In 2008, be it resolved to...

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy . Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should *not* be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'WOO HOO what a ride!'"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

another pic

with nana and her grandbaby

ABC Fun

Found this on Sarah's blog from a few years ago...

A is for age: 30 (gulp)
B is for birthday: October 15
C is for career: Customer Service for a test publishing company
D is for your dad's name: David
E is for essential items to bring to a party: Camera
F is for favorite song at the moment: Home by Daughtry
G is for favorite game: Apples to Apples
H is for hometown: Schaumburg
I is for instruments you play: flute, piano, oboe and handbells
J is for jam or jelly you like: strawberry or grape
K is for kids: no kiddos yet...but i like connor for a boy and liliana for a girl
L is for living arrangements: apartment with hubby
M is for mom's name: Nancy
N is for name of your crush: Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Ty Pennington
O is for overnight hospital stays: for my thyroid removal and follow up radiation treatment
P is for phobias: Bugs!
Q is for quotes you like: We put the fun in disfunctional!
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: Husband, married for a little over 7, together for almost 10 and have known each other for almost 18 years!
Best friends w/April since we were in kindegarten
S is for sexual preference: I'll take anything ;)
T is for time you wake up: between 6-7am
U is for underwear: Yes, i wear underwears!
V is for vegetable you love: Broccoli w/cheese
W is for weekend plans: celebrating mil's and gmas birthdays
X is for x-rays you've had: teeth (a couple times) and chest (during surgery)
Y is for yummy food you make: fudge, fruit pizza
Z is for zodiac sign: Libra

Busy weekend

Tomorrow, we are heading out to the inlaws to celebrate mil's birthday. Then, we're heading back towards home and going out to dinner with grandma and the family. Grandma is 90 on Sunday...so it's dinner tomorrow night and church on Sunday. We'll have cake and coffee after church on Sunday!

Then, a half day at work on Monday and it's partying for New year's with my friends marcy and nancy. Dh is going to cook us spaghetti!! I'm looking foward to it!!!

Crockpot Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

6 cups apples, sliced
4-6 ounces 100% apple juice
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup dry quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole-wheat flour
4 tablespoons trans-fat free butter spread
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup chopped toffee bits


Directions:
Combine apples and apple juice in crockpot sprayed with non-fat cooking spray. Use a teaspoon to spoon peanut butter over apples. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours

Picture fun...Part 2!

here's one of my cousin and her hubbie!

Picture fun!

I've been playing with Microsoft Digital Image Suite...thought that I would share some of my "creations"

Bored...

It's so quiet around work this week.  We thought that we were going to be slammed with getting everything in before the end of year, but it seems like we're in a good position.  

I'm actually bored and fighting to stay awake.  It was nice the first day, but now I'm fighting to stay awake!

What's yours Theme Song?

Your Karaoke Theme Song is "Since U Been Gone"

You are a very expressive and genuine person. You're not so emotional that you wear your heart on your sleeve - but you're not afraid to show how you're truly feeling. Whether you're singing along in the car or singing on stage, your favorite songs make you get a little carried away. You're definitely the type most likely to dream of becoming a rock star! You might also sing: "Livin' La Vida Loca," "I Will Survive," or "Hollaback Girl" Stay away from people who sing: "I'll Make Love to You"

What's Your Karaoke Theme Song?

Recipe for my Personality

The Recipe For Jenn

3 parts Understanding 2 parts Intellect 1 part Moxie Splash of Mania Finish off with a little umbrella and straw

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Blog 2008!

In November, I participated in NaBlPoMo, where you had to post every day in the month of November.

I'm going out on a limb here....in 2008, I'm going to attempt and post EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Anyone care to join me?

Merry Christmas to all my blogger friends!

I realize that it's the day after, but I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, no matter how you spent it!  

Last week I was in a holiday funk.  We had some friends who are in the midst of a little bit of bad luck and it was difficult getting into the spirit of Christmas because of their current struggles.  Thursday and Friday, I finished up the last of my shopping and frankly, I'm ok with it.  I'm not a big shopper, who needs to start in June...that's just not me.  I make out a list and I am able to get it done in just a few hours.  

Saturday, we headed into the city to spend Christmas with my side of the family.  My BIL made awesome pizzas...YUM!  We opened up gifts with my parents, grandparents, sister and her family.  The kids were so excited about presents and were able to quickly tell which presents belong to them!  

Sunday, I had stopped by Grandma's to deliver her Christmas gift.   Later that evening, dh and I went out to the movies and saw National Treasure...GOOD!  After we got home, we finished wrapping Christmas gifts for the inlaws.

