Christmas at our home

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope and pray that you are all doing well and enjoying this Christmas Day. I just wanted to give you an update on our family. Monday, Jesse and Madeline got sick with a stomach virus. The virus has now gone through everyone except for Andy. We spent Christmas Eve and today trying to get well. Andy has been taking care of us all. I'm praying that he won't get sick now. He's such a good husband! (I love you Andy! Thanks for taking care of us.) Needless to say, things have not turned out the way we would have liked this week. I really missed going to church last night and visiting with friends and family today, but I know that God is in control of our lives. I trust Him and am grateful for the strength He is giving us to get through this!
Hope you are all well and having a wonderful Christmas season!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

Well Mac has done it again! If you've been keeping up with our blog, then you know that Mac lost his left top front tooth just eleven days ago. Last night he decided he was ready for the other one to come out so he pulled the right top tooth out too!

Unity

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 22

• Unity: Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
  

Sovereign (Supreme Ruler)

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 21

• Sovereign (Supreme Ruler): Jude 4 "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
  

Infinite

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 20

• Infinite: I Kings 8:27 "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you...."
  

Creative

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 19

• Creative: Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."

John 1:3 "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

Unchanging

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 18

• Unchanging: Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Gentle

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 17

• Gentle: Matthew 21:5 "Say to the Daughter of Zion, "See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Kindness

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 16

• Kindness: Titus 3:4-5 "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..."
  

Christmas Program

Charlie and Mac were in a program at church yesterday. Charlie was a wise man and Mac was a shepherd. Charlie had a speaking part as part of the narration. He did a great job! As some of you know, Charlie has always been very shy and not always willing to speak in front of large groups of people. Over the last year he has started coming out of his shell though. I'm excited to see who he is becoming as he grows up. Mac didn't have a speaking part this time but he did participate in singing a song. He did a great job too! There's not a shy bone in his body! (For those of you who know my children, you know what I mean!) I'm so proud of them both!

Wise Man Charlie



Shepherd Mac

Long-Suffering

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 15

• Long-Suffering: 1 Timothy 1:16 "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Just

Yesterday's Attribute of Jesus

December 14

• Just: Acts 17:31 "For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Romans 3:25-26 "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

Compassionate

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 13

• Compassionate: Mark 1:41-42 "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."
  

James 5:11 "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

Full of Wisdom

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 12

• Full of Wisdom: Isaiah 11:2 "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord"
  

All I want for Christmas is my one front tooth...

Mac's two top front teeth have been a little loose for some time now. He's pretty excited and has been waiting in anticipation for them to fall out. I wiggled them a little bit yesterday but they weren't quite ready to come out. Last night, after bedtime, I heard a knock at the bedroom door. There was Mac standing with his tooth in hand. He had pulled it out himself! I guess it was finally ready to come out!

Full of Truth

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 11

• Full of Truth: John 14:5-6 "Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
  

Eternal

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 10

• Eternal: Psalm 90: 1-2 "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
  

All-Powerful (Omnipotent)

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 9

• All-Powerful (Omnipotent): Matthew 28:18 "Then Jesus came to them and said,"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
  

All-Present (Omnipresent)

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 8

• All-Present (Omnipresent): Psalm 139:7-12 "Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

All-Knowing (Omniscient)

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 7

• All-Knowing (Omniscient): Isaiah 46:10 "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."

John 10:14-15: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father."

John 10:27-30: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Merciful

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 6

• Merciful: Titus 3:5 "..he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.."

James 5:11 "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

Loving

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 5

• Loving: Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Ephesians 2:4-5 "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."

Revelation 1:5 "...and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood..."

Forgiving

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 4

• Forgiving: Psalm 86:5 "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you."

Colossians 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

Madeline

Madeline is almost nine months old now and trying to get into everything!

I've enjoyed dressing her in Christmas clothes. Thank you for the great hand-me-downs - Lisa, Jillian, Jen and Pam!

Holy

Today's Attribute of Jesus

December 3

• Holy: 1 Peter 1:15 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do"
  

Redeeming the Season

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you are enjoying this holiday season as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone in the Richardson household is doing well. We had a great Thanksgiving week and are now trying to get back into the swing of things with our school work.

We've been enjoying the cold weather. One of our favorite things to do during the holidays is to burn a fire in the fireplace. It makes sitting by the Christmas tree so warm and cozy.

As I've been decorating our house and doing lots of "Christmas stuff", I've been thinking about sharing another book with you. (I love books and just can't find enough time to read these days.) The one I want to share with you today is called Redeeming the Season by Kim Wier and Pam McCune. I came across this book a few years ago and pull it out every Christmas season. The authors are both Christian wives and mothers who were looking for ways to simplify the Christmas season in their homes while placing emphasis on what we are actually celebrating - the birth of Jesus. They've included great ideas from ornaments, gift giving and tree decorating to reaching out and sharing Christ's love with our neighbors. It's an easy read and definitely one that I keep on hand for quick reference during the holidays. I've been able to take a lot of the ideas from the book and use them to help make the Christmas season simple, memorable and meaningful for our family.

One of the things we are doing this season is something called attribute ornaments (an idea that came from the book). We have 25 glass Christmas ball ornaments. Each one has an attribute of Jesus written on it. I keep the ornaments in a bowl by our tree and each night before bed time we take one of the ornaments and place it on the tree. Before placing it on the tree, we talk about the ways that Jesus displayed the quality that is written on the ornament. We then look up Bible verses that relate to that quality and then we pray together. It's simple and special and also makes great family devotions during the Christmas season.
I thought I'd share an attribute and Bible verse with you each day during December. (I'll post two today since I didn't post one yesterday.)

Attributes of Jesus

December 1

• Faithful: 1 Corinthians 1:9 "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

2 Thessalonians 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."

December 2

• Righteous: 1 John 2:1 "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."

1 John 2:29 "If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him."