Sunday

It's God's Love #25


This is the Christmas post for my Sunday Series.



Each week I have featured a Bible verse graphic to concentrate on the Love of God.


Today I also want to share a very short video.







Perhaps you will think of a verse around God's Love as you watch the video

or perhaps you will think of God's Love extended to you and your family over the years

        whichever it is


I pray you know the true meaning of God's Love this Christmas.










Because Christmas started with a Baby









And Christmas is still all about that same person

Jesus

Our Saviour









So as well as giving and receiving gifts this Christmas why not








Merry Christmas to you all and may you know the love of Jesus as Saviour which is the real gift of love this Christmas.












Wednesday

A Fan for Christmas - A Dose of Encouragement


Children make a lot of crafts at school and Sunday School especially at special times like Christmas.


How many times have you run out of magnets to attach another picture created especially for you?








Some people keep all of their children's pictures but we didn't,

     we just enjoyed them at the time

          and then enjoyed the next one

               and the next one

                    and the next......







However some other things the children have made for us or bought us have been kept and one of these things is one of the decorations Fred and I put up on our Christmas Tree last week.


I have never worked out what a fan has to do with Christmas but then I suppose a lot of the decorations we have for this festive time do not really relate to Christmas time so why should this one have to.

It is gold and green and tones in with what we expect colour schemes to be at Christmas time.






It was made by our son Daniel many, many years ago and although we do not wrap it up carefully each year as we do with some of the other ornaments for the tree, it has never got damaged in all the years.

But even though this fan does not remind me especially of Christmas or the Bible it does remind me of Love.

Daniel made it carefully and it was well-made.

He gave it to us for the tree and even though this was probably prompted by his teacher, all these years later I see Love in this simple tree decoration.

I don't particularly think Daniel was thinking about how much he loved us when he gave it to us but I do know that because it was made by him that I love it.

It certainly is not because of the colours as I am not very fond of green but you see colours do not mean anything in this case.  It is the fact that this was made by my son, that is special to me.


God also took delight in His Son Jesus and His actions.


God even spoke out and told people how pleased He was with His Precious Son.






Do we speak favourably about our children?

Do we tell others how much we love our children?

Do we tell our children how much we love them?


The next time you see something that was given to you by your child or made by them think about when you last told them how precious they are to you.


If it was a while ago, go tell them now.




But even more importantly

if we are trusting in Jesus and know the importance of Christmas,

the Love that was expressed at Christmas and the love later expressed by Jesus on the cross 

then

are we speaking out about Christmas

and are we speaking out about Jesus

and

God's Love for us?








If you didn't read my previous blog post about our Tree Decorations you can do so at  3 Sleighs for Christmas











Sunday

It's God's Love #24


On Sundays I write a short post consisting of a Bible Verse around
the topic of God's Love and we are coming near the end of this series now.


Thank you for joining us today.








God's Love

is simply 

the character 

of God

because the 

Bible 

tells us that 

God not only loves us 

but

 God is LOVE. 









I'm thankful

to know that

because we have

trusted in God

we have His Love in us

and we will be able to share His Love

with others.


They will know that we are Christians by our Love

which is God's Love.















Friday

An Organised Dressing Room!


The first thing we did in the dressing room when we moved into this house 4 years ago was to put in fitted wardrobes along two walls with mirrored doors which make the room brighter and bigger.







This was not as straightforward as most wardrobe fitting companies want it to be because we had slanted ceilings and it affected both walls in two different ways so some of them just said

 
              "No, sorry we can't do that"


Well we did get it done and it was one of the best things we have done as it used up space along one wall in the room which was not tall enough for normal wardrobes and space on the other wall which we were able to use right up to the normal height of the ceiling and gave us 6 sections of wardrobes and shelving space.


It also meant that there was still plenty of space in the room for us to put up an extra double bed when there are more family coming to visit.






We use the electric EZ Bed for this.
I purchased it on a TV channel which is not the norm for me as I rather see these channels but I also got one of my best ever buys from there too - my steamer.


However because we kept meaning to get the plaster on another wall fixed and the room painted and new carpet put down I never really sorted out the wardrobes properly until now.





