Hope you all had a safe and blessed holiday season! You may have noticed that we have been rather silent around here…that’s because our whole family right down to baby has been sick with an awful cold/sore throat/cough etc. So we had many sleepless nights and were sleeping during the day!
Our laptop is not fixed and considering the fact that the computer guy had it for a month and tried his best to find a solution, unfortunately it is unlikely to be fixed. So we are still down to one computer for school and my business stuff. Let’s just say it’s been challenging to say the least. However, we are hoping and praying for a solution and are going to continue to try and stay on top of everything. However, if we happen to become lax, we would appreciate your continued patience.
A big project for the week is researching laptops and computers…again. If any of you have any suggestions or tips, I would appreciate them. We’ve been through this before, but this last time our refurbished DELL laptop (Studio) did not even last a year! Very disappointing to say the least. We had purchased a used DELL Inspiron in the fall of 2007, I think, and it lasted well over two years so I figured a DELL would be a safe way to go.
Our HP PC has been a good choice so far, but I’d really like a laptop since it is more portable. Yet another PC would be great for school work. From what I have heard, Macs are not suppose to crash or at least as often, but they are so expensive. At the price of Apple products I could get a PC and a laptop…then we would be set for work and school! Or at least better off. Sigh.
Gotta love technology! Can’t live with it and can’t live without it.
So that’s my Monday Motivation this week – Getting us back on schedule, techie stuff and computers….besides getting us healthy again.
A great Hawaiian saying is “Imua!” which means to move forward with confidence and courage. It’s a great word for the upcoming new year as we explore new opportunities and perhaps face fears.
This week, I put into practice “imua” by facing my fear of ziplining. Yes, I stepped off a wooden platform to soar across 1800 feet of the world’s fifth largest caldera located in Kauai. Encouraged by my teenage daughters, I faced my fear of not being in control of my destiny and took a leap of faith.
The excellent guides, Mitch and Chris of Outfitters Kauai prepared us well for our ultimate “black diamond” zipline adventure. We did several practice runs on what I thought were “big ziplines” but little did I know what was really awaiting. The guides constantly reminded us that the most important lesson we all needed to learn to be safe was to “trust our gear.”
True wisdom that I needed to hear. For too long in life, I have “held on tightly” when what I should have done was to “let go and let God.” He provides “the gear” that we need to sustain us through the difficult moments of life as we soar across jungles.
So I guess my advice would be this: “Face your fear and trust God’s gear.” IMUA!!
What fear do you need to face this year? What have you been holding on too tightly? What does “imua” mean to you?
Margaret McSweeney is the founder of Pearl Girls (www.pearlgirls.info), the host of Kitchen Chat (http://margaretmcsweeney.com/kitchen-chat/), and an author. Her book, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, was published in 2009. Margaret is fast at work on a fiction manuscript (or three) and can be found blogging at From Finance to Fiction (http://fromfinancetofiction.blogspot.com).
Congratulations to Nicole! You won this giveaway! Thanks to all who entered and to Tassimo for sponsoring this review and giveaway! Comment #56 chosen by Random.org
The Tasssimo T20 is a glorified coffee maker except for it only makes one cup at a time and it makes that cup in 60 seconds!!
TASSIMO offers premium coffeehouse quality beverages and an array of coffee blends and more from Starbucks®, Gevalia, Seattle’s Best, Maxwell House, Tazo, Twinnings, NABOB, Mastro Lorenzo, Carte Norie, Jacobs, Kenco, Suchard. This holiday season, new T DISC varieties are being introduced, including Skinny Cappuccinos and new coffee flavors.
My Review:
I was sent the Tassimo T20 Brewbot in white, a brewer kit in lime green, a package of Gevalia Special Blend Coffee (16 T Discs), and a package of Starbucks Cappuccino Primo that includes espresso and milk creamer (16 T Discs).
Like I said before the Tasssimo T20 is a glorified coffee maker except for it only makes one cup at a time and it makes that cup in 60 seconds!!
