Christmas Cards

Every year I face the dilemna of what to do with all the wonderful Christmas Card pictures I receive. In the past, I have put them in scrapbook pages or at least saved them for most of the year in a pile.

But with the popularity of sending pictures (which I love!!) there are simply too many to scrapbook or hold on to in pile. I got this idea from the blog of this amazing woman. She said she puts the pictures up on a corkboard in her laundry room and then prays for each family throughout the year. I LOVE THIS!

So here is my board. If you didn't send me a card this year with your picture... well, maybe I'll be praying for you next year!

www.damascuschurch.org

Since joining our new church, I have had the privilege of helping with communications. One of the tasks I volunteered for was to update the website. It had been neglected for almost a year and I was concerned that anyone who found it would think the church defunct.

After spending most of last week doing all I could within my meager skills, I got it up to date and a true souce of information. It is far from being finished. There are still many blank pages, but I am excited to see it moving in the right direction!

Hopefully, within the next few weeks, we will have every page filled and new ones added.

Check it out and leave some feedback here for how I can continue to improve it.

New Year's Resolutions

~ To see the Mona Lisa

~ To skydive or better yet, wingsuit base jump

~ To not lose it with my kids, ever

~ To cruise around the world

~ To see everyone with "funeral remix" eyes

~ To retain everything I read

~ To make the best pasta with shrimp the world has ever known

~ To not say anything stupid

~ To look like Angelina Jolie, or not, and be O.K. either way

~ To vacuum from time to time

~ To play piano like a concert pianist (without the drudgery of actually learning how to play)

~ To put in the unbelievably amazing pool I've always wanted and have been coveting for years

~ To learn web design

~ To start my own business (see previous resolution)

~ To catch up on my scrapbooking

~ To be elected Queen of the World and solve all the world's problems - overnight

~ To make dinner... sometimes

~ To have everyone I come into contact with see Jesus, and not me


I guess it's a bit ambitious, but then, isn't that what resolutions are for?

Favorite Books From 2008

Books I loved and HIGHLY recommend:

1. Have a New Kid by Friday

Every parent MUST read this book! I thought I probably didn't need it because my kids are very well-behaved. I got to page 1 "Are You a Candidate to Read This Book?" when I got my answer... Every parent is a candidate.The heart of parenting is actually very simple. Yet we have made it complex to the point of impossibility. Dr. Leman spells it out day by day, in only 74 pages, how to have a new kid by Friday.

Best advice: Don't threaten (i.e. "If you don't______ I'm going to __________") Be a Nike ad. Just Do It. Threats only teach a child that he can keep doing whatever he wants until you threaten him again.


2. Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11

Here is the review, "While most Americans watched the 9/11 attacks on television, the guardians of the nation's air-control and air-defense systems had the unenviable task of trying to halt them. Working from interviews and tape archives, Spencer's minute-by-minute chronicle recreates their heroics in nerve-racking detail. In her telling, air-traffic controllers panicked as a seemingly routine—and quickly spotted—initial hijacking metastasized into a coordinated terror attack of unknown size and direction, and tried to divine which of thousands of planes on their radars had become guided missiles. Airline pilots dodged through suddenly chaotic skies while assuring suspicious control towers that they weren't hijackers themselves. Meanwhile, Air National Guard fighter pilots, hobbled by bad communications and misdirection, scrambled to defend against a murky threat."

You won't be able to put it down.



3. The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth

I was blown away by what science is revealing concerning what is real and what is not. How our definitions of the material are changing. The idea of the space between the specs is especially intriguing. He also showed how from a scientific perspective, the whole universe is singing. Unbelievable! The theological implications of all of it are staggering. Not an easy read, but if you love science and want to be blown away, read this book.


4. Reedeeming Love and The Mark of the Lion Seriece by Francine Rivers

Christian fiction like you've never read Christian fiction. These books are wonderful at changing your perspective.


I know I've read many, many more books, but these are the one that had the biggest impact on my life.

I didn't read the entire Bible this year

Thankfully, that was not one of my resolutions from last year.

For the record, it was to slow down when eating and not gulp it all down in 10 seconds.

Not only do I make an effort to linger over my hard-earned and long-awaited calories, but I have applied this concept to God's Word as well.

Back in January, I had a bit of an epiphany. So many Christians complain that they are not being fed at their church. Well, I realized that I had been neglecting to feed myself. Afterall, an hour or so on Sunday, even if it is hardcore Biblical teaching, is not going to ever be enough.

I started reading a Bible with commentary by Jon Courson. I started in Genesis. I am now up to Deuteronomy 12. That's 4 1/2 books in a year. As stated in the title, I didn't read the entire Bible this year.

But for the first time ever, I read the Bible daily and it has been life-changing. It is not drudgery or guilt induced; I am truly feeding on God's Word. I love hearing from Him daily and I am being more and more convinced that in these times, all Christians should be immersing themselves in the Word of God.

Why? Newsweek articles like this one show how Scripture can be twisted by those with a little knowledge of the Bible. Christians who are not Biblically literate will be confused and persuaded by this kind of thinking, having no defense on their own. Churches should be at the forefront of teaching Biblical truth, not the watered down, "Go be a good person" type sermons (but that's another post.)

So this year, I resolve, not read the Bible in a year. Instead, I will savor and linger and learn all I can from it.