A Blonde's Point of View

We were sitting around in the living room a couple nights ago, trying to decided which movie to watch. Somebody joked that the one that seemed to be the subject of controversy was R-rated.

Levi thought that was funny.

"Levi, you don't even know what R-rated means!" Says a big brother.

Levi, a bit miffed at the childish implication, declared "I do too!"

"Oh?" Was the prove-it reply.

In all sincerity he answered, "It means Romantic!"

Duh!

The Christmas Suite

This holiday season my humble corners of the house are being used as the Master Suite for the Nelson family. Here's a couple shots of the abode...

The Master Bed

Aunty Beemoo's Bed...

...Landon's cozy pad!

Here's a couple close up pictures to give you a better idea of what color washing looks like...

Reflections of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

In spite of the busyness of this season, the joy in reflecting at the meaning is so incredible.

God, become flesh. That's so astounding.

And not for the fun of it. He became flesh for me and for you. That we may have Life.

A tiny baby was God.

Born not in a clean and sanitized place. But born in a filthy stable.

Not laying in a little bassinet and snuggled in soft blankets. But cradled in a manger and wrapped in old rags.

Not surrounded by doctors and nurses. But cows, and donkeys, and sheep...

Grandma's and Grandpa's, aunts and uncles weren't His visitors. No. Shepherds got the Baby announcement straight from Heaven's angels, and they were the first to go see Him.

This is Christ.

This is our Messiah.

This is the Savior!

The Son of God, become just for us a Baby. Why? So we could have a Father.

Can we ever grasp the full meaning of Christmas?

Happy Slobs

Okay, to be honest with you, I am the more clean type of person. If there's anything I hate more than a mess it must be the devil himself. But I do have on the more rare occasion a few slobbo moments, that's why I could laugh right along as I read through some of the entries on this new blog: The Happy Slob Blog.

You should check it out. Whether you're a slob, or a some-time-slob, or a never-ever-slob, I think you might find this rather entertaining. You can learn more about the author, find some tips and ideas, or buy the book if you check out the Happy Slob home page.

A Bite of Intelligence...

They say you are what you eat.

...If it's sugar you're sweet!

The Night Christ was Born

O Holy Night…

Hundreds of prophecies came to pass on this night. God’s promises of Hope and Peace fulfilled.

His Love was born in a humble and lowly stable. And He brought good will to men. O Holy Night!

The stars are brightly shining…

Shining on the earth as they welcome the Christ child. Shining on the City of David, the home of His birth. Shining on the shepherds as they watched over their sheep on this holy night.

Shining on the stable, the stable that held the King of kings! Shining for the Star that came to bring life to all men.

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth…

A Savior. Born on this night for us. The Son of God taking on human form to save you, to save me from our sins.

A Savior, a Redeemer, a Love, a Hope, a Peace, a Joy was born when Jesus Christ entered our world.

Born of a virgin. Purity kisses the earth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining…

A hopeless place. Joy no where in existence. The world was pining away in sin. Iniquity was the king, and Despair the prince. Hopeless was the future. Depression was the existence of mankind.

Since the fall of man the heart was set to do nothing but evil. Long lay the world in this dark, vile and distressing state.

‘Til He appeared…

And Jesus came! The hope of our future had appeared in all its splendor! He appeared for me! He appeared for you!

The Bright and Morning Star. The Dayspring of our hearts. Immanuel… God with us. Jesus Christ had come to save His people from their sins. His appearance changed our world.

And the soul felt its worth…

No more worthlessness. No more hopelessness. No more bleak futures. Joy sprang forth as the bud of the New Covenant. And the soul had value. Value to the Father.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices…

Rippling through the universe it came. A thrill. A thread of hope. Binding together our broken hearts. Mending our weary souls.

Joy has replaced our depressed existence. And hope has come to stay.

