In our new dining room hangs a large chalkboard. During the Christmas season we’ve had the words to the carol, “Joy to the World” written on the board. I’ve been teaching it to Caly and today we send it out as an audio Christmas card to you and your family. The Lord is come. Joy to the world indeed. Merry Christmas!
“On this side of eternity, Christmas is still a promise. Yes, the Savior has come, and with him peace on earth, but the story is not finished. Yes, there is peace in our hearts, but we long for peace in our world. Every Christmas is still a ‘turning of the page’ until Jesus returns. Every December 25 marks another year that draws us closer to the fulfillment of the ages, that draws us closer to… home. When we realize that Jesus is the answer to our deepest longing, even Christmas longings, each Advent brings us closer to his glorious return to earth. When we see him as he is, King of kings and Lord of lords, that will be ‘Christmas’ indeed!’”
Oh, I can’t wait for that Christmas! Come, Lord Jesus!
2008 at 5:45 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Homemaking | Recipes
After the birth of MJ many kind friends brought me meals during my recovery. I’m convinced that all of the yummy food had something to do with my speedy return to normal. My friend Tali brought me two meals (I owe ya, girl!) and with it came the most delicious homemade white bread. It has since become a staple here at the Bradshaw house. Over Thanksgiving Nicole found a recipe for some Honey Cinnamon Butter- the perfect complement to Tali’s bread. I gave this bread and butter pair to some friends for Christmas this year while of course making some extra for us. I’m sending the recipes on to y’all today. If you have time, I would recommend sneaking some in to your Christmas dinner. Tali’s Bread (She never gave me a name so that’s what we call it around here.)
6-7 ounces of milk (a little under a cup) 1/4 cup warm water 1/4 cup butter 1 egg 1 tsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 3 1/4 cup bread flour 2 tsp active dry yeast
Put wet ingredients in bread machine first with salt and sugar. Add flour and yeast. Run on dough setting and take out BEFORE it bakes in machine. Bake about 25-35 minutes at 335* until the top is light brown and hard.
Paula Deen’s Cinnamon Honey Butter
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened 2 tablespoons honey ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine the ingredients in a small bowl. Pack into a small crock or baby food jar with a decorative lid. Or roll in waxed paper into a log and twist the ends. Chill thoroughly. Wrap in colorful paper.
Each year we suggest a Christmas sermon to listen to as you do your holiday baking, wrapping and decorating. This year, we want to recommend a sermon by Sinclair Ferguson from a series he did last year on “Around the Manger: Mary.”
Dr. Ferguson’s Scottish accent is enjoyable to listen to, but even more, it is a blessing to learn from his careful and joyful exegesis of Scripture.
“I can have all kinds of nice experiences of Christmas,” he observes in this sermon, “but I can’t actually have Christmas unless this dawns upon my soul.”
Listen and find out what must dawn upon our souls in order to truly have Christmas this year.
Christmas count down is here! Present wrapping and cookie making are in full swing. We are signing off this weekend with a holiday greeting from 9Marks which had us all laughing very hard.
A few years ago we compiled a list of attitudes that should characterize our heart this Christmas. Since I need the reminder, I thought you might benefit too.
THE HEART LISTfrom December 6, 2005
In case you haven’t caught on: over the last few days we’ve been subtly slipping you another list of “must do’s” for the holidays. I know. How dare we add another list to the endless lists you’ve already got going this time of year?! There are to-do lists, Christmas gift lists, a wish list from each person on the gift list, Christmas card lists, grocery lists, lists of errands…. Whew!
However, the list we’ve been talking about trumps all these lists. It’s the heart list. And if you missed it, here are the three biblical priorities that should fill out our “heart list”:
As we give first attention to our heart list, it will help us to complete all the other lists in a manner that honors God. I daresay that makes this list the most important one of them all!
