The Grinch of Christmas

The Grinch Who Nearly Stole Christmas

by Troy McDaniel

Once there was a king
Who lived long ago
His name was King Herod
And He nearly stole Christmas, you know.

The story began
One fateful night
When angels appeared
And gave shepherds a fright.

Peace unto you
Do not be in fear.
We bring you good news
The Savior is here.

And there in a stable
As angels had told
Was little baby Jesus
Just a few hours old.

High in the sky
God appointed a star
It shined very brightly
It shined very Far.

In the east
Some men were watching the sky.
They said, "This is it,
A sign from on high."

A new king has been born.
We must travel and see.
I’m not sure just how many,
But probably three.

So they left on their journey
Traveling by night
The star just before them
Their one guiding light.

To Jerusalem they went
They wanted to know
How to find this new king
They had a party to throw.

"Where’s the new king?" they asked
As they entered the city.
And this is where the story
Doesn’t get very pretty.

Their clothes were quite different
And their accent was funny,
But no one dared laugh
When they pulled out their money.

Well it didn’t take long
Before the Grinch heard the news.
He jumped from his throne
And came out of his shoes.

WHAT?! A NEW KING OF JUDEA?
HOW CAN THIS BE?
WHY, I AM THE KING
NO ONE BUT ME! ME! ME!

He slumped on his throne
And was ready to pout
‘til he got an idea
But there was more to find out.

Bring me the priests,
Bring me the scribes,
I think they can help me
Without any bribes.

“Your highness, the Messiah will be born
This much is true
In Bethlehem, as prophesied
In Micah 5:2.”

The Grinch kind of snickered
As he thought of his trick.
He said, “Bring those wise men,
And you’d better be quick!”

“Welcome my friends,
you’ve come from the East?
You must be quite weary
Won’t you join in my feast?”

Thank you for your kindness,
But our journey’s not through
We’re searching for a new king
Perhaps you saw his star too.

“A new king, did you say?
What a pleasant surprise.
And you saw this in a star?
You must be quite wise.”

“Exactly, when did you see
This star in the sky?”
The wise men just told him,
They never asked why.

“Perhaps I can help you
With a bit of information,
I think that Bethlehem
Might be your prime location.”

“Just do me this one favor
Before our time is through.
If you find the one you're looking for,
Come back and tell me too.”

The Grinch kind of chuckled
As they passed through the gate.
“There’s no need to follow now
we just have to wait.”

The wise men left for Bethlehem
There was no further delay,
And God sent the star before them
To guide them on their way.

Arriving at the house
Where Jesus was staying
They found Him with Mary
He was on the floor playing.

The wise men were humbled
As they got on their knees.
“Your son is quite special;
Will you please accept these?”

Then out of their sacks
That were lined with fur
Came gifts of gold,
Frankincense and Myrrh.

That night in a dream
God gave them a warning.
Don’t return to King Herod
When you leave in the morning.

When the old Grinch found out
That he had been had
He was red as a beet
He was madder than mad.

“They think they’re real funny
not stopping back by,
I’ll just go to plan B
Which means more kids will die.”

Then he stood from his throne
And let out his ploy,
“Go to Bethlehem now!
And kill every boy!”

“Your highness, you know
we’ll do as we’re told
Are you sure every boy?
Can you tell us how old?”

”Wait, that’s right.”
I don’t need to blunder
Just kill all the boys
That are two years and under."

But the Grinch didn’t know
That God knew his scheme.
He sent angels to Joseph
To warn him in a dream.

“Mary, get up
We must leave right away
The soldiers are coming
And our child they will slay.”

She grabbed up her baby
And held him real tight.
They packed a few things
And left in the night.

Hoof beats and hollering
They beat on each door.
Bloodshed and screaming
It sounded like war.

The soldiers returned
The deed was now done.
The Grinch was relieved
He thought he had won.

But Jesus escaped
‘Cause God had a plan.
The baby grew up
And soon was a man.

