I only do light decorating, and it’s all centralized in the living room, save for some poinsettias I stuck in the bunk couch in the den because I didn’t know what else to do with them and didn’t want to put them back in the box.  There are also two smaller trees: one in the dining area and one on the tv.  I hung blue lights around our living room window and the kitchen divider and put a basket of apple spice potpourri under the big tree.  Overall, it seems to fit us.  I wouldn’t be up for much more, since it takes so long to unwrap all the ornaments and unfold the branches.  Yes, I have an artificial tree.  It’s too messy and expensive to have a real tree.  We have pine Febreze to “make up” for it.

Prayer

I don’t have any particular devotionals or activities that me and my husband do to keep focused on the true meaning of the season.  At the same time, there isn’t a lot of hustle and bustle to distract us either.  I purposefully don’t overdecorate, not only because I don’t have the patience for it, but I don’t see a good reason for it.  This helps us stay focused.  We celebrate lightly and sometimes we forget it’s even the holidays (is that too much on the other end of the spectrum?).  Besides the trees, our lives aren’t that much difference in December that the rest of the year, except there might be a bit more Christmas music playing.

I’ve also just been introduced to advent this year.  I’ve always thought it was a Catholic thing, but when my church set out candles I decided to research it.  I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a good thing – the holiday solution I have been searching for to make Christmas more than the commercialized holiday it’s become.  We don’t celebrate advent at home, but we do enjoy the readings they do at church.

Prioritize

I don’t struggle to stay focused on the important things during the holiday season anymore than during the rest of the year, which is plenty.  There is always something fighting for my attention, and so far December’s actually been easier than November since I was laid off last month.  I prioritize by making lists per category of things to be done (blog, kitchen, house, etc) and then compiling the most pressing into a daily to do list.  I have a tendency to want to incorporate a schedule into the list, but I know I won’t stick to it, and I get discouraged when I don’t.  Plus it’s much more satisfying to be able to go through the physical action of crossing something off my list than to simply notice I accomplished a task in the time I estimated.

Planning

“This time of year usually calls for extra baking, holiday shopping, party planning, and gift wrapping.”

I’m not much of a baker because cooking takes up enough time as it is.  If we want dessert, we buy ice cream, but I try to discourage that and stick to healthier snacks instead.

I finished most of my shopping on Black Friday.  I just need something for my husband, and I’m going to wait until the last minute for that, unless someone has any good hiding tips.

We aren’t throwing any parties, so that just leaves gift wrapping.  I do want to do that soon, to make our tree look more Christmas-y.  We’ll probably do that tonight, as we probably won’t have time again until Saturday.  Plus there is a movie we need to mail for Swapadvd so we can wrap that at the same time.

Progress

The small project I will be tackling this week is cleaning the kitchen.  I’m really bad at keeping track of food in the fridge, so there is probably a lot of stuff that needs to be thrown out.  At least my husband already took care of the vegetable drawer last week while I was sick.  I want us to eat healthy so I buy fruits and veggies, but then we just end up eating quesadillas or out of cans.   Now that I’m home more, I should work on cooking real meals for the sake of health and frugality.

Share

Hide Sites

Why…

1. Do people complain about christmas music/decorations before thanksgiving?
I welcome it if it’s something I would like after thanksgiving, such as the music and eggnog. I’m never a fan of oversized baubles or blowup snowman or santa. But I love the greenery and listen to christmas music all year long.

2. Do people throw such a fit over people saying “happy holidays”?
I understand not everyone celebrates christmas. Even if everyone did, thanksgiving and new years are holidays that should be happy too.

3. Does calling christmas christmas even change that it’s been totally/commercialized?
I think many christians don’t have a problem with all the materialism as long as it’s called christmas.

4. Do people stress the true meaning of christmas?
What defines truth? This winter holiday is ever evolving, in name, practice, and all included in that. The Bible is the first way to find Truth. But what about for man-made traditions? At what point do we look to for the true meaning? Seems everyone starts at the part they like, be it christ’s birth or kindness to others.

5. Do christians fight so hard for christmas and nativity?
If christmas is about presents and the nativity scene is missing from public displays, does that change the fact that the Messiah did arrive? The nativity scene is inaccurate anyway. Aren’t there other things more worth fighting for?

6. Do protestants celbrate advent?
I thought it was a catholic thing. I’ll have to look into that this year. Maybe it’s a substitution/supplement to keep religion in our December festivities.

7. Is there no War on Easter?
I think that’s the most important holiday of the Christian religion. Anyone can be born, but only One died for our sins and rose again to sit at the right hand of the Father forever.

Thoughts?

