What Are Your Christmas Tunes?

Well, folks, it's getting closer and closer to Christmas!  Only three days!  :)  If you're like our family, Christmas music is an essential part of the season....so, what are your favorite Christmas tunes?

These are a few of mine....

What are your favorite tunes?  Comment and let me know.  I'd love to listen to them!  :)

God bless you and MERRY CHRISTMAS!  :)

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Simply Jesus.

It's so near to Christmas, everyone!  But it's also Friday, which means it's time for Faithful Friday.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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It's getting closer to Christmas.

There's lots of hustle and bustle and probably a good bit of stress!

Parties, maybe.  Wrapping presents.  Glittery Christmas lights.  Hot chocolate.

Elves on shelves.  Christmas movies.  Christmas music.  Snowmen.  Santa.

Stockings.  Ornaments.  Trees.  Gingerbread houses.  Stars.  Red and green....

It's all great, and beautiful, and cozy, and wonderful.  

But at the end of the day, these things can be a bit of a distraction and can draw us away from the real reason for Christmas.  And when I say "us," I most definitely mean me included!  It can be pretty hard to focus on the real reason for Christmas.  So, I think it's important that we try to figure out some ways to keep the focus.

Be still and know that I am God.

-Psalm 48:10

Be still and know that Jesus is Lord.  Be still and thank Him for sending His Son to be our Savior!  Be still and know that Christmas is simply about Jesus.  Be still and be quiet, maybe get on your knees, and just take in His blessings and presence and love!

And isn't Jesus all about simplicity?  The pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' time were complicated and elaborate and extravagant and rich and ornate.  Jesus was simple and plain and poor and loving.  And I think that kind of reflects what our Christmas should be like: simple.  I'm not saying we shouldn't have trees and put up lights and decorate a tree.  That's great!  But we should also remember Jesus often during our celebration and really make Him the center of it.

Have a Happy Birthday, Jesus! party.  Read the Christmas account from the Bible with your family, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, pray, and have cookies/cake!  Talk about the Christmas account.  Go over it, think about it!

Pray a prayer of thankfulness together as a family before and after you go to open your presents!  This is a great way to start Christmas.

Do something great for someone in honor of what God did for us on Christmas.  Buy groceries or toys or clothes for a person.  Pay for their meal.  Share the love and new of Jesus with them along with it.  People respond when you help them materially/physically and spiritually.

And last but not least, make sure you say, "Merry CHRISTmas!"  :)

Oh, holy night

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night

Of our dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world

In sin and error pining

'Til He appeared

And the soul felt its worth

God bless you and Merry CHRISTmas!

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Real Love.

Hey, everyone!  It's time for Faithful Friday!  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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I came across a quote on Pinterest the other day that kind of hit me like a brick.

"Try and do the nicest thing you can think of for the rudest person you know.  That's love Jesus' style."

Well, doesn't that just throw a wrench in our whole nature?  If we think a person is rude, if they just get under our skin and irritate the fire out of us, our instinct is to be as cold and removed from them as we can without being obviously "impolite."  Or, if they really push our buttons and move us past a certain point, we might just do away with all the manners and be rude right back.  Right?  It's happened to everyone.

But Jesus suggests otherwise.  Remember, those ^^ are reactions and instincts common to our nature.

Our human nature is sinful.

Huh.

So, if we're doing things according to our nature, we're probably going to end up doing something sinful.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

So, the opposite idea of these sinful reactions is loving those who are rude, who get under your skin, who drive you crazy.  

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.  He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

-Matthew 5:43-48

And it's hard.  I know it.  It sounds a lot easier and it's a lot easier to say than do.  After all, it's against our nature.  It's going to be hard.  We'll be fighting against ourselves and the temptation to be mean right back.  But we weren't made to do these things on our own, were we?  Jesus is standing right by us, holding our hand, helping us through it all.  It's not enough just to love those who love us and those who are easy to love.  That's kind of not the point.  It's great that we love those people, but Jesus said that it is the sick that need a doctor.  It's the people that get on our nerves that probably are having nerve-wracking problems themselves.  It's the people that we can't stand that can't stand under their burden much longer.  It's the people that drive us crazy that are probably feeling crazy themselves.

So, the next time that person starts pushing your buttons, stop.  Take a deep breath.  Pray, pray, pray for Jesus' guidance and help.  Then try your absolute best to return love to them.  You may not feel like doing it, but if you make the first movement, the feeling will follow.  

