Celebration Day-Christmas-Dec. 25, 2006

Christmas Greetings to everyone!

Today is Chrismas-Happy Birthday, Jesus!A Day to celebrate!
Whether you are rich or poor, alone or have lots of family, know this, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, the most precious gift of all, for each one of us. His love is your gift, and you can welcome Him into your heart today! He can be your Rock of Salvation and peace against a cruel and evil world. Celebrate today-and the days to follow---Christ's birthday!

The Christ-child came for all to know.
He came for us, for eternity.
His wisdom and grace,
He gave us for free,
But, alas man turned away,
not wanting to see.
They say their ways are better,
their ways got them more,
more than riches of silver and gold.
Their ways of evil,
at what price to pay,
gave them riches untold,
their evil ways,
let many sell their souls.
How many have turned,
their backs on Him,
Laughing and scoffing,
not letting Him in.
Yet, in an instant,
He can welcome you in,
Into His grace,
His arms opened wide,
if given the chance,
only you can decide.

Jesus' love is the most awesome and incredible gift! Money can't buy it, you can't put it on a credit card, you can't take out a loan for it, it is there for free.
Without it, you wonder and wander, around and around, yet, seek and ye shall find,
it is within your grasp. His love is so real, so true and so fine, it has nothing to do with religion. But just a simple prayer away, to let Him into your heart, starting today. It is a personal relationship. A relationship that gives you strenght, direction, comfort, unconditional love, and the rewards are many!

You see, folks, when all else fails, when the ways of man turn you away, when the ways of man judge you, mock you, criticize you, curse you, hold grudge against you, the only one who will not do these things is -Jesus Christ-the Savior, who was born into the world to save us from our sins. His salvation of grace is there for you, any time, any where, any place. Let Him into your heart today. You will be so glad you did.

My hope and prayer for you is that you seek Him out. Welcome Him into your heart, and rejoice in His presence. Jesus is the ultimate gift! There is nothing of the world like it! I know Jesus loves me, sins, faults, and all. I am so blessed!

His blessings to you,
Becky :)

Sunday morning, December 17, 2006 - 8 a.m.

Hello, Folks,

Well, it has been an interesting week and a half. First of all, our Christmas party with friends and neighbors was great. Lots of delicious food, conversation, and laughs.

I had a contest naming the reindeer with Rudolph. Let me tell you, I had no idea Snoopy, Sneezy, Dopey, etc. would be listed. Very funny. Then, I had our guests name the 12 days of Christmas. Whoa! Some of the answers were hilarious---three French men??? Very liberal and conservative fellow who gave those to his "love" for Christmas! Plus, one guy wrote out his own version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" - eight years probation, twelve-pack of Bud, five tins of Skoll, etc...very very funny.

On Saturday morning, as I mentioned previously on another blog, our furnace went out that morning of the party. The furnace guy came around 9:30 a.m. I left for town to pick up the meat/cheese tray at the local grocery store. When the girl brought it out, it was the size of a dinner plate. She looked at me and said, "You have a funny look on your face. Is this not the right size?" I said, "Well, no, I ordered the Deluxe plate that would feed around 24 people. She said, "Oh, well, this isn't big enough." Soooo, I shopped a little bit for some other things, waited about 35 minutes, and they made another larger tray for me. Okay. I left the store, drove to the local Ponderosa for the wing/dings that were to be ready at 10:30 a.m. As I was making a left turn into the place, I glanced in my rear view mirrow and behold I had no side mirror! It was hanging by the electric cord on the side of my car!

I pulled into the parking lot, assessed the damage, and went into the Ponderosa. They said I was to pick up the order at noon! I said, "No, I was picking it up at 10:30 a.m." Sooo, I waited about 20 minutes while they cooked my order. (I sat on the bench between Mr. and Mrs. Claus.) When I left, I had to lower the electric window, hold onto the hanging rear view mirror, all the way home! (It was banging on the side of the car from the wind. Even driving slower, didn't help.) By the time I got home, my gloved hand, (thank goodness I had my gloves with me-about 28 degrees outside), was very, very, cold!

I called the grocery store and asked if they had a video of the parking lot. The manager said, yes, but it only covered the first two rows of the parking area. I was, of course, parked in the third row. I do believe someone snapped it off with a shopping cart. I was parked right in front of the parking cart return area. Never again!

