Sausage Log

Chocolate Bugels

Margie's Divinity

Peanut Butter Balls

Ritz Bits

These are so simple to make and yet so good.    Just melt almond bark in a boiler and add the ritz bits, coat and let dry and cool on wax paper.

Yvette's Trash

2 cups Corn Chex

2 cups Rice Chex

2 cups Cheerios

2 cups Pretzels

2 cups Crunchy Cheese Puffs

2 cups Peanuts

2 cups Pecans

1/2 cup Oil

1/2 cup Oleo

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

1 Tablespoon Tobasco

Mix last five ingredients together and pour over the dry ingredients.   Bake at 225 degrees for two hours.   Stir occasionally.   Add or delete any party mix items to your taste.  I put a can of mixed nuts for the peanuts and pecans.

Yvette Williams - My Sister-in-law

Old Timey Fruit Salad

4-5 Medium Size Bananas

Bunch of Grapes - either halved or quartered (depending on size)

1 Large Can Mandarin Oranges, drained and cut in half

1 Large Apple or 2 Medium Apples, chopped

2 Big Tablespoons Mayo

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

dash pepper

2 small cans Green Beans

1 can French's French Fried Onions

Mix all the above saving 2/3 can of the Fried Onions.   Put in 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.   Sprinkle remaining onions and bake 5 more minutes.  Serves 6.

Broccoli Salad

Several stalks of broccoli

1/2 onion, chopped

1 large apple, chopped

1 cup raisins

1 cup pecans, chopped

Bunch of grapes, as desired

Dressing:

1 cup Mayo

1/2 cup sugar

Several splashes Red Wine Vinegar

Stir well and add to the above.

Haystacks (Chow Mein Noodle Candy)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup chow mein noodles

1/2 cup salted peanuts

In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips;  stir until smooth.  Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until well coated.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet.  Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.

Amy Cake

3 Cups Sugar

2 Sticks Land O' Lakes Margarine

1/2 Cup Crisco

4 Eggs

1 Cup Sweet Milk

3 Cups Cake Flour

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Cream sugar, margarine and crisco. Add eggs one at a time. Add milk & cake flour alternately. Add vanilla. Pour in bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Recipe from: Susie Mae Alford

She said this was Amy's favorite cake so she named it Amy Cake.

Ranch Potatoes

2 lbs. potatoes, cut but not peeled

1 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing mix

1 stick butter, melted

Bacon bits (I usually leave this off - they don't agree with me!)

Cook and drain potatoes.  Put in 9 x 13 dish.  Mix Ranch dressing according to package directions.  Stir in butter and pour over potatoes.  Crumble bacon bits on top.

Cook on 300 degrees for about 20 - 30 minutes.   This is a favorite recipe for get togethers.  Especially for Christmas at Granny's 'cause Tim is always going to ask if I brought my potatoes! 

Cheese Ball

2 - 8 oz. packages Cream Cheese, softened

1 small jar chopped black olives

1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped

1 jar dried beef or 1 package thin beef sandwich slices

1 tablelspoon Accent

Mix all ingredients and form in a ball and refrigerate.   Makes 2 balls - freezes well.

Great for showers, parties, Christmas, etc.

Pam Cheatham had made this for Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary at the church and I got the recipe from her.

*Variation:   From Paula Deen - Rebecca's Beefy Cheese Ball

8 oz. Cream  Cheese

1 jar dried beef

4 oz. cheddar cheese

Chopped Parsley (to roll ball in)

Mini Tomato Bites

1 - 10 oz. can Ro-tel tomatoes, drained
1 cup mayo
1 - 3 oz. pkg. bacon bits
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
3 - 10 oz. pkg. mini filo shells, thawed

Preheat over to 350 degrees.   Combine drained tomatoes, mayo, bacon bits & cheese.   Fill shells & bake for 10 -15 minutes.   Delicious warm or at room temperature.
Yield:  45 tarts
Easy Parties by Patty Roper
Unwrapped - Supplement to MS Magazine November/December 2010