To make your drink all you have to do is fill the water tank, insert the T-DISC, put your cup on the machine and press a button. The water tank doesn’t hold that much only about 6 cups, the Tassimo T20 also tends to splatter beyond the splatter guard and surrounding areas of the counter. But, that doesn’t happen as much when you use the overflow cup. Because I have a large cup so it’s harder to use the over flow cup without spilling your drink. The TDISCS also tend to be pricey, but we figured out a way around it by using the cleaning disc (which contains no cleaner or soap) so you can make a cup of hot water faster for your hot drinks.
The Tassimo T20 is a great idea for one or two people, but in order for everyone at your home to get a drink you would need to buy alot of T-DISCS the same goes for a party. However I do like the convenience of the Tassimo T20 and having it in my home office. As it saves on having to boil a whole pot of water.
On to the giveaway!
Enter to win a Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System and a Brewer Accessory Kit!
1 Entry:Like Tassimo on Facebook AND comment on there wall saying “Faith and Family Reviews sent me.”
2 Entries: Follow Faith and Family Reviews on Google Friend Connect (on the our right side bar).
2 Entries: Tweet about this giveaway, but only one tweet per day please. Include your tweet url with your comment. You may write your own tweet or use this one:
Giveaway: Enter to win a Tassimo brewer! @faithfamilyrevw! http://faithandfamilyreviews.com/?p=6072 Please share! Thx!
1 Entry: for every comment you leave anywhere else on this blog, but please leave a link with your comment!
5 Entries: Tell me what other flavor T-Discs you would like to try. (Go here)
Details:
This giveaway will run from January 1st-January 15th 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen through Random.org. Tassimo will ship one winner a Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System and a Brewer Accessory Kit. Winner will be contacted via email on or before January 16th and will be asked for their contact and other pertinent info. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their info at [ffr] [giveaways] [at] [gmail] [dot] [com] (without spaces and parenthesis). Please note: This giveaway is offered to US only. And the winner must use their home address if they win. Tassimo will not ship to P.O. boxes.
Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.
When asked to write a Christmas message, one of my first thoughts was Do I climb up on my soapbox regarding changing the words in Christmas songs, using only holiday, etc. I thought about it and decided no. After all, they’re only words and what difference does a word make—really make after all?
Then I kept on thinking. If they’re only words… But we as writers know the power of words, as do readers. When the wrong word is used, it jars, while the right word can be most powerful. Take one highly overused and under practiced word—Love. Four letters is all. We toss it around so glibly, saying love ya and luv and love. But think about the power in I love you. Three of the most precious words in our language when put together. Those of us who write romances or books with romance in them, understand the power when one of our characters tells another, I love you. As humans we can never hear that enough or too much.
Christmas is about love. The greatest love story ever told, that of God for us humans, and it never changes. Customs change, politics change, the years change but God’s love never, ever does. At Christmas we are invited to share that love, to give it away, to pass it around. To find wonder again and joy in simple acts of love. We make contact with people we might never see or talk with through the year. That says I love you. We buy and make gifts to give, we reach out to strangers in need, we try to make sure everyone has a special dinner and every child a present. By giving, we receive.
So, let’s use the power words, but more so, put feet on those words and pass the love around. Let’s look for and find the wonder, the joy and the peace, maybe in small bits and pieces and perhaps in an avalanche of blessings. Make your days brighter with the simple gift of a smile, a kind word, a touch, for every single one that you give away, will come back to you multiplied. As you give, so shall you receive. Merry Christmas my friends. May we all recognize our blessings—-and let an attitude of gratitude permeate this holiday and every day. With love and joy on this day, Lauraine!
~~~
About Lauraine: Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of more than sixty books, with sales of over 2 million copies. She also writes for a wide range of magazines, and helps others reach their writing dreams by teaching at writer’s conferences across the country. Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons, and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a cockatiel named Bidley, and a watchdog Basset named Chewy.
A PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!
12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.
On Christmas morning, 1912, in Paducah, Kentucky, fourteen-year-old Charlie Flowers and his three brothers and two sisters huddled in their beds, fully dressed, trying to keep warm as the wind howled outside their small frame house.
It was a desperate time for the family. Earlier that year the children’s father had died. And their mother had not found work. The coal had run out and there was little money––none for gifts. Their scrawny tree with decorations made from scraps of colored paper had been given to them the night before by a local merchant.
“Can’t sell this one,” the man said with a nod of his head before handing it over to the eager children.
To pass the time, the siblings joked and shouted stories from their bedrooms across the hallway from one another. Then suddenly a racket from the alley at the rear of the house broke into their games.
“Charlie,” his mother called, “would you see what’s going on out there?”
Charlie pulled on his shoes, grabbed a thick overcoat from the hook by the door, and ran out back.
There stood a man in a wagon bent over a load of coal, shoveling it into the shed as fast as he could.
“Hey Mister, we didn’t order any coal,” Charlie shouted. “You’re delivering it to the wrong house.”
“Your name’s Flowers, isn’t it?” the man asked, still shoveling.
Charlie nodded yes.
“Well then, there’s no mistake. I’ve been asked to deliver this to your family on Christmas morning.” He looked the awe-struck boy square in the eye. “And I’m under strict orders not to tell who sent it,” he teased.
Charlie ran into the house, his coattail flapping in the cold morning wind. He could hardly wait to tell his mother and brothers and sisters. God had provided––just as he had on that first Christmas morning so long ago when He sent his only son to a needy world.
Charlie Flowers died in 1994 at age 96. And right up to the last year of his life, not a Christmas went by that he didn’t tell the story of that sub-zero Christmas morning of his boyhood when two men gave his family an unforgettable gift.
It wasn’t the coal that was remembered or cherished, Charlie often said––welcome as it was––but rather what two men brought to his desperate family. One, for his gift of recognizing their great need and taking the time to do something about it. And the other, for being willing to give up part of his own Christmas morning to deliver it.
That gift of so long ago has continued to warm the Flowers family from one generation to another, as Charlie’s son––my husband, Charles––calls to mind these two unknown men each Christmas morning and whispers a prayer of thanks.
~~~
About Karen: Karen O’Connor is an award-winning author and writing mentor living in Watsonville, California with her husband, Charles Flowers. Karen’s latest book is 365 Reasons Why Gettin’ Old Ain’t So Bad (Harvest House 2010).
A PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!
12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.
~~~
All I Want for Christmas…
Is to be able to have Christmas this Year
by Melissa Mashburn
This is a simple request, isn’t it? In the previous years, we had great big bountiful Christmases with our family. Gifts, goodies and general Christmas cheer but this year it was different. The year before has been chock full of disappointments, failing businesses and severe cutbacks for our family.
Sitting with my husband one night we hammered out the bare minimum that we could spend that year for Christmas and even still the total was four hundred dollars. It does not sound like a whole lot compared to what we’ve spent on Christmas before, but this year it could have been four thousand dollars because we just did not have it.
We prayed, I cried, we prayed some more and decided that we would cut back anything else that we could that year so we could have Christmas for our kids. We did not know how we would make this happen, but we knew that we needed to step forward in faith that it would happen.
Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don’t these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God. Galatians 3:5 the Message
Not even two days later, we hear a knock on our front door. We open the door to see some friends of ours from church. With tears in their eyes, they handed us an envelope and said that the felt they needed to give us this. We opened the envelope and inside there was four hundred dollars cash.
Shocked, stunned and with tears flowing down our face we just sat there in a state of crying and laughing at what God had done. We never shared with anyone that year what we needed, how bad it was, what was going on or what that number was for us to have Christmas for the kids, but God knew.
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT
He took a willing servant, led them to our front door and changed Christmas for us that year. After many years of being in full time ministry we knew that God would provide, but when He shows up just at the right moment, you know that it was all a part of His plan to show how much He loves, provides and cares for His people.
