O Come Let Us Adore Him, Jesus Christ Our Lord

On Wednesday I took my girlfriend to The Master's Gallery in Loveland; she loved all beautiful art work and we both bought a few special things. Linda King is co-owner and a wonderfully talented lady. She is a weaver, story teller and photographer. I couldn't buy one of her prints so bought a bookmark instead. Enjoy this....

Lord, Make My Heart A Manger
Lord, make my heart a manger,
a place for You to live.
Lord, make my heart a manger
my life to You I give.

When so many around me say,
"I have no room,
no room in my heart for Him."
I want You to know that I love You so...
there's room, I've room, come in.
Lord, make my heart a manger,
a place for You to live.
Lord, make my heart a manger,
my life to You I give.

Please forgive all my sins, Lord, and
help me to live a life that honors You.
With You living in me, may others see
Your love, Your love, through me.

Lord, make my heart a manger,
a place for You to live.
Lord, make my heart a manger,
my life to You I give.

copyright 1988 Linda King
www.themastersfineart.com

A Grand Old Gal

This is my girlfriends brother's home; it is such a grand old home with so many incredible qualities but a little in need of some sprucing up. It's funny cause that could often be said of me.... lol. I'll be spending two days there with my friend; we'll have lots of fun but also be working all the dogs and also cleaning the house as a Christmas present for her brother. I love visiting but can truly say it is too big to live in, especially for just two people unless you have 12+ dogs. Of course they only left 10 or 11 and most of them stay in very very nice kennels. Her brother is in his 70's and their lives revolve around dogs~breeding, showing, training etc etc. He is an avid hunter and has traveled the world big game hunting. Having said that, there are countless trophy heads mounted around the house. Most of them are animals that were shot in Africa; two adorn the grand staircase in the entry hall. It is fun to see different animals that I've never seen except on t.v. but I fear if I lived there they would give me the willies. I understand the necessity and need for hunting to provide food for a family if you live out in the mountains but hunting for sport is just not something I would do. I understand it but I think I love animals to much, unless one was threatening my life or someone I love. I do love target practicing but just not killing an animal for sport. I may take my camera and take some pictures. I can't wait for all the girl time we'll have and probably some special prayer times too.
Have a warm joy filled day.

Winters Long Ago

My sister wrote and shared this site with me because it reminded her of our lives here in Colorado and of simpler times. In lieu of trying to upload the clip of fabulous art instead I am suggesting that you go and see these pieces for yourself. The are beautiful and so reminiscent of days of old.

http://www.greatdanepro.com/Winters%20Long%20Ago/index.htm

Enjoy.

A Beautiful Site

One of the many things I love about living in Colorado is all the wild life; we did have wild life in Northern California but not like here. We've seen Bald Eagles both last year and this year and it isn't a rarity-in fact one development has three eagles on a regular basis. The only season we've seen them though is winter so I imagine they might move on after the snow is gone. We've seen fox in our area and of course in the mountains we often see elk and moose. So incredible!!! I want to share with all for we are blessed with such sights and I stand in awe of a God who created them for our pleasure.