We got up on Christmas Eve and headed out to Plainfield...spent the afternoon with my inlaws, just relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet!  Later in the evening, we went over to dh's aunt and uncle's house and had Christmas with them.   I drank a little too much (me like white russians!) and sang along with American Idol on playstation.  All in all, it was a fun night!

Yesterday, we woke up at Bill's parents and ate breakfast before heading downstairs for presents.  I got the game called Apples to Apples, a new flatware set, some CDs and DVDs, some gift cards!

I can't believe that it's over so fast.  This Friday, we have our last performance of our cantata and Saturday and Sunday will be birthday celebration weekend with Grandma and MIL!  Fun fun fun!!

Musical Monday...part two...

Just because I can't decide!!

Maverick: "She's lost that loving feeling."
Goose: "She's lo..."
[catches up]
Goose: "No she hasn't."
Maverick: "Yes she has."
Goose: [objecting] "She's not lost that lo..."
Maverick: Goose, she's lost it man.
[walks off]
Goose: [to Mav] Come on!
[to himself]
Goose: Aw sh... I hate it when she does that.

Musical Monday: At the Movies

OMG!!

Talk about feeling old. I'm "borrowing" this from Sarah's blog.

The Stacy Ferguson in this video...


Is the same as this one!!



I'll be up in the gym working on my fitness!!

scrapbook for the nephew

Here is my christmas present for my 3 year old nephew...still have a few more pages left to do!!

more layouts of my christmas present...

part 2...

wait there's more...

part 3

last one...

enjoy!!

Advent Devotional; December 8-14th

December 14
The Prophets of Advent - Isaiah
Kenneth L. Samuel
We often think that radical change cannot occur without great upheaval. In the minds of sixth and seventh-century Hebrews, the paradigm for social change was the violence and subjugation imposed on them by their belligerent neighbors, the Assyrians and the Babylonians. But the prophet Isaiah was sent to speak to the people about the advent of another kind of radical social change. Isaiah’s vision of revolution would not be marked by
aggression, dislocation or intimidation. The tone of this revolution would be set by the “Anointed One”—the one sent by God to usher in the radical revelation of God’s new
order. What would this revolutionist emissary need to stop the old order and begin the new? A mighty army? Military prowess? A commanding presence? Jesus, the greatest revolutionary humanity has ever known, had none of these. In fact, his spirit was so humble and his manner so meek that “he would not break a bruised reed nor extinguish a smoldering wick.” Still, the revolution he inspired refuses to die and will never be defeated. It is a revolution that grows by the forces of faith and conquers through the supremacy of selfless love.
Prayer: God grant us the power of faith, so that we may accomplish radical changes in
your Name. Amen.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice. Isaiah 42:3

December 13
The Prophets of Advent - Jeremiah
Kenneth L. Samuel
Seventh-century prophet Jeremiah heralded news from God that the people of his day
did not want to hear. The Word of the Lord is like surgery: before it can cure us, it must
first cut us. Jeremiah’s contemporaries had grown so complacent and cocky in their
spiritual iniquities and social injustices that they refused to deal soberly with the advent of
God’s judgment. They thought that if they denied it, it would not come to pass. Advent gives each of us a chance to prepare for new seasons in God’s reign. But our resistance to change can force us into dangerous denial and retreat. Deeply afflicted by the intransigence of his culture, Jeremiah retreated into his own denial. He thought that by denying his vocation to speak in the name of the Lord, he could absolve himself of all responsibility and live a carefree life. He did not realize that the price we pay for denying the calling of God upon our lives is our own health and wholeness. It was the “fire in his bones” that burned him back into his prophetic role as herald of God’s new season. The seasons of God cannot be averted and the calling of God cannot be ignored. The only questions are: Are we prepared for the changes? Are we willing to act as the change agents of the stillspeaking God?
Prayer: Lord, in this season of Advent, prepare us for the seasons ahead; and make us
faithful heralds of your unfolding Grace, through your Son, who was, is, and is yet to
come. Amen.
But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my
heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot.
Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV)
December 12
Be a Star
Donna Schaper
She didn’t get to be an angel in the pageant, she had to be a star. Her mother talked her into the role she had to play. Her mother was also overjoyed that, when the play was over,
she had loved being a star. How had the turn happened? “The angels had to sing. I just had to stand there and shine.” Sometimes fire is more light than heat. Sometimes it just shines, and in its shine, we find our unexpected joy. Often when we do get what we thought we wanted, we don’t like it. Often, also, when we don’t get what we wanted, we find that what we get is great. Serendipity abounds and so does the shining.Light 12, Darkness 11, and the game continues.The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5
Prayer: O God, let us be a part of the shining light.Amen.

