The Loaned Manger

This past Saturday and Sunday evenings our First Baptist Kids put on a wonderful musical for Christmas called The Loaned Manger. The musical was set in the city of Incarnation in 1891. The railroad had finally come to Incarnation, too, with some interesting visitors.

The set with all the props was amazing.

The train at the train station even had steam coming up out of the smoke stack.

Addy had a solo. O come, O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel.

This Christmas we need more of peace, love, hope and joy. We need more of Jesus, this Christmas.

Glory to all the earth. Your light has come, shines in the darkness to all the world. Your Light has come.

After Addy’s trio it was time for the manger scene to enter stage right. JJ was a shepherd with a staff.

 

Addy sang her heart out!

Auntie Lolo and Uncle Joshie were sad not to be able to travel to see the musical but they made sure to acknowledge Addy and JJ’s hard work with these sweet bouquets with candy canes.

Well done dear Addy and JJ. Baba and Gramps were so happy to see your hard work pay off in a brilliant performance!

The whole production was the culmination of months of hard work on the part of the directors and kids. Such a great musical that gave honor to God. We are all outlaws that need pardoning and that is why Jesus came to earth as a baby on Christmas day with the view to His crucifixion on the cross for our sins. Thank you, LORD.

Seeking for Me ~ Hymn

Seeking for Me

Jesus, my Sav­ior, to Beth­le­hem came,
Laid in a man­ger to sor­row and shame;
Oh, it was won­der­ful, blest be His name,
Seeking for me, for me:
Seeking for me, seek­ing for me,
Seeking for me, seek­ing for me,
Oh, it was won­der­ful, blest be His name,
Seeking for me, for me.

Jesus, my Sav­ior, on Cal­va­ry’s tree,
Paid the great debt and my soul He set free;
Oh, it was won­der­ful—how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!
Dying for me, dy­ing for me,
Dying for me, dy­ing for me,
Oh, it was won­der­ful—how could it be?
Dying for me, for me.

Jesus, my Sav­ior, in mer­cy and love,
Came from the man­sions of Hea­ven above,
Tenderly plead­ing with sin­ners like me,
Pleading for me, for me:
Pleading for me, plead­ing for me,
Pleading for me, plead­ing for me,
Tenderly plead­ing for sin­ners like me,
Pleading for me, for me.

Jesus, my Sav­ior, the same as of old,
While I did wan­der afar from the fold,
Gently and long He hath pled with my soul,
Calling for me, for me:
Calling for me, call­ing for me,
Calling for me, call­ing for me,
Gently and long He hath pled with my soul,
Calling for me, for me.

Jesus, my Sav­ior, will come from on high,
Sweet is the pro­mise as wea­ry years fly;
Oh, I shall see Him des­cend­ing the sky,
Coming for me, for me:
Coming for me, com­ing for me,
Coming for me, com­ing for me,
Oh, I shall see Him des­cend­ing the sky,
Coming for me, for me.

Deity and Humanity

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8

We made one last trip to Spokane on Thursday for some specific items before our Christmas celebrations begin.

We enjoyed the sunrise along the highway.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:3

This morning in Let Earth Receive Her King ~ Daily Readings for Advent, Alistair Begg shares this lesser  known Christmas Carol. I’m highlighting some of the words.

Once in roy­al Dav­id’s ci­ty
Stood a low­ly cat­tle shed,
Where a mo­ther laid her ba­by
In a man­ger for His bed:
Mary was that mo­ther mild,
Jesus Christ her lit­tle child.

He came down to earth from Hea­ven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shel­ter was a sta­ble,
And His cra­dle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and low­ly,
Lived on earth our Sav­ior ho­ly.

And, through all His won­drous child­hood,
He would hon­or and ob­ey,
Love and watch the low­ly maid­en,
In whose gen­tle arms He lay:
Christian child­ren all must be
Mild, obe­di­ent, good as He.

For He is our child­hood’s pat­tern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was lit­tle, weak and help­less,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feel­eth for our sad­ness,
And He shar­eth in our glad­ness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own re­deem­ing love,
For that Child so dear and gen­tle
Is our Lord in Heav’n above,
And He leads His child­ren on
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor low­ly sta­ble,
With the ox­en stand­ing by,
We shall see Him; but in Hea­ven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His child­ren crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Once in Royal David’s City ~ Cecil F. Alexander, 1848.