Fun Times At Christmas

When my girls were jr. high and high school age their closest friends were another homeschooled family who happened to be Dutch. At Christmastime they celebrated St. Nicholas Day on Dec.5th instead of the traditional Christmas on the 25th. They spent days baking mini Almond Cupcakes for family, friends and neighbors. On the eve of the 5th they would pack presents and cupcakes to take to all those they were close to; they didn't just come to the doorbut they would leave the packages, ring the doorbell and then run so we couldn't see them. Sometimes they would even open our front door and throw candy inside. A game insued of trying to catch them but we never did. It was such a special fun activity! So that first year after they blessed us we wanted to have some fun with them and turn it around on Christmas Eve. These friends lived out in the country on a dead end street with lots of trees and bushes on their property. We had to park a street away and quietly walk up their street without being seen which was easy because there was only one street light. Thankfully the weather always cooperated with us-you've got to love Ca. weather.
The first year really caught them by surprise; I don't think anyone had ever doorbell ditched them in return. That year we ran into their back yard to hide and they never caught us. This tradition continued until our girls were married and their girls were out of the house. When we would tell other people about this they would roll their eyes and tell us to grow up. We also did this to several large families with children who did not have a lot of extras as a way to bless their children and we did it to our pastors' family as well. It was fun to hide and wait to see the expressions of glee when they would open the door and see presents on their doorstep. It could be done during the day but seemed more clandestine after dark.
Post script: When I was a new christian, new mom and young wife a dear friend told me that there are so many things our children couldn't do because of our faith that when you can let them participate in harmless silly fun, by all means do. Over the years as a family we had many "silly" pranks with our church family that all of the families would participate in, at one time or another, such at t.p.ing~however we were always there to help with clean up and also we got t.p'd in return. I am not licensing a blatant disrespectful attitude or careless destruction of property but good wholesome fun with parental supervision.
Sometimes having fun with your children is the best way to build on relationships.

A Simpler Way

Today my girl and I were enjoying a nice leisurely visit, with two of her four asleep and the other two at my house doing wood working with Grandpa. She was telling me about a book they are reading for school on pioneer life and although the life was so very hard it also brought families so very close together. This led into our talking about family life, hard work and bygone days.
We both realized how very hard that time was for families to make a life for themselves but how great the rewards as well. We contrasted it to current day and pondered on how to draw from the past and enrich our lives now. When I was growing up I was a latch-key kid and lived on t.v. but even as bad as that was the shows weren't like they are now. In today's society many children come home from school and sit in front of a t.v.,computer, video game or some other electronic game; never interacting with any one in the family. The statistics on this are staggering and so very sad. Of course there are many who have chosen a different path for their families and their children; I am blessed that my daughters and their husbands do not have cable or satellite dishes and the children are very limited, very limited, in what type of movies they may watch. Movies are a family affair and the children all have rich full imaginations. Please do not take this as a condemnation for choices others make for their children. As we talked we also looked at many families who work the land, live off the land, homeschool and don't have their children in social settings but the children learn to live, play,work, love and have fun with their family. We discussed Mennonites as well as Amish and those who farm or ranch; these children and families learn that they can have fun along side each other and that they don't need outside stimulus. Many would argue with me that these children will be misfits but if you study the homeschool movement you will see that these children are leaders and not prone to pier pressure. It made me think that for many less is more and hard work builds character. It made me hunger for a simpler way of life.

Fun Times

Yesterday I trekked down to Longmont to spend the day with a dear friend from Ca. Her brother lives there and he is a dog breeder so whenever he wants to travel he has my girlfriend come out and stay at his "spread". I'm not quite sure what to call it, it's not a ranch or farm but more like a very old grand home with 250 acres and 15 dog runs. In fact, the city of Longmont is developing several lakes on the property making it a Wild Life Refuge. Last year my girlfriend was here for 2 1/2 weeks and then another week. It was so nice because I still didn't really know anyone here and I was so lonely~I missed our quilting times together and also our in depth prayer times. This year she is dog sitting for three weeks. Yippee! Of course she is taking care of 11 Springers as well; in fact one is a pup that I helped whelp last February. I had never seen any animal give birth before, let alone help, so it was a wonderful experience. Yesterday we had such a fun day~we walked the dogs around the property letting them play. There is nothing like seeing 11 dogs flying through the air trying to catch snow. Then we went into town; we stopped at a christian bookstore which is the nicest I've seen here in northern Colorado. We stopped by several thrift stores and also had lunch. By the time we got back to the house I had to leave and try to beat the traffic. Next week I'm heading down to stay for a couple of days...we just don't have enough time when I'm there for such a brief period. We may even attempt to clean the house-which would be a lot of work since it is about 6,000 square feet but it is a way to bless her brother.
Have a wonderful day!