Father God, thank you that after all the years of serving and loving you in ministry that you continue to teach, guide, love, shepherd and care for us. You, Father, are abundantly gracious and kind, thank you for showing up for us at just the right moment every time, forgive us when we forget that. In Jesus name, Amen.
~~~
About Melissa: Melissa is the founder of the blog Mel’s World Ministry, co-founder of the Praise and Coffee Nights Ministry with Sue Cramer, Kids Ministry Director at her church. Just last year she launched a new weekly series called Godly Gals ~ Real Women, Real Life, Real Faith where we meet new women each week who are “Taking their everyday, ordinary lives and placing it as their offering to God.” Romans 12:1 the Message. You can find her on twitter and at her blog. She loves encouraging women to live with an authentic faith by being transparent, renewed and transformed. ~ Romans 12:2.
~~~
A PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!
12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
This Thanksgiving I neglected to even post about the things that I am grateful for, shame on me! We always go around our dinner table on Thanksgiving and share what we are thankful for – My husband is always particular about no one repeating something that has already been said too. You should hear how we try to get around that one! Kind of fun actually because by the time you get nine people to share 2-5 things they are thankful for all the basics are gone.
So as I was working this morning, my thoughts began to wonder as they often do and I thought about our busy weekend (11th-12th now), traveling in the storm down to Chicago…I couldn’t help but be thankful for my husband. We had paid to attend the Green Holiday Fair at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to feature Cornucopia Health Scents. A friend had even volunteered to “man” our table so we could attend church as a family and arrive at the fair by 1:00pm. The weather changed all that since my friend lives 45 minutes north of us. Her husband wasn’t comfortable with the weather situation so she called me on Friday night to let me know. We were disappointed, of course, but completely understood.
If you knew my husband you’d probably think he was quietly reserved and depending on what he wants you to see, you may discover his wonderfully quirky sense of humor and teasing nature. He’s my hero, as this weekend I witnessed another one of his heroic acts on behalf of our family. We had already planned to set up our table with the event coordinator so we went down on Saturday night to set up. He wasn’t deterred by the weather forecast at all. I was left wondering if we were going to make it down at all, while he quietly kept observing the forecast.
Sunday morning arrived with us sleeping later than we intended (that seems to be a Sunday morning habit around here), mostly due to Sir Eats Alot having me up before 4 o’clock and falling back to sleep, not wanting to get up with the alarm. My husband gets up, goes for a drive to see how our 15 passenger van does on the roads and in the wind on the highway. He comes back to say that it really wasn’t that bad out. Almost everyone is ready, but we decide that only the girls will go with him to the city since we were running late. It turns out that they had to come back not only once, but twice because of needful items being forgotten. Then as I thought about it, I was the only one not ready, so why don’t we all go since we were already late anyways? So what do I do? I call him back a third time. He was a little exasperated but saw my point when I said we were already going to be late and all I had to do was get dress and brush my hair.
He did a wonderful job of driving into the city. We hit snow, rain and snow again; in that order. Then he managed to keep the children occupied at the nature museum most of the day with us trading off a little bit, but the older girls and I manned our table and one of my client’s had a table, so our oldest was privileged to help her out for a time.
The day was slow visitor wise, which was another disappointment as this was our first event for our essential oils business. But we had a wonderful time with only minor mishaps (things like children running off to the next exhibit without informing anyone of where they were going or asking permission to do so). So I am thankful the museum was not terribly busy for that reason and even though the children were more “wild” than we’d like them to be in that sense, we could easily guess where they were – at the water playing with boats and damming up water or at the play area on either floor.
I am grateful for a husband who believes in my ideas even when I don’t. Oh we both have our times, but he is still very supportive and helps out a lot as we try to fulfill our vision of having a family business that enables him to work from home – yes that is our ultimate goal. So be careful what you pray for. We prayed for Robert to come home to work and he lost his job! Nearly three years ago now and thankfully he is back to work, doing a job he likes and has great hours. However, his heart isn’t there, it’s at home.
