Surprise Saturday/Blast From The Crazy Past: New Year's Eve 2013

New Year's Eve....there is something so incredibly cozy and familiar to get together with friends and remember the old year and pray about the new year.....

Last Test Post of 2016

Hi there!

As I learn more about this blogging thing, I find more and more interesting things to make my life easier...supposedly!

So, here goes another test post!

Have a great New Year's Eve!
Heidi

It's Almost Over....

It's hard to believe....but it's true...

Testing...

Just testing out a IFTTT link...

Blast From The Crazy Past: Ode To Our Christmas Tree...

Back in the day....before we realized I was deathly allergic to Christmas trees, or rather the spores that start growing on them once you cut them, we used to have a tradition of going and getting a real, live Christmas tree...in 2008, I looked out my sliding glass door and apparently felt sorry for our tree.....

Wordless Wednesday- Christmas Pictures 2016

What's Coming Up.....

Good Morning!

Merry Christmas!!!

From our home to yours, we just want to wish you a Merry Christmas! As I am writing this,

Surprise Saturday: Guest Post for Christmas Eve

As you are possibly preparing your last minute Christmas shopping today, take time to read this last Christmas guest post from a friend of mine.

Guest Post: Just What I Always Wanted!

Enjoy reading this guest blog by one of my dearest and best-est friends, Glenda! Then when you are done, go check out her blog at Nehemiah Mama! Merry Christmas!

One of my most vivid childhood Christmas memories goes back to when I was about five years old. We were spending Christmas Day in Glen Eden Beach, OR, where my maternal grandparents lived, as was our usual tradition.

Blast From The Crazy Past- Things That Make You Go Hmmmm.....

About ten years ago, we visited my parents in Wisconsin....it was Christmas time and we were enjoying our time with them. One day after church, this happened:

When we were in Richland Center, town of 5000+, we decided to take a drive around the little town. We found their cemetery which was the largest I

have ever seen. It must've gone on for a mile or so, wrapping around and around. There were more statues and headstones than I had ever seen at one time. While we were looking at it, we hear George pipe up and say,"Wow, there's a lot of dead people in there!". Mac replied in a awed voice, "No WON-der there are so few people in this town!"

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Wordless Wednesday- December 21

Guest Post: Traditions and Transitions…

Hi y’all. For those who don’t already know me, my name is Angel and I’m a social worker in Boise, Idaho. For reference for this post, I think it’s important for you to know that I’m 25 years old, and engaged to be married this coming February.

Guest Post: Christmas With Grandma...

This post comes from my daughter, Sis, who wanted to share her memories of Christmas with Grandma Barb before they moved. Enjoy!

Guest Post: Grandpa Loved Christmas...

This is written by my oldest daughter, Mac. She had a very special relationship with her great-grandpa and Christmas is still a little hard since he went to be with Jesus:

Blast From The Crazy Past- Christmas Program 2013

Here are some pictures from our Christmas program back in 2013:

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Wordless Wednesday- December 14

Christmas Hymns

When I was a little girl, about six years old, my parents started me on clarinet lessons.

Guest Post: He Has Come...

He has Come

Felicia

Last year at around Christmas time I was not happy. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, and there are good times and bad times. Last Christmas was not the best time. There were days of lying in bed, feeling pain and wishing that I could just get through it somehow. The year marched o, regardless of my inhibitions, fears, and sadness. I put on the best face I could. I was, I believe, genuinely happy about what God has done for me. I did love, and still do love, my Jesus. Still, the joy that at times pervaded my life seemed to be absent. I couldn’t stop or even pause, and everything was difficult.

Everyone has something they do when life gets hard. Some read, some paint or draw, others participate in sports or other physical activity. I choose to sing. It was, for a good portion of my life, the only ‘treatment’ I had for my depression, and I used it to its fullest extent. True to my nature, I was enrolled in my universities choir during this time last year. We were singing many beautiful sacred pieces, mixed of course with some secular selections, for our holiday concert. One piece really stood out to me.