Cracker Candy

2 sleeves saltine crackers
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Line a 9x13 inch jellyroll pan with foil, and place saltines over entire pan.   Over medium heat, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil for 3 minutes or until frothy.   Remove from heat and pour over crackers.   Bake for 5 minutes.   Remove from oven an sprinkle with chocolate chips.   Return to over for an additional 5 minutes.   Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Using a metal spatual, spread chocolate over crackers.   Refrigerate pan for 1 hour or until chocolate is firm.   Remove from frig and break into pieces.  Store in an airtight container.
Yield:  1 pound candy
Emily Burgess, Madison
Unwrapped - Supplement to MS Magazine - November/December 2010

Chocolate Bark

10 ounce pkg. of chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon extract (peppermint, almond, etc.)
Nuts
Dried fruit
Candy bits

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave (set at 50% power for three minutes, stirring halfway through).   Add the vegetable oil and extract.   Stir in nuts, dried fruit and/or candy bits, and spread it out in a baking pan lined with greased foil.   Let it harden in the refirgerator for about two hours; then break apart into pieces.

Italian Cream Cake

1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup crisco
2 cups sugar
4 lg. eggs, room temp
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temp
` t. vanilla flavoring
1 pkg. frozen coconut, thawed
1 cup finely chopped pecans
     Preheat oven to 350.   Cream buter and crisco thoroughly, add sugar and mix well.   Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.   Sift flour, salt and soda.   Add flour mixture to butter and sugar alternately with buttermilk beginning and ending with flour.
     Fold in coconut, pecans and flavoring.   Bake in three 9- inch cake pans 25 -30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla flavoring
1 cup finely chopped pecans
     Cream together cream cheese and butter.   Sift powdered sugar and add gradually to cream cheese and butter.  Add vanilla and nuts.   Frost between layers and sides.

Susan Alford & Cherie Gamblin, Sister
Recipe from their Mom, Connie Sampsell
Neshoba Magazine - Supplement to Neshoba Democrat 12/15/10

Roasted Pecans

1 cup butter
4 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon salt
     Melt butter in large skillet; add pecans and salt.   Stir well to coat pecans, remove from heat.
     Place pecans in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.   Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.   Drain on paper towels.

Susan & Cherie Gamblin, Sisters
Recipe from Mom, Connie Sampsell
Neshoba Magazine
Supplement to the Neshoba Democrat 12/15/10

Christmas Tidbits

Christmas celebrates the awesome and amazing fact that God is grander,wiser, and more mysterious than we could have ever imagined.

Everything about Christmas in totally unexpected.   In retrospect, of course, we see God's infinte wisdom; but even then, we see this only with His divine help and thie eyes of faith.

Familiarity with what God has done in the past blinds us to what He intended on that first Christmas.

Christmas in God unrecognized, God unexpected, God misunderstood.   It is also, to our utter amazement and joy, God delightfully revealed.

We can never hope to capture the Christmas spirit and make it our own unless we understand that God is so much greater than we ever though He was.   We thought we knew all albout God.   The incarnation proved us wrong.

Was there a moment known only to God, when all the stars held their breath, when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second, and the Word, who had called it all into being, went witih all His love into the womb of a young girl, and the universe started to breathe again, and the ancient harmonies resumed their song, and the angels clapped their hands for joy?

(Bright Evening Star, Crosswicks, Inc., 1977)

At Christmas, we get a taste of the eternal, and it whets our appetite for more; strained relationships often seem better as we are more willing to put aside our differences; and giving takes precedence over getting.

With its celebration, joy, excitement, warmth, and holiness, Christmas reminds us that although many wonderful promises have been fulfilled in our midst, we are still waiting for the last, eternal, Christmas morning - the one that will last forever.

