Hello again! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Because of my neck not still being great, I asked my daughters to come early and help me fix all of the food. They were such a great help and did it all so quickly. I love fixing big meals for my children and their families to give them a break, but due to my neck, I can’t do this that well right now. It’s actually fun to have others in the kitchen helping. They helped clean up too. It was such a blessing. It’s also a blessing to have family that is all like-minded about religion and politics so nothing is off topic during our gatherings!

I mentioned that all three of the couples that were living together in my neighborhood who I encouraged to marry are all married now! As I was walking this week, one of the husbands asked me if I would officiate their vows for some family members to see. They were already formally married, and it was just going to be a small event in their backyard saying their vows to each other. I immediately felt that it wasn’t my job to do as a woman. I asked if it would be okay for my husband to do it. He agreed. They had never met my husband, so they came over that night and spent an hour visiting with us. We are praying for them and hoping that they will one day be saved.

An elderly lady in her 90s called up my dad last week and told him that she and the man that she had been living with for many years got married because they didn’t want to go to hell. I pondered this. They both have claimed to be believers for many years but due to finances, they didn’t marry. It’s amazing to me how many who claim to be believers can continue to live in sin. It is a dangerous place to be, in my opinion. We are told that if we love Him, we will obey Him. I know our works don’t save us, but our works absolutely prove we are saved. We can’t just say we believe and then live however we want. Faith without works is dead.

I celebrate Christmas simply. In fact, I love simplicity. I have never been into elegance and extravagance. I decorated a small fake tree years ago. After Christmas, I unplug it and my husband puts it into a closet. My grandchildren helped me with the rest of the decorations yesterday. They had so much fun playing with the few things that I have had since my children’s childhood. My children loved playing with them when they were young too. I have never liked a lot of clutter and stuff. It just makes life simpler. (The picture above is of my front yard decorations for Christmas!)

My husband and I watched two absolutely incredible movies this past week. One was called “The Redemption” and its on Angel Studios. It was full of Scripture, love, action, and redemption. I heartily recommend it! My husband bought a year-long subscription for it on Black Friday because my son told him there was a great children’s series on it. I’m hoping there are more good movies on it for adults too!

Last night, we watched “I Heard the Bells” on the Great American Family channel. It shared the life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote the song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Morning.” Just knowing the back story to some of our favorite hymns give the hymns so much more meaning! Right before the tragedy to his wife happened, I told my husband that there must have been many more fires back then when the only lights at night were candles. Well, Henry’s wife’s dress caught on fire and instead of dropping and rolling, she ran! It was so tragic. His wife was a loving, kind, and joyful woman. She is an incredible example for us all.

Years ago, I read everything Helen Aardsma wrote. She was a mother to eleven children. She has 30 grandchildren now! She is full of wisdom and discernment. I bought all of her archived notebooks and devoured them. Well, yesterday morning, she emailed me and asked me to link any quotes on my blog to her. I told her I would be happy to do this! HERE is her website if you would like to learn from a godly, older woman.

May you all have a wonderful week glorifying the Lord and living for Him. We can even do this when we’re sick and suffering by not complaining but praising the Lord through it and clinging to Him. It’s not easy to do. Nothing God asks of us is easy, but it’s ALL good!

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

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