I am grateful for a husband who is brave. Driving didn’t bother him at all on Sunday, oh he wanted us to be quiet during the traffic and messy spots, not that the roads were terrible because they weren’t bad at all and our Behemoth handled better than we could have hoped. He just wanted to give his full attention to driving.
I am thankful the Lord kept us safe.
This Week
This week we have much to be grateful for again, even though we have had five children down with the stomach flu over the past seven days, even though our washing machine’s transmission went and even though our hot water heater is ready to blow. We can be grateful for neighbors who delivered us a full turkey dinner! (Now that was a huge surprise that left my husband standing speechless at the door!) For the unexpected Christmas bonus from one of my clients, for the offer of help from our church, for the offer of our long-time friend of nearly 20 years to come down from Wisconsin to help my husband put in the new hot water heater tonight, giving of himself and time.
I am grateful for a white Christmas – we have plenty of snow that should last unless it warms up and rains!
No matter the difficulties or troubles we may face, there’s always a silver lining somewhere amidst the debris. Sometimes it is just harder to locate when our view is blurred by circumstances beyond our control.
Posted by html404 on December 22, 2010 in Uncategorized
Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along through Christmas day as each post shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year. AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.
~~~
What’s the best thing about Christmas?
by Maureen Lang
The answer to that question will undoubtedly be different depending on the age and the faith of the person being asked. Most children will say it’s all about the gifts. Adults, even if they secretly still enjoy the gifts, will probably strive to sound more mature and say the holiday is all about friends and family. Still others might say it’s about tradition, or memories or the music or even the special food we connect to this time of year. The scrooges among us might say this season is just another marketing gimmick, or materialism gone awry. The faithful will say it’s all about Jesus, a reminder of why He shed the glory of Heaven to step into human skin and frailty.
I’m not here to defend or attack any answer to this question, but rather to ponder those possible answers.
Gifts: They touch us in personal ways, as tangible evidence of someone else’s thought and affection. Even if we don’t get exactly what we hoped, there’s something to be said about the thought behind a gift being the important part. Why wouldn’t gifts be an important and valid part of this holiday in which we celebrate God’s gift of salvation?
Holiday Gatherings: Parties might be a lot of work, forcing some out of their comfort zone, but at the core they’re all about human connection. Isn’t that what most people want?
Traditions and memories: They remind us of the past, of who we are, with the hope that even as we look forward to an unknown future we still hold some things worthy enough to repeat every year. We might find ourselves letting go of some traditions, or we might want to start some new ones.
The music: This is the only time of the year when even secular radio stations welcome songs about a baby born in Bethlehem. As a nation we may be getting stringent about separation of church as state, but the lines blur just a bit with old favorites that reflect this season.
Scrooges: The holiday season is probably a time to endure rather than enjoy, but even the scroogiest-scrooge might admit the lights of the season are pretty to behold. They’re free to look at, after all.
As for the food, the busyness, the expense and all the other things that make up this season: keep in mind that it’s all temporary. This, too, shall pass. Until next year, of course.
I’ll leave you with this thought: we are all made in God’s image, whether we believe that or not. Part of that image is the ability to give—and to receive. So here’s my thought for the day: stop a moment and dwell on all the gifts of the season. From the little mementos that say we haven’t forgotten someone or been forgotten by others, to the costliest gift of all: what God did for us in the form of Christ. As you enjoy the sounds, the sights, the scents and the tastes of this season, may your only trouble be in choosing just one thing among so many best things about Christmas.
~~~
About Maureen: Maureen Lang is the author of ten books, her most recent from Tyndale House is The Great War Series which are full of romance, adventure and spiritual journeys. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons and their lovable Labrador Retriever.
For more information please visit Maureen at her website, www.maureenlang.com.
~~~
A PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!
12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