He gave up his life
To save us from sin
And nothing could stop him
Not Grinch or his men.

So when you trust Jesus
As Savior and Lord,
You become like the wise men
You give and don’t hoard.

Just one more thought
Before we are through,
You know Satan is trying
To steal Christmas too.

But when you have Jesus,
He’ll never depart
And you’ll always have Christmas
Alive in your heart.

The End

12 Days of Christmas

On the 12th Day of Christmas God in heaven gave to me:

12 things I believe in, (Apostle's Creed)

11 faithful disciples,

10 Holy Commandments,

9 fruits of the spirit,

8 Blessed Beatitudes,

7 spiritual gifts,

6 days of creation,

5 books of the Torah,

4 Gospel writers,

3 Gods in one,

2 Testaments and

Christ crucified on the tree.

Parents Meeting!

January 23

4 PM

Fellowship Hall

Eve of Christmas Eve!!

It's an uncelebrated holiday to most but this is one of my favorite days of the year. It is when you can almost smell and taste Christmas morning and the excitement of the day is building to a point that you almost can't stand it.

Time Out! for Family Sharing
The bustle of holiday preparation slows at least a few times during Advent as we prepare and share a simple Gingerbread recipe. The late James Beard, "dean of American cooks", hailed from Oregon, United States. His directions for gingerbread, slightly modified here, result in a lovely, moist cake. It takes little time or effort, but provides a festive cap to family Advent meditations or Christmas prayers.

Directions and Ingredients (Metric Conversion below)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees, and have ready a 9 inch x 9 inch by 2 inch baking pan. Do not grease or flour the pan.

Measure 1 cup molasses, light or dark, with a glass (liquid) measuring cup. Pour the molasses into a reasonably large bowl, perhaps 2-3 quart size. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into the now (mostly) empty glass measuring cup, and then into the bowl. This will help rinse the last of the molasses from the measuring cup. Coarsely chop up 5 tablespoons butter and add quickly to the bowl; stir to help the butter melt into the combined hot water and molasses.

To the bowl, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-2 teaspoons ground ginger (more ginger results in a spicier, "hotter" cake), 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 cups flour, preferably unbleached. Stir just until ingredients are mixed and moist; this is a job for a light hand with a wooden spoon, not an electric mixer.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes. When the cake is done, it will pull away slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out clean. Allow to cool briefly and, if desired, sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Best when warm, but entirely acceptable cool.

Metric Conversion:

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees, and have ready a 23 x 23 CM baking pan. Do not grease or flour the pan.

Measure 250 ml molasses, light or dark, with a glass (liquid) measuring cup. Pour the molasses into a reasonably large bowl, perhaps 2-3 litre size. Pour 125 ml boiling water into the now (mostly) empty glass measuring cup, and then into the bowl. This will help rinse the last of the molasses from the measuring cup. Coarsely chop up 75 ml butter and add quickly to the bowl; stir to help the butter melt into the combined hot water and molasses.

To the bowl, stir in 2 ml salt, 5 - 10 ml ground ginger (more ginger results in a spicier, "hotter" cake), 5 ml baking soda, and 500 ml flour, preferably unbleached. Stir just until ingredients are mixed and moist; this is a job for a light hand with a wooden spoon, not an electric mixer.

Bake in the oven at 190 degrees for 25-35 minutes. When the cake is done, it will pull away slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out clean. Allow to cool briefly and, if desired, sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Best when warm, but entirely acceptable cool.

Christmas Shoes (by: Newsong)

sorry!!

So I realized that my blog post haven't been posting... and then I have been sick for the last few days... so here is to make up for it :)


______________________________________________________________________

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

_____________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 7:10-16
A woman shall bear a son named Emmanuel
_________________________________________________________________________

Advent 4: The God of Those Ends, That Justice, and Such Reversals Is with Us

Advent 4 is a bridge Sunday. It sums up all that has come before. It also leads into the celebration of the incarnation we begin on Christmas Eve.

