Advent 2009

Today is the first day of Advent.  As I've shared before,

"Advent is a season of preparation. For centuries Christians have used the month prior to the celebration of Christ's incarnation to ready their hearts and their homes for the great festival. While we moderns tend to do a good bit of bustling about in the crowded hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas--shopping for presents, compiling guests lists, mailing holiday greeting cards, perusing catalogs, decorationg hearth and home, baking favorite confections,a nd getting ready for one party after another--that hardly constitutes the kind of preparation Advent calls for. Indeed, Advent has been a time of quiet introspection, personal examination, and repentance. A time to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to do a thorough inner housecleaning. Advent is, as ancient dogma of the Church asserts, a Little Pascha--a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation. All the great Advent stories, hymns, customs, and rituals--from the medieval liturgical antiphons and Scrooge's A Christmas Carol to the lighting of the Advent candles and the eating of the Martinmas beef are attuned to this notion: the best way to prepare for the coming of the Lord is to make straight His pathway to our hearts."

~from Christmas Spirit by George Grant and Gregory Wilbur

Because of some more pressing priorities, we won't be using my wonderful Upsized Advent Calendar this year, but you can look at it and possibly get ideas for your calendar if you're wanting to make one.

For our daily Advent readings, we'll be reading from Jotham's Journey.  It's an Advent devotional we use every few years, and we never tire of it.  The publisher summarizes the story...."In one of the most exciting Advent stories you will ever read, follow ten-year-old Jotham across Israel as he searches for his family.  Hold your breath when he faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers.  Rejoice in his encounters with wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to the Savior born in Bethlehem."

You could start using this advent devotional from Christ the King Presbyterian Church.  It's a free PDF.

Here are some Advent poems written by Pastor John Piper.

May this be a wonderful time of "thorough inner housecleaning" as you prepare to celebrate the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Love,
Queen Mom

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a lovely, loud, relaxing, joyful Thanksgiving.

Lots of cooking

a little bit of game playing

playing football in the beautiful weather

catching up on some reading

the Table

yummy food

silly moments

and the best time of all...going over the cards in our Ebenezer Box.

Thanksgiving Every Day

"We ought to make the moments notes of happy, glad Thanksgiving; The hours and days a silent phrase of music we are living."

We are by nature ungrateful. Oh, that we would be a thankful people, not just on Thanksgiving, but each and every day God gives us another breath. This is a lovely poem reminding us to be thankful in all things. Be encouraged to thank Him for His bountiful goodness!


We walk on starry fields of white
And do not see the daisies,
For blessings common in our sight
We rarely offer praises.
We sigh for some supreme delight
To crown our lives with splendour,
And quite ignore our daily store
Of pleasures sweet and tender.

Our cares are bold and push their way
Upon our thought and feeling;
They hang about us all the day,
Our time from pleasure stealing.
So unobtrusive many a joy
We pass by and forget it,
But worry strives to own our lives,
And conquers if we let it.

There's not a day in all the year
But holds some hidden pleasure,
And, looking back, joys oft appear
To brim the past's wide measure.
But blessings are like friends, I hold,
Who love and labour near us.
We ought to raise our notes of praise
While living hearts can hear us.

Full many a blessing wears the guise
Of worry or of trouble;
Far-seeing is the soul, and wise,
Who knows the mask is double.
Bur he who has the faith and strength
To thank his God for sorrow
Has found a joy without alloy
To gladden every morrow.

We ought to make the moments notes
Of happy, glad Thankgiving;
The hours and days a silent phrase
Of music we are living.
And so the theme should swell and grow
As weeks and months pass o'er us,
And rise sublime at this good time,
A grand Thanksgiving chorus.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox


Love,
Queen Mom

Frozen Toes - Part 1

There be some fella's who like one wurd diskripshuns; fella's who'll give it to you a nutshell - a really small nutshell. Fer example, one o' dese fellas might jest have survived bein' scalped by savages, and all he'll say is, "Ouch!". Dat's rather borin', ain't it? Setch a deskripshun jest don't make fer a very rip-roarin' tale. No, siree, not a bit of it. It jest don't give you enuff facts and lies to make anythin' out of. And I can't stand dat. So, I do 'ere swear to do no setch nutshellin' with this 'ere yarn. I'll be agiving it to yer da way it oughta be gave - plain and simple with maybe a lie er two thrown in ta give it flavor...

~

Day 1 (Wednesday, Nov. 11) - Little Big Man, Mountain Man, and yer's truly loaded our gear onto our mules and headed off to da wilderness kountry around Fort Stanton, where we pitched camp to rendezvous with other trappers fer 'bout five days.

