"prepare ye, the way of the Lord....." when that amazing tenor voice rings out with this song at the beginning of the musical Godspell (PLEASE tell me you have seen this performed on stage!!), I always think of the Advent season and preparing our minds, hearts and souls, not to mention our homes and churches for Christmas. As we approach the Christmas season I am praying that you are not too busy to spend some time reflecting on all of the blessings from the year as well as the areas in which God moved within you.
For today, I am pausing to share FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week. There were actually several this week but here are my very fave ones...the things that brought an extra smile to my face. Link up your own post at Susanne's site to find other bloggers' faves.
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| Advent calendar from Claire |
- GIFT of LOVE: Our youngest daughter Claire volunteered at The Freedom Cafe during her 4 years at UNH. One thing we love about the cafe, besides the amazing coffee they serve/sell, is that they give all of the proceeds (the cafe is only run by volunteers!) to groups that help to rescue women, children, and men from human trafficking. One of those groups is Love 146 that I personally help to support. Claire gave me this gift of love this past week: An advent calendar that the cafe is selling with delicious chocolate! You can read about where the proceeds from the sale go by clicking here. I'm thankful for Claire's love and love for people all over the world.
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- SURPRISE MAIL: I was super surprised when I retrieved the mail from our box Monday after work and saw a card from an elderly saint who belongs to the church I grew up in. She was like a 2nd mother to me at times during my teen years and is in her early 80s now. She wrote me a wonderful message saying she prays for me daily and she included some of my fave Scriptures. I was so surprised. Her oldest son and I are friends from childhood and youth group/church camp. We keep in touch via Facebook so I was able to share this with him. I'm thankful for the elderly saints in my hometown church.
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| nativity from my early childhood in the 1960s |
- HOUSE PREP: We arrived home from our Thanksgiving break on Saturday to a house that needed decorating/prepping for the Christmas season. The small group Bible study we host in our home every other Friday evening is having our Christmas party tonight! So Saturday and Sunday after laundry, grocery shopping, church and choir auditions, I started prepping the house. Shown above is one of my very fave decorations: the small nativity my dad gave to me after Mom died. She would display this every year...my first memory of it was in 1965 when I was 5. She put it out every single year until she died in 2012 when it became mine. Below are a couple of other fave looks...I'm thankful for the Christmas season and the simple decor I've acquired over the years.
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| top shelf: small candle and blue quilt star made by Claire when she was 3 and in preschool 2nd Shelf: nativity snow globe that "snows" when on (battery operated) bottom shelf: my collection of Santa/St Nicholas tins |
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| Merry Christmas wooden blocks on top of our tv armoire in the family room a gift from my dear friend Mindy way back in 1993 the pottery jug now holds evergreens and white berries |
- CHRISTMAS EVE CHOIR! Dave and I both auditioned for our church's CHristmas Eve choir. A friend of mine who goes to a different church had a huge problem with the fact we hold auditions. Well. We are a very large church (about 550 people at the 9 am service and about 1200 at the 11 am service) and there are typically 50-70 people who want to be in the Christmas choir. Our worship band consists of about 12 musicians including our paid staff Worship Director. Only about 24 people (6 per vocal section) can comfortably fit on the risers on stage. So our director thought holding auditions would be fair. We were definitely ok with that! Auditions were Sunday and Dave and I both found out Tuesday that we had been accepted! I'm thrilled because it's been several years (mainly due to covid) that we could have a Christmas Eve choir. There are 3 services on Xmas Eve and we have to arrive there by 12:15 pm. We can leave after the 5 pm service around 6 pm. It will be a full day but I'm so thankful we get to sing for the Lord!
- BROWSING BOOKS: I love going to the library on a cold, rainy day and Sunday afternoon I made sure I did just that. It was raining after church and I had a book to return. I decided to browse the msytery and drama section and found 2 books by authors I've never read before. They both look good and one is actually a Christmas fiction book. I'm thankful for a large towne library that has Sunday afternoon hours.
That wraps up my FAVE FIVES.
What about you? Do you have five things that made you smile and say "Thank You, God" this week??
HAPPY WEEKEND!
11 comments:
Hi Faith. So glad you get to sing in the Christmas Eve choir at your church. I love all of your fun Christmas decorations. Looks like your home is ready for Christmas. I had a little nativity very similar to your when I was little. I have no idea what happened to it. It's cool that you still have yours. It's so nice that your elderly friend sent you a lovely card with scriptures. Very thoughtful. I love the advent calendar and that proceeds from its sale helps out those in need. I hope that your party is great tonight! Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
Congrats on making in the choir! Sounds like such a fun way to celebrate the season. And, yes, you really do have a big church!:) So many wonderful blessings this week....especially that happy mail! Wouldn't it be great to be the one to send an unexpected happy mail this week? I just might do that:)
Reading all of these blog posts for Friday's Fave has made my day! I'm loving it. Congratulations on making the choir! That is a dream of mine! And the nativity. Oh that made me feel some kind of way. My mom had that nativity when I was really really little in the early 70s! I don't know what happened to it. Have a wonderful weekend!
Congratulations on making the choir. I loved singing in the choir as a youth. I hear Hande's Messiah on the radio, and it made me think of singing it at our little church. I love Nativities and have quite a few. Nice to meet you!
My favorite Christmas decorations are the ones from my childhood. They evoke so many good memories. Congratulations to you and Dave on getting to sing in the choir. I've always admired people that can sing, because I cannot!
Oh, I remember those Christmas cantatas I used to sing in at my church back in Florida. I was always alto, and my mother was tenor. We were a relatively small church but our programs were always such blessing! Congrats that you and your husband made the auditions. I definitely see the need for auditions in your situation.
Such sweet Christmas decorations you have. And I felt tears when I read about the note from your friend. How lovely of her to write you and include scriptures. Those type of messages are so special!
I have my favorite Christmas books that I read every year but I'm always looking for new ones to read.
Have a blessed weekend!
How fun to combine an Advent calendar with chocolate! What a sweet card from your friend. It feels so nice and festive to get the house ready for Christmas. Congratulations on making the Christmas choir! Auditions are understandable in that situation. I fondly remember being in Christmas cantatas. They were a lot of work, but such a blessing.
Oh you are lucky that your library is open on Sunday. Ours is closed.
I am so glad you and Dave are in the choir! That is one thing I really miss in church--being able to sing in the choir.
Love your decorations! I got about half done...and now it is all on hold. That nativity from your mom and dad is beautiful and meaningful on so many levels.
Have a good week!
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What a sweet gift of the nativity from your Dad. All the memories associated with it are priceless. I have our nativity from childhood too and just love it. Yay for making the choir. That will be a lovely service I'm sure! The advent calendar was a nice gift from your daughter and a worthwhile cause. I'm always up for browsing at the library. One of my favorite ways to have "me" time and relax.
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