Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

IHOP – Get Prayer, Not Pancakes, to Satisfy Your Hunger

Our family spent three years in Kansas City where we regularly attended IHOP activities and especially The Prayer Room. They have 24 hour worship and intercession happening there. They also have prayer for the sick in healing rooms, prayer for expectant mothers, prophecy rooms where people are ministered to and encouraged with words from the Lord about how He sees them and how much He loves them.

If you need to hear some good heartfelt worship and intercession, tune in to IHOP.org any time of the day or night and hear what’s happening in The Prayer Room. They are committed to keeping the flame burning on the altar, so there will always be someone worshiping the Lord there.

A Merry Literary Christmas!

 

 

                                                                                    Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash

A Merry Literary Christmas

By Alice Low

When Christmas shopping time draws nigh,
And I am faced with gifts to buy,
I think about one relative
Who always had one gift to give.
Year after year her present came,
And every year it was the same,
While other gifts were round and fat,
(Their secrets hidden) hers was flat,
Rectangular, the corners square,
I knew exactly what was there.
I’d pass it by without a look —
My aunt had sent another book!
I’d only open it to write
A “thank-you” that was too polite,
But every year when Christmas went
I’d read the book my aunt had sent,
And looking back, I realize
Each gift was treasure in disguise.
So now it’s time to write her here
A thank-you note that is sincere.

So — thanks for Alice and Sara Crewe,
For Christopher Robin and Piglet and Pooh,
For Little Nell and William Tell
And Peter and Wendy and Tinker Bell.

Thanks for Tom and Jim and Huck,
For Robinson Crusoe and Dab-Dab the duck,
For Meg and Jo and Johnny Crow
And Papa Geppetto’s Pinocchio.

For Mary Poppins and Rat and Toad,
King Arthur and Dorothy’s Yellow Brick Road,
For Kipling’s Kim and tales from Grimm,
And Ferdinand, Babar, and Tiny Tim.

I loved them all, I’m glad I met them.
They’re with me still, I won’t forget them.
So I’ll give books on Christmas Day
Though I know what all my nieces say —
I know it from the way they write
A “thank-you” that is too polite.

Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

This song touched me one night last week with so much emotion that I had to find it and share it with you, my wonderful readers. I couldn’t embed the video, but just click this link and hear this beautiful music. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It was a worship experience for me.

I’m so thankful that God created music and that He gifted so many with such amazing talent to write, play and sing it.

Advent for Little Ones

These are the things we’re doing with the little ones this year:

Advent calendar from ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel. It’s magnetic, so it works great on the refrigerator door. One of the youngest usually opens the window for the day, then Garrett usually reads.

Then we go to the table and light our advent candle(s) for the week. I read the corresponding page to the window that was opened, and we learn about one of the symbols or traditions of Christmas. Tomorrow we will light the second candle for the first time, so we will have the first and second candles lit, and the light will get brighter.

There are neat activities suggested to go with each lesson, but I haven’t been able to do them this year. Maybe next year.

Then we do our Advent Book by Jack and Kathy Stockman. They really like to open the door for the day. We try to remember who opened it last, and then let the next person open it, then Garrett reads the next part of the Christmas story that is revealed.

As you can see, they really enjoy this book.

In the past, I have done an advent activity by Christian Perspective which the younger ones really enjoyed called Jesus – The Promised One. You get the devotional for the parent to read aloud and then a little book for each child to put a sticker in or draw a picture for each lesson. There are physical books and ebooks now. I always bought the physical kits. Each day I would read the devotional and then we would open the little envelope for the day and take out the stickers that each child could put in their booklet. Each child was also given a gold pen that they could decorate or write with in their booklet. This was one of their favorite parts!

I did this with Morgan, Kelsey, Fiona and Garrett two years ago when they were 5, 5, 8 and 10 years old. And I had done it with them the year before that, too. Actually, I did it with Patrick, Anna, Kelsey and Morgan while we still lived in Kansas City the year before that! We have done it in 3 different houses.

I just didn’t think of it this year or we probably would have done it in this house, too with the youngest. But we have plenty of fun advent activities to do. I like to do some things every year, but I also like to mix things up a little, so they don’t get tired of doing the same things or get bored with them.

I’ll probably get The Promised One booklets next year for advent. Abby and Emma will probably be more ready for them then.