When we'd finished settin' up camp about late afternoon, I started rustling up some grub. Yep, I were nominated ta be camp cook again (which means dey either like my vittles or don't want to do da cookin' themselves). It be a job o' great responsibility and it can get tirin' sometimes. However, every job usually has a benefit er two in it. If yer camp cook, ya get ta plan what sorta grub to take, get a big say in how it's prepared, and (usually) you don't have to do no dishes. Yer pals also tend ta treat you with a bit o' respect, too. After all, it usually ain't wise ta mess around with the fella dat handles yer dinner, considerin' he jest might decide to get even by doin' somethin' weird to it .

But to get on with the story, we finally did get around to scarfing down eatin' a fine meal, washed down with some kinda funny tastin' beverage da flat-landers call gatorade (what it be, I'll never know). Afterwards, we sat 'round da fire, talkin' and exchanging lies true yarns with friends. When we finally went ta crawl inter our bedrolls, it were probbly 'bout 8:30 (a rather early bedtime, but we always hit the hay earlier than usual on rendezvous). And yep, it got cold. Big surprise.

Our Tent

~

Day 2 (Wednesday, Nov. 12) - Da followin' mornin', after going through da frigid routine of donning our outfits (cold buckskins are extremely unpleasant to put on), we had a quick breakfast, and den began assemblin' our shootin' gear. It were lucky we did so, cuz... a minute later, a dozen blood-curdlin' yells split the air and injuns leapt from da bushes! In no time at all, we wuz engaged in a hand ta hand battle with doze murderous - ah, never mind (de Editor's acomin' this way with his bull whip... an' he ain't lookin' very pleasant).

What I mean ta say is, after we'd gotten our gun stuff together, we ambled on over to da shootin' range where we encountered the deadly... steel targets (man, I liked the injun fightin' idea better). We loaded our smokepoles, and began takin' down deze opponents in short order. In all, dere were 'bout thirty of 'em, rangin' from thirty to one hundred-forty yards away. Dere were basic ones (like plates and squares), animal shaped ones, bizarre ones (which looked like nuthin' in particlur), and plain difficult ones (like a thin steel pipe hangin' in a tree at ninety-yards). They wuz great ta shoot at, but as far as makin' good meat goes, methinks they'd be a bit hard on da teeth.

Dad shootin'...

Yer's truly shootin'...

Little Big Man, contemplatin' the seriousness o' the task at hand...

~

And we wuzn't the only mountain men campaignin' agin' the might of the steel thingies...

* * *

Persevero,

Scribe

Agent 7's Mission: Impossible

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to wire-drop into an impenetrable CIA vault to locate and swipe an important computer disc, containing a vital list of secret agent info. As usual, should you fail, we will avow no knowledge of you or your venture..."

"...well, okay, you're so cute we won't go to that extreme; but you really need to get that thing! Only you, Agent 7, know the play-pen like the back of your hand..."

MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED

More of Our Family Photo Shoot~ 2009

Family Photo Shoot 2009~The Sisters

Peep's pictures were taken when we insanely tried to get all 9 of us to look at the camera at the same time had our family photo shoot in the mountains a few weeks ago.  Here are the shots Mountain Man got of the sisters.  I think they beg for a photo display on some wall in our home, don't you?

Isn't This Amazing?

This is the flooding that my family in Virginia experienced a few days ago.  This is a picture of the house across from my parents' home.  Praise God for His goodness and mercy!  Thanks, Mom, for the picture!

Just Two of the Reasons I Love Mountain Man's Camera

This is why all I want for Christmas is a digital version of his amazing Canon 35 mm! :)

Perfect for Thanksgiving

These lovely "thankful for" cards are perfect for Thanksgiving!  I'm actually going to use the flat set as cards for our Ebenezer Box.  I've been wanting to make some pre-printed cards for some time since it encourages faithfulness in recording our blessings, but these will do just great for now.

Enjoy as you make your Thanksgiving a time of praise and worship to the One Who gives us all good things!

Love,
Queen Mom

Prayer and Praises

I've added new sidebar category to share our prayer requests and praises, and here are a few quotes about prayer to add to your commonplace books. :)

"Intercessory prayer is exceedingly prevalent.  What wonders it has wrought!  The Word of God teems with its marvellous deeds.  Believer, thou hast a mighty engine in thy hand, use it well, use it constantly, use it with faith, and thou shalt surely be a benefactor to thy brethren."
~Charles Spurgeon

"Rich is the person who has a praying friend."
~Janice Hughes

"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying.  He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.  He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
~Samuel Chadwick


Love,
Queen Mom

Frozen Toes...