We desperately want to embrace all that Christmas promises, especially Immanuel - God with us.   He came to live with us, and not within us, but His inner presence only makes up desire more.

The celebration of Christmas is a delicious spiritual hors d'oeuvre to eternity, tantalizing us with reminders that the banquet is yet to come, and it will be eternally satisfying.

Part of the real Christmas spirit is the hope it inspires in us of the day when Jesus will come again, no longer the baby in the manger, but the Lord of all the earth.   That is the ultimate fulfillment of all that Christmas promises.

Taken from:

The Light of the World

Experiencing the Splendor of Christmas

Dan Schaeffer

The Smith's 1st Christmas

The Smith's 1st Christmas

Brent, Rebecca & Bailey

12/18/10

Molly Got A Present!

Bailey used some of his birthday money and bought Molly these "gift pack" of presents.   Molly absolutely LOVED them.    She has played and played.    Molly & Bailey are crazy about each other and I AM CRAZY ABOUT BOTH OF THEM!

Choir Christmas Party

We had the annual Choir Party at Charlie & Kathy Womble's on Tuesday, December 14th at 7:00 p.m.   As usual we had a great supper and played Dirty Santa and had a great time.   The choir gave Charlie some "tail-gaiting" MSU gifts for his present.

My First Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights like heaven's stars reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular; please wipe away that tear
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
But the sound of music can't compare with the Christmas choir
Up here, i have no words to tell you the joy they bring.

I know how much you miss me.   I see the pain inside your heart
But I am nor far away.   We really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones.   You know I hold you dear
And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus this year.

I send you each a special gift from my heavenly home above
I send you each a memory of my undying love.   After all love is
The gift more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other as My Father said to do for
I can't count the blessing or love He has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away the tears;
Remember I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

Christmas at The Gas Station

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy, I'll just go."
 
"Not without something hot in your belly." George said.

He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.
 
"You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.

"But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to
himself. So he put a new one on.

"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln . They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway.

As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease.

"Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance."

The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.

He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area."

George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked.
 
"None for me," said the officer.
 
"Oh, yer gonna drink this.  Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was sha king and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!"

The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to the cop, "we got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pea shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can."

He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."
 
"Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said.
 
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"

"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.

"That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued.
 
"Yep,"  George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?"

Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems."

George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day."

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."

"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours."

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier.

"And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too," George said. "Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."

"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man."

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.

"You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus"

Merry Christmas!!

This story is better than any greeting card.


 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!

Mary

Posted: 15 Dec 2010 04:46 AM PST

Monday I wrote about Joseph's part in the Christmas story, and how he was willing to sacrifice his reputation for Christ.  Today, I want to share my insights regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Mary was a wonderful woman. Among all the wonderful characteristics of Mary, the one that stands out to me the most when I think about giving a gift to God, is that Mary had a heart that was ready to say “yes” to anything God asked. And God knew that.

God sent an angel to give Mary the good news that she was highly favored. We read the account in Luke 1:30-38:

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

Mary doesn’t argue or complain. She does have a technical question, but what woman wouldn’t?

Mary’s answer reflects a heart that was already submitted and in agreement to whatever God would ask of her. God knew the trials His beloved Son would face, and God had to choose a woman who wasn’t going to flake out on Him! God had to choose a woman strong enough to endure what Mary was going to endure as a mother. I believe He chose the best mother on the planet at that time. Wouldn’t you?

I imagine God had a list of requirements for the mother of Jesus. She had to be a woman of great character,

• a woman committed to personal righteousness,

• a woman humble enough to put God’s wishes first,

• a woman who would faithfully raise her son and teach Him about God,

• a woman who wouldn’t fall apart at the first sign of trouble,

• a woman who would stand by Jesus when He was falsely accused of heresy,

• a woman who wouldn’t shrink away when her son was beaten and forced to carry a cross through the streets with people spitting at Him,

• and, the woman who would raise God’s Son must be willing to let Him die so that the world would be saved.

