Dear God,
Please help me to become the person my dog thinks I am.
Amen.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Christmas Cards for Procrastinators
I just have to tell you about mpix.com. They are a custom photo print shop. You upload your digital photos, place your order and they FedEx your prints to you. They also do photo Christmas cards.
So the Stahls still had no Christmas cards for the year. I had pretty much given up on sending them out this year, but my husband hadn't. Saturday evening (that's right, this past Saturday evening, just 3 days ago), he set up the lights and took a family photo of us in front of our house. Then he uploaded the image to mpix, placed an order for photo cards, and zapped it off.
The cards arrived today.
With envelopes.
And at a unit cost of about 60 cents, including next day shipping.
These people are incredible. I highly recommend them.
So the Stahls still had no Christmas cards for the year. I had pretty much given up on sending them out this year, but my husband hadn't. Saturday evening (that's right, this past Saturday evening, just 3 days ago), he set up the lights and took a family photo of us in front of our house. Then he uploaded the image to mpix, placed an order for photo cards, and zapped it off.
The cards arrived today.
With envelopes.
And at a unit cost of about 60 cents, including next day shipping.
These people are incredible. I highly recommend them.
Our Former Babysitter Gets Married
From Mrs. Mac's blog linked over there =====> comes this beautiful photo of a happy young couple. The bride used to babysit for our elder two years ago. As you can see she is now a gorgeous young woman with a husband who obviously adores her.Many blessings on the newliweds.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
A Puzzlement
If a person is "honest as the day is long," is she more honest in the summer? And as December 21 draws near, does she find herself getting a little shifty? Sneaky, even?
Quote for Church Treasurers
I don't know if I have mentioned this, but I am the treasurer of St. Peter's and have been for nearly 3 years now. They entrusted this important job to a newbie because nobody else wanted it.
I was talking to my parents about church financial matters in general and St. Peter's specifically, and Mama told me of a quote that is on the wall of the office at Maplewood Covenant Church where Beth Immanuel's council of elders holds most of its board meetings.
It is attributed to Hudson Taylor, and it reads, "God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply."
It is a beautiful statement and I plan to print it out and give it to the Council members at our next meeting. If we are urgently seeking the will of God in our spending, how can we go wrong? He is never wrong.
I was talking to my parents about church financial matters in general and St. Peter's specifically, and Mama told me of a quote that is on the wall of the office at Maplewood Covenant Church where Beth Immanuel's council of elders holds most of its board meetings.
It is attributed to Hudson Taylor, and it reads, "God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply."
It is a beautiful statement and I plan to print it out and give it to the Council members at our next meeting. If we are urgently seeking the will of God in our spending, how can we go wrong? He is never wrong.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The Secret to Avoiding Caroling Burnout
Quite by accident, I discovered the key to avoiding that state of burnout where you are ready to go ballistic if you hear one more chirpy rendition of "Santa Baby."
The answer is a two-step process:
1. Don't go shopping after the 3rd Wednesday in November.
2. Attend your local school's winter concert.
It's that simple. Avoid the mall/WalMart/grocery so you don't hear any carols until the evening you take a seat on a metal folding chair in an echoing school gymnasium and listen to young voices, some of them cracking, some of them trying too hard to sound like pop stars, and all of them lacking in breath control, as they sing "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" and "Stille Nacht."
As tears come to your eyes, you will find your heart beats a little faster at the amazing miracle of God Made Man as retold in the voices of children. (I even welled up over "The Little Drummer Boy," which I normally absolutely loathe.)
The answer is a two-step process:
1. Don't go shopping after the 3rd Wednesday in November.
2. Attend your local school's winter concert.
It's that simple. Avoid the mall/WalMart/grocery so you don't hear any carols until the evening you take a seat on a metal folding chair in an echoing school gymnasium and listen to young voices, some of them cracking, some of them trying too hard to sound like pop stars, and all of them lacking in breath control, as they sing "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" and "Stille Nacht."
As tears come to your eyes, you will find your heart beats a little faster at the amazing miracle of God Made Man as retold in the voices of children. (I even welled up over "The Little Drummer Boy," which I normally absolutely loathe.)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
One-time Tax Credit for 2006 - up to $60/family
Click here for information on a tax credit you can take against your 2006 federal income taxes for as much as $60 a family (possibly more if you save all your old phone bills compulsively).
Funny how this has been so quiet. My phone company hasn't said anything about it and I'd think they would want the brownie points for passing it along.
Funny how this has been so quiet. My phone company hasn't said anything about it and I'd think they would want the brownie points for passing it along.
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