Every Day Life: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman (at Christmas)

By Lara

She sits alone in her bedroom looking for any and every distraction possible to keep her from coming up with something creative to write for the holidays. She's already finished half of her vacation scrapbook… made lists of people to buy gifts for… watched a movie or three… called half the people in her phonebook… played her cat to exhaustion… fed and entertained her parents… Sigh. If she had sucked it up and spent $4.88 per 12 cards in a box of non-tacky Christmas cards at Walmart, she could be addressing envelopes right now… and staring at a blank computer screen trying to write a Christmas LETTER. She takes a deep breath. And so she begins.

Right. What will I write this year to amuse and entertain my friends and family? A fable? No. It's been done… recently. Remember the penguin? A play? Hmm. I wrote a Thanksgiving play last year. I guess this year should be a story of some kind.

A story. What could I write about? It has to be funny… People have come to expect that from me. And it has to be appropriate for both friend and family audiences alike. Let me think. What is funny? Bananas are funny. Banana. Banana. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Sigh. No bananas. Oooo. It could be about an animal. Everybody loves Christmas stories about animals. Ok. So… there could be this hippo. And she's friends with a… lion. Wait. That seems too… Madagascar. No hippos. Weasels with chainsaws are funny, but not universally appealing. Maybe I should put funny on the back burner for a bit.

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The Greatest Gift

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I will be upfront and state that this article is directly tied into our current worship series at Fork Christian Church. We are doing a study called the Advent Conspiracy. In a nutshell we are trying to go against the tide of our culture and to make a difference this season. Rather than just buying to buy and giving to give we want to get back to basics and make it about relationships. It is about making a difference both locally and globally. Think back on that first Christmas. A simple birth changed history and lives. What if this season we tried to make Christmas another life changing event??

It has been said many times that the greatest gift ever given was the gift of Jesus Christ. God freely gave of himself, through his Son, to save us. God wanted a relationship that was free from sin with us. God wanted to love us fully and for us to love him back fully. God gave us his Son in order to accomplish this. Simply put Christmas is about love and relationships. That is the meaning of the first Christmas.

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God Wins!

By Pat

Satan is alive and well, and is lurking among us. He's on the prowl, always moving, looking for ways to weaken us, to make us believe we aren't good enough, smart enough, rich enough, successful enough. He reminds us of our past; he obscures the view of our future. He is at war, and he is strong. But we need not be scared. God has provided us with all the ammunition we need, and that's Him! When Satan tells me I can't, God says, "I can do all things through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13). When Satan tries to convince me my sins have made me dirty and unlovable, God tells me, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." (Isaiah 43:25). When Satan whispers I'm not good enough, God declares, "Look at the birds of the air. They do not reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Satan says, "Follow me!" But Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Satan beckons me with evil intent, but Jesus triumphs, saying, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33)

And it's true...we do have troubles. Also heartaches, struggles and pain. But Jesus did too, didn't He? So what would make us think we should be exempt? Don't let Satan lure you into his trap of deceit and sinfulness. When you're feeling discouraged, fix your sights on God. He will trump Satan every time, if you let Him! When in trials, praise God for what is to come, and rejoice in the hope that God will get you through it with greater strength and deeper faith. With God beside you, Satan will never persevere!

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Life Is Funny: Present Pusher and Pattycake

By Ginny (MAD21)

December is our cat KC's favorite time of year. Why you might ask? Well, our couch is moved in front of the front window where the afternoon sun shines in which makes a comfy place to stretch out while taking her afternoon nap. But not only that, we have our Christmas tree up. If she isn't on the back of the couch, she is under the tree. We even have a little ornament hanging in the center of one of the bottom branches just for her entertainment.

As is our tradition, we put up all of our Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. And not to make anyone envious or anything, but we also have most of our Christmas shopping done, and presents wrapped. KC has spent the last week diving in and out from under the tree. And since I am the object of most of her pouncing/attacking, you can be sure that I am aware of the fact that I will be attacked any time I am walking near the tree. No claws and all in fun, of course.

What has been funny this year, however, is that KC has somehow decided that she no longer is happy with the little space that we leave for her under the tree. She is now resorting to pushing all of the presents back out from under the tree. So, several times a day I find myself having to push the few gifts we still have actually sitting under the tree back into place. I figure it just adds to her long list of things to do during the day. Maybe, eventually, she'll get tired of moving the gifts and will just settle for the space we've left her... in theory anyway. She is a cat after all.

Unfortunately, I don't have any video of KC pushing the presents out from under the tree. That would be awesome, I know, but she's too stealth about it. But here is a hilarious video that someone put together in case you feel something lacking.

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.

Tasty Bites: Tammy's Crab Meltaways

By Beth V

Last week, I started a series on Christmas recipes that have become enduring family favorites. This week I’d like to feature a favorite appetizer that is always found  at a family Christmas or New Year’s Eve party. This has been one of my sister, Tammy’s, signature recipes for years. These are bubbly, cheesy, crab-i-ness on a toasty English muffin. They are very easy to make and they are just simply delicious.

Add a softened stick of butter, a couple of spoonfuls of mayonnaise, ½ teaspoon of seasoned salt, ½ teaspoon of garlic salt and a jar of Kraft Old English cheese spread to your mixing bowl and blend well.

What is Kraft Old English cheese, you might ask (as I did)?  It is a sharp cheddar  processed cheese spread that is sold in 5 oz, glass jars and found in the cheese/dairy case at the grocery store. Well, it seems to be the holy grail of cheesiness because I could not find a well-accepted recipe for a substitution. All of the recipes I read that called for this ingredient specifically said you MUST use Old English or it will NOT be the same. So, I decided I better not mess with trying to come up with a less-processed alternative and just stick with what works well for this special occasion treat. If you feel adventurous, this recipe for Port Sharp Cheddar Cheese Spread may work well as a substitute. but I haven’t tried it yet. I think I am going to try it for Christmas this year because my sister Tammy and my other sisters and brother also happen to love Port Wine Cheddar spread on crackers…it reminds us of our childhood Christmases. My dad always purchased a large crock of  Port Wine cheese spread to have with crackers during the holidays. It certainly evokes many fond memories. But, I digress…back to the recipe.

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