God knew that Mary had the character and fortitude to say “yes” to all He would ask.

When I think about God choosing Mary among all the women in the world, I wonder if He does the same today.  When He has a great assignment does He look among all His daughters to see which one has the resoluteness to carry it out?  Which one will say "yes" then do what she says?

Mary's story prompts me to be more like that:  trustworthy, determined, unflappably devoted. 

I hope it does the same for you.

Easy to Make (And Give) Peanut Brittle

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup salted peanuts

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.   Combine sugar and corn syrup in a bowl and microwave on high 4 minutes.   Stir in peanuts and microwave on high 3-1/2 minutes more, then strir in butter and vanilla and microwave for 1-1/2 minutes.   Stir in baking soda until light and foamy.   Pour onto cookie sheet and spread thin.   Cool completely and break into pieces and serve.

Kara Kimbrough

Clarion Ledger

12/15/10

Sausage Balls

1 pound hot sausgae

3 cups Bisquick

4 cups shredded cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Fry sausage and crumble.   Do not drain.   Add to Bisquick and shredded cheese.   Gradually add enough water while stirring until moist enough to shape into balls.   Bake around 10 minutes or until golden brown.    You can also freeze balls after making up.

Janis Sansing

The Neshoba Democrat

12/15/10

The 12 Days of Christmas

     From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.   Someone during that period of time wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
     It has two levels of meanings:  the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to their church members.
     Each element in the carol has a cod word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testament.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The five gold rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation,
Seven swans a-swimming represented the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit:  Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.
Eight maids a-milking were the each beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
Ten lords a-leaping were the 10 commandments.
The 11 pipers piping stood fro the 11 faithful disciples.
The 12 drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the Apostles Creed.

Now when you hear this carol you can think of the hidden meaning.

Joseph, The Father of Jesus

What would you risk your reputation for?

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:35 AM PST

I spent this past weekend in Cottonwood Arizona, with some wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord.  A friend invited me to speak at her Christmas luncheon, and then the pastor invited me to stay over and give the Sunday morning message.  It was an honor, and I had a wonderful time.

On Sunday I gave a message about gifts.  I looked at each of the main participants in the Christmas story and looked deeper than the familiar words memorialized in song and story.  I looked at their part with new eyes, and tried to see what gift they gave Jesus.  What did God value about their offering?   For the next week, I'll share some of my insights as we lead up to Christmas.  And I'll start with Joseph.

We don’t really hear too much about him. His part in the Christmas story is  important.  He was the earthly father of Jesus. Let's look a bit closer at what this act of obedience cost him. 
Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married, but while Mary was still a virgin she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph’s initial intent was to break the engagement quietly. Imagine how hard this must have been for Joseph. He was fully committed to Mary and he expected Mary to be faithful to him. To discover that she was not would have been crushing personally, and very embarrassing publicly.

After Joseph decided to quietly divorce Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to go ahead with the marriage, and that the baby would be the Savior of God’s people.

Joseph obeyed and took Mary home to be his wife. Read in the context of today’s cultural morality, we don’t fully understand the risk and sacrifice it took for Joseph to continue his engagement with Mary. We may think, “How nice. Joseph did what he should have done.”

However, in Joseph’s day, Mary was considered an adulteress, and according to the Law of Moses, should have been stoned to death. This created a big problem for Joseph, because he loved the law. He had carefully lived his life to obey God’s commands and thereby earn the respect of the religious leaders and other men in his community. But, he also loved God, and Mary.

Faced with the fact of Mary being pregnant with someone else’s child, Joseph‘s first reaction to break the engagement blended Joseph’s obedience to the law, with mercy and kindness to Mary. That would have been more than anyone expected of Joseph, but then God asked him to take the next step of love. God asked Joseph to sacrifice his hard-earned reputation for Mary and her unborn child – God’s son.