Share

Hide Sites

Essentially, the goesepl call consists of establishing the truth of man’s fallen nature, of telling the existence of a savior in Jesus’s perfect life, death on a cross, and resurrection, and a request to repent. God uses men to carry forth the gospel call, but that doesn’t mean man has any hand in salvation, since a person can hear the Gospel (many times, even) and never be saved.

Well, i sort of already talked about this in the introduction and i’ve been really busy, so today’s post is going to be really short, but here is a recipe for potato latkes. I never got around to making them the other day.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
1 tablespoon grated onion
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup peanut oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
2. In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
3. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

For further study, please listen to Our World Fallen and Our World Redeemed by Flame.

Share

Hide Sites

I thank God for my husband.  He is wonderful, so caring, and my very best friend.  There are not enough words to describe how much i love Him.  I praise God every day for putting this man into my life.  On Sunday our pastor did a thanksgiving sermon, and saved some time for people to come up and say what they are thankful for.  My DH goes up and say “Proverb 18:22 says ‘he who finds a wife finds a good thing.’”  Squee!

Share

Hide Sites

To start, I took the definition/meaning of Hanukkah from joi.org and updated some BC words. So many things in the New Testament has an Old Testament shadow, so I amThe word Hanukkah means rededication. It commemorates our particular salvation (as opposed to the rededication of the Temple after desecration by outside forces). I don’t mean it in the sense that we run down an aisle and give our lives to Jesus again, but celebrating in a more obvious way than an average day of the year. Of course we should be praising God for this fact daily, but it doesn’t hurt to have a special day (or week) to remember this, especially if you “forget” easily, as sin causes us to. It reaffirms the presence of grace in the continuing struggle to live Christian lives in a culture hostile to God’s commandments. When we dedicate ourselves, through faith and action, to the pursuit of high religious and human ideals, Christianity is strong. That imperative, to strengthen our faith and brothers, remains an important challenge at this season, in every generation. This is an important point…what a gem this is, and oh so relevant. This is what we need more of: a dedication of faith and action. We need to keep daily in the Word and part of a local ekklesia to strengthen our faith. We need to dedicate ourselves to finding ways to act out that faith through one-anothering and service. We need to aim high, because in our sin we shall constantly fail. Christianity will retain a strong presence and grow if we work and pray hard to keep our faith and brethren strong. This is challenging in a season of extreme materialism and increased faux-Christians. This is true year after year and shall remain true until Christ returns.

Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights and the story of the oil that lasted for 8 days (how long it took the high priest to make some more) is famous, but I found that the sites I looked at prefers to emphasize how they got to the point where they only had one day’s worth of oil left, and just throws the miracle of the longevity as a side note. Of course I realize that these sites tend to be more liberal and a bit new agey because an Orthodox Jew isn’t going to really care about making a website to tell others about their religion.  The focus is instead put on the fact that so many Jews were being Hellenized under Syrian rule. The ruler tried to force them to bow down to idols and sacrifice pigs (read: NOT kosher). The Jews rebelled and won against odds in classic fashion. It’s tooted as a triumph over assimilation even though it is the most assimilated holiday, with the Hanukkah bush, exchange of presents, Hanukkah lights. Irony at its best.

The thing that sets Christianity apart of Judaism is grace. We have grace and don’t have codes to follow, so to celebrate in a secular way is not a sin in and of itself, just easy to commit idolatry (eg materialism, gluttony, etc.) But because of this grace, we can incorporate Hanukkah into our Christian celebrations as a way to celebrate the whole story of salvation. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus (coming of the Messiah) but leaves you hanging until Spring as to what that means. We can celebrate the grace that God has given us in giving us his Son to be the propitiator of our sins and the graces to grow in and live out that faith He has granted us. It is only by God’s grace that we can rebel against assimilation (of doctrine) and remember the true Light.

I’m glad that visibly the menorah seems to be central to Hanukkah. That makes it easier to transition to what it means to a Christian. In the Temple, there were 7 lampstands (menorahs -although the kind used in the temple only had 7 branches, as opposed to the 8/9 of Hanukkah). The lampstands, showbread, incense…everything in the Temple (and the Temple itself) were but shadows of things to come. The fulfillment of the menorah is threefold.

1. Revelation 1:12-20 indicates local churches are represented by golden lampstands
2. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12)
3. Christians are to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14-16)

Share

Hide Sites

Guess i have neglected writing yet again. It’s no surprise. I would be even longer had i chose to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. We are now nine days into the month and i haven’t written anything yet, so maybe next year. That is my life motto: maybe next ____(fill in the blank).