The song is called My Lord Has Come, written by Will Todd. The song takes place the night of our Lord’s birth and is sung from the point of view of someone looking for Him. I loved how the piece brought out the journey of anyone who would seek God, but there was something in it more precious to me than any other message it contains. There is a line of the song ‘His love will hold me! His love will cherish me. Love will cradle me.’ This line, sung at a climax of the song, really struck a chord with me. At the time, whilst going through depression, I was wading through feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, and failure. I longed to be loved, cared for, by someone. This line, this song, reminded me that I am, indeed, loved. Through all my failures, I am loved by the very God who spoke heaven and earth into existence and breathed into our race a living soul. I am loved by the Creator, and there is no love greater than this. This song helped me remember this, and it helped me to hope to see my Jesus once again and to be embraced by him once more at Christmas.

My Lord Has Come

Written by Will Todd

Shepherds called by angel.

Called by angels.

Called by Love and angels.

No place for them but a stable.

My Lord has come, my Lord has come, my Lord has come!

Sages searching for stars.

Searching for Love in Heaven.

No place for them but a stable.

My Lord has come, my Lord has come, my Lord has come!

His Love will hold me!

His Love will cherish me.

Love will cradle me.

Lead me, lead me to see Him.

Sages and Shepherds and angels.

No place for them but a stable.

No place for me but a stable.

No place for me but a stable.

My Lord has come.

My Lord has come, My Lord has come!

Surprise Saturday: Twenty Years Later, He Still Likes To Surprise Me....

I meant to post this a couple months ago and it just didn't happen. So I decided to do a Surprise Saturday post and tell you how fantastic my hubby is:

Last week, Peter told me that he had a surprise for me but it required driving several towns over...

He took me to a vineyard that had a free "You Pick It" garden! The flowers were starting to pass, but as you can see by the following pictures, there were still some beautiful ones showing off.

I'm so blessed to have a husband who will go out of his way to show me something that he knows I would enjoy!

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Numbers 6:24-26

Guest Post: Light of Love and Hope...

This post comes from my husband's Aunt Rosemary. I have always enjoyed listening to her stories and was so happy to have her share this one. Enjoy!

Blast From The Crazy Past- Sis' Sayings

Some fun things that Sis said at 2 years old around Christmas time:






*We were at my friend Tanya's house. Tanya just had twin baby girls. Sis wanted to hold one of the babies. So I sat her on the couch. She sat so still and was very gentle. Then George tried to touch the baby and Sis immediately said, "Sop it! Don't toucha baby han'!!!"

You would have thought that George was filthy or something! Then I asked if Mac could hold the baby, she pointed at the other baby and said, "Dat baby..." Apparently she has a thing for babies...



*Last night I was TRYING to pray in the pew after church. Shells was crawling up and down the pew while Sis just kinda stood there watching her. Finally Sis walked over to me and said, "Dat baby too funny, Momma."






Sis and Shells about the same time...




Till next time...


Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!


Heidi

Link-Up Tuesday

A few days ago, I did a guest blog on my mom's blog over at Abiding In Joy. Run right over HERE and read about some of my favorite Christmas Memories....

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Guest Post: Merry Christmas...From Space!

This guest post was written by my husband Peter.

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. Far beyond the receiving of gifts, I have always looked forward to gathering with friends and family around warm fires and good food. In my blessed experience, Christmas is a season of wonderful tastes, smells, sights, and sounds. But, as a father, my greatest joy has become watching my children's faces light up as they open a gift I have given them. Truly, giving is my joy and is what makes Christmas most special for me. This, of course, reminds me of the greatest gift that was ever given to mankind - the Son of God, born as a babe in a manger.

As I read the Christmas narrative in the Bible, the entire story is amazing. So many accounts of danger, intrigue, wonder, and perfect love leaving heaven to become humanity. It's hard for me to pick a favorite part of the Christmas story, but if I had to pick one, it might be the account of the Magi following the star to find the Christ Child. I suppose it is of particular interest to me because I love all things having to do with space and astronomy. The sense of wonder and excitement that I feel as I discover new heavenly sights through my telescope on a dark night must be similar, in a very small way, to the joy that filled the hearts of the travelers when they saw the star and "rejoiced with exceeding great joy" (Matthew 2:10 KJV). What awe must have gripped the hearts of those faithful searchers as they opened their gifts before the King of Kings.

Thinking about space and the part it plays in the Christmas story gives me an idea for how to wish you happy holidays. A few days before Christmas in 1968, NASA launched Apollo 8 with three astronauts aboard: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders. They would become the first humans to celebrate Christmas at the moon.