Verse 24 shows us Joseph’s true character, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” No delay, no questions, no arguing. God asked Joseph to prove his love for his wife, his son and his God even though it meant losing what mattered deeply to him – his reputation.

There’s no mention of Joseph after the birth of Jesus. In fact, there’s a passage in Mark that hints at Joseph’s loss of reputation:

Mark 6:3: Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?

It was customary among Jews to describe a man as the son of his father – not mother. It is very likely that there were accusations about Jesus’ parentage being circulated even 30 years after his birth, especially in Nazareth where Jesus was raised. Maybe people for years thought Joseph was weak, and had been taken advantage of by a lying woman.

Joseph sacrificed much in the eyes of the world for God. The truth is, while others may overlook our sacrifices, they never go unnoticed or unappreciated by God. Joseph lived his life in the shadows of the scandal surrounding the birth of Jesus. He apparently never regained his reputation, and quietly lived a life of righteousness.

And yet, we know today that Joseph received the honor of being the earthly father of Jesus, of kissing Jesus’ sweet face, holding His hand as they walked to the Temple and sitting around a dinner table with Him. God honored Joseph in life, and for eternity. What unbelievable joy.

At Christmas, we read quickly over Joseph’s role in the story, but there is a deeper message here for us. Looking behind the scenes at Joseph, we see that one of Joseph’s gifts to God was sacrificial love. Although Joseph gave up his reputation, he gained the greater distinction of serving God, honoring his wife and loving his and God’s Son.

My prayer this morning is that I would be like Joseph and obey and love with reckless abandon, and leave my reputation in God's capable hands.

The Gift Giver

9 Dec 2010

By Rachel Olsen

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV)

On Christmas morning I'll watch with joyful anticipation as my family opens the gifts that I've given them. I can't wait to see their faces light up with surprised pleasure and gratefulness. In moments like these I understand why Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35, NIV).
A few years ago my daughter reached the age where she could find the hidden stash of unwrapped presents if she really tried. So I warned her that if she peeked, and I found out about it, I would return those presents to the store and she would not receive them.
Sounds a bit harsh I know, but I really wanted her to learn some important lessons: to exercise self-control and delayed gratification, and to respect the act of giving by not robbing me of the pleasure of seeing her open her presents for the first time. I wanted her to see that giving and receiving are irreversibly linked, and good for both parties involved.
It's essential for God's children to respect the act of giving as well as receiving – He calls us to live a life of both. I also believe it can help us better understand God's core nature and our relationship with Him. God is a gift-giver! And He always knows the exact perfect gift to give. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17, NIV).
Let's unwrap today some of the awesome gifts He has given us ...
He's given us physical life: "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
And eternal life: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NIV)
He's given us family: "God sets the lonely in families ..." Psalm 68:6 (NIV)
He's given us wisdom: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5 (NIV)
He's given us peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." John 14:27 (NIV)
He's given us joy: "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NIV)
He's given us rest: "Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'" Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
He's given us a personal counselor: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you." John 14:16 (NIV)
He's given us an inheritance: "...you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." Colossians 3:24 (NIV)
And He's given us freedom: "God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom." 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)
In return for all these glorious gifts, God simply wants us to receive and respond with thankfulness and a heart that is ready to emulate His gracious nature. I can't think of a better time than now to respond with gratefulness and enjoy the act of giving and receiving – Merry Christmas!

Dear Lord, thank You for Your graciousness towards me. I praise Your generosity! Help me to receive all You have for me in the coming year. And help me to value giving as much as I value receiving, in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Molly & Santa

Molly visited Santa Sam at the Animal Clinic on December 1, 2010.    She did pretty good even though she didn't want to sit still and tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Our Annual Christmas Shopping Trip

Larry & I usually make a shopping trip to Jackson every year - either on the first Saturday or first Sunday of December.    This year due to him working on Saturday we had to go on Sunday.    (I refuse to go any later in the month - the first weekend is bad enough!)