Yes we had one wall with huge cracks and bits of plaster always falling on the floor.

But now these cracks have been dealt with

and the room has been painted


and the wardrobes have been sorted.



Along the high wall

Left Wardrobe


Too many shirts were pushed in together and mixed up
but
a quick removal of all the short-sleeved shirts and then colours put together better
left a not so crushed pile of shirts
and 2 neater looking rails.

The top shelf didn't need to be touched at all.


Middle Wardrobe


This one was a bit of a crazy mixture so some things were able to be thrown out and some removed to be put elsewhere leaving room for all the short-sleeved shirts and a few long things.

The top shelf was fine, the shelf below just needed to be rearranged to hold the four pillows for use with the EZ double bed we can add to that room.

The bottom of the wardrobe still holds the grey container as before but Fred's 2 music/sound things which had been placed there (still inside the packing paper from our move to the house) have been taken out and a basket is there now with some gifts for Christmas in it.


Right Wardrobe



You can clearly see the slanted part of the ceiling here as this wall meets the lower wall.

This rail now is neater with the trousers and t shirts and polo shirts.
The top shelf just needed tidying up and still has some space left.
The shelf below it was a real mess with a mixture of travel things and a large box got last Christmas for Fred's belts but then he complained and said the sections of it are too small and the belts will get ruined having to be rolled up tightly.   Now that shelf only has 3 containers on it.
The belts are now all on the lower shelf which had originally been a mixture as well, and so messy looking with the hangers.

I need to think more about the belts and see if there will be another solution for them instead of taking up a whole shelf.



Along the lower wall

Left Wardrobe




The left hand rail here had been a mixture of my jackets and Fred's suits but now is better organised with Fred's suits easily reached and our summer jackets in the corner that is harder to get at.

The right rail had too many items crushed together so it now has my dresses.
On the bottom of this section we keep the emergency ladder which can be hooked over the window of the Dressing Room in case of fire.  The space in the corner beside it  is free - I love to have some free space because inevitably there will be something else needing a home when I tackle the games room.

The shelf at the top is now neater with the use of another 2 grey containers which have summer clothes in them.



Middle Wardrobe



This one was easy to work with very little change at the bottom.
A few clothes removed so rail is not as full.
Top shelf has the first grey container I got and these containers are just brilliant.  They are made of material and cardboard and are firm but pliable some have little windows and they come in several shapes and sizes.

I got them on Amazon and this is just one example of them.





Right Wardrobe




Quite a few items were summer clothes so they were packed away in one of the grey containers so no longer too many clothes hanging here.

I found that the slanted roof to this wardrobe was ideal for storing extra hangers so all the hangers making a mess previously in one of the other wardrobes are now neatly placed here on the top shelf along with a containers holding one of my large American Quilts.

My Hair dryer & brushes etc. had always been a problem on the top shelf and now I have them on the bottom and there is a lamp beside them because we keep this for when someone uses this room as a bedroom and need a bedside lamp.


I am looking forward to getting the new carpet for this room now.

And because a lot of the wardrobes still have free space at the bottom I'm considering which types of boxes or containers to get to fit there, and you know how I love Storage boxes!



This sorting was a joy to do because of the decorating having been completed and making everything feel like a fresh start.







Time consuming but counted as  FUNWORK  because I was happy while doing it.









Wednesday

3 Sleighs for Christmas - A Dose of Encouragement

                                       

Our Christmas Tree was too big.

Well too wide to be precise.

We had bought it about 7 years ago when we lived in Belgium and had more space to have a tall and wide tree.






We really liked it because it was easy to assemble and was prelighted so no fiddling and fighting with strings of lights.  The most time would be spent actually putting the decorations on the tree.

But now in our present home we had struggled with not really having enough room for this tree definitely in our lounge but also not really having the proper space for it in our large kitchen with seated area.

Last year we thought too late about trying to find a new slimmer tree but this year on Saturday we decided to go ahead when we saw a slimmer tree very similar in style to our other one.  In fact this one was going to be slim enough so that we could put it up in the lounge now that we had the smaller suite.