Sounds quite pleasant don't you think? Well, I guess that depends on whether you mean frozen toes or "Frozen Toes". Allow me to explain: 

~

The former is an extremely unpleasant condition often proceeding frostbite and the subsequent amputation of appendages.  

The latter is a rendezvous in the mountains east of Capitan and Fort Stanton. And yes, it is of this Frozen Toes that I mainly speak.

~

Nevertheless, this is not to say that when I speak of "Frozen Toes", I do not also speak of frozen toes. After all, names are usually given for a reason (at least, they should be). The rendezvous "Frozen Toes" is so called because attenders thereof inevitably experience that "extremely unpleasant condition proceeding frostbite and the subsequent amputation of appendages" - to put it more bluntly, they run the risk of having to take a hatchet and lop off frozen body parts. And toes, if not given proper protection from the elements, are often the first to go.

~

As you might well deduce after reading that bit of information, it does get rather - shall we say - frosty up at this rendezvous, especially after the sun begins to set. Warmth is highly coveted, and hard to hold on to once you've got it. At nights, if you expect to get anything like sleep, you'd better be bundled up good - real good. Even so, it is often necessary to undergo a sort of thaw in the morning after you wake up by finding a nice little patch of sunlight, claiming it, and then doing a bit of a dance until you notice your fingers begin to turn their natural color again. 

~

So, to conclude this rigmarole, I'd like to ask for prayer that (1) the weather would be obliging, and not too extreme, (2) that we would return uninjured and with all body parts working properly, and (3) that we would be worthy witnesses for Our Lord Jesus Christ to everyone we encounter.

~

Soli Deo Gloria!

* * *

Persevero,

Scribe

He Giveth More Grace

This post is dedicated to my dear cousin, Michele.  Please pray fervently for God's healing of her kidneys and for strength and peace and comfort.  We love you, Michele!


"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
~2 Cor. 12:9

He Giveth More Grace

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction he addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

~Annie Johnson Flint

Can This Really Be True?

Ok, I'm sure my Beloved will say to me, "Are you really surprised by this?"  And I would honestly answer..."Yes, I am."  Can you imagine not reading even one book all year long?  Or only visiting a bookstore only once in five years?  Can you imagine more time spent watching tv than reading books?

Of course, the bigger concern is, as Christians, are we even reading our Bibles?  We must be devoted to being in God's Word daily, and that priority should trump any other reading we find time to do.


"Recently I read some discouraging statistics. “80 percent of American families did not buy or even read a book in 2006. 70 percent of adults haven’t visited a bookstore in the last five years. 1/3 of high school grads never read another book for the rest of their lives.”


Consider that information along with the fact that “people in the United States spend an average of four hours in front of the TV each day and three hours listening to the radio.”
Now, if that isn’t an impetus to get your kids not just reading, but reading for pleasure, I don’t know what is!

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines for television viewing advocates no TV for children less than two years of age, and no more than two hours of TV viewing per day for older children. Yet 30 percent of U.S. children under age three currently have a TV in their bedroom.

Consider what you put in front of your kids. Easy access to a TV will mean more watching just as easy access to books increases academic success. In fact, a recent study found that children who come from homes that have books in them actually do better overall in school and on tests!"

~Lorrie Flem
TEACH magazine
original post found here

The Truth of Islam

"It is difficult for many to accept that such an ideology can be real and that people kill and die for it; we see the truth of Islam in word and deed but pretend that it is not so."

Read the rest of this thought-provoking article here.

Whistler's 9th Birthday Celebration

Snow and mud changed our original plans to enjoy a mountain picnic. Plan B took us to a park in Albuquerque....definitely not what Whistler really wanted to do, but we made the best of it and had a great time.

Whistler wanted cupcakes again for her birthday and had a fun time decorating them.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then went right for the cupcakes.

Even Peep enjoyed the cupcakes....well, the crumbs from the wrapper.

The boys couldn't resist requesting a round of wrestling...the grass was just calling them to it.

And the Ladies,  well, they looked lovely and played in the grass, on the swings, and on the gym equipment

While Scribe and I are finishing up our lunch, I notice that he is about to give Peep some food.  I tell him not to...that she can't digest it well, yet.  Scribe then informs me that he already gave her chicken, potato chips, and a some Hawaiian sweet bread.  He's joking, right?  NO.  He really did give her tiny bits of all of that....Mountain Man thought it was just too funny. 

(these will be some of my all-time favorite pictures of my Beloved!)


We headed home to enjoy Whistler opening her presents.

The End