I called my insurance man on Monday, and then drove out after work to a body shop in town. Hubby taped it to the side of my car with duct tape, (isn't that stuff wonderful?!), and the insurance company is going to fix it. I guess it falls under Comprehensive and not Collision. (Well, yeah, I was in the store when it happened!)
I am waiting on the part to come in for the body shop to fix it.

The weather has been great, but unseasonably warm. I fed the fish up until a few days ago. Never did that before in the nine years we have had the pond! I did read on the internet about not feeding fish when the temperature of the pond goes below 55 degrees. One site said that the fish are "little pigs with fins" and will eat no matter what! So, I haven't fed them anymore. The website said the food will set in their guts and not get digested properly and it can really cause them problems and even kill them! Okay. Not feeding them anymore!

Here we are, winding down (up?) to the celebration of Christmas. With all the decorating, hussle, bussle, etc., it is so easy to get caught up in the wirlwind of shopping, wrapping presents, decorating, and yet, when it all comes down to it, we really need to sit quietly and reflect on the "Reason for the Season" - Jesus' birth. He does not judge us, but loves us, no matter if we are poor, rich, unemployed, successful, handicapped, sick, lonely, short, tall, skinny, overweight, single, married, on and on. If you welcome Him into your heart, He is there for you, now and forever. To me, it is a personal thing. I talk to Him daily. (Sometimes all day.) I don't always like His answers, but there again, His Hands are there to guide me, nourish me, love me, care for me, sustain me, and help me make decisions, help me when I am down, and His love lifts me so high at times I feel as though I am soaring on the wings of an eagle!

I wrote a poem last night about Jesus, like I did last year. I will post it on Christmas morning. Hope you like it!

Be blessed, and thanks for your emails! I appreciate every one of them!

In God's awesome love,
Becky :)

Saturday morning, December 9, 2006-furnace out!

Good morning, folks,

Well, it has been an interesting morning. I woke up at 2:15 a.m. and the cold hit me! I checked the thermostat and it read a cool 55 degrees! Yikes! I woke up hubby, and he proceeded to clean out the furnace nozzle, and the little window that shows the flame when the furnace fires. Alas, it worked for a brief period, (after blowing yucky smoke out the front scared me!), and then it kept shutting off. Hmmm. The furnace attempted to run, but the blower would only run for about 30 seconds. There is hardly any flame. So, hubby brought up the kerosene heater from the basement, put it between the living room and dining room, (the cats have gathered around it),and I plugged in a little space heater in the kitchen. We sometimes use it in the bathroom. I did wait until 6 a.m. to call the furnace guy. (Got him out of bed oops!). Needless to say, neither of us went back to sleep. So, I made coffee at 3:30 a.m., and started working on making the dried beef hors d'oeuvres, for our Christmas party tonight. We have about 28 people coming around 5 pm.

This recipe is great. Get scallions, cut the tips off, and most of the stem, making them about 3 inches long, (rinse and dry them), then rinse the dried beef (I use the family pack that has about 25 pieces in each pack) with warm water, and place the dried beef on paper towels. Pat them dry, and put them on a plate. Next, microwave the Phil. cream cheese so it is just soft enough to spread (gently) on the slice of dried beef. Place the scallion on the slice of dried beef and roll. When finished, chill in refrigerator until time to serve them. Very tasty.
I also made a great tasting dish for the first time ever. Waldorf salad. Wow! It is sooo good. I used 1/2 mayonnaise (8 oz.) and half Cool Whip, (8 oz. package) and then added the grapes (cut in halves), pecans, and apple chunks (peel the apple) and mixed it all together to chill for 24 hours. Yum! Yum!

It has been really cold, and last night was the coldest night so far this year. Great time for the furnace to go out. Right now it is about 64 degrees in the family room at least, according to the thermostat in the family room.

I am going to try and have my computer guy set up a "Pay Pal account" so that anyone who wants a signed copy (copies) of my book (s), I will be glad to send them signed to you. I will just need your name and address. You will have to email me and let me know. I have books here at my house, and I have received this request from some people that I know that live out of state. So, if this will work, it will be another way to get my books sold, and also get them out to someone that may get something out of them to hopefully get out of their domestic violence and abusive situations and get a better life. it can be done.