For that reason, the point of the readings today is not the story of the birth of Jesus, though Matthew's account of that is the gospel reading for today. Nor is the point even that God became flesh. There were many stories of gods taking on human form in past civilizations, so such a claim from the standpoint of human history was not remarkable. The point is that "God is with us," and more specifically, "this God," the one prophesied by Isaiah, the one proclaimed by Paul and John the Baptist and Mary, this God whose presence changes and often reverses everything, something evident even in the odd circumstances of Jesus' birth -- this God is with us.

This isn't a theologically trivial point. Say the word "God," and all kinds of images and ideas pop up that are quite incompatible with the One we encounter in the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, and in Jesus. Christians insist that it is indeed this God who does the very things we've recounted these past three weeks, and summarized today, who has come among us and abides with us still in the power, presence, and person of the Holy Spirit.

It is this God with us whose birth among us we celebrate during Christmastide and seek to follow all the days of our lives.
________________________________________________________________________________

love and other foolishness
love
in a young girl's song;
fearful,
determined,
hopeful,
bursting.
love
in a mother's song;
tender,
embracing,
challenging,
stern.
love
is god's song;
curious yet timid,
playful and wondering,
coming among us again.
we light a candle for love.

________________________________________________________________

Advent - Wednesday

Since it is Wednesday and food is something the kids kept talking about I looked up advent food...

Advent and Christmas Foods

Everyone has their favorite holiday foods. Good old-fashioned puddings are made in advance with sweet soft fruit such as raisins, currants, citrus peels, figs, pomegranites, and prunes, plus brandy, and then jarred and chilled to age several days to a week, so that the flavors meld. Mince pies are made of a dried fruit mix, and sometimes finely chopped lamb or venison. (The meatless, low-fat varieties are most common today.)

A Gaelic custom is to bake cakes during the last week of Advent, store them, then take them out just before Christmas to spread on almond paste and/or a sweet goo such as cake frosting or honey. On the days before Christmas, Europeans bake plaited breads in a long oval shape, to look like a well-wrapped Christ child. Just as Lent is a fast, Christmas is a feast.

In some traditions, such as in the Phillipines, families start the Christmas feast right after returning from the late-night or midnight Christ's Mass. The typical fare is some form of ham, cheese balls, and hot cocoa.

Advent - Thursday

http://akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/snowman.htm

A little fun on a snow day :)

Advent - Tuesday

I saw a friend today who is very pregnant. She is anxiously awaiting her baby to be born. She complained about her feet and back hurting. I listened as she explained the discomfort of being in the last month of pregnancy. Then I started thinking about Mary. How miserable she must have been riding on the donkey in her last month of pregnancy. And Joseph knowing this was the only way to get to Bethlehem and realizing that the baby would be born on this trip. New parent worries must have filled their minds as they traveled that weary road. I know they were excited and anxious like all parents are as they wait for their child to be born. But there must have been a little more anxiety knowing it was the son of God that was inside of Mary.

Amazing the things that God helps us through.

Advent - Monday

Finger Play: See the Baby Jesus
Have children say the phrases and do the corresponding actions with you in this fun finger play.

See the baby Jesus, born within a barn (bring fingertips of both hands to form a roof peak).

See the baby Jesus, held in Mary's arms (cradle arms).

See the baby Jesus, star high overhead (extend arms high).

See the baby Jesus, manger for a bed (palms of hands together; lay cheek on hands).

See the boy Jesus, little child like me (point to self).

See the boy Jesus, fishing in the sea (hands together, casting out fishing line).

See the boy Jesus; see him running there (one palm flat, other hand "running" on palm).

See the boy Jesus, on his knees in prayer (fold hands in prayer).

See the man Jesus, walking by the sea (two fingers walking).

See the man Jesus, children on his knee (two hands on knees).