However, i am embarking on a new project that i hope to stick with through it’s completion. Fortunately, due to it’s nature, i have an entire year to finish it. The past couple years i have been trying to figure out holidays and why we celebrate them. It’s no doubt that it’s mainly attributed to culture and tradition. I grew up loving Christmas decorations and as i got older, i was the only to put up the lights and any yard display. We all would participate in decorating the tree. Well, actually, it would depend on how my mom was feeling that year. Kids don’t produce very high quality trees, do they? Throwing handfuls of tinsel on and bunching ornaments together. One year she told us we could only put on our “silly” (handmade and my Little Mermaid ones i punched out of a magazine or something) ornaments in the back. Another year, if i remember correctly, we had two trees. One traditional pine with all (and i mean ALL) the trimmings, and then a small silver one with all new ornaments that played music. But i digress. We didn’t celebrate Halloween when i was a kid, but instead went to harvest festivals. Puh-leez, who there is really celebrating God’s gift of vegetation or what? It’s just a Halloween fair in a church parking lot, but it satisfies people. Is satisfaction enough? Then there’s Easter eggs and stuff. I loved decorating eggs and celebrated Jesus’ resurrection, not any fertility goddess. My parents never had us believe in Santa or the Easter bunny.

1. I don’t have it figured out fully about Christmas, but to just evaluate carefully any activity or symbol i endorse. I decided to stop being sore (for the most part) about stores that start putting up their holiday stock in October. Also about people that leave their lights up all year long. Who says it has anything to do with Christmas? They should even turn them on, because it looks nice. We have some deer on our balcony that my mom didn’t want any more. I wanted something for our balcony because it looks to empty otherwise. Until i find a lifesize Iron Man, this will suffice. Also, i try to call Christmas “Arrival of the Messiah” but am passively looking for a shorter name.  I feel that by calling it a different name, we are bringing emphasis to the fact that we still know the reason for the season.  I mean, Christ Mass?  We need something more fitting.
2. Like how we call Easter Ressurection Sunday.  I haven’t decorated eggs in a while only but i haven’t had the opportunity either, so i haven’t evaluated that.  A few years ago i went to a sunrise service, and i do want to do that every year.  Stuff just keeps happening.  Maybe now being married it will be easier (two people trying to wake up on time).  The one thing i have thought about for Easter is how sad that even in churches (as i don’t expect secular society to recognize this) is how overlooked Good Friday is and how Easter seems to get second billing to Christmas.  Anyone can be born, but only Christ died for our sins and rose again.  These holidays need a lot more attention in the Protestant realm.
3. I celebrate Reformation day just as one would celebrate Halloween.  Why?  The Roman Catholic church dressed up their lies as truth.  We wear costumes and does anyone really believe we are who we are masquerading as?  This shows the foolishness of the church pre-Reformation on the day before the Catholic All Saints’ Day.  Then you may ask what’s with all the decorations?  It’s just my personality…i like the color black and skulls and a lot of that stuff all year round; as i do wearing costumes.  With this holiday, i don’t care to convice others because it’s not in the Bible.  Neither is Christmas and Easter, but the concepts behind them are, so i will try to convince, but if someone wants to take a Puritan stance, then that’s fine as long as they have good reasoning.  I almost became a Christian scrooge, which didn’t seem right, so i went through multiple reevalutions with the holiday formerly know as Christmas.
4. I can’t stand Valentine’s Day but my husband likes it.  Looks like i’ll be needing to figure this one out in the next few months.

Share

Hide Sites

4. christian halloween john piper (this one was not a new visitor)
6. halloween laboratory
7. john piper halloween
8. john piper on halloween
10. outline for “all saint’s day” worship service (this visitor also visited another article on my blog and i’m highly curious which one)

Well, that’s all for now.

Except…QotD: would you still have a job if economic policy went your way? I’m not sure i would. Without income taxes and with less government involvement, payroll would be much easier to process. So less people would need to outsource for that and more people would be able to do it, making fees less and competition higher. My boss, a tax preparer and financial advisor, would always have business though, because people would always be investing. The stock market would be a little crazy at first though…good or bad? I don’t know. Let me hear your opinions!

Share

Hide Sites

Up on the hilltop, people pause
Telling Congress “change our laws!”
Christians refuse, making lots of noise
You can’t take away our Christmas joys.
No, no, no! We will not go.
No, no, no! We will not go.
Up on the hilltops, sound the drum:
Down in the streets proclaim Christ is come.

First comes the Scripture, the Word of God
Oh dear it’s our firing squad
Man’s natural law can’t survive the shot
With the Truth we’ll conquer the whole lot
No, no, no! We will not go.
No, no, no! We will not go.
Up the mountaintop, raise your sword.
Down in the valley scream “praise the Lord!”

Next they’re telling us to keep quiet
Oh they can’t kill this glorious riot
With heart and mind we preach Jesus Christ
Their reality resembles Kleist.
No, no, no! We will not go.
No, no, no! We will not go.
Your celebration will end soon, but
We praise Messiah the whole year long!

Share

Hide Sites