Larry went to Academy while I went to Michaels.    Then we went to O'Charley's and ate lunch and on to Bass Pro.  Next stop was Belks, followed by Target and Walmart.   Then back across to Academy where Larry got Brent a knife he wanted.

We didn't find a lot of "bargains" as Larry calls them but when I got home and tallied up..... we spent several dollars!     Larry did find him a leather jacket (brown) at Belk's - he has been wanting one and it was on sale for $139.     I picked up an album and stickers at Michaels and several odds and ends items at Target and Walmart.    Larry nor I found anything at Bass Pro.

We decided that God was telling us that we already had too much and didn't need to buy any more "junk"!     We did have a good day.    Decided next year we will probably just go to Meridian since he didn't find anything at Bass Pro or Academy.

The "Rez"   It was really windy today and the water was choppy and very cold today - only got in the 40's.

Bass Pro is a huge store at Pearl - I love the fireplace when you first walk in!

Plane coming in for a landing at the Jackson Airport.

View of the Jackson Airport from Airport Road.

By the time we went back across to Academy it was around 4:30 p.m. and the traffic had really picked up.    When we first got there around 9:30 there was very little traffic.



Christmas in Rockefeller Center, 2010

I watched this 78th Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Lighting in New York City, New York on tv on Tuesday night, November 30, 2010.    This was a 12 ton, 74 foot Norway Spruce tree with 30,000 lights on it.    Steve, Jenny Lynn & Lacie were visiting in the city this week and were at this special program.  

Merry Christmas New York!

November Christmas

Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie, November 28, 2010

This was one of the best Christmas movies that I have seen in a long time.   Usually the story line involved someone with cancer dying - but in this story it had a happy ending.  The little girl (Vanessa)  in the picture has cancer and her father & mother (Tom & Beth Marks) is scared that she isn't going to make it until Christmas - so they try to push up all the holidays.   His neighbor Jess Sanford (Sam Elliott) who is a folksy farmer & wife Claire realizes what he is doing and helps him - he runs a farm that sells vegetables, etc.   And he also lost a child so he relates to the feelings the Father is going through.   So he finds pumpkins in August and brings a load to them and then they decorate for Halloween.   The doorbell rings and the "trick or treaters" say they didn't come for candy they came for the party - of course put together by Sam and his wife.    Then they pull together the whole town and go ahead  and decorate for Christmas.    But the treatment does work.   The beginning of the movie shows the grown up daughter reading the book November Christmas to a group at the library.    

Between 12 and 30

Toni & Don Stovall sang this at Beacon Street Baptist Church on Sunday morning, November 28, 2010.

 

Between Twelve and Thirty-Three

Rusty Golden, Jerry Salley, Jim McBride
Made popular by The McKameys
From the CD, “Something More”
Based on Luke 2:3-7, 39-40; John 19:16-30


You can read about His virgin birth
That Holy night when He came down to earth
And the Bible says that He grew up
In the town of Nazareth
The only childhood story about Him
Was in a temple in Jerusalem
A boy became a man of destiny
Between twelve and thirty-three
Eighteen years are a mystery
His last three years He made history
Became the Savior He was sent to be
Between twelve and thirty-three
There’s nothing written ‘bout his formularize years
For a while it’s like He just disappeared
All the Bible says is he grew wise
And found favor in God’s eyes
When He got older and the time had come
He started proving to the world Who He was
Each step He took lead straight to Calvary
Between twelve and thirty-three
Eighteen years are a mystery
His last three years He made history
Became the Savior He was sent to be
Between twelve and thirty-three

Time to Decorate

Molly's New Stocking for this Year!

I told someone I have an old fashioned Christmas tree - it has no theme and none of the pretty toppers that everyone is using these days - with those toppers it kind of doesn't leave room for my angel that I think I have to put on top!   I like my tree with all my ornaments on it!