As this year draws to a close...

... Receive My Peace. This is still your deepest need, and I, your Prince of Peace, long to pour Myself into your neediness. My abundance and your emptiness are a perfect match. I designed you to have no sufficiency of your own. I created you as a jar of clay, set apart for sacred use. I want you to be filled with My very Being, permeated through and through with Peace.

Thank Me for My Presence, regardless of your feelings. Whisper My Name in loving tenderness. My Peace, which lives continually in your spirit, will gradually work its way through your entire being.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Freaky Friday

Friday fill-in time!

Every Friday, Hilary at Feelingbeachie.com posts four statements with blanks for you to fill in on your own blog. Join the fun!

Statements:

1. Every time I hear _____ I think of _____.

2. Sometimes I feel like I forgot how to _____ because I ______.

3. So if there was one New Year's resolution I could make it would be _____ because I know I can keep it.

4. If I could have any pet it would be a _____ and I would ____ with it.

Answers:

1. Every time I hear "We Three Kings" I think of dancing camels.

2. Sometimes I feel like I forget how to cook because I don't do it much anymore.

3. So if there was one New Year's resolution I could make it would be to read more because I know I can keep it!

4. If I could have any pet it would be a penguin and I would swim with it.

December 23

"I am King of kings and Lord of lords, dwelling in dazzlingly bright Light! I am also your Shepherd, Companion, and Friend- the One who never lets go of your hand. Worship Me in My holy Majesty; come close to Me, and rest in My Presence. You need Me both as God and as Man. Only My Incarnation on that first, long-ago Christmas could fulfill your neediness. Since I went to such extreme measures to save you from your sins, you can be assured that I will graciously give you all you need.

"Nurture well your trust in Me as Savior, Lord, and Friend. I have held back nothing in My provision for you. I have even deigned to live within you! Rejoice in all that I have done for you, and My Lighy will shine through you into the world."

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Secret Santa, Part III

The final days of the 12 days of Christmas, Secret Santa style!

Day 9

Hope your Christmas is Merry and SPRITE!

Day 10

Snowman poop (white tic tacs)
Heard you've been naughty
So here's the scoop-
All you get for Christmas
Is Snowman POOP!

Day 11

Mistle-toes!

Day 12

The final gift.

A hodge podge of her favorites for the recipient. A mug with handmade cozy. Pens, pencils, markers, fun little erasers (she LOVES those things), paper clips and binder clips, little notebooks and sticky notes. And sour patch kids. Don't forget those! Everything you need for a good day at the office.

Thank you to Pinterest for all the ideas!

Secret Santa, Part II

The second installment of my elfish fun.

Day 5

A rein-beer (actually it was a diet coke, but still cute)

Day 6

Merry KISSMAS and CHAPPY New Year!

Day 7

We WASH you a Merry Christmas!

Day 8

Grinch Pills
Feeling kinda Grouchy?
Holiday spirit can't be found?
Just try these little Grinch Pills
They're the best medicine around.
Whether eating a whole handful
Or eating one or two,
These tasty little Pills
Take the Grinch right out of you!

Secret Santa, Part I

So I have been excited about this Secret Santa thing since just after Halloween. I've been planning, plotting, crafting, and sneaking around. And of course I couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't post until it was all said and done so there was no possible way the surprise would be ruined. I chose to do the 12 days of Christmas. Only without the turtledoves, the milking maids, and the catchy, rhyming tune...So really it was NOTHING like the 12 days of Christmas!

Day 1

Doubled Stuf Oreos ("hope you aren't too "STUF"fed from Thanksgiving...")

Day 2

Santa candy bar

Day 3

Hand Santa-tizer

Day 4

Hope the holidays aren't driving you nuts

Holiday Season

I have posted previously about my excitement this holiday season. But I am aware that not everyone seconds my sentiments. In fact, the holidays can be downright grim for many. I was reminded of this fact during a counseling session with a client a couple weeks ago. And again today as I read today's selection from "Jesus Calling."

"Come to Me with your gaping emptiness, knowing that in Me you are complete. As you rest quietly in My Presence, My Light within you grows brighter and brighter. Facing the emptiness inside you is simply the prelude to being filled with My fullness. Therefore, rejoice on those days when you drag yourself out of bed, feeling sluggish and inadequate. Tell yourself that this is a perfect day to depend on Me in childlike trust. If you persevere in this dependence as you go through the day, you will discover at bedtime that Joy and Peace have become your companions. You may not realize at what point they joined you on your journey, but you will feel the beneficial effects of their presence. The perfect end to such a day is a doxology of gratitude. I am He from whom all blessings flow!"

A whirlwind... Of pages

I've been reading up a storm. Well, a small storm as there are not many hours in my days available to read.... It appears at first glance that the last book I posted about was back in July. July! Geez oh Pete! Clearly I have to have finished a book or two since then, right?

Indeed, I have. I have read more of the Hannah Swensen series (by Joanne Fluke). Books 2-7 to be exact. And I find they are growing on me. I still find Hannah slightly obnoxious, but I need to pass the time until I get can my hands on the new release of my other Minnesota-based mysteries. I've also been continuing to work my way through Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series, completing books 13-18. I enjoy these characters, but I think it's time for a little break from them too.

That looks like that's it. 12 books in 5 months. Not too shabby. I'm also caught up in "What to Expect: The Toddler Years." I am due to read another chapter in that until February. 

I read through a backlog of magazines the other day and got those cleared off my shelf. And now I'm reading "Matched." I think this series was popular a year or two ago (let's face it, I'm always behind the trend. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games. Read them all months [years?] after everyone else!). Anyway, I'm finally getting around to Ally Condie's book. My thought so far- it seems familiar, a lot like "The Giver." But we'll wait and see how the rest of the book unfolds.... I am only 54 pages in afterall.