So before we rush into our day with lists in hand, let’s humble ourselves. Let’s accept our significant limitations as finite creatures and remember that only God completes His to-do list (humility). Let’s refuse to be self-sufficient today, but instead, in all that we do let’s acknowledge our need for God’s guidance and help (dependence). And of course, let’s serve Him with gladness throughout this day, so that others will see that we serve a “good Master”—“the Son of Man [who] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).
Opening the door of our Advent calendar each day is one of Jack’s greatest delights of the Christmas season. His enthusiasm—“Mom, it’s only nine more days until Christmas!”—epitomizes children’s radiant anticipation for the holiday. Sure, the Baby Ruth or Starburst behind the little door might have something to do with his eagerness (you think?). But he is also excited to read the next installment of the Christmas story and the verse that goes along with it (as he chews on his candy). I have my own Advent pleasure this year, which I look forward to each morning as much as Jack does. It’s Nancy Guthrie’s compilation of Advent readings: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas (HT: Justin Taylor) My apologies—I know it’s a little late to be recommending an advent book. But buy it as an early Christmas 2009 Christmas present for yourself (oh yes, and friends and family too). This is one of those books I’ve been waiting for all my life. It’s a collection of readings from almost all of my favorite authors (long dead and now living) on various passages related to the incarnation and birth of Jesus. John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, JI Packer, John Piper…need I go on? Despite the busyness of the Christmas season (and it seems to get crazier every year) I have been able to meditate on the deep and glorious truths of what it all means. The wonder of the incarnation, the humility of Christ, the glorious plan of the gospel, it’s application for me today. My joy is deeper this Christmas as my thoughts are drawn past the presents and parties to Jesus, the “joy of every longing heart.” “Open the cover,” it urges on the back of the book, “and rediscover what Christmas was meant to be.”
Amy, a girltalk reader from central London, sent us the following video produced by her church, St. Helens Bishopsgate. “This short film” she writes, “explores the real meaning of Christmas and why its wonderful news that Jesus came to earth.”
Engaging, and thoroughly biblical, the creators hope this video will help create evangelistic opportunities among non-Christian family, friends, and coworkers. It is also joyous reminder to us as Christians of the good news of the gospel. That’s Christmas.
In one of the more unlikely honors of her life, Mom has been featured on a new album by reformed rapper Shai Linne. A talented hip-hop artist of a most unusual sort, Shai Linne’s life and music are infused with a passion for God’s Word, reformed theology, and complementarian convictions. Track nine of his new album Storiez entitled “Work It Out” celebrates femininity and mentions Mom. Here’s a snippet.
A personal thanks to Christie for sending us a “smart blonde joke.”
Enjoy your weekend! Janelle for Mom, Nic, and Kess
A cop pulls over a blonde, and says, “Ma’am, you
were speeding. May I please see your driver’s license?”
“Oh,
well, you see officer, I don’t have a drivers license,” the blonde
replies. “I never really had the time to go to the DMV and stand for hours
in line…and anyway, all you get are terrible pictures.” The
slightly taken aback cop says, “Well, then, may I see your proof of
registration?”
“Well,
officer,” the blonde says, “this isn’t my car. I wanted to
borrow it from my neighbor, because it’s so much faster than mine and I
was late for a wedding – that’s why I was speeding – but he
said no really rudely, so I hit him over the head with a tire iron and stuffed
him in the trunk.”
The
horrified police officer backs away and calls for backup, and the police chief
himself comes out, along with a squad, to see about this.
“Ma’am,”
says the chief, “may I see your driver’s license?” The blonde
hands it to him and it hasn’t expired or anything, everything’s okay.
“May I see your proof of registration?” The blonde hands that to
him, and it’s her car, and everything’s okay. “I hate to
bother you,” the chief says, “but may I look in your trunk?”
So
she pops the trunk and there’s nothing in there. The chief comes back to
her window. “We’re sorry, ma’am. The officer over there said
that you didn’t have a driver’s license, this wasn’t your
car, and that you’d killed a man.”
“You
know what,” says the blonde, “I bet he told you I was speeding,
too.”
helps us to remember:
, 
, or 
.