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…

Rejoice! For the dawn is breaking. The night is far spent, and day has come! The light of the Son has shed its rays throughout our world. A glorious morning has broke away and dispelled the gloom of darkness.

Morning has come!

Fall on your knees!

Yes, fall! For the God of love has come down to earth. He has cast away iniquity and despair, and He reigns! Enthroned in all His glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Worship the Savior. Adore Him.

His coming has brought us joy. His love has brought us hope! Fall on your knees.

Oh hear the angel voices!

They’re singing! The melody rings beyond the shepherds and the flock of sheep. It spreads through Bethlehem, on to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and the whole earth rings with the sound.

Glory to God in the Highest! And on earth, peace and good will to all men!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

The most Divine night that ever was. The night of the Savior. The night of the coming of the Messiah. The night that Christ was born!

O night! O holy night! O night divine!

The night hope was birthed. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.

The night hope was named. And His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!

O Holy Night!

That Crochet Hook!

"Now where’s my crochet hook?" Hannah cries desperately. She had only lost it a dozen times that day, and now it had run off again…

GRRRR!

She begins to rummage around looking all over for it. I was beginning to wonder if that thing sprouts legs every time Hannah’s not looking.

Tabby was tucked in bed very quietly observing the frantic search.

For the next several minutes one can hear papers rustling, things being shoved aside, items of unimportance bumping to the floor, and many exclamations of "Where did it go?"

Under the bed? On top of the bed? In the covers? Next to the bed? On the night stand? In the shelf? In that stash on the desk? Where is it?

And then a mysterious voice from beneath the covers says with a very dramatic accent and a mystical lisp, "Hidden in the shadow of DARKNESS." As though quoting from a Psalm, or Shakespeare perhaps.
Hannah brings the theatrical performance to an abrupt halt with, "Tabby! Go to sleep! You’re not supposed to talk!" As she finally found that run away hook.

She sat down to crochet, but seeing me desperately trying to keep a chuckle from escaping, she melted into a giggle.

A Cool Painting Technique...

With Christmas nearing, and my to do list ever looming it's unending source of anti boredom I was becoming desperate to get my room painted. But the lazy person I am I did not want to spend a lot of time and money on it. I had my ideas for how I wanted it to look, but the tools I thought I'd need were out of my before-Christmas budget not to mention allowance for time.

I started doing some research on the internet about faux painting, and I ran across this really easy technique that does not require a lot of paint, experience or clean up. Not to mention, it was the exact thing I had in mind and I didn't need any fancy tools. And in fact, I didn't even need to make a trip to town because I had everything I needed.

So you guessed it... I painted my room. Well part of it--I still have another wall to do yet, but I'm debating what color paint I should use for it.

I thought I'd post a few links here to help anyone out who might have painting on their to do list as well. This color wash technique can be done many different ways to achieve completely different looks. That's what I like about it... I love variety!

This link gives you simple step by step instructions for color washing.

And this one has a large selection of really nice pictures, as well as some tips. Their slogan is "Life's too short for white walls."

You could find more with running a google search on color washing as well.

What is Godliness?

The word godliness has been running and running through my mind, challenging me to that question, What is godliness?

I’m not meaning a Webster’s Dictionary or Strong’s Concordance definition. I’m not looking for where the word originated and what meaning does it have today. I don’t want to sit and analyze it. I don’t care if it’s a noun, or a verb, or an adjective, or a what-have-you. I’m not after a theological seminary type answer.

What I want to know is what is godliness.

I used to think I knew. Perfection and godliness were two exact things to me. I used to believe that godliness was something you did. Something that you strove for. Something you attained through work. Something you could see. It was a form, something that you put on. Godliness was an appearance.

It was also something that you were enslaved to. Something that no matter how hard you tried you still would never totally and completely attain, though that was still your goal. It was something that God harshly demanded. Something that made every day an uphill struggle to reach. Something that made you a failure if you did not succeed in it. I became so consumed by my godliness that there was room for nothing else in my heart.