See the man Jesus, loving everyone (closed fists, crossed
against chest).

See the man Jesus asking me to come (right hand motioning to come).

Carol McAdoo Rehme
Loveland, Colorado

3rd weekend of Advent

Joy!

Philippians 4:4-7
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

4:6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



"The second most popular Advent question asked in the United Methodist Churches I’ve served is “Why is there one pink candle on the Advent wreath?” (THE most popular question has of course been “When can we start singing Christmas carols?”)

The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent because since the 10th century, that day has been recognized by the catholic church as Gaudete, or Joy, Sunday. (See one history here.) As early as the fifth century, Christians prepared for Christmas with a forty-day fast. The weeks prior to Christmas were a season of penitence, much in the way that Lent functions in relation to Easter. One can see how the lectionary texts in the first couple weeks of Advent issue calls to reflection and penitence: “The Kingdom is at hand! Know how to read the signs! Repent!” My Greek Orthodox friends observe two fasts prior to and during Advent, increasing in severity and restriction, as a way of preparing for the coming of Christ. They understand that preparation for the coming of Christ entails self-examination and sacrifice.

In faith traditions where the penitential nature of Advent is observed, the third Sunday of Advent is an occasion which ensures that the joy of Christ’s first and second comings is made clear. The texts for that day bring that joy and anticipation to the forefront of the church’s worship. The prophet Zephaniah assures us that God will “save the lame and gather the outcast” as well as “deal with their oppressors.” Joy! Paul exhorts the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Joy! And Luke reports that upon hearing John the Baptist’s message were “filled with expectation.” Joy, joy, joy all over the place!

The pink candle has been a witness to me in recent years. In my Protestant upbringing, December worship wasn’t much more than a prelude to the nativity. It wasn’t until my preaching years that the pink candle began to inform my interpretation of the texts on the first and second Sundays in Advent. I’ve been striking more penitential tones in recent Advents, knowing that Gaudete Sunday is ahead, waiting to help us understand what we are preparing for. This Sunday, our congregation will pull out all the stops during our worship services. A small ensemble of church members who are singers and instrumentalists have been practicing to lead our congregation through some intentionally upbeat music. Some of our small children will be playing “Ode to Joy” on the piano. We intend to have a longer time for the passing of the peace, which (gasp!) may even make worship run past its “usual” ending time.

Of course, each Sunday reminds us of the joy of the resurrection, and Gaudete Sunday is not meant to manufacture a cheap joy through emotional manipulation of worshippers. What I hope our celebration will do is focus our attention on the joy of the eschaton, the redemption of all creation, the glorious telos that the Church anticipates and waits for, but forgets to talk about in the waiting. I pray that our worship will form people for Advents to come, so that their joy is not contained in packages with pretty bows but in the uncontainable God, who is, was, and is to come. Joy!"

by Jenny Williams

Advent Day 13

Advent Day 12

A Birthday Cake for Jesus
(Contributed by Leslie Ratliff)
Many families and churches emphasize the meaning of Christmas by having
a birthday party for Jesus, often complete with a birthday cake. Why not make
this celebration even more meaningful with this object lesson that uses the cake
to teach the plan of salvation.
Supplies Needed:
• 1 or 2 layer chocolate cake
• white frosting
• angel figurine or sugar cookie
• 12 red candles
• star
• plastic evergreens
(Opt. You may also want to have each child create their own birthday cake by
providing small round cakes for the children to assemble and decorate
themselves.)
1. Begin by talking about birthdays, what they mean and why we celebrate them.
2. Tell the story of Jesus’ birth either in your own words or with a story book. For older children have them read it from the Bible (Luke 1-2).
3. Now share with your children why Jesus came as you assemble and decorate your
birthday cake.

Round Cake – The shape of the cake is round with no end, showing that God’s love is never ending. He loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die for our sins (John 3:16).