December 11
The Fire in Our Bones
Donna Schaper
Someone I’d never met said, “Well, you always used to bring the portable microphone to the rally.” Part of me was offended. Another part of me was honored: My church always used to give more than it could afford. What a bargain: To be able to give more than you can afford. It releases the fire shut in our bones. In many third world countries, people offer you a piece of jewelry for a price that is a third of the price you would pay in the United States. First they gave us a ridiculously low price. Then we (sometimes) bargain them down. Sometimes I like to pay the U.S. price. It releases the fire shut in my bones.
Prayer: Let us show that another economy is possible. Amen.
...there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones: I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9

December 10
Light One Candle
Donna Schaper
There is a beautiful story recounted every Christmas in the forests of Provence in southern France. It’s about the four shepherds who came to Bethlehem to see the child. One brought eggs, another bread and cheese, the third brought wine. And the fourth brought nothing at all. People called him L’Enchante. The first three shepherds chatted with Mary and Joseph, commenting on how well Mary looked, how cozy was the cave and how handsome Joseph was in it. What a beautiful starlit night! Finally someone asked, “Where is L’Enchante?” They searched high and low, up and down, inside and out. Finally, someone peeked through the blanket hung up against the crib into the crèche. And there kneeling at the crib was L’Enchante. He stayed the entire night in adoration. Another response, beyond silence and action, to the call from the wild is enchantment. Simple enchantment. It is what we can see in just one candle.
Prayer: Let us find a little enchantment in one candle. Amen.
. . . and the life was the light of all people. John 1:4

December 9
Christmas People
Donna Schaper
There is an eternal rift between the Christmas “quick” people and the Christmas “slow”
people. The quick people put up their tree the day after Thanksgiving, mail their cards,
and savor an entire month of the holiday, prepared and pretty. The Christmas slow people
are more classical in their approach: they celebrate Advent. They are not upset that we
don’t sing Christmas carols until Christmas. The tree goes up close to the actual day; the cards may not get out until February. These are the crock pot Christmas keepers; the others are the frying pan type. Some of us are bi—we like Christmas so much that we do a both/and. We fill up the whole month with slow preparations. We keep the fire going all night long. We take the long way home.
Prayer: Help us, O God, to set the world on fire, one stick at a time. Amen.
Go forth and set the world on fire. St. Ignatius of Loyola

December 8
Flame
Donna Schaper
The word “flame” has a bad rap. Many relate it to people who either dress or behave ostentatiously. Humility might be its opposite: here we dress and behave invisibly,
without calling attention to ourselves. Oddly, this text advises a combination. It calls
us to flame humbly. The admonition for a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline, is a
delightful combination of quiet and noise. As we await Advent, we might try dancing this fire
dance. We might find a way to speak powerfully and quietly at the same time. We might practice “infant” behaviors.
Prayer: Fan into flame the smoldering ashes of our spirits and let us be a vigorous
flame, not just in short Advent but in long time. Amen.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God... For God did not give us
a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. II Timothy 1:6-7

Advent Devotional: December 3rd - December 7th

I've been slacking off...so I'm posting them all at once!

December 7
The Baby Grew Up
Martin B. Cobenhaver
This passage is a reminder of who it is we await in this season. During Advent we tend to focus our anticipation on the sweet baby Jesus because, as every parent knows, we can see in an infant almost anything we want to see. And, besides, everyone loves a baby. This passage, however, reminds us of the mission of God’s anointed one, the Messiah.
When we read this passage during Advent it is a reminder that the baby grew up. He taught,
he challenged, he provoked, he healed, he liberated. We are never very good at letting babies grow up to the point where they have their own ideas and confront us with their own lives. A baby tends to turn things upside down and can be a bit of a challenge to have around. In the case of the baby Jesus, that is nothing compared to the ways in which the adult Jesus can disrupt and challenge us. Is it any wonder, then, that when Jesus read this passage at his home synagogue in Nazareth and said that the prophet was talking about him, the people who had known him since he was a baby chased him out of town?
Prayer: O God, as I anticipate the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, never let me forget that he grew up. In this season may I be better prepared to follow him as teacher,Savior and Lord. Amen.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent
me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and release to the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1

