Joyfull Living

Today is Word Filled Wednesday where God's Word is shared through verse and picture. It is a great mid week blessing! I thought this verse would be a great beginning for a new year. What great foundations these lay out for us, to be joyful - always as we hope in the Lord, be patient - in good times and bad, and always be faithful in prayer. May your WFW be blessed!

Well, Christmas is over at our home. The presents are put away, the leftovers are almost gone, parents have gone back to work, the candy is being finished off and most of the Christmas decorations are packed away. Christmas 2008 is a treasured memory. The gifts, although appreciated, and however nice they are, will fade in our interest in time. I have been reflecting on the past year and overall, it was a quiet year. You know, those peaceful years that sometimes slip in through the chaotic ones! 2007 was a very difficult year for our family. We lost my mother and my husband's grandmother. 2009 promises to be challenging as we will face the excitement of our oldest son graduating from high school and attending college and our middle son will begin driving. These will be major life changes, but are embraced with anticipation and covered with prayer. Yesterday was my first day back at work, we had been sheltered down in our home for several days over the Christmas break. Thro

Christmas was wonderful this year at our home. We enjoyed dinners and fellowship with my husband's family on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas day. The days following Christmas were spent at home just relaxing and enjoying one another. I love taking pictures Christmas morning where the boys are not still in pajamas, hair messed up and still sleepy looking! Even as teenagers, they are cute as buttons! Here are a few scenes from Christmas morning;

Blogging will be slow this week, but our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas!

This cute little meme is going around the blogging circles. I have enjoyed reading several and getting to know a little more about my blogging friends and how they celebrate Christmas. Here are my answers: 1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate 2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He puts the big ones out under the tree and wraps lots of little ones. 3. Colored light on house/tree or white? White on tree, but I like colored a little more! 4. Do you hang mistletoe? No 5. When do you put your decorations up? Last year my sister in law and I started a tradition of putting my tree up together the day after Thanksgiving. My boys don't like to help much anymore, and she is great at decorating. 6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Macaroni and Cheese 7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? One time I snuck into the living room very early to spy on what Santa brought. I got scared and turned around before I saw my brand new

As most of you know, I am the mother of three sons, two who are teenagers. When they act like teenagers do, I try to remember what that age was like, even though it was way back then... and come up with some kind of reasonable explanation etc. Usually this helps me figure them out. But, the oldest son who is 17 has been driving a little while now. Knowing that we want to raise responsible men, we encourage them to earn things in life and grasp the ethic of hard work, etc. and not just hand them over anything they want. As parents, we will help them, but work toward letting them learn the ropes of life, hard work, integrity etc. So when son turned 16, he bought (for a very low price!) Daddy's old truck. This truck was perfect for him, small, runs great, looks good etc. Here it is: Now, even through my mind/teenager analization, I could not grasp the concept of rims. This is a subject I know nothing about, Tires, hubcaps, rims, what is the difference? The only differenc

I couldn't resist! Here we are sans one son who absolutely would not get a picture taken, he sensed something was up, whatever could he mean??? Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I had not planned to participate in the Christmas Tour of Homes which is hosted over at Boo Mamas, but after visiting many blogs and seeing the decorated homes, I decided to post and share some of my decorations. Here is an arrangement over a mirror: This foyer table is directly under the mirror The worst picture would be the one with the Christmas tree! I like to decorate all over and have some cute cubbies to put these in Cubbie #2 Here is a decorated shelf Here is our mantle... And below on the fireplace floor: I really like to decorate everywhere, even with rugs! It has been so much fun visiting other's homes during the Christmas Tour of Homes. From our home to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Today's At the Well l is hosted by Heather at Emotional Purity. The topic will center around "Purity". At the Well is based on the Bible verses found in Titus 2 where women are encouraged to be pure in their life and their relationships. So, purity - the first thoughts I have of purity are white, clean, without spot or blemish. Pure and innocent from the beginning, not marred in any way. Well, I can begin be saying that without God, I am certainly not pure. Purity is a characteristic which is not "put on", but one that it is inside of you, in your heart and it directs every thought, word and attitude. They say character is what you are when no one is looking, what you do, think etc., when no one is around, that is the true you. The Bible is clear that each one of us is a sinner. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." But the best news is that Jesus came willingly as a sacrifice for our sins. He gave His life on a cross