Dark Cake - Before knowing Jesus, our hearts are like this dark cake, and we couldn’t get into heaven with our hearts so full of sin (Romans 3:23).

White frosting – (While frosting the cake, talk about the meaning of the white frosting.) God did a wonderful thing when he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Now all the darkness is covered up, and Jesus washes our sins white as snow. We are pure white in the sight of God. When we ask Jesus to forgive all the bad things we’ve done, we are white like this frosting (Romans 6:23).

Angel Decoration – (Place the angel decoration on the cake or have a child do it.) The angel reminds us of the good tidings that were brought to the shepherds that night. It also reminds us of the good tidings, or good news, that we can bring to others (Luke 2:10).

Star – (Place the star decoration on the cake or have a child do it.) The star reminds us of the star in Bethlehem and how the Wisemen followed it and worshiped the Lord Jesus. It reminds us that we should worship and follow Him everyday. We can do this by praying, reading our Bibles, and going to church.

12 Red Candles – (Place the candles on the cake.) The red color reminds us of Jesus’ blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Because He died and rose again, we can have eternal life and go to heaven if we believe (Romans 5:8).
Light the Candles – ( As you light the candles, say…) Jesus can shine in our hearts if we just ask Him to be our Savior. The 12 candles remind us to let His light shine every month of the year, not just at Christmas time (Matthew 5:16).

Evergreens – (Place evergreens around the cake.) Evergreens around the cake remind us
of something living and growing. If we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, we are going to grow and get to know Him more. How can we grow to know Him better? By praying, going to church, reading our Bibles, and sharing Him with others—(John 15:5 or 2 Peter 3:18).

Advent Day 11

The Story of the Jesse Tree


The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots." It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected messiah (for example, Jer 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God.

The Israelites through the descendants of Abraham were chosen by God to be a light to the nations. When they were imprisoned by the Egyptians, they cried out to God for deliverance from their oppression. And God responded: "I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry . . . I have come to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them to a good land" (Exod 3:7-8). And so He entered history in a marvelous way to deliver them and bring them into a place where they could worship God and serve Him in peace and joy instead of serving Pharaoh in hard service. God promised to be with them and to be their God, and they would be His people.

But as they settled into the land that God had given them, "they forgot God, their Deliverer, who had done great things in Egypt" (Psa 106:21). As they grew secure in the land, they began to believe that "my power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me these things" (Deut 8:17). Even though God had raised up godly leaders like David, later kings and religious leaders served their own interests, and the people began to worship the false gods of the land. They even gave offerings to the idol ba’al, supposedly the god of rain and fertility of the land, thanking him for the prosperity they enjoyed.

But God grieved because "she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for ba’al" (Hos 2:8). God had "planted [them] as a choice vine from the purest stock" (Jer 2:21) and had expected them to grow and flourish and carry out His purposes in the world. But they had degenerated into a wild bush with worthless fruit.

Because they had forgotten God, they also forgot the call of God to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" (Mic 6:8). God sent prophets to warn them of the consequences of failing to be His people. Amos warned them to "seek me and live" (5:4). Through Jeremiah, God promised them that if they would turn from their wicked ways He would bless them and be with them in the land (7:5-7). But he also said: "Take heed, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation" (6:8).

Some of the people longed for new leaders, a new "anointed" (Heb: meshiach; Eng: messiah) shepherd king like David who would help them to become what God had called them to be. But most of the people would not listen. They continued to worship the idols of ba'al. They continued to cheat the poor, steal from each other, neglect the needy, and do all manner of evil.

So God let them go their own way and suffer the consequences of their choices. The Babylonian armies came and destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem, the land, and took the people into slavery. The choice planting of God that had such promise, that God had tended so carefully and encouraged to grow, was cut down and became a mere stump (Isa 5:1-10).

But God did not give up on this people! Even though they had disobeyed, even though they had forsaken God for other gods, even though they had miserably failed to be His people and to let Him be their God, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob still loved them. He had made a commitment to these people that He would not allow to be undone even by their rejection of Him.