I have found that there are many how-to articles and messages related to this subject. I used to soak them up like a sponge. I was on a quest for godliness, and I thought I knew what godliness was.

But now I’m not so sure.

I found I could sure look godly. It’s easy to wear a godly mask.

Yet I realized that’s exactly what the Pharisees did… They looked, sounded, and acted so godly. But they didn’t have room in their hearts for Jesus Christ.

I began to question my meaning of godliness.

And God answered my question.

God said my righteousness was filthiness in His sight.

God said He did not come to call people like me who were so righteous.

God said my good works were nothing.

God said I was nothing.

Nothing echoed in the deep empty premises of my heart.

Nothing!

I was stripped and naked in shame before a holy God. My godliness lay in ashes at my feet. My mask had melted in obliteration and I was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And then I saw the Cross. I saw all my godliness, all my works, all my filthy righteousness, all my hypocrisy, all my shame, all my guilt, all my sin, all my hopelessness, all my cursed existence, all my nothingness, all of it on that cross in the form of the Son of God. My whole shattered being was up there. His blood dripped down, staining the ground in crimson.

And I realized I was horribly nothing.

And God said I was nothing.

But now that I was nothing there was a Savior. A Savior who loved me so much He took upon Himself my utter worthlessness that I may become the child of God.

His Blood cleansed me and washed away all my filthy godliness, works, righteousness, hypocrisy, shame, guilt, sin, hopelessness, and my cursed existence.

He removed the curse in my life. My mask was gone, and I didn’t miss it. My heart was free. My guilt was no longer existent. My soul had hope.

I was now nothing… But God was something.

But what about my godliness? Isn’t that something I must strive after yet? Perfection? Righteousness? Isn’t that all a part of Christianity?

Jesus Christ is my righteousness. His glorious salvation has given me freedom. He’s my Savior. He fills me with Himself, with His Spirit. And that is where true godliness lies.

My hope is sure, my faith is strong, my eternity is secured.

I am nothing. Absolutely nothing.

But God is something.

I Wait

I thought this was just beautiful... Probably because I needed to hear it. I don't know if it will mean anything to any of you who may read this, but for my own sake I'm posting it.

I wait.

Dear Lord, Thy ways

Are past finding out,

Thy love too high.

O hold me still

Beneath Thy shadow.

It is enough that Thou

Lift up the light

Of Thy countenance.

I wait --

Because I am commanded

So to do.

My mind

Is filled with wonderings.

My soul asks, "Why?"

But then the quiet word,

"Wait thou only Upon God."

And so, not even for the light

To show a step ahead,

But for Thee, dear Lord,

I wait.

--Elisabeth Elliot

I wait. Sometimes it's hard to accept the fact that we must not only wait, but wait, and wait, and wait! Things don't occur in our own time, and that's frustrating.

Our hearts are crushed under a load of oppression, and yet we must wait. We want to at least know why, or come to some sort of an understanding. But the only answer God gives is, Wait.

Waiting isn't something any of us likes, I'm sure. At least I don't like to wait.

Waiting makes me impatient. But it teaches me patience.

Waiting makes me frustrated. But it teaches me long-suffering.

Waiting burns me out. But it teaches me to rest in God.

Waiting is my worst enemy. But she's also my best friend.

Without waiting, I would have never learned to trust...

Without waiting, I would never have understood the hand of God as it moves and works in my life...

Without waiting, I would have never come to rely upon the love of God...

His Love is too high to understand. The things He brings our way have reasons too complex for our mortal minds. It is truly a fact that His ways are past finding out.

Waiting becomes my role. I can only ask that God would hold me still under the shadow of His wings.

I cannot even demand a light to show the way, because sometimes God's plan is for us to walk in darkness. And as we walk, we will find we are not alone. God is in the darkness with us.

So I wait.

And wait.

And wait.

I hate waiting.

But I've come to love it.

