Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Peace came to earth at last that chosen night, 
When angels clove the sky with song and light 
And God embodied love and sheathed his might-
Who could but gasp; Immanuel!
Who could but sing; Immanuel!

And who could be the same for having held
The infant in their arms and later felt
The wounded hands and side, all doubts dispelled-
Who could be sigh; Immanuel!
Who could but shout; Immanuel!

You show the Father none has ever seen,
In flesh and blood you bore our grief and pain,
In bread and wine you visit us again-
Who could but see; Immanuel!
Who could but thrill; Immanuel!

How else could I have known you, O my God!
How else could I have loved you, O my God!
How else could I embrace you, O my God!
Who could but pray; Immanuel!
Who could but praise; Immanuel!

CW Supplement: Hymn 707


We pray you have a wonderful Christmas, as you celebrate your Savior's birth!


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

December

Well, December, as usual, has been busy already. Throw in a unexpected trip to Michigan for Dan's Grandma's funeral, there's been little down time. But, I'm keeping my heart and mind focused on Christ and his coming... at least trying to among the craziness. Dan and I got iphones a couple weeks ago, so I thought I'd share a few pics from my instagram account. I sure like my iphone. :) Enjoy a few snippets of the last couple of weeks. 









Thursday, November 15, 2012

Chloe's Afghan

I did it! I finished my second afghan. You may remember the first one I made for my niece, Emma. This one is for her sister, Chloe, who will turn 8 in January. She is a fun, happy, spirited girl, so I wanted something colorful. I started back in August, (giving myself plenty of time) and was happy with how quickly it went.



My inspiration came from Attic24. She does some amazing stuff with a crochet hook!
 
 
 


It's big, soft and colorful and I hope Chloe loves it!
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Romans 13:1



Source



Once again, I'm stealing my husbands words. After last nights election, there are many things that I could say, but I think what Dan said is just what I needed to hear. Here's a portion of his weekly email to our congregation. 

"As many of you know, I'm not that big into politics at all.  Now don't get me wrong.  I treasure my right as an American to vote.  I spent a good portion of Monday night and Tuesday morning reading about all the stuff I was voting for (not just presidental or Congress) so that I could be an informed voter on all issues.  I am very thankful I live in a country that can have 100 million people vote without incident, without armed guards at every polling location.  No other country is like that.  But the reason I don't get into politics that much is because of trust in God.  I know that whoever is elected is God's choice to be his representative.  God used my vote and the vote of the rest of the people in this nation to put the right man in charge, whether he is the man I voted for or not.  
 
Listen to the familiar words of Romans 13:1, which are probably quoted a lot right now by Christians and should be.  Paul says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God."
 
That is a pretty clear passage.  Twice we hear that God establishes all earthly authority.  Twice we are reminded that God puts kings and presidents in charge of their countries.  Twice we are reminded that our governing representatives are agents of God, used by God to acheive his purpose on earth.  So, regardless of how you voted, I hope and pray that you all can say, "Thank God that President Obama was reelected."  Not because you voted for him or didn't vote for him.  Not because you think that his policies will get this country on its feet and protect this country from an attack or that his policies will drive this country into the ground and open us up for an attack.  But I hope you say "Thank God that President Obama was reelected" because you realize that God placed President Obama in charge of this country for four more years so that God's will in this country will be done, whatever his good and gracious will for this country is. 
 
If you need proof of God works through the governing authorities, just look in the Scriptures.  We can use many examples in the Old Testament of how God used both good kings and bad kings to achieve his purpose.  We can see many examples, where God worked marvelous blessings through kings, who recognized him as the one true God and kings, who didn't recognize him as the one true God.  In fact, those of you, who have been in the Bible Class on the book of Judges have seen that first hand.  Most notably, we can think of how God used a governor, named Pontius Pilate to sentence his Son to death so that we could all be saved. 
 
So on this day after the election, the Christian is content.  The Christian is thankful.  The Christian praises God.  The Christian knows that God is in charge.  The Christian knows that God's will was done.  The Christian knows that God will work through our President, Congress, governors and local official to bless us, as he has done throughout this country and throughout the history of the world."
 

Friday, November 2, 2012

Wisconsin Weekend

Wow! October was a busy month! Starting with a visit from Dan's parents, Anna's birthday, a trip to Wisconsin, a visit from my family and Halloween! Things should slow down for a bit after Sunday. We have our area Reformation service and I'm playing the organ and making some food for the potluck afterward. Of course Dan is as busy as ever. Looks like a lot of nights with the remote all to myself for a while. :(

Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures from my trip to Wisconsin. Lucky Molly came along. Since she is under 2, she still flies free, so that meant she came and Anna stayed home with Dad. I had two weddings in one weekend! How convenient! I flew into Milwaukee and was picked up by my dear friend Jackie with whom I stayed.

Friday night I head to Fondy for the wedding reception of my dear friend, Katie. Of course Molly and I stayed with the Westphals and got some good play time in with Peggy.



Here is the beautiful Bride (and Groom photo-bombing) and me. I was so happy I was able to be there to help them celebrate. 

 I got to see so many friends that I haven't seen in forever! My favorite was of course seeing my dear friend, Rach. Wish we could have coffee dates every week! Love you, girl.


On Saturday, my cousin Lisa was married. It was great to be there and I saw a ton of family that I haven't seen in forever!
 


Staying with Jackie was a ton of fun. Especially since she has two young kids, Molly felt right at home. She fell in love with Jackie's dad the minute she saw him. 

I think Molly missed Anna, but Josie was a good replacement.  


And handsome Jackson was a sweetie. 
 
 


Molly was such a great traveler, despite having a double ear-infection and some other sickness to deal with. We had a great trip, but we were happy to come home to Dan and Anna. 
 
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Monday, October 15, 2012

Anna Ruth is 3!

On October 12th, Anna turned 3! And boy did she have a good time doing it. :)


I stayed up late the night before, getting the decorations and presents ready.

 


She woke up happy and excited. Such a big girl! (getting teary-eyed just looking at this picture)


After donning her new "I am 3" shirt, it was present time!



Molly had fun watching, and was actually very good at not trying to "help".


She got soo many fun new things! Most included Dora or Princesses. 


The first thing to do was the new puzzles!
 
 


Then it was off to the pumpkin farm!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


After a delicious spaghetti supper (her favorite) it was time for birthday cake!


She even had a couple of friend over to share.


Overall, it was a great day!

..........................................

Can you believe she was ever this small?

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