He had already told them this through the prophets, but they had not understood then. Jeremiah had promised a day when God would again plant and build (31:28). And Isaiah had spoken of a time when God would cause a new shoot, a new king, to spring from the cut-off stump of the lineage of Jesse, David’s father (11:1). During the Exile, suffering under the consequences of sin, they had little reason to suppose that God would do anything new. Still, the old promises echoed across the years, even if they could not believe them or even understand them.

In spite of their failures, in spite of their inability to envision a future beyond exile, there came a time when the prophets again announced a new thing, proclaiming "good tidings" to the people: "Here is your God!" (Isa 40:1-11). The Exile was ended! God would bring back to life a nation that was already dead (Eze 37). Long ago they had been slaves in Egypt, with nothing they could do to change their condition, and yet God had chosen to deliver.

So now, in the midst of their failure and hopelessness, God had again entered history as Deliverer. They would have another chance to be His people, not because they had earned it, no more than they had deserved it the first time; but simply because God in His grace had chosen to forgive.

They returned to the land. But across the years, they again struggled to obey and live up to their calling. They would never again slide into the worship of false gods. They had learned that lesson. But the great kingdom that they dreamed of restoring remained only a dream. They had hoped for a new king like David to lead them into a glorious future in which they would rule the world. They hoped to throw off the control of the Greeks and later the Romans and become a great nation. But it didn’t happen. And they became disillusioned and discouraged.

So, they again hoped for God to raise up a new king, a new messiah, to deliver them from the oppression of the world. They longed for peace and deliverance from the tyranny of a sinful world. The prophets again brought the word of God to them, and promised a newness. Even though they struggled to understand and believe, they held onto the hope that the same God who brought slaves out of Egypt, and who brought exiles out of Babylon, could bring Messiah into the world!

We know the rest of that story. God was faithful to that promise, and a new King was born in Bethlehem. So we can exclaim with the old man Simeon: "My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before all people, a light of revelation to the nations, and for glory to your people Israel!" (Luke 2:30-32).

But we also know that the world is still with us. Even though we can have Peace and Joy through the presence of Jesus Christ, we still long for deliverance from the oppression of sin in the world. We long for the full reign of the King, and the Kingdom of Peace that He will bring. So, while we celebrate the birth of the Branch, the new shoot from the stump of Jesse, we still anticipate with hope the Second Advent, and await the completion of the promise.

The Jesse Tree helps us retell this story, and express this hope.

Advent Day 10

During the Christmas seasons many families have traditions. My family had the tradition of putting up the Christmas tree and listening to Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. What are some traditions your family has? Parents what were some traditions your family had when you were a child? What about starting a new tradition this year? Like reading the Christmas story or making something for the tree?

Advent means preparing

During the season of Advent we are preparing ourselves for Jesus' birth. One way that we prepare ourselves is to ask God for forgiveness for the sins we have committed.

Here is a confession for advent

Emmanuel, we want to believe you are with us dwelling in this and every moment, but we cry for the past and rush toward the future. We want to be found wide awake, alert with love, as you appear in this and every moment. But we slumber through and laze away the miracle of ordinary days. We want to wait for you alone, with desire and hope, but our trust fails, our longing grows cold, and our hope dims. We want to make room in our hearts, a safe and warm place, for you to be born, but we close our hearts, and harden them to you and your people. We confess our failures in love. We are sorry, we ask for your forgiveness.

Day 7 and 8 - Weekend

Take a moment and thank God for all that He has given us. Thank Him for the snow and the sun. Thank Him for our church and pastors. Thank Him for our parents. Thank Him for our grandparents and aunts and uncles. Thank Him for all the small things that we have like flowers and puppy dogs. There is so much for us to be thankful for. All we have to do is look around. Make a list of the things your family is thankful for and send it to me. I would love to hear your blessings.

