I am still sorting out today. Was it worth the time and money and effort to go sit and watch this movie? Oh yes! It was truly "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"!!

So here's some of the beauty we saw on the way home as the sun was setting in the west across the St. John's River...

This is the "skyline" of the city of Palatka, which is the city closest to our little town.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV

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.

This little experience has helped set the tone for the Christmas season for me.  Now I can't wait to get started on getting ready for Christmas...but I will still wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating! I can only handle one thing at a time!

Hope you enjoyed this!  Have a good night!

Friday Advent Window

 

A glorious sunrise greeted us this morning...

A chilly start to another lovely day...

I am running a bit behind in my posting, and usually don't get around to writing until later in the evening, so this "Friday" post will most likely not get seen until Saturday. Oh well! I should be doing my Christmas cards right now, but I just can't seem to get with the program, so I will sit here and write and maybe I will get inspired to write our annual Christmas letter.  We've sent out a Christmas letter for almost every year since I can remember. Oftentimes it was a way to let people know where we were and if we had a new address. I would try to send them out early enough so people would know where to send our Christmas cards! LOL.  Thankfully we have settled down (hopefully for good, but I never can promise anything...that's God's department, not mine), and our address should remain the same for many more years, Lord willing.  

I had to get some more printer ink before I could write the letter, and then I had to get some Christmas cards to put with the letter .  We went to Walmart the other day looking for boxes of Christmas cards, and they did not have a one! Not one box! They had some little packages of a few cards and single cards, but no boxes! I ran into several people also looking for cards, and we even had some interesting conversations about the issue...total strangers all with the same problem! Except for one dear lady who informed us when she overheard a couple of us ladies commiserating, that she ordered her cards months ago from some company that prints the signature and the return address on the envelope and all she had to do was put them in the envelopes and address them and put on the stamp, and she already mailed all her cards the day after Thanksgiving!  I wanted to say "Well bless your heart" to her, and of course mean it in a very sweet southern way, of course...but I refrained and thanked her for the kind information, because someone might misconstrue what I meant by "bless your heart".  It seems there's a double meaning for that here in the south...and truly I only want to express good will and Christmas joy wherever I go...

Well anyway, I digress. I came home and ordered cards online and they were delivered within two days. So now I need to get to work on them. I am learning about this online shopping. Pretty soon there will be no need for regular stores. Just order it and have it delivered.  It's all too convenient. I do appreciate it, but it isn't good for the small business people.  Although I do believe there will always be a need for places to shop. It's just a part of our culture and DNA.  

Okay, I am sorry if it seems as though I am writing a speech or something. It's time to slow down and have a moment of peace and rest.  How about you?  I know some of you may also feel the need to put everything on "pause" for a little while and just dwell in the quietness of the real meaning of Christmas...a little newborn Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger...a rustic cattle stall, because there was no room in the Inn.  (Luke 2:7)

Can you imagine with me how all of nature just stopped and knelt down in awe and wonder when that baby was born?  

I wonder if even the little woodland creatures knew that this was their Creator, wrapped in human flesh and lying in that manger? 

He was not just any Babe; this baby was sent to us to give us faith, hope, and love...and to "guide our hearts forever".  

This baby was Jesus,  "

The Wonderful Counselor, 

the Mighty God, 

the Everlasting Father, 

the Prince of Peace...

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end."

Isaiah  9:6-7

Matthew 1:22-23

"22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Here is a song I just discovered, "His Name is Wonderful", originally by Chris Tomlin. Kind of a nice way to finish this Advent Window for today...

And now to get those Christmas cards done...

Good Night friends...Have a blessed weekend...

The Second Sunday of Advent=Peace

This morning I was in a rush to get ready for church...haven't been there for two Sundays, and I was anxious to get back to some kind of "normal" routine again!  Also, my hubby was going to be preaching today since our pastor has been on vacation this past week.  So anyway, hubby and I were discussing which Advent Candle would be lit this week...Last week was "Hope".  Some churches use different scriptures and passages about Advent each week, so no two are exactly alike. But I was thinking today would be about Peace...and so hubby was actually preparing his message to include thoughts about how to find peace in a world of turmoil...and of course there is only one answer...through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord...by putting our trust in God and not in kings or governments or things of this world...by not being deceived by the things of the world...that is the only way to find peace...put Jesus first in everything, and we will have peace. That's it in a nutshell pretty much.

This is our church's Nativity Scene. 

And this morning in church I was wishing I had taken a picture of our lovely Advent Wreath and candles. But I was in the choir and didn't think to do it. So here is a picture that I did take last year at the lighting of the 2nd candle, and my hubby was the one doing the lighting last year.  It was a special time, and is a special time each week as we light the new candles in anticipation of the Advent of our Lord at Christmas.

Now, I am doing the lazy thing here tonight and am attaching some links to the past few years of posts that I wrote on the second Sunday of Advent.  I hope you will take the time to open these links and read them at your leisure this week...and I pray they will hopefully be a special kind of Advent devotional for you as you read them.  I am also going to go back and re-read them and let God speak to me through His Word.  I hope you will enjoy these...

Link to Previous Post about PEACE=Bethlehem's Candle

Another post about PEACE

Advent Post about the Shepherds

Oh, another wonderful Advent Post!

On another note, yesterday our son Scott came home and he did finally get the many bins of Christmas decorations out of the shed.  Now the house is in a bit of a mess as I start opening the bins and going through them and determining what to set out and what not to display this year. We will probably set up the Christmas tree tomorrow.  We did, however, put out the outdoor Christmas tree and other special decorations for our yard:

It made me happy to come home last evening after spending some time at Dixie Cottage after hours so we could be open during the town's Christmas parade and to see this all lit up in our yard.

Speaking of Dixie Cottage and the parade, oh, you just gotta love a small town! It seems like the whole town came out for the evening parade and the lighting of the Christmas tree and other activities in the old downtown village. 

 Thankfully our store sits right on the edge of all this activity, and so we figured it would be worth our while to have the store open last night...and oh, we are so glad we did!

The store looked so pretty with all the lights on in the windows. That's Ben on the front porch, waiting for the parade to begin!

The High School Marching Band came right by our store on their way to the parade. The young man with the reindeer antlers is a grandson of one of our church friends, so I was happy to get his picture.

Then when it got dark the parade began. It's kind of too dark to make out what most of these floats were about, but it was still a lot of fun.

This one was Smokey the Bear...and all of our fire department trucks were in the parade with lots of lights and sirens...

I think one of these floats had our State Champion High School football team riding! Our little town high school hasn't had a winning year in football in many many years, and this year they went all the way to the top and won the state championship for their division!  So our town was pretty proud of our team!

Anyway, I said it was worth our staying open late for the store...and yes it was!  It had been a rather lackluster week in sales after our big Sip and Shop event a couple of weekends ago. People seemed to be dragging after Thanksgiving and not even bothering to come visit, let alone buy anything. But then last night it seemed like they were coming out of the woodwork! Several big items sold right off the bat...and we ended up with more sales in a couple of hours than we'd had in a week! So yes, it was well worth the staying late and having fun too! 

So, all in all, it's been a good weekend. Thankfully I am finally feeling much much better...I was able to go to church and even out to lunch afterwards...we got some decorating done, and things are looking up at the store.

And it's been a week to watch for and pray for peace...The Prince of Peace...to reign and rule in our lives.

I keep repeating these verses:

Isaiah 9:6-7

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."

Luke 2:14 

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”