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Thank you for stopping by today!  :)

God bless you and have a great day!

Joy :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday ~ Half-Up Style.

Hiya!  :)  I'm back to linking up to Pinned It, Made It! Monday today with a half-up hairstyle!  :)

Pinned It, Made It! Monday is a weekly meme hosted on my mama's blog so that bloggers can share something that they've pinned on Pinterest and made/tried/used, whether it be a recipe, hair style, cleaning tip, craft, or game.  :)

Source: thesmallthingsblog.com via Joy on Pinterest

A half-up style from Pinterest.... 

 The half-up style on Mama!  :)  I don't think directions are needed for this as it's pretty self-explanatory--pin up half of your hair (the crown section), giving it a little puff and teasing it beforehand  if you can.  Then, you can curl, straighten, crimp, wave, or what ever it is your heart desires.  :)

God bless you guys and have a great week!  :)

Joy :)

Faithful Fridays ~ Balance.

Hey, everyone!  :)  It's time for Faithful Friday!  Today's post may not be quite as well-collected as some others...it's a topic I've been wanting to write about for a while, but haven't quite been sure how to go about it.  I guess it's time to just dive in!  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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It's said that there are two sides to every story.

Isn't that the truth?  You have to have balance.  It's definitely something I struggle with.

There's nothing wrong with the TV in itself, and, in fact, it can be used for good, but if you use it too much or let it control you and rule your life, it becomes a sin.

There's nothing wrong with the computer (and here's where I have trouble--boy, do I love that computer), and it can be quite useful and helpful, but if you spend too much time on it or use it to go to sinful websites, you're letting it control you, and it is therefore a sin.

I tend to be a bit of a (for lack of a better word) fangirl.  That can be a good thing.  It's nice to have minor things you love and can get excited about.  But if you let those things that you are a fan of (for me it would be things like superheroes, actors, and musicians) control you and take over your mind, crowding everything else out (including Jesus), then those things are sinful.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

-Matthew 6:33

Are you seeing a pattern here?  Balance is so hard to achieve.  It seems especially so for me.  I just can't ever seem to do it.  I remember reading a book about Christianity and one line just sort of took me by surprise--"Jesus is the only one who can achieve perfect balance."  Well.  That's....encouraging.  Here I am/was, trying to be all balanced and maybe even perfect, and I learn that it's pretty much not possible for me.  *sigh*

BUT.  We can try our very, very best and ask God to help us.  In fact, that should be our very first priority: come to Him in prayer about it.  Constantly.  This is where guarding our hearts, minds, ears, eyes, hands, and our whole bodies and souls comes in to place.  I just love this verse in the Bible:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, thing about these things.

-Philippians 4:8

Another point of balance that's difficult to deal with is music.  Oohh, music.  Many a day I've worried and worried and gotten so anxious over if I was listening to too much non-Christian music.  And if I felt like I was, I went into pieces and thought I had committed one of the worst sins ever and there was no chance for me, etc., etc.  ;)  I try to equalize my time between listening to my favorite Christian artists and songs and the non-Christian (but still appropriate) songs and artists I like.  I know views really differ on this subject and that some people don't believe it's right to listen to any non-Christian/secular music, but I think that's where God calls different people to different things, and he knows what some people can handle and others can't.  Even I feel a bit down and even convicted if I listen to too much non-Christian music, even if it is appropriate (and it always is).  But in our family, we listen to both kinds, and we set our limits.  

So, the conclusion to this post is that we do need balance in our lives, but we have to remember that we are humans and that only Jesus can achieve perfect balance.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

-Romans 3:23

We need to ask God to help us to keep balance in our lives and guard our hearts and minds.  He will help us if we ask!

God bless you and have a great day!  :)

Joy :)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

So it is!  The Christmas "spirit" is finally here.  It's only 20 days until Christmas!  Can you believe it?  It comes and goes in the blink of an eye, it seems like sometimes.  We visited the nursing home yesterday and it really was Christmas-y up there, especially in the dining room.  They have a Red Hat Christmas tree, and they were having a cooking class with Santa aprons and chocolate and everything was hustling and bustling and felt like Christmas.  It was nice.  :)

I decided it was time to break out the camera and capture the beauty of Christmastime here at home!

Before you scroll down...I know that these pictures aren't perfect.  I was just experimenting with focus and lighting and such.  :)

Our new train for around the tree.  :)

That's all for today!  :)  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  :)  

God bless you and have a good day!  :)

Joy :)