A Glorious Peace!

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Merry Christmas!

The remarkably polished Minnesota Orchestra was performing “Evening Prayer” from Hansel and Gretel when some questionable subjects slowly crept into sight. The first one appeared on stage and then two more, and then another two began slinking mysteriously down each aisle of Orchestra Hall.

Only a moment earlier the conductor had cheerfully announced that we were in for a fantastic treat: puppets from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre in Minneapolis.

These larger-than-life puppets – some towering near 12-feet tall – masqueraded as angels. However, two of these so-called angels had deer heads, and two had squirrel heads. In their dream pantomime, they quietly kept watch over Hansel and Gretel as the children peacefully slept all alone, deep in the dangerous forest.

For our very sensitive 5-year-old Laurel, seeing these enormous puppet angels dwelling among us was certainly no fantastic treat. Rather than peace, they brought trouble. At first sight of them, Laurel shrieked in utter terror, hid under her coat, and then sobbed uncontrollably for the rest of the performance. Her daddy sat beside her, attempting to quiet and comfort her, but feeling trapped and helpless.

Fear Not!

The puppet angels truly terrified Laurel. And they did look exceptionally sinister.  They not only broke the rules by having animal heads and sneaking in unexpectedly from the back of the hall, but also they failed to announce what all Biblical angels know is the first order of business when appearing to humans. You already know the line: “Do not be afraid!” or “Fear not!”

Real-live angels must be quite terrifying, too. Remember the shepherds – those burly tough guys who weren’t afraid to take on any lions or bears that threatened their sheep? Even they were terrified by the angel that appeared to them and by the glory of the Lord shining around them that night when our Savior arrived.

The first angel the shepherds saw had a mission of utmost significance: to proclaim good news of great joy. Peace on earth! The Savior of the world had just been born!

One must be calm to be able to listen to such a meaningful message. That’s why the angel had to calm the shepherds with his words, “Do not be afraid.”

The spoken word is such a powerful thing – and even more so when it’s the Word of God. Clearly these words calmed the shepherds, as they soon heard the angel’s message of peace and then found the baby Jesus.

Imagine the rush of wings as a whole crowd of angels then came into sight, all praising God together and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

Find Peace

That said, Christmastime should be peaceful, right? Yet isn’t it hard to find peace when so many distractions masquerade as necessary to our Christmas celebration? Like giant puppets, distractions can trouble us and sometimes even make us want to hide under our coats.

But we have an ever-present heavenly Father – One who is always able to quiet us and comfort us in times of trouble. He is mighty to save!

We genuinely find peace when we, like the shepherds, fix our eyes on Jesus, gaze upon His divine excellence, and behold the glory of the Lord. His glory is shining all around us, too, when we look for it and let it transform us.

In the song “Everything Glorious,” David Crowder sings, “My eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things… From glory to glory, You [Jesus] are glorious. You make everything glorious, and I am Yours. What does that make me?”

We pray you embrace true peace this Christmas and throughout the new year, and we pray you join us in fixing our eyes upon Jesus and allowing Him to transform us. May our small eyes see the beauty of enormous things in 2011!

From glory to glory, He is glorious!

More Piles of White Stuff

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As the snow continues to pile up in frightfully large amounts outside — they say it’s the snowiest December on record here in Minnesota — the girls and I are making some additional piles of white stuff in the kitchen. You know, piles of flour and powdered sugar and sparkling sugar sprinkles…

Ahh, sugar cookies. Michael and I had mixed up the dough last night, so it was nice and chilled this morning. The girls and I started rolling out the dough mid-morning, and I don’t think we stopped until nearly 3 p.m.! Whew! 

It’s been nearly two years since we’ve made sugar cookies, and my children’s decorating skills seem to have progressed noticeably. The funniest thing about today was the red hot cinnamon candies because Laurel kept referring to them as “hot rods.”  Linnea decided that was easier and more fun to say, so all day long it was “hot rod” this and that…

After shoveling in countless cookies topped with buttercream frosting, I put my “sugar rush” to good use by shoveling the entire the driveway. Sadly, the snow was coming down at a rate of one inch per hour, so the driveway was completely white again when Michael drove in from work. At least I still had some sugar cookies left to show for our efforts!

Fairy Tea: Take 2

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When my oldest daughter turned 6, I threw a fairy tea party for her. Evidently, she has fond memories of it because she wanted another fairy tea for her 8th birthday earlier this month.

This year’s menu was much simplier! We served mini-pizzas from Pizza Hut, baby goldfish crackers, fairy-sized carrot sticks, raspberries and blackberries, ginger peach tea, lemonade, chocolate cake, and raspberry floats.

Here are the photo highlights:

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Piles Becoming Mountains

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In December, everything seems to come in piles. You know, piles of Christmas cards in the mailbox, piles of presents under the tree, piles of cookies and other baked goods on the kitchen counter. And here in the Frozen Tundra of Minnesota, snow piles up, too. This fall we have piles like I’ve never seen before in the 13 years that I’ve lived here.

 It’s not officially winter yet, but the snow piles are already mountains. We’ve had two snow storms (12 inches each), an ice storm, a blizzard (23 inches last Saturday) plus 8 or 10 inches more just this morning. 

Thankfully, it has warmed up considerably (30 degrees!) so the kids can play outside. Here they are playing in the front yard on the pile of snow that my husband has created simply by clearing off the driveway.

In most places, the pile is taller than my 8-year-old and runs the entire length of the driveway on both sides.