To set the scene, I'll take you back to December, 1968. NASA is engaged in the space race, and is trying to prepare for the eventual mission that will put an American astronaut on the lunar surface. However, up to this point, no humans have ever ventured out of low-earth orbit. So, a few days before Christmas, our three brave adventurers are sent into space aboard Apollo 8. Their mission, though obviously complex, has a fairly simple purpose. Fly to the moon. Prove that humans can actually do that. Once they arrive, they are to take up-close pictures of the Sea of Tranquility - the eventual landing spot for Neil Armstrong's lunar module. But, this also means that this will be the first time in history that a human being will see earth from a distance. Never before have we seen ourselves from another world. We have no idea what the earth looks like from space. We have no idea what we look like to the rest of the universe. But that is about to change.

Apollo 8 launches from Florida and begins heading toward the moon. Of course, they are heading away from the earth at this point, so no earth views yet. Then, when Apollo 8 reaches the moon, it enters lunar orbit - flying around the moon. But again, the rocket is pointing in a direction that prevents our astronauts from seeing the earth through the window. Finally, as the astronauts come around the edge of the moon for the fourth time, the earth comes into view. Suddenly the mission is set aside as the first humans in history to see us from the vantage point of the moon stare in amazement at our home. As Bill Anders would later say, "We came all this way to study the moon, but when we got here, the most significant thing we saw was the earth."

Still reeling from this excitement, NASA informs the astronauts that NASA is going to publicly broadcast their evening news transmission which is to take place just a few moments later. In part because it is Christmas Eve, and in part because of the excitement surrounding the space race, NASA informs the astronauts that this evening news transmission will be broadcasted to the largest audience in history to hear a live human voice broadcasted over radio and television. As Frank Borman relates, the only instructions that NASA gave them were to, "do something appropriate."

I've included a couple of YouTube videos that will help you understand this exciting event. But I promise that you will be blown away when you hear what the astronauts had to say to the earth that Christmas Eve! 

Video #1: A little bit of background.

This video is, admittedly, a bit dull and technical. But, stick with it to the finish. It will help you understand the next two videos.

Video #2: Christmas at the moon.

This is the same event as depicted in the first video, but this time from the perspective of the astronauts who were there.

Video #3: Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Message.

This video contains the full audio of the Christmas Eve message that was sent to earth from the moon by the astronauts aboard Apollo 8.




As you plan your holiday festivities, I hope these videos give you a sense of just how special you are. Providence has placed you on earth: a tiny mote suspended in the vastness of space, an oasis of life. As you plan your holiday festivities, know that you are living in the one place in the universe where we can say with certainty that God has taken on human form and walked among people, the one place in the expanse of space where God's love has been made known to humankind. Truly, your life has been spectacularly arranged so that you might have the best possible chance of encountering God's gift of perfect love.

My hope and prayer for you at this holiday season is that you will experience, in a new and life-changing way, the love, peace, and grace that comes only from the Christ Child.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Testing....

You can ignore this post if you want....or you can comment on it for the sheer joy of it!

I am simply testing a service to see if they will properly upload a blog post when I post it daily. I'm hoping this works so that I do not have to do it manually every day!

If you want to feel better about reading this far into a boring testing post...here's a picture:

She's amused....are you?

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Christmas Time Is Here....

There are many in my family who have been singing Christmas carols since September 1st. It wasn't me. I love Christmas, but September? My first clue that it was September was when I heard Christmas music coming through the baby monitor....my sweet overly-excited children had decided that the babies needed to get in on the Christmas tradition of carols in September....poor tiny little babies!

Kidding aside, I love Christmas. I have tried so many times to figure out exactly what it is about Christmas that I love so much but alas, I still haven't pin-pointed it. There are memories of Christmas past, some are sad memories, the smells, the food, the family connection....our town being lit up at night for weeks on end starting in November....little traditions and big traditions, strangers greeting strangers with cheer, the songs....

This year, I decided that I would love to get some thoughts from other people on Christmas. During the month of December, I will be having some Guest Blog Posts from people that I know and love. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as me! You can also catch me guest blogging over on my mom's blog today! The first guest blogger for Christmas on my blog will be Monday from the mystery person trying to photo bomb this picture below:

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Blast From The Crazy Past- Poem

I wrote and published this poem 8 years ago in 2008....it has no name. That feels sad somehow....