Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room

♫Joy to the world! the LORD is come;

♫Let earth receive her King;

♫Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,

♫And heav’n and nature sing,

♫And heav’n and nature sing,

♫And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing!

Today, we began our advent celebration by preparing our hearts for the coming of our King. I can’t think of a better way to honor our LORD than to truly give Him what He wants for His birthday~ all of me!

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:1-2

My Autumn Blessing #75…
…preparing our hearts and home for the coming of our King…CHRISTmas has never looked as lovely as it does in the Light of Jesus.

LORD Jesus, Thank you for Your gift of salvation! Following You has been a continuous growing process and I am so thankful that You continue to mold me, change me, love me. Help each us to prepare room in our hearts for You this CHRISTmas season, to last the whole year through. Help us to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Help us to discern what is Your will, what is good, acceptable and perfect. Thank you, King Jesus!

My Autumn Blessing #76…
…hearing my family sing CHRISTmas carols together…off-key…and loving every minute of it!

Treasure Hunting

“You’ll find what you want to find, if you look hard enough.”

Sneaking away this morning to have coffee with ‘my girls’ was the perfect start to my day. Sharing Thanksgiving stories, victories and struggles, family dynamics…all come tumbling out onto the table, like a giant collective EXHALE. *sigh*

While discussing the difficulties of being critiqued (and sometimes judged) by well-meaning family members, one friend stated that “You’ll find what you want to find, if you look hard enough.”  Hmmm…really??

At first I didn’t agree…Do I do that? Do I just wait (like a predator) for that one relative  who always gets under my skin (my chosen prey) to just rub me the wrong way so I can say “See what I mean?! He’s impossible!!” (ATTACK!!!) or does that friction just exist and sparks are sure to fly, no matter what?

But, my God is so good…He got me thinking about this in a positive way, a godly way…What if I choose to find the GOOD in people? What if I look for the person God sees? What if I hunt for the treasures this one person…this beautiful, created-by-God individual…holds, until I find it?

A pretty big “what if?”

What if I looked for the blessings in every circumstance? …in every person? …in all Creation?

My Autumn Blessing #74...

...godly friends who challenge me to think.

Father God, Thank you so much for these beautiful women you have placed in my life that challenge my thinking. I know Your Hand is at work here! The big “what if” can be answered by the Great I AM. To see others as You see them, to love them, to treasure them…for Your Glory, LORD. Thank you also for the challenging people you place in my life that keep me focused on Your Beauty in all Creation, seeking You through it all. You are my Treasure, LORD! ♥

Treasure Hunting for the Kingdom of God…

…what if we all looked at life this way…

Preparing for His Coming

Christmas carols before Thanksgiving? I am usually one to wait…until December!

Not this year.

Honestly, this grateful heart could not wait to celebrate the coming of Our King! I’m not talking about Jingle Bells and those silly Santa ditties (whoa…I just said ditty…who am I???) you hear in every retail establishment this year with their subliminal message *shop, buy, spend* being chanted through every aisle. No, I’m talking about True Christmas.

♫♪O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.♪♫






Free from Ann VosKamp

Our family will spend the next month preparing for the coming of Our King. We will (re)turn our focus towards Christ Jesus by creating a Jesse Tree during this advent season with our children. We will make simple, thoughtful gifts for our loved ones. We will fellowship with each other without distractions (so long, Facebook!). We will take God’s gift of love to the streets & spread CHRISTmas cheer wherever we go!

My Autumn Blessing #73…

…streaming unlimited CHRISTmas music anytime I want!



Mighty God, You are Lord of Lords, King of Kings,  Emmanuel, the Great I Am, and the Prince of Peace. And I will worship you, love you, adore you any time of year, any season, any place, any time!



♫♪O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.♪♫

I invite YOU to come, let us adore Him…together! Rejoice with me! ♥



Full

I am full…
Thankful.
Joyful.
Prayerful.
I am full.

“Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Full of thanks.
Full of joy.
Full of prayer and praise.

LORD, from the bottom of my heart, thank you… This blessed season of Thanksgiving should last the whole year through! I am truly humbled by Your love for Your children, Your love for…Me. Thank you, LORD. In my thankfulness, I say YES! to your grace! My joy is complete in You and only You…now and forevermore…

My Autumn Blessing #72…
…experiencing the FULLness of Thanksgiving with my family and my friends! I could not have asked for a better day ♥ and yet You knew, LORD!

How Great is Our God!

How Great is Our God….Well, let me tell you!

In trying to stick to a budget, we bought our November groceries a few weeks back and, even though we had figured Thanksgiving into our budget, when it came time to shop, we had enough money for everything but the turkey.

“We can't have Thanksgiving
without a turkey!”

I told my family to just wait patiently and see if the Lord would provide one, but that we should chose to be thankful regardless.

With the big day getting close, we were all kind of sad that we had no one to celebrate with and...no turkey. A chicken would have to do and since it was just the 4 of us, it would be plenty. *sigh*

On Sunday, after church, one of the other wives was asking what each of us was making for Thanksgiving dinner. I told her ours would be simple, that we had everything but the turkey -literally- but that God's provision is perfect and complete.

Would you believe she gave us her turkey?

They were thawing a bird they didn't have room for in their fridge, but they didn't need it since they were eating at their inlaws’.

God's provision IS perfect and complete! And now we also have company coming for dinner :)

My Autumn Blessing #71…

…God’s perfect provision in the form of a turkey. ☺

LORD, how can we ever doubt you?? Thank you for your Perfect and Complete Provision! My heart is swollen with thankfulness and love for You, Father God. Your loving blessings are poured out on us, even when we don’t deserve it. Your Grace covers us, Your Mercy astounds us. Thank you…thank you…

Oh, the beauty of Your Majesty

The battle between snow and rain was waged today. Though the rain won in the end, I crave the snow…I long for the calm overtaking as it blankets the world around me. Oh, the peacefulness, the silence, of a moonlit night on a snow-covered land!

My Autumn Blessing #70…
…the hopefulness of snow…even when it doesn’t come today, it WILL come someday!

Lord, I long for YOU this way too… to take over the land, filled it with Your Perfect Peace. Thank you for these beautiful reminders of Your Never-ending Presence! Oh, beautiful blessed day!

♪♫When the storm is raging all around me
…You are the peace that calms my troubled sea
And when the cares of this world
Darken my day
…You are the light that shines
And shows me the way
Oh, the beauty of Your majesty
On the cross You showed Your love for me!

The battle begins....between snow and rain ♥

♫Beautiful Lord
Awesome and mighty
I'm captured by this love I see
♪Beautiful Lord
Tender and holy
Your mercy brings me to my knees
It's Your mercy that has made me free
♫Beautiful Lord
When my sin is all that I can see
Your grace remains the shelter that I seek
And when my weakness is all I can give
Your gentle Spirit gives me strength again
And oh, the beauty of Your majesty
On the cross You showed Your love for me
And I am lifted by Your love to sing!
It's Your mercy that has made me free!
You're beautiful, my Lord
You're beautiful, my Lord♫♪

And still I will count…

I have been sick and tired this week…of being sick and tired. And still I will count my blessings…

♪♫How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing♫♪

To know I am loved by the King is more than enough, isn’t it? ♥

My Autumn Blessing #66…

…finishing my keepsake wreath using the paper flowers from my vow renewal celebration. Love it!

#67...

…the gentle pitter-patter of rain lulling me to sleep at night, no matter how long it takes…

#68…

…having children that are responsible enough to fend for themselves while I rest.

#69…

…having those same children take care of me too.

Heavenly Father, Your Provision is perfect in every way. I don’t have to understand it to know that I am loved by You, my King.
Thank you for each season, each lesson learned, each day I have to sing your praises!