I took this photo as a reference for my Oklahoma friends and family. That’s an Eskimo Joe’s cup sitting in my driveway. I think Stan Clark would be proud, don’t you?

The deep snow in the yard is a little challenging to wade through, but my little Minnesota girls plow right into it anyway.

The other thing that really tends to pile up around this time is laundry. Oh, all the layers we have to wear makes for double or triple the usual amount of dirty clothes! I better go switch another load!

Tree Quest 2010

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Today’s quest for a Christmas tree felt magical. All the trees were completely laden with snow. Such breathtaking, verdant beauties!

This is the first year we’ve had to shake so much fresh snow off the tree before confirming it was THE one! It was also the first year that my cousin Rachel joined us in the adventure. Thanks for coming, Rae!

Below is a slideshow of my photos from the quest. Merry Christmas!

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O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!

How It Glistens

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The fresh snow on our next-door neighbors’ tree this morning — with a little emphasis added — looks so peaceful.

What a snowfall we’ve had in the last 24+ hours. Of course it comes on a weekend already packed with a piano recital, company party, and church dinner — just to name a few activities. Yet somehow we managed to squeeze in a trip to see the movie Tangled, which was wonderful. We all loved it!

Peace to you this weekend!

Where are we, Toto?

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If you read my last post about our backyard snowfort, this picture might confuse you. 

Here are my coat-less, mitten-less, hat-less little pioneer women, in a snow-less prairie landscape. Their Pa put ’em up in that wagon.

 

Don’t they look refreshed and happy to be up there?

“Hey, Toto. We aren’t in Minnesota anymore.”

Nope. We’re in Kansas. Swept all the way down I-35 and beyond to this prairie home of a very famous pioneer woman.

(Although, I’d sure like to visit with a certain other famous Pioneer Woman, that’s another story… Did you hear there’s a movie of her life in the works?)

Well anyway, this is the Ingalls’ home — the Little House on the Prairie in Wayside, KS, — near Independence. We got to go inside, too. It’s cozy.

My very own Pa lives across the border and down the road just a piece. I don’t usually call him Pa and no, he doesn’t play the fiddle, but we love him a lot.

For the record, fellow Pioneer Woman readers, I’d like to apply as a substitute writer for that other Pioneer Woman. You know she’ll be waaaay too busy to write home once that movie thing takes off. So as a native Oklahoman, blogger, baker, and homeschool mom, don’t I qualify? Oh yes, I happen to have a few ties to the beef industry, too.

So, what do you say, Ree?

Also, just so you know, I can’t watch the Wizard of Oz. Flying monkeys freak me out.

The Snow Fort

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What do you get when you combine 11 inches of surprisingly soupy, fresh snow, one lazy Saturday morning, two energetic girls, one playfully productive dad, and one plastic shoe box?  

A snow fort!

I hestiated to go out in the snow storm with my camera, which did get a little wet. But it was good that I shot these pictures when I did because a few hours later the snow fort collapsed. So sad. We still have several inches of snow on the ground.

And lots of chilly memories!

5 Star Links for Friday

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It’s a dull, cloudy November day. Outside everything looks brown or gray. I could easily feel gloomy today. Instead I choose joy because today, joy is reading stories to eager little ears. Joy is tickling someone I love with feather. Joy is an impromptu pizza party. Joy is sharing everyday moments with friends who brightly shine Jesus’s love.

Here are some little online blessings — 5 Star Links — that I want to share with you. I hope they bring you joy today.

1. A timely lesson for the upcoming season —  5 Keys to Christmas Joy

2. Encouraging words — a lovely printable: 10 Point Manifesto of Joy for Parents

3. Help in memorizing God’s Word: Verse Card Maker

4. Buttery, Flaky, Buttermilk Biscuits — I tried out this new recipe earlier this week, and it will make you sing. Not that you should ever sing with food in your mouth…

5. But if you do feel musically inclined, may I suggest humming this catchy song: Oh, Happiness by the David Crowder Band? I’m completely in love with it! The upbeat tune is a remedy for my Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Blessings on your Friday!

Thanksgiving Storytime

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re-posted from last fall

“In everything give thanks.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tomorrow I have the honor of leading our homeschool group’s preschool storytime at the library, and this month’s theme — just in time for Thanksgiving — is thankfulness and contentment.

In my research and preparation for storytime, I keep coming across the “Five Kernels” tradition in various places. I’ve never heard of it before, but it’s a simple and meaningful little tradition that I plan to incorporate this year in our family’s Thanksgiving meal.

The Five Kernels tradition is based on the Pilgrim’s “starving time” during the spring of 1623. Some say all that was left to eat was five kernels of corn a day for each person. Likewise, the tradition is to put five kernels of corn on each plate at the beginning of the Thanksgiving meal. One by one, each person gives thanks to God for five specific blessings, puts the kernels in a basket, and passes the basket to the next person.

I’m also going to give this a whirl during storytime, but we may just do two or three kernels since the audience is so young.

Of course storytime will feature some great lessons on thankfulness, too! We’ll read about God providing bread, quail and water for the Israelites (in Mighty Acts of God). We’ll also read about a discontent little bird, Gertrude McFuss, one of the “other” stories in Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle. At the end, everyone will get one feather to take home.

Storytime will also feature Lydia Maria Child’s classic Thanksgiving poem, “Over the River and Through the Wood,” and Laurie Berkner’s song, “I’m Going to Eat on Thanksgiving Day.”