December 6
We Will Be Changed
Martin B. Copenhaver

The prophet declares that when the Messiah comes all of God’s people will be changed That is the promise. It is also the challenge. Most of us resist change. A woman gave her mother a sampler with the inscription, “Prayer changes things.” When she asked her mother why she never hung it up, her mother confessed, “I don’t really want things to change.” We may want things better, but not really different. We want a fresh start, but without having to give up
old ways. We want to be free from anxiety, but without giving up our need to control things. We want the world to be at peace, but we don’t want to change our old way of acting in the world to achieve peace. We want to help those in need, but without having to give anything up. Who really wants to change? Only those who recognize that the one we await, Jesus
Christ, brings change and that we not only have to undergo change to receive his promises, change is itself the promise. We will be new people. And that is not bad news. Actually, it is the Good News.
Prayer: God of transformation, help me to embrace the change you bring in my life.
Help me to await change, not as the disrupter of peace, but as the bearer of peace, not
as a source of discomfort, but as the way to surer comfort. Amen.
Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever. They are the
shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, so that I might be glorified. Isaiah 60:21

December 5
The Challenges of Waiting
Martin B. Copenhaver
Advent is a season devoted to waiting. It is a time when we celebrate waiting, honor those
who waited for the coming of the Messiah, and seek to learn something about how we might join them in waiting for the Spirit of Christ to be born again in our midst. But waiting is difficult for most of us. In this era of instant gratification, as the world is put in fast forward, even our limited capacity to wait has diminished still further. It seems as if, among all the things we no longer have time for, we no longer have time to wait. As challenging as it can be to wait, however, certainly it is preferable to the alternative. Those who have ceased to wait generally are those who live without hope. When all that you see around you is all there is to be, then there is no need to wait. But there is also no hope of progress, movement, revelation or transformation. To wait is to be open to the future. To wait is to be open to God.
Prayer: God, you know that I can find it challenging to wait. So teach my heart to
wait. Or, to put it another way, please give me the gift of hope. Amen.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light
to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your
glory. Your sun shall no more go down, or your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will
be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Isaiah 60:19-20

December 4
Christmas as a Surprise Party
Martin B. Copenhaver
In a way it is unfortunate that we always celebrate Christmas on the same day of the year, because that makes the coming of Christ seem almost predictable. But Christmas is more like a surprise party. For centuries God’s people awaited the coming of the promised one. Then, when it happened, most people missed it. They were watching the ceremonial gates and he snuck in the servants’ entrance. God is always sneaking into our lives when we least expect it, and where we least expect as well, even at the darkest time of year, in a forgotten corner, as a baby with milk on his breath. We never know when the Spirit of Christ will appear and so we never know when the party is about to begin. A bumper sticker warns, “Jesus is coming, so look busy.” As we await the coming of Jesus, however, we are not to look busy, we are to be busy with the Lord’s work. Even though Christmas is a surprise party,
we are still expected to prepare for it.
Prayer: O God of surprises, may I have an eye for the unexpected places you may turn up in this season, in places as unlikely as a baby born in a forgotten corner of the world. And since you always seem to appear when and where we least expect it, may I be ready to see you and celebrate your presence at any moment. Amen.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your
borders; you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. Isaiah 60:18

December 3
Different Kinds of Waiting
Martin B. Copenhaver

We often associate waiting with passivity and, indeed, some waiting is passive. But also there is active waiting, expectant waiting. A girl who stands on a street corner waiting for the bus to arrive will experience one kind of waiting, a passive waiting. That same girl on the same corner hearing the sound of a parade that is just out of sight will also wait, but it will be a different kind of waiting, full of expectation, a waiting on tiptoe. A fisherman may find it burdensome to wait for spring to arrive and fishing season to begin, but once he is fishing, he does not find it a burden to wait for the trout to rise to his fly, and in some ways the waiting itself is delicious. The difference is that one kind of waiting is passive and the other is active. In the dead of winter the fisherman can do nothing but passively wait for time to pass. At the pool of his favorite trout stream, however, a fisherman’s waiting is filled with accomplishing all the many things he must do, all injected with a sense of anticipation. Obviously, our Advent waiting is to be more like this, full of expectation, a waiting on tiptoe.