Last week when I wrote the Wednesday Encouragement post I was disappointed that we hadn't got our tree up yet in the kitchen because we were waiting for the painting to be done and I couldn't start writing about our Tree Decorations as I had hoped but today I can.

So I want to start with the 3 sleighs

On the tree each year since Christmas 1993 we have had these three sleighs.

They are almost identical except for one thing.
They each have the name of one of our children on them.






Fred & I hung them on the tree last night.

As per always my thoughts went back to when I got them.

We were living in the US in Hockessin, a village outside Wilmington in the State of Delaware.

That was where I was introduced to Christmas fairs and Christmas shops and Personalised Christmas Tree Decorations.

I saw the sleighs and remembered the fun our three kids (plus Fred & I) had had in March that year when we had woken up to find 14 inches of Snow at our front door.

After shovelling the driveway a few times and playing around and then in for hot drinks we joined our next door neighbours to race down through our back gardens.





What fun, what laughter, what coldness, but what enjoyment from a simple act.

We really didn't want to stop because we were enjoying this unusual activity.
It was very unusual for us because we had come from Northern Ireland where we rarely see 4 inches of snow let alone 14 and rarely get the chance to even try to slide down a snow slope.

Eventually we had to drag ourselves and the kids inside as it started to get dark and we were concerned about frostbite from those round red patches appearing on our cheeks.


So here we are again at another Christmas with the memories from 21 years ago.


I remember getting these tree decorations at a craft fair a month before Christmas and surprising the children with their special named sleigh for each of them to hang on the tree as the last decorations that year.

Do the children remember that event as distinctly as I do?

I don't think so but they do remember hanging them on the tree for years.

A lot of our tree decorations are individual things we have picked up over the years and not colour co-ordinated to be extremely fashionable and make a glamorous tree.  I want to have memories of happy times together as a family or remember friends who may have given us something for our tree.

I want to be able to look at my tree and say thank you to God for the lovely memories and the family and friends that he has put into our lives.




My tree will not be perfect but why should it because nothing can be perfect and in striving for my tree to be perfect I would miss out on remembering the memories and blessings of the past.

There is nothing or no-one perfect in this world except for God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

So as I remember my imperfect tree and it's decorations I am going to be thankful to God for my 3 children this Christmas and my husband and all the memories and blessings we have seen together as a family.

Then I will pray for the future members of this family and the future memories to come and the future blessings God will bestow on us all because He loves us even though we are not perfect but just trusting in Him.


What will your tree be like and will you remember your blessings?


These are the things that mean a lot to families at Christmas especially when not all of the family can be together.

This year like last year Linda will not be with us over Christmas time, she will still be in South Korea but her sleigh was put up last night and the boy's sleighs were also put up by Fred and I because they are not here for the decorating of the tree any more.






Even though they have their names on them I believe they are more my special item than theirs because I was the one that chose them,

and

they are staying on my tree, not going with them!


They can wait until they inherit them.






Sunday

It's God's Love #23


On Sundays I write a short post consisting of a Bible Verse around the topic of God's Love and I would be very pleased if you would come and join me each week.










God's Love

and 

the Love of 

Jesus

are one and the same Love

and that

Love

is there for us to rest in. 








I'm thankful

to know that

when we have

the Love of God

we also

have

Joy.


ARE  YOU?



















Wednesday

I Had Plans and So did He! - A Dose of Encouragement


Yes I really had plans.

But the painters changed my plans.





I was going to have a special post today about Christmas Tree Ornaments but seeing as we can't get our tree up yet because of the painting of the house, my plans were ruined.


So I shall tell you about last Friday instead when yet again I had plans; but my plans were changed.
Notice I didn't say ruined this time because how the day turned out was not a ruin.


I may have mentioned before that I would love to have a






but alas even after all my overhauling of the house this year I am still so far from this ideal.


I could blame it on the painters at the moment and that would be a good excuse and a true reason because we had to clear out rooms to other rooms and that just causes more mess and lot's of things end up not even being in their proper rooms let alone being in their right, exact, place.


Anyway back to Friday.

It was Black Friday and when we lived in the US we did not go shopping on that day because of the crowds but of course in Northern Ireland we didn't have Black Friday - until this year.

