Friday Friends & Faves #12

A Favourite...
Check out A Social Network Christmas for a more modern take on an old Christmas story. Imagine if Mary & Joseph were your friends on Facebook?! In an age where many people broadcast their good news far and wide via FB and Twitter and the like, perhaps we could use those social networks as a forum for broadcasting God's good news this Christmas.....He loves us and made us; We destroyed that precious relationship by rejecting Him; He gave His Son for us - to rescue us; We can respond with our hearts and minds and lives....And in process, reignite that precious relationship with Him. That's what makes our Christmas MERRY!

A Friend....or 2 or 3 or.....
To all readers of this blog....thanks for reading! And for encouraging me. Your words and comments mean a great deal and keep me keeping on. Merry Christmas friends! Hope tomorrow is a special day for you and yours. Praying for you all! And we'll talk again, sometime soon:)

Friday Friends & Faves #10

Friends....
I made a new Facebook friend this week, thanks to my sister. Hello Kate! (Her name is Katelyn but she prefers Kate:) Here's a few things about Kate before I tell you about the GREAT thing she is doing. She turns 21 in January.  Her Dad is a pastor and her Mum is a midwife and has recently been through a battle with cancer. Kate is currently deferring her uni studies and is a huge sports lover, keen hockey and soccer player. She took up photography as a hobby and stress relief in high school. Her dog Nala just had 9 puppies. (Thanks T for the details:)

Now, the reason Kate makes it onto Friday's Friends & Faves is because she is doing something terrific with her photos.....31 Days of Gratitude. I hope that if you click the link, you'll find and enjoy the photos and comments that she has creatively put together. Thanks Kate for reminding us to walk through life with our eyes wide open to see the blessings God has placed in our life and to be thankful for them...even the rain!


Faves...
I guess Kate's 31 Days of Gratitude is a favourite. But I also wanted to post a couple of links to Christmas ideas that I really like. This is a great time of year for celebrating with friends and families and we can make it even more special with some of these clever, inexpensive ideas.
Question Jar....although we would probably NOT do this cozying up with a hot chocolate on the couch in front of the fireplace.
"May your Christmas be Merry & Sprite"...a little bit of festive fizzy:)
Christmas Decorations recipes...from one of my favourite on-line recipe websites.

Have fun being festive my friends!

Celebrate Faith

Over the past couple of weeks you may have heard me rant and rave about it being too early for Christmas. I mean come on! Decorations in the shops in October??? People dressing up their gardens and houses in early November?? Christmas carols on the radio already? As much as I love Christmas I was thinking it was all coming that bit too early this year.

Then I stopped muttering and started thinking. Hmmmm....why not start celebrating early? In fact, why not have that Christmas joy and anticipation all year??

And as a Christian, shouldn't that really be my default demeanour and MO every month of the year....not just in December?

I have read 1 and 2 Peter lately and have once again been reminded of how much I have to celebrate, thanks to God's great love and grace. 1 Peter 1 reminds us that our faith is 'of greater worth than gold.' (v 7) Considering how much gold (and plastic) will be burned this Christmas season it is astounding to think about our faith being worth more than that. It is priceless....invaluable. It is an extravagant gift from God, bought at an unimaginable price.....the gift of Jesus (God with us) to live here on earth, die for our salvation and be resurrected, showing us that death and sin have been defeated....and guaranteeing us LIFE! Now that is something to celebrate!

Two more little thoughts from that same chapter.....
'Salvation of your souls' is the goal of our faith (v 9). Again...celebrate-worthy! Without faith we cannot please God and we cannot be saved. And salvation can only be ours because Jesus came....lived....died...rose again. So as we head into this year's festive season, let's get excited about more than gift giving and receiving, time with family and holidays. Let's ask God to help us connect our faith with this celebration of His goodness to us in a deeper way. And let the joy and peace of this season refresh our faith.

Finally, v 21 reminds us that faith and hope are inseparable. HOPE...I so love that word and what it means. It is a "confident expectation." Hope is a firm assurance that God is who He says He is and will do all He has promised to do. And His promises are for our blessing......eternal life, the presence of His Spirit, a faithful friend in Jesus, love, provision, protection, salvation and so many more precious gifts (to be enjoyed year round!) As we get ever-closer to December 25th, let's live with both a growing, deepening faith and an unshakeable, exciting hope that we have been given the greatest gift of all- time...Jesus!


So today, November 29th might not be the traditional Christmas Day. But as I play my carols CD and dust off the tree and decorations and continue to on-line shop for Christmas presents, I am determined to consider this special season and the first Christmas in a new way and let it refresh my faith, build my hope and fuel my thanks to God.