Advent Day 6

Candy Cane Cookies

A basic sugar cookie dough is transformed by adding peppermint extract and red food coloring for this candy cane cookies recipe.
Ingredients:

1 17.5 oz. package powdered sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1-3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. peppermint extract
4-5 drops red food coloring
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dump cookie mix into a large mixing bowl. Add softened butter, egg and one tablespoon of flour.

Using an electric mixer or your hands, mix until it forms a soft dough.

Divide dough in half. Add peppermint extract to one half. Knead it into the dough until well-incorporated. Add a tablespoon of flour if dough is too sticky.

Add red food coloring to the other half. Start with a few drops of food coloring, and add more until you get a deep pink color (or a red color, if you prefer). Add a tablespoon or two of additional flour if the dough is too sticky.

Pinch off one teaspoon of pink dough. Roll between your palms to form a rope, about 3 to 4 inches long. Repeat with one teaspoon of the white dough.

Place the ropes side-by-side and twist into a candy cane shape, pinching at the ends to seal. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 7 to 10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.

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Advent Day 5

Advent is the night of the Christian year. As a Jew begins the day at sunset, so Christians begin the church year in the darkening quiet of ever-deeper winter, hushing our frenzy, readying for Christ.

When my friend Justin was very young, and I was tucking him into bed, he asked me, “Susan, how long does night take?”

What an amazing question, and one I had forgotten to ask for a very long time! At the start of the night of our year, we might well ask it now: How long does night take?

If you’re sick and in pain, one night takes about a hundred years.
If you’re alone, and waiting for love, one night takes forever.
If you’re a child, and night seems a waste of perfectly good playtime, the night stretches on to eternity.
If you’re a reluctant Messiah, a sweating blood in a garden while the whole city parties, the night is terrifying long.

Night is all about waiting, and waiting is about helplessness. Waiting for dawn or light or hop or love or relief, we are helpless to turn back the darkness or hurry the new day. All we can do is nothing. All we can do is wait. But that very helplessness makes every time of waiting, if we will let it be so, a time of waiting for God. Every wait can become holy, artful, and lovely, a waiting for God.
We have no choice: Advent makes us wait. But Advent asks us how we are waiting. With anger, resentment, sleepliness, boredom, and despair? Or with desire, become waiting is all about that too? Desire. If we let ourselves feel our desire and bravely name it, then waiting can become the birthplace of hope, and faith, and, especially, love.

Advent is the church’s night watch, our season of waiting. The helplessness and desire in waiting make every wait, in the end, a wait for God. The good news of Advent is that if we wait, while we wait, in the waiting, God comes. The waiting itself is the thing, the very place we can meet God anew.

I’m terrible at waiting! I hate to be put on hold on the phone, or held by a slow driver, or made to wait in the grocery line. And our instant, hurry-up world doesn’t teach me patience.

But waiting is “mysteriously necessary to all that is becoming” and especially to the becoming souls. So every time of waiting is soul-work, and a wait for God.
I once heard of a ninety-five-year-old woman who fell in the snow on her way to church and couldn’t get up. She could have become angry, frightened, and cold. She could have given up, fallen asleep. She could have died! Instead, she made snow angels. She filled up her waiting with energy and action, beauty and warmth, and it kept her alive.

Near his end, approaching Jerusalem, Jesus gives us a clue to such brave and holy, artful waiting. The people are full of Passover joy in the hope a messiah will come, but he, sensing danger, is waiting with dread. Trudging along he sees a fig tree, heaving with buds, and his eyes are drawn upward where he notices, suddenly, spring. Remember the promise of spring, unstoppable after winter’s death, he says: “When everything around you is dark with violence and fear, stand up, raise your heads; your redemption is near.”

