Mr., Mrs., Ms., Master Jabber:
Dear M. Jabber-your name means, fast, excited talk that makes little sense. When one makes sense their words are intelligible, justifiable, or practicable. Now, if one makes no sense with their words they are unintelligible, unjustifiable, or unpractical.
Quote
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
Bunyan, John
Making a Fresh Advent Wreath
One way we symbolically anticipate the birth and soon coming return of Christ is with an advent wreath. The wreath shows us that God is eternal. Jesus said He was the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. The greens are everlasting, like the love of Christ who dies for all. And each candle, with a different meaning, reminds us that He is the light that gives light to every man.
There are several different ways to make an advent wreath but I would like to show you one that will stay fresh throughout the advent season.
The first step is to acquire or purchase your supplies. Local craft stores usually carry the following items at this time of year: a wire wreath form (I chose a 14” size); a wire advent wreath form approx the same size; 1 roll of 3-4” wide green plastic wreath wrap; a bag of milled sphagnum moss (a bag about the size of a cinderblock should be ample/don’t purchase peat, spanish or green moss by mistake); a small package of greening pins; 3 purple and 1 pink dripless candle; 4 yds of #40 wired ribbon (optional).
Step two is to soak the moss in warm water until fully hydrated (about 10 minutes).
For step three place heaping handfuls in the inverted side of wreath form until it is evenly full. Do not squeeze the sphagnum dry, as this is what will hold the moisture in to keep your greens hydrated and fresh.
Season of Christmas
The Giving Season of Christmas is now full-blown upon us. For Christians, true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the
meaning of Christmas which lives in our hearts all year long has an opporutunity be shared by reaching out to the poor and needy, which the Church has always tried to do, down the ages of history. But more than that; to reach out to the lost and perishing. For there is something about Christmas where it seems God prepares hearts to be drawn to His Son Jesus Christ. There’s something about the humbleness of the Christ Child that ministers to hardened hearts more than at any other time of the year. We, in the church have always heard this. And in my life it happened that way for it was during the season of Christmas that I received The Lord Jesus Christ into my own heart.
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Communication is at a Premium
Communication is at a premium. And, we need to place a premium on our communication skills. Put a premium on peace and stability. Political talks, religious talks, family talks, and relational talks on all levels and fronts.
We find many times our communication skills look Bokeh. While Bokeh may be a great form for photography it might just lack the higher quality in our words. Our words become blurred or fuzzy when meant to be clear and precise.
If we want to go to a higher level with our words to stimulate the idea of Bokeh, we need to have a higher way of thinking. If we stay focused on what’s happening in the natural realm to fill our thoughts we will not experience Bokeh. It would be the supernatural realm happening in our communication that would produce the Bokeh effect. I think most of us, if not all, want to experience what God is doing behind our natural way of thinking.
photo by Jon M.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trektheworld/
“Bokeh is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.”
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Jesus is the Lily
As I have journeyed on this earth, my heart has been retched by numerous things. One of those things is a young child who has lost one of their parents at a very young age. You can see the deep hurt in them. They seem to stand strong, but it’s still there. I have known two such children recently. One not wanting anyone to know the loss they had just suffered – a loss – an open wound. Both children now wanting to please and protect the other parent. They want to make good grades and not displease in any way.
My Way or no way
How many times have we come up short with what we are told by God to do. It seems sometimes we don’t understand or don’t want to understand our horrible flaw of disobedience. I sometimes think that God needs to hit me over the head to show me what it is like for him to deal with a child who wants to do it their way. I had a student this week who was to write her own lines after doing some research on the products of a region of Virginia. After showing her a site where all she had to do was copy the products I thought all was said and done.
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Thanksgiving Cornucopia
Making your own cornucopia arrangement from fruits, greens and flowers is a wonderful expression of thanksgiving to the Lord for all His abundance, blessings and provisions. You can make one with a wicker, glass, ceramic or metal cornucopia. If you don’t want to obtain floral products from a florist, you can use many things you have growing in your own yard. After selecting your cornucopia you’ll want to find a plastic, waterproof container that will fit inside to hold floral foam. I found a container that my take-out soup had come in. Soak the instant floral foam (you can purchase it a craft store) until saturated. Cut to fit the container with approx 1” above the top. Insert the container into cornucopia and tape securely with waterproof floral tape. Now have fun collecting your greens, fruits and flowers. Green your container first. I used Japanese Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira) as the main greenery, which is an evergreen shrub in zones 8-11.
President Obama or Clinton?
I am a doubter when it comes to politicians’ words! But, I feel as a Christian that it is my responsibility to pray for our leaders. It is very difficulty for me to do this when I don’t see or hear much happen from their words. The economy of the American people is in a crisis situation when it comes to the average person but not when it comes to Michelle Obama or her family’s clothes, or lifestyle. I guess it is not stylish for our President and his family to model the lifestyle that one should live when it comes to the economy. And, on the President Elect, Barack, I read more about “will he have to give up his Blackberry or not than how he is going to live out his great promises to the American people?” His big change seems to be that he has been reincarnated as former President Bill Clinton.
Quote
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.” Corrie Ten Boom
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