A Juvenile Poem About "My Kitten Named Toby"

Another Essay entry here... I thought it was kind of cute. At the time I was a wannabe poet, but obviously I never succeeded.

I've since resorted to better things than rhyme... because I just didn't have the time... to write poetic lines... when regular writing works just fine...

All right, before I get too carried away, here's a childish poem for you!

I have a little kitten named Toby.

He is as cute as kittens can be.

Sometimes I call him "Pur-pur"

That is all he really does I'm sure!

He and his sister like to catch mice to rot.

They also like to play alot.

He likes to catch shrew and moles,

And to play in holes.

He pounces on everything that moves.

Even the laces on our shoes.

This little kittens black and white.

So now you know what he's like!

Can't get any more juvenile than that, can you?

Thought I should just add that this same kitten was so good-natured that he allowed Levi (who was 2 at the time) to take a nice sharp pair of scissors to his ear.

A Grade Schooler's Essay on Thanksgiving

Last night being somewhat bored, I pulled out a rather dog-eared notebook I had in a stash that needs to be organized (another item on my to do list). In big childish letters across the front was written "Brittney’s Essay Notebook". I started flipping through it and found myself laughing at some of the things I wrote. Goodness gracious me!!

Apparently one of the many assignments Mom gave me was to write an essay about Thanksgiving. I found it slightly intriguing, or perhaps humorous would be a better word…

(Misspellings and grammar errors are left in honor of the original article.)

How Thanks Giving Came About

First of all, there was persecution in England, the King was throwing diferent preachers in prison, he wanted to have them go to his church. These families that were being persecuted could not worship God freely. They decided to go to Holland.

They finally found a ship and captain they thought they could trust. They left at night (so as not to be seen). Well, this captain wouldn’t get the ship to go. Finally at day break, the police saw them and several of the men were put in prison.

Finally the second trip was a success. They were in Holland. First of all some families were split up, but soon they were all together again.

Well, after a few years, the pilgrims decided that they did not want their children to grow up in Holland so they boarded a ship and after a few weeks they came to a new continent, a new country, a new world.

Well, they had a good harvest, they decided to have a great feast, they would make a holiday, they called……

......Thanks Giving!

(Written in big pencil letters accompanied with ample swirls and flourishes to fill up most of one page!)

Don’t ask me what my history curriculum was… Apparently it was a little vague on the details!!

A Quiet Heart

Lord, give to me
A quiet heart
That does not ask
To understand,
But confident
Steps forward in
The darkness
Guided by Thy hand.
~Elisabeth Elliot

This was so good for me to run across today.

In my life there have been instances that have confused me and had the potential to set me off kilter in my relationship with God.

Things that have demanded to know my true freedom in Christ.

Things that have mocked my values and beliefs.

Things that would stir up my heart and make it ashamed.

Things that despise who I am.

But a quiet heart is what I ask for...

One that does not have to understand.

One that is confident to stand on the promises of God.

One that can take God at His word and rest in Him.

When all around is darkness, I can step forward guided by the Hand of God. Because the promises are mine. Realizing that who I am is because of Him. And when I accepted Christ, I can know He accepted me. God does not demand things. He only requires me.

His love for us is so great. I think we do not understand the depth to which He loves us. We must remember that He is the Father, and He loves us as a father loves his children.

Accept His love, and thereby quiet your heart.

To Do Lists and Strobe Lights

There’s so much I want to get done before Christmas, that I finally made a list of stuff. Every night I take it out to see what I can check off. So far every night I only add to it. Yesterday I dug it out from underneath a pile in my desk and without a moment’s hesitation scratched down "reorganize desk" along with whatever else I was going to add.

The make up of my list is mainly things like painting, organizing, sewing a skirt, making a quilt…

Oh yes, the quilt for Hannah’s bed. I want to get it done because the one she has is rather threadbare and ugly. And when our company for Christmas arrives, I want them to have a nice quilt to cover up with. So this is one of my bigger priorities. I’ve been very diligent in my work, and am making quite a bit of progress.