A friend sent this to me this morning and it was just too good not to share! It is a beautiful reminder of true love and what it looks like during this Christmas season: FIRST CORINTHIANS CHRISTMAS IF I DECORATE MY HOUSE PERFECTLY WITH PLAID BOWS, STRANDS OF TWINKLING LIGHTS AND SHINY BALLS, BUT DO NOT SHOW LOVE TO MY FAMILY, I'M JUST ANOTHER DECORATOR. IF I SLAVE AWAY IN THE KITCHEN, BAKING DOZENS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES, PREPARING GOURMET MEALS, ARRANGING A BEAUTIFULLY ADORNED TABLE , BUT DO NOT SHOW LOVE TO MY FAMILY, I'M JUST ANOTHER COOK. IF I WORK AT THE SOUP KITCHEN, CAROL IN THE NURSING HOME AND GIVE ALL THAT I HAVE TO CHARITY, BUT DO NOT SHOW LOVE TO MY FAMILY, IT PROFITS ME NOTHING. IF I TRIM THE SPRUCE WITH SHIMMERING ANGELS AND CROCHETED SNOWFLAKES, ATTEND MYRIAD HOLIDAY PARTIES AND SING IN THE CHOIR'S CANTATA BUT DO NOT FOCUS ON CHRIST, I HAVE MISSED THE POINT. LOVE STOPS COOKING TO HUG THE CHILD. LOVE SETS ASIDE DECORATING TO KISS THE HUSBAND. LOVE I

Today is Word Filled Wednesday over at The160AcreWoods. As I was looking for a verse today, I was looking for a Christmas verse to share, but as we celebrate Christmas, Jesus is the center of the season. I have always loved this verse "Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life..." So for today's Word Filled Wednesday, here is a beautiful reminder of the power and glory of Jesus. Happy WFW!

There is nothing that can bring some Christmas cheer like a parade. Our small town has a Christmas parade each year and it is an event we look forward to. We enjoyed the parade this year with our neighbors and their adorable dog "Rufus". Rufus was in the Christmas spirit! Here are the two older guys, getting ready for the parade: Here are the younger ones, all set! The bags are to collect candy which is thrown to the children. These are our local library ladies, pushing around book carts decorated for Christmas! Here are a few of the other floats: This float was sponsored by a local dairy, can you believe this cow??? What a great time we had enjoying the lights and sounds of the Christmas parade!

Beginning December 1, I have been reading a devotional titled "A Family Christmas Treasury" by Adrian Rogers. This little book has a devotion for each day of December. It begins with wonderful words to prepare hearts to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I want to share today the main truth to begin the Christmas season with: John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This is the heart of Christmas, Jesus is God's great love gift, because Jesus came to give His life that we might have life and have it to the full. Truly love came down at Christmas. Since Christians realize this gift given to all, may we in turn share His love with others especially during this season. Love is a gift our world desperately needs. May our actions and words always portray Christlike characteristics this season. Kindness, smiles, patience and thoughtfulness are wa

Earlier this week the discussion At the Well centered on creating a calm, less stressful Christmas that reflects the true meaning of Christmas. You can read my post Keeping Christ in Christmas. These pictures were from 2006 and in the stress of the holiday season, I just insisted that we were having a photo shot for our Christmas cards. I made the boys dress in camouflage and wanted the horse in the picture. It had to be my way and my way NOW! Well, as I learned, there are some things you just cannot create and a loving Christmas photo is one of them! Here are our attempts! Not a smile in the house! We did not use these photos, thankfully(!), but I learned a valuable lesson that Christmas, enjoy the real reason for the season and not to get caught up in things that don't hold nearly as much importance as celebrating Jesus' birth.