Puzzled

I bought this puzzle in honor of our coo sighting in Scotland. It was a very difficult puzzle.

We finally were able to finish it the end of last week with the sad realization that a piece was missing. We’ve looked everywhere and all the floors in the house have been vacuumed so that is that. We remain puzzled as to where that missing piece might be.

JJ came over on Monday and he helped me finish a 12 days of Christmas puzzle. Oops, I didn’t take a photo of the completed puzzle. It was refreshingly easy after the difficult Coo puzzle. JJ also organized the Little People nativity.

We had snow on Tuesday night into Wednesday that turned to rain and melted all the snow off the main roads.

We are pretty well set except for our Christmas meals. We have our cut of meat ordered and the menu set. I’m hoping to bake some cookies that I have the ingredients for, too. How are things in your corner?

Smile, Your On Wednesday Hodgepodge

Blogging…where everyday is Candid Camera day.

Time for a holly jolly candid Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What’s one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

There is not one thing that stands out to be accomplished. I was considering weeding out some Christmas decor before everything is put back into the bins for next year. Some of our stuff is tired looking. Maybe I’ll designate one bin for the things I can let go.

2. What’s something that brought a smile to your face this year?

Thankfully there were many things. I am a smiley person in general. Our family times together always brings a smile on my face and generally there are belly laughs, too. The wonderful weather we enjoyed in Scotland in September brought many smiles and gratitude! We have our children’s play/musical this coming weekend and I know that will keep me smiling. It is called The Loaned Manger, a western themed presentation. Both Addy and JJ will be performing. Addy has some key singing parts and JJ is Joseph this year.

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

We really enjoyed Jo’s Cranberry Jalapeno dip at Thanksgiving and when JJ was here on Monday he said “I’ll get the crackers for the cream cheese” as if I kept that dip around every day. Hilarious! (JJ is Five)

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

We have entered the dud zone when it comes to New Year’s celebrations. We are typically in bed and the fireworks might wake us up at midnight! In our part of Washington state it is generally too dry with fire danger on July 4th so people around these parts stock up on fireworks to shoot off on New Year’s Eve instead.

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Celebrating Fifty Years! 

We were married in 1974 so 2024 marks our 50th wedding anniversary. We have celebrated well starting at the end of June with a getaway to Walla Walla for a weekend of fun with our family of 10. We celebrated again in Scotland in September and we celebrated on the actual day with an overnight trip to Coeur d’Alene.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I saw that common phrase this year on facebook, ‘keep Christ in Christmas’ and my reaction was a new one. There is no way anyone can keep Christ out of Christmas, even if you don’t know Christ or celebrate Him. The darkness (Satan) has been trying to eliminate God from the beginning of time. It started in the Garden of Eden. The light of the world will always overcome the darkness. Christ brought His light into the world and will continue to shine till one day the darkness will finally be cast away. Herod tried to kill Christ as a babe and did the unspeakable by killing all the male children in his realm thinking he could eliminate Jesus. God in His mercy preserved Jesus Christ for His role in becoming the Savior of the world by his sacrificial death on the cross so that man can be at peace with Holy God. Because of Jesus Christ’s perfect life and righteous sacrifice and resurrection our repentance, turning from sin, makes us acceptable to God and makes us redeemed in His sight. Christmas is all about Jesus Christ’s incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus, fully God, became man for us. He condescended with love to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God and have eternal life with Him instead of eternal damnation in hell.

Praying that God is calling you to repentance and opening your spiritual eyes to see His Truth today.

Merry Christmas Hodgepodgers!

Christmas Time is Here

This is our first Christmas ornament. We received it at a wedding shower fifty years ago.

It’s 7am here in northeast Washington state and it is still dark outside. We are still in Twilight and soon the day will dawn.

The angels, Santa, and Mrs. Claus ended up in our Christmas stash from Greg’s folks. The ones below are also from them.

These ornaments are from some recent travels.

These two add so much joy to our merry and bright Christmas days!

‘I Love Baba’

These are old, too, but not handed down. They were purchased from a thrift store.

All the ornaments and all the bits and bobs did not make it out this year and that is fine.

We completed our Christmas letter on Friday and made copies. For whatever reason this was a harder task this year. I’m writing this post on Saturday morning and hopefully I did get all the cards addressed and ready to go to the post office today.

