Christmas Eve

The boys were excited to be able to open their pajama presents tonight as it is time for bed.

They all eagerly await the blessings that God has provided them tomorrow. G1 and G3 will get home for brunch and then we will have a devotion on the birth of Jesus as we do every year.

This year we are going to have the french toast casserole for brunch. For supper Nana, Papa and Uncle Marc are coming over. And anybody else that wants.

Merry Christmas!

G1 & G3's Christmas Song

G1 & G3 had a little short Christmas performance last night at our local library. Their band director was the special guest and he invited several of the bands students to play. It was quaint. For the students there was the experience of playing for an audience outside of school. For the audience, we were able to see up and coming talent. This is G1's 6th year on the clarinet and G3's 3rd year on the tenor sax, she also played the alto sax for 2 years. Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Strength and Peace

From Charles Spurgeon's "Faith's Checkbook"
Gift of Strength; Peace to Bless December 7

The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

David had just heard the voice of the Lord in a thunderstorm and had seen His power in the hurricane whose path he had described; and now, in the cool calm after the storm, that overwhelming power by which heaven and earth are shaken is promised to be the strength of the chosen. He who wings the unerring bolt will give to His redeemed the wings of eagles; He who shakes the earth with His voice will terrify the enemies of His saints and give His children peace. Why are we weak when we have divine strength to flee to? Why are we troubled when the Lord's own peace is ours? Jesus, the mighty God, is our strength; let us put Him on and go forth to our service. Jesus, our blessed Lord, is also our peace; let us repose in Him this day and end our fears. What a blessing to have Him for our strength and peace both now and forever!

That same God who rides upon the storm in days of tempest will also rule the hurricane of our tribulation and send us, before long, days of peace. We shall have strength for storms and songs for fair weather. Let us begin to sing at once unto God, our strength and our peace. Away, dark thoughts! Up, faith and hope!

From the Faith's Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app - http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

Getting Ready for Christmas

Sitting down after a busy weekend of holiday preparations. Decorating the house because we did not get it done Thanksgiving weekend. Doing the needed shopping. And the list goes on.

This past Thursday we were able to enjoy B1 and the rest of 4th and 5th grade give a holiday choir concert. It was cute and he sang his heart out. I was not in a good place for pictures considering the school could use a bit of an expansion.

This week the high school band (G1 & G3) perform Tuesday, the choir (G1) performs Thursday and the band marches in the Christmas parade on Saturday. It is good to be busy though, makes us appreciate the quiet times more.

The kids are also excited because we do a special devotion on St. Nicholas eve. We do this so that they understand where the myth of the man in the red suit comes from. For our family this works best. B3 with his thought process and G2 and B1 having problems separating fact and fiction prevents the 'typical' santa approach. We want the kids to understand that God is our provider and Jesus was and is God's gift to us. Our Christmas presents are brought by Jesus.

What do you do for Christmas and the holiday season?