But I was having a problem. The light bulb in my sewing machine burnt out. I was managing to get along just fine without it, but my dear handy brother Levi came in one day and saw me sewing without a light. He’s a fix-it man, and so that was something that naturally called his name.

First of all he went over to a less-used machine I have with the intent of using that bulb for my machine. That one didn’t have a bulb on account of last time my light burnt out I used that one.

Undaunted he disappeared for a while and came back with a collection of bulbs… a variety of night light bulbs as well as a 40 watt chandelier bulb.

He found the chandelier bulb most intriguing and set about installing it. I tried to tell him it would never work, but he had to see for himself. It went in just right, never mind the fact that the bulb extended through its plastic cavity and would have been just right to burn my fingers on. Levi also didn’t notice the sticker that said, "do not exceed 15 watts". He just thought it was cool.

I finally convinced him to remove the bulb, it would not work.

Then he inserted one of the night light bulbs. Apparently it was burnt out. Another one wouldn’t fit into the socket. With his supply dwindling he reached the last possible prospect. It fit perfectly. It worked too.

Like a true Thomas Edison, he gathered all his failed attempts and went off to return them to their light bulb drawer feeling smug with his choice.

I sat down at my machine. It blinked off and then came back on. I made sure the cord was intact and proceeded to sew. As soon as I pushed the pedal it blinked off again, but the machine kept going. The light came back on for a second and blinked off.

I was confused but decided to just ignore it because I didn’t have time to fool with a little light bulb when I had a whole to do list that was certainly not shrinking! When I finished my seam the light came back on. And then turned off. And then came on, then blinked off, blinked on, blinked off, blinked on...

A light went off in my head.

Duh! It’s one of them flashing night lights!

Oh well. I have better things to do than worry about this stupid bulb.

I suppose I should have probably just taken it out after the way my eyes had a hard time adjusting when I would get up from my machine. I found they had a tendency to point inquisitively down my nose when I was trying to concentrate on my fabric, and it wasn't necessarily easy to navigate my seams with a blinding one second flash every ten seconds.

Meanwhile I was having another problem. My machine was clunking a lot. I dug my list out again trying not to drop too much of the pile on my desk to the floor. I added "clean and oil sewing machine" to the bottom of it, picked up the papers that had fallen, stuffed them back in my desk and continued with my project.

Every time someone came in my room my machine welcomed them in the most obtrusive manner. Dad thought it was an interesting way to get ready for Christmas. Zack thought something was wrong. Hannah thought it was neat. Levi thought it was funny. Mom thought it was worth blogging about. I thought I was too busy to tend to an eye-catching monster.

Little three year old Emilie walked in when I was folding up what I had completed on the quilt and asked "What doin’, Birtie?"

"Making a mess." Was of course my mind-is-else-where answer.

It wasn’t long before that blinking being caught her attention as it flashed away on the table. Her brow furrowed and she went up close and stood entranced, peering at it through her bangs.

"Hot, Birtie?" She asked cautiously.

"No, that’s not hot. Just obnoxious."

When my machine went from going "clunk, clunk, clunkety, clunk" to "BANG, BANG, BANG!" I knew the time had come to clean it.

It wasn’t long before I found that I could sure sew by strobe light, but cleaning by strobe light was quite another matter. Levi wasn’t around so I had to figure out an answer to my problem by myself.

It was simple. I found a different machine, that had a light bulb, that worked, that would go in my machine, that would finally give me a steady consistent light, that would make it possible to finish my job! Now she purrs like a kitten.

And now that beast no longer flashes disgustingly, no longer do people find her eye-catching, no longer does she bring out opinions, no longer is she "hot", no longer does she clunk, no longer do I stare down my nose in concentration.

But remind me to put "get sewing machine bulbs" on my list.