I saw some things on the internet about shops having special sales over the weekend but did not register the fact that it was related to Black Friday and I just never linked any thought in my head to how that might mean busy, busy, shops and Shopping Centres. 

I had arranged to have coffee with 2 friends from church at 2.30pm in the town where our church is which is 20 mins from our home.  Then on Thursday night I decided that I would also go to a large Shopping Centre on Friday 10 mins further on from the town and get some Christmas Cards (there's another story for you sometime too), a wedding gift, some other little things and also post my Christmas cards that were ready to go to the US and South Korea.  I worked out the timing and knew what time I would have to leave home so that I would have plenty of time to do that and be back to meet my friends for coffee.


So on Friday morning after breakfast, my bible reading, emails, list made out for what I wanted to get, checking my blog post was finished & scheduled for that afternoon and a couple of cups of coffee I was ready to get my handbag and keys and head off.


That was when I couldn't find




(no not my keys)

 my little wallet with my credit card and debit card and store cards in it.



The search began!



I searched upstairs and downstairs and in the last few handbags I had used, then pondered over in my mind the last time I could remember using any of my cards and I couldn't remember.


Not having found it and not remembering anything to help me I prayed that I hadn't lost it outside the house and felt sure that I hadn't. Then I prayed that God would remind me where to look.

No inspiration came, and I have to say that type of inspiration has come often enough in the past, so I just started and searched all the same places again because I knew I must have just overlooked it.



Again no joy.

Now that had taken me quite some time.


I would not now have enough time to do all that I had intended and indeed did not have enough cash to do all of it.







My plans were ruined (well would at least have to be changed).


So I decided I would just go to the Post Office to post my cards and call in at the Bible Book Shop to get more Christmas Cards before that Coffee Date with my friends.


But even that was not going to happen.


As I drove along in the car I heard a message ding in my phone which lay in the front seat beside me.

I don't normally stop for a message but there was a good spot to pull in just a bit ahead so I did just that.

It was a message from a friend who had got some news that bothered her and I could tell she was quite upset and wasn't sure what to do about it.
I messaged back and said where I was and if she was home I could be with her in about 15 mins.
She said yes please and off I drove again.

I really did not have much experience in the matter that was troubling her so I prayed about what to do and suddenly remembered that another friend would know more than me.  This other friend lived on the way and I knew she was probably at home so I called her, explained briefly what had happened, and asked if she would like to come with me.

Give me 5 mins and I'll be ready, was her reply.







Well an hour later when our friend was feeling much better and things had been set in motion to sort out her situation I mentioned about how I had been planning to go to the Shopping Centre earlier but couldn't go because I couldn't find my cards.

The two of them laughed at me and said I wouldn't have wanted to be there because there had been trouble between shoppers because of Black Friday Bargains and the police had been called.

Not only would I have not wanted to be there when there was fighting over products but I would also have hated it being so busy.


So not being able to find my cards had stopped me being there.   

Good Change of Plans I was thinking.


Then I realised that if I had been at the Shopping Centre my phone would have been in my handbag and I would not have heard the message come in (anyone that knows me well will know that sometimes I don't even hear calls coming through).  I would not have known our friend needed help and I wouldn't have been available to take my other friend (who cannot drive at the moment) to help her .


So not being able to find my cards not only kept me from being at the Shopping Centre but meant that I was in the right place at the right time with the car to be of help.


Good Change of Plans I was thinking.


No. Great Change of Plans!


These are the things that may seem like little things, but these are the things that demonstrate how much God cares for each of us.

God cared that our friend was getting news that would upset her.
 He had the whole process in His plan so that she would know she was not on her own and by this I don't mean about us, I mean that God was with her and that He was in control of the situation.









Over an hour and a half later than arranged I was sitting having coffee with my friends.  Were they annoyed?   No, they were very gracious because they knew someone had needed a helping hand.







I really enjoyed that coffee and the scone with strawberry jam, that I probably should not have been eating, as we all laughed about the fact that I didn't know it was Black Friday.



Oh and the cards?

Well I found them on Saturday of course.



Where?

In one of the places I had searched twice on Friday!   Where else?