Stand up. Raise your heads. Look to heaven. Hold to spring when winter draws down your gaze and your heart. In this very darkness, especially here, God is near.
Every time of waiting is a wait for God: a wait for peace in the Middle East, the results of a test, the conception of a child, or that child’s maturing; a wait for love, or an end to grief, or pain, or life itself, or the rapture of the Lord. If we will keep company with our waiting, keeping it warm and alive with desire and hope, keeping it awake, like a mother attentive to her baby’s breath, feeding it with faith, if we will look up and not lose heart, then while we wait, in the waiting because of the waiting, god will come.

How long does night take? When waiting is holy and artful, filled up with God, just long enough.

Written by Susan Bock

Advent Day 4

Snow!
I love snow. I was driving into the office today and the snow was falling the sun was coming up and I was singing praise songs. It was a great way to start the day. As I looked that snow hitting my window I was reminded of a story about snow. I thought I would share it with you on this fourth day of Advent :)

In the early part of the American War a young woman of 22 years died at the Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati, one morning in the dead of winter. She had once possessed an enviable share of beauty and had been greatly sought after for the charms of her face, but had become a prostitute. Highly educated and accomplished in manners, she had spent her young life in shame and died friendless as a broken-hearted outcast of society.
Among her personal effects was found, in manuscript, the poem `Beautiful Snow', which was taken to the editor of National Union and appeared in print the morning after the girl's death. When the poem appeared in the paper, the girl's body had not been buried, and the American poet, Thomas Buchanan Reed, was so impressed by the stirring pathos of the poem that he followed the corpse to its final resting-place.

Some of the stanzas of the poem entitled `Beautiful Snow' are as follows:

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow!
Filling the sky and the earth below:
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
Dancing, flirting, skimming along—
Beautiful snow!—it can do nothing wrong;
Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicsome freak;
Beautiful snow, from the heavens above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!
Once I was pure as the snow, but I fell,
Fell like the snowflakes, from heaven to hell,
Fell, to be trampled as filth in the street,
Fell, to be scoffed, to be spat on and beat,
Pleading, cursing, dreading to die;
Selling my soul to whoever would buy;
Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
Merciful God! have I fallen so low,
And yet—I was once like the beautiful snow!
Once I was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like its crystal and heart like its glow;
Once I was loved for my innocent grace—
Flattered and sought for the charms of my face;
Father, mother, sister and all,
God and myself I have lost by my fall;
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by
Will make a wide swoop lest I wander too nigh:
For all that is on or above me, I know
There is nothing so pure as the beautiful snow.



How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on a sinner, with nowhere to go!
How strange it should be, when night comes again
If the snow and the ice struck my desperate brain;
Fainting, freezing, dying alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for a moan
To be heard in the streets of the crazy town,
Gone mad in the joy of the snow coming down—
To lie, and to die, in my terrible woe,
With a bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow.
The following verse has been added by another pen:
Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,
Sinner! despair not; Christ stoopeth low
To rescue the soul that is lost in its sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again:
Groaning, bleeding, dying for thee,
The Crucified hung, made a curse on the tree;
His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear—
'Is there mercy for me? Will He heed my prayer?
O God! in the stream that for sinners doth flow,
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!'
(Isa. 59. 2; James 1. 15; Ps. 51. 7)

Advent Day 3

Thanks to everyone who came to Shadman’s birthday party yesterday! We will mail all of the messages you wrote to him and let him know we celebrated with him, just from a long ways away. Thanks, also, for bringing your offering so we can continue to support him. Your $35 a month makes a huge difference in his life!

In case you were wondering, all of the children from the choir that performed Sunday are sponsored through the Watoto program like we sponsor Shadman through World Vision. How great that we were able to have time with them! My family had the privilege of hosting Silver, Jessie, Davis, and their Uncle Nicholas—we built with Legos, laughed (a lot), ate, prayed together, and learned that we eat bananas upside down! Everyone at our house was blessed by their friendliness and love for the Lord.

Thanks again for coming, visiting, eating cupcakes and Jello, and, most of all, for sharing God’s love!
Ms. Barry