Welcome to our home! Please wipe your feet and take off your shoes. (You might trample a kitty). Have some milk and cookies. This is our very first Christmas with both of the girls, and as you can see this has made decorating very interesting. We decided to keep the decorations sparse, so the only ones you will currently see at our house is in this corner. Here is our lovely tree, otherwise known as the kitty playhouse. The girls spend much time climbing the boughs in order to get a better view of the outside. The branch sticking out of the side is supposed to be at the bottom, but the kitties find it easier to climb without this branch in its rightful place. Take note that we have an ornamentless tree this year, since the kitties insist on chasing them.

Over here is our beautiful fireplace, which alas, has almost never be used. We hung the stockings with care, and fortunately they have only been attacked once. The one in the middle was made for me by my grandmother, while the ones at the ends were given to me for the kitties by my mom. Notice we are short one stocking.


Feel free to take a gander out on the balcony. This is a Christmas . . . um, tomato. The first of the season! We are hoping that we will have a bumper crop before the heat picks back up. :-) Although, the plant does look somewhat sad.

Well, thanks for stopping by! Don't forget your shoes, and please take some cookies on your way out!

I found this little meme on Ashley's blog and thought it would be perfect to help get me more in the Christmas spirit.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I tend to stick to gift bags, especially if I have some on hand or the gift is an odd shape. I do like to wrap, though. If only I were better at it!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial for now. I think it would be too much for our small apartment to have a real tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? The past few years we have helped my parents in Atlanta put up theirs the day after Thanksgiving, and we'll put up ours sometime when we are back in town.
4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime after Christmas
5. Do you like egg nog? I absolutely cannot stand the store bought stuff that comes in a paper carton. Bleh. I had real eggnog a few years ago and quite enjoyed it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I really don't remember much of anything I received as a child. Maybe the child's sewing machine I received one year from my grandparents.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I would love to get one!
8. Hardest person to buy for? Most everyone. I'm really horrible about thinking of creative gifts.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Probably Stu
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mailing cards. E-cards just aren't the same.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing I can think of!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "It's a Wonderful Life."
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually right before I need to give the gift. I'm such a procrastinator!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can remember.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Nothing I particular. We never really established food traditions at Christmas like we have at Thanksgiving. I guess if I had to say one thing it would be my grandmother's Christmas cookies.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear lights.
17. Favorite Christmas song? It really depends on the year. This year I've really been enjoying "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." I've really fallen in love with older carols and hymns this season. I might spend some time researching their history. Who knows, maybe another blog post?
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel. Growing up we would always visit my grandparents. Now we travel to Stu's parents up in Dallas.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? Sure. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, and of course the most famous reindeer of all--Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither. We have a really beautiful burgundy ribbon.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas morning!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People who spend way too much time obsessing about gifts and getting stuff.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? In the past we have decorated our tree with burgundy and gold, with many of the ornaments being angels I have received over the years from my grandparents. This year we didn't hang up any because the kitties like to climb the tree a little too much!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? See number 15
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Hmmm. I'm going to have to think about this one.

Our pastor has started a new series for the Advent season on the first few chapters of Genesis. Last week he compared the first chapter in Genesis to the first chapter in John. (Which, alas, I didn't take notes and I don't remember the finer points of his sermon. For those interested, you can listen to it here. Incidently, his sermon last week coincided with the Jesse Tree passage of the day--Creation.)

This Sunday we had a guest speaker who continued the series and expanded from last week. This week's passage was Genesis 2:4-9.

4 These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The pastor discussed how when God created the heavens and the earth, He created by Himself. Man can only respond to the creation God has made, and was created to be completely dependent on God. He gave Adam the breath of life, a garden to live in, food to eat, and an earth to tend. When God created the tree of knowledge of good and evil he instructed Adam to not eat of it, since man should turn to God alone for his needs. The pastor likened God's instructions to driving eastbound in a westbound lane of Interstate 10--God gave the command for our own safety and protection, since the result of the offense would be death. Adam, of course, utterly rebelled against God's grace and care and now would experience death. God in His continuous grace gave Christ in the Incarnation in order to redeem us, His chosen people.

One of my favorite hymns is "For the Beauty of the Earth," and what a wonderful surprise that we sang it during service this past Sunday. Written by Folliot Pierpoint in 1864, it's a wonderful hymn of thanksgiving to our Creator. (It also reminds me of the wedding scene in one of my favorite movies, "Little Women," where the March sisters are singing this during Meg's ceremony.)

1. For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

2. For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

3. For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind's delight,
for the mystic harmony,
linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

4. For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

5. For thy church, that evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
her pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

6. For thyself, best Gift Divine,
to the world so freely given,
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth, and joy in heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

I've been going to our local Farmer's Market for some weeks now, buying some wares from our local farmers. I picked up some bok choy this time around, and I'm not sure what to do with it. Any thoughts? I'm thinking it would be wonderful to cook it alongside one of my winter squashes, but I'm not sure. My milk and egg guys weren't there this time around, but maybe next week.

I have a review of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" in the works, as well as a collection of thoughts on the state of the Houston local scene. Maybe in a few days?

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. --Winston Churchill

Our church is currently going through a capital campaign in order to raise money to construct a church building, so it has been a very exciting few weeks in the life of our church. Our pastor has been going through a series concerning the kingdom of God and a Christian's response to money. Since today was the "Commitment Sunday" where we made our pledges for donations, the sermon itself was shorter, but it still was very powerful.

The Scripture reading was taken from 1 Chronicles 29:9-16.

The people of Israel were giving money in order for the temple of God to be built. The Israelites responded not with a sense of duty, or a sense of solemnity, but with utmost joy. They gave wholeheartedly, freely, and joyfully to the Lord. When we give, we should give with joy and with "clarity." Our pastor explained that when we realize clearly who God is, we will not want to hold back on our joy. After receiving the people's gifts for the temple, David said:

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

We should also have clarity about who we are. Who are we, in comparison to the great and mighty God? David says that "our days on earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding." Nothing is ours, everything we have comes from God.

During the service, we recited the first catechism question from the Shorter Catechism: Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We live our lives most meaningfully glorifying God, which results in our dying to self and serving others. Giving should be an outpouring of our love for others, and an opportunity to glorify our Father. It is our privilege to serve. When we give to our spouses, we don't do so out of duty. To do so would be absurd. Even more so it should be like that with our God. Christ gave us the ultimate gift by dying for our sins. We can never come close to matching this gift, but our response should be an outpouring of joy in giving back to our Maker.

Lucy is absolutely loving the new toy we have bestowed upon her. We even caught her grooming it the other day. (Shock!) We have named the new "toy" Lily, and it seems to suit her just fine.