I am also going to have my computer guy list the libraries I have donated too. Most of them are in Ohio right now, but there are copies of both books down in Kentucky.

Gotta go. Lots to do yet to get ready for this evening's guest arrivals.
Take care, laugh often, be good to yourself, and remember the "Reason for the Season Jesus!"

Best regards,

Becky :)

Sunday morning, December 3, 2006

Hello folks,

In my last blog, I forgot to mention that I watched "The March Of The Penguins" and it was truly an interesting, informative, and awesome film. Wow! If you haven't seen it, see it. Very inspiring! Amazing!

Even one of our cats, Tooter, decided to watch it too! She sat in front of the television for over half an hour and watched it. I took a picture of her watching the television. She seemed very captivated by the movie. She does that sometimes. Even when I am watching a nature show, she sits and watches. It makes me wonder what she is thinking or getting out of the program???? I'll never know.

The wind has died down, (over 60 miles an hour and no snow!), and we only lost two shingles. One on the house and one on the older garage. (Which will need replaced soon. Maybe next summer?)

I have been so busy with getting the house ship/shape for guests coming next Saturday night. I have decorated outside, but have waited to put on the garland and the large red bows as I didn't want the garland to be shredded by the wind, and the bows ending up down the road. Hopefully I can finish it all today outside, and then work on inside preparations. I love to decorate for Christmas!

I did have an extra chore to do yesterday. Friday evening as I was sitting upstairs watching CSI, I started to smell smoke. I opened the basement door and the basement was filled with wood smoke from the fireplace. I asked hubby what happened and evidently when he went to close the screens for the fireplace, he accidentally closed the damper almost shut! The smoke filled the basement and started to come upstairs! Major-ooooopppsss!!!! He had to open the back basement door, run the fan, and of course, open the damper all the way!

Soooo, yesterday morning, I added on my "To Do List-scrub basement." I washed down all the wood-paneled walls and the furniture in the basement with Murphy's oil soap, and this morning I am washing the throw covers that are on the furniture down there. Whew! Now that it is almost spic & span, I will start decorating it. Hubby did feel bad about it, and told me he was sorry he caused me so much extra work. He did offer to help, but you know men and cleaning, they just don't do it like a woman does!!!

We went down to New Philly yesterday and he bought me a pair of one-piece Carharts (spelling?) coveralls to wear outside when the weather is very cold. I had to get an x-large in the youth department for the length. The large size would probably have worked, but getting them zipped over my chest was the main problem. The small size in the adult department was about twelve inches too long. I asked the guy if they (Carhart) did not consider the fact that women hunt or do things outside, and why wouldn't they make a petite size for women? He did not have an answer. Oh, well, the youth size will be fine.

We are still eating turkey! We had some the other night, and still have some left. I will probably give the rest of it to father-in-law when he comes today to take home and munch on.

In all the shopping, running around like crazy, decorating, fixing special dishes, sending out cards, try to remember what the season is about. Jesus. We do tend to get caught up in all the hoopla of Christmas, but take the time to pause and have a few quiet moments to reflect on the season and its awesome meaning.

One time hubby and I were really broke. We just did not have any money for Christmas presents. We were really, really struggling. He had lost his job, and money was extremely tight. I was so depressed, and then someone said to me, "Why not make notes and put them in a person's card that you will give a gift of love: washing their car come spring, or fixing them a dinner, or praying for them, or wishing them health and happiness, or offering to help them in some way that is needed, taking them to the doctor, or taking them to get a hair cut, or just visiting with them, so on and on it goes. Buying monetary gifts are nice, but sometimes if money is low, doing something for someone can be just as meaningful or more as giving them a gift you think you have to purchase. There can be a rough time in your life, but it can also be a stepping stone to better things to come. Be patient.

Gotta go. Another load of laundry is done and I have to do more. Take care. Be blessed, and remember Christmas for the season it is. A time of renewal, a time to be thankful for what you have, and a time to share with others and celebrate the "Reason for the Season!- Jesus' birth!

I wrote a poem last Christmas. It is in my December 2005, blog archives. Enjoy!

In God's Love,
Becky :)