Prayer: O God, who waits for us ever more faithfully than we wait for you, may our waiting for you in this season be full of a sense of eager anticipation. May we wait actively, on tiptoe, for the fulfillment of your promises. Amen.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord
will arise upon you, and the glory will appear over you. Isaiah 60:2

Advent Devotional - December 2nd

December 2 A Promise Already Fulfilled
Martin B. Copenhaver
Here, as the prophet Isaiah anticipates the coming of God’s anointed one, the Messiah, he speaks in the present tense, as if the promise has been fulfilled already. It is a remarkable statement of trust. The prophet is affirming that when we wait for one of God’s promises to be fulfilled we can speak of it as if it is already accomplished. This confidence is based on two things we know about God: God cannot lie and God has the power to make good on God’s promises. So when God has promised something, it is as good as done. The coming of God’s anointed one first was a promise fulfilled in the heart of the prophet, awaiting fulfillment in history. When we await the coming of Jesus in Advent the order is reversed: the promise of the coming of God’s anointed one has already been fulfilled in history and awaits fulfillment in our hearts. Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.Isaiah 60:1

Prayer: O promise-making, promise-keeping God, help me in this season to rest in your
promises with the confidence of one who sees them as promises already fulfilled in the
birth we anticipate. Amen.

Whateva!

This is a riot!!

more layouts..

a few more...enjoy!!

Scrapbook Layouts

Here are a few...Enjoy!

another scrap layout...

here is one...enjoy!!

Another Monday...

and I wanna be in bed...blech...

Christmas Letter

So, I was looking around at various church websites to get some ideas in regards to expanding ours and I came upon a sermon. One sermon was talking about the story of Jesus' birth and in it was a humorous Christmas letter. I can't help but share...ENJOY!

Dec. 25, 0001

It’s been quite a year for us. Maybe you’ve heard the news already through an angelic visitation (does that happen to everyone or just to us?), but we have a baby boy who’s just celebrating his first birthday. Things didn’t quite work out the way we hoped—Mary got pregnant before our wedding day and I almost called the whole thing off. But this guy Gabriel (he said he was an angel) convinced me this was part of God’s plan, so we stayed together and eventually tied the knot.

The timing could have been better: just when Mary was ready to deliver, the Emperor decided the whole world should be registered (more unnecessary government bureaucracy if you ask me), so we had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Old Bessie (our donkey) has a few miles on her, so we were pretty nervous about the long trip, but it had to be done. Poor Mary was really uncomfortable in her ninth month, and then—wouldn’t you know?—so many people had come back home to Bethlehem that we couldn’t find a place to stay. Guess I should have called ahead for reservations, but we were pretty busy praising God and trying to wallpaper the nursery. At least we knew it would be a boy!

I knocked on the doors of all my old classmates (it was great to see all of you again, by the way), but no one had an extra couch. We finally had to settle for a stable, and let me tell you it made Motel 6 look like a palace. I will say the ox and ass were a welcome change from Grandpa Zach’s snoring. Don’t tell Grandma, but we had to use a manger for a crib when Jesus was born. Just when we thought things were settling down, a pack of local shepherds showed up and---you guessed it---more angels. Then there was a lot of singing (woke Jesus up, just when we had gotten him to sleep) and then the shepherds went out telling everybody about our baby. Mary kept hoping no one would come and visit us while we were still in that stable that smelled to high heaven. A few weeks later we made the 10-mile trip to Jerusalem so Jesus could be presented at the Temple, and I have to say Simeon and Anna did a beautiful job giving him a blessing. Finally I got back to work at the carpenter shop in Galilee, and there were a lot of orders waiting—you all know how crazy Passover can be.

I don’t have time to tell you about a bunch of wise men who came along later, because right now we’re packing again---this time to go to Egypt. It looks like we may need to hide out for awhile thanks to Herod and his administration. The good news is we were able to trade in Bessie for a hybrid—much better mileage and plenty of room for the baby in back. If things continue this way for us, I think somebody should write a book!

Love, Joseph, Mary and Jesus

The story of Christmas is a divine comedy.

today's layouts

Here are the ones I did today!

Friday layouts

Here are the ones I did yesterday...

12/01/07 Advent Devotional

December 1
Invitation
Quinn G. Caldwell
What if John was laughing when he said, “the kingdom of heaven has come near”?
What if what he meant by that wasn’t that the end of time, with fire and judgment
and your ultimate doom, was at hand? What if what he meant was that God’s realm,
God’s biggest dream, God’s fondest hope for us and all that we might become was drawing so close that it was about to break through into this time and place? Would it sound different to you? Would you live differently because of it? Would you understand why the people went to the desert to be dunked underwater by a wild man? What if “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” isn’t so much a threat as an invitation worth accepting?

Prayer: Come, God, come. Break into our world. Transform it. Transform me, that I
might be the way of the Lord, and that through my life, your creation might come a
step closer to the completion you dream of for it and for me. Amen.
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah
spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:1-3