UPDATE: Our cards were all addressed and stuffed and sealed on Saturday. On Sunday on the way home from our church service we stopped at the post office and sent all the cards down the slot! Hooray!

Hope all is merry and bright in your corner.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus ~Hymn

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Words: Charles Wesley

Christmas Party Travels

Our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas Party for the B.C. girls and me was graciously hosted by Bev and her husband. We traveled up north and across the border to Abbotsford on Monday afternoon. Greg and I stopped at Anneliese’s home to drop off our luggage and for our ride to Chilliwack for our celebration.

Bev set a beautiful table with place cards to guide us to our seats for the meal.

Photos were few and far between but I pieced some together to give us some visual memories.

We sang ‘Praise God From Whom all Blessings Flow’ at the beginning of our meal.

Soup was made by Judy, Salad by Kathy (oops no photo), assorted buns by Lovella, Potatoes by Marg, roasted vegetables by Anneliese, Meat cooked to perfection by Harv and Bev, dessert by Julie (no photo) but the memories of it make my mouth water.

The girls escaped to the living room after the main meal and before dessert for our gift exchange. After some good exchanges of gifts and conversation we regrouped at the table for dessert. We made it back to our hosts home for the night several hours after our usual bed time full and happy.

Sunrise in Abbotsford on Tuesday morning was beautiful. Anneliese made a lovely breakfast for us before we headed back across the line to the states. We chose to travel highway 9 for a distance before we connected up again on the interstate.

We made some stops in Washington and enjoyed lunch at our old Mexican favorite in Kirkland. Had a relaxing afternoon and evening at our kids’ home. Early on Wednesday morning we left for our final leg home.

Snoqualmie pass was in good shape for traveling. We didn’t have rain and our visibility was excellent until we reached the Ryegrass Safety Rest area.

Thankfully the dense fog only lasted for a few miles and we had clear skies the rest of our way home. We are always thankful to God for safe travels.

While we were in Western Washington this little guy broke his first board at Tae kwon do!

Breathing a sigh of relief to be done with our December travels and now getting caught up with what needs to be accomplished before Christmas day. First on the list is our Christmas cards. I was so surprised to walk right up to the counter at the post office to buy some stamps. Hopefully I’ll complete the cards today while listening to Christmas CD’s.

God rest ye merry gentlemenLet nothing you dismayRemember Christ our SaviorWas born on Christmas DayTo save us all from Satan’s pow’rWhen we were gone astrayOh tidings of comfort and joyComfort and joyOh tidings of comfort and joy

Wishing you comfort and joy as you prepare.

Truth for Today #125

Thursday December 12th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Notice: Our Truth for Today posts will resume in January.

Hebrews 1:3-14

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When he had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?

And again,

“I will be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”?

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7 And of the angels He says,

“Who makes His angels winds,
And His ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will become old like a garment,
12 And like a mantle You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies
A footstool for Your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

From Vera:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

On the Road Hodgepodge

A few photos from Christmas past.

Thank you, Joyce, for the Wednesday Hodgepodge questions each week.

1. What’s one task you’d like a little Christmas elf to sneak in and take care of tonite? 

I would love for a little elf to come in and address all my Christmas cards!

2. What’s your biggest challenge during the holidays? 

Writing our Christmas letter is harder some years than others. Once the letter is written, the cards are addressed, and the envelopes are taken to the post office and dropped down the slot I feel a load off!

3. Are you a cookie baker this time of year? If your year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter what shape would it be? 

Cookies are not something that get baked every year. This year I hope to make some cookies for our Children’s play/musical coming up soon. My cookie cutter shape for 2024 would be thistle in honor of our trip to Scotland.

4. Santa likes milk with his cookies. Do you like milk? What kind of milk is on tap in your house? (whole, 2%, skim, almond, oat, etc). What’s the last thing you made that called for milk? 

I like milk but I can’t have too much of it as it doesn’t sit well with me. We typically have 2% on hand. Cereal is the last thing I enjoyed with milk, not something I made but something I put together.

5. Share one favorite line from a Christmas carol or holiday tune? 

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee.

and

O come. let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

And there are so many more!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are on the road again today, on our way back home from the westside of the Cascades. We were in Canada on Monday and overnight into Tuesday. Lots of time in our vehicle. I will be late in visiting Hodgepodgers. In Canada we enjoyed time with the B.C. Mennonite Girls Can Cook. More photos of our time to come later but here is a preview of some of the food we enjoyed.