Word-Filled Wednesday ~#133~ Who Do You Say that I Am?

When considering what to write to you for my CHRISTmas 2014 post, I couldn't get past something that my DD#2 wrote on her Facebook. 

Something that I have thought of for years is the saying: "Never look at the manger without seeing the cross." I think she has captured that thought beautifully . . . 

 Who do you say that Jesus is? Who is He to you? Is He not real to you? Like someone with that great of power could not possibly exist? Jesus was never meant to be thought as a fantasy; as something so great that He could never exist. He was and is as real as you and me. But yet we choose to put Him in a place in our minds as something that does not exist, a fantasy that is an old tale to tell. Who do you say Jesus is? I'll give you my answer since I am not talking to you all face to face . . . Jesus to me, is Someone who can not be matched; no one will ever be better than Him to me. Not my family, not my friends, not a hollywood actor, a president, etc. They will never compare to my Jesus, my Savior. I want to give you a mental picture, in your head, today and just bear with me here. I want you to picture a newborn baby; a beautiful newborn baby with no flaw, with beautiful soft skin, full head of hair, just absolute perfection in every way. And as you hold him, his little fingers grab yours and it just fills your heart with joy. Now as you're experiencing all this joy holding him, someone tells you this baby was born to die for you and the rest of the world, for your sin and everyone else who has ever sinned. What would you say if someone said that to you and it came true? . . . . Several years pass and you get to know Him, the One that was born to die for you; and as years pass He shows you just how much He loves you with each and every passing day. You hear how He performed miracles and the more you hear of what He has done with His life, you fall in love with Him even more! You say "there is just nothing like this man! He is perfect and has no flaw, He loves everyone! And He makes me want to be a better person." Lets say at this point in time 33 years pass and you forget all about the person saying to you that this man was born to die for you; for your sin . . . Then you hear one night that He was arrested for no reason; He couldn't possibly be put to death, He has committed no crime! So you hear word of His trial. He is to be put to death and crucified; your heart sinks and you remember that the little baby (that was adored and praised over on December 25th, just 33 years ago.) was sent to die for you and the world. How could that be possible? How could a man who is perfect and has no sin, has never done one thing wrong want to die for you and the world, for crimes that are not even His to bear?! You hear that during His trial while He is being spit on, and being slapped; that He never fought back; He never said anything to defend His innocence, He let everyone falsely accuse Him. And He was tortured and killed for us; for you. Because He loved/loves you/us that much. He was raised from the dead after three days and He is coming back. Now, I know we all have never met Jesus or watched Him grow up like I am portraying in this mental picture; but we all know, or will know, His story. Jesus, a perfect man with no flaw or fault was born to die for you; for the world. Who do you say Jesus is? . . . . . I say He is my Savior. I say He is THE Savior; are you ready for His return? Christmas is not about santa, Christmas is not about presents, Christmas is not about discounts or money, Christmas is not about you. CHRISTmas is about Christ Jesus. It is about a cross that we were meant to bear, about blood that we were supposed to shed and about nails that should have pierced our skin. But instead, a Savior put Himself in human form to only die so we could live. This is Christmas; this is why we celebrate our Savior's birth and this why we sing Glory to the newborn King! God Bless your day. 


Please remember Who CHRISTmas is all about. Without CHRIST, there is no CHRISTmas.

From our family to yours ~ God's richest blessings upon you and your family this CHRISTmas.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<>< 

Just Had to Show You . . .

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting as much this month . . . but . . . well . . . 'Tis the Season and between work schedules, shopping, making gifts, baking and seasonal ministry opportunities, we have just been flat-out BUSY.

But . . . I just HAD to show this jar of yummy goodness.


This morning was the health food market's little employee meeting/CHRISTmas-secret-name-gift exchange. We had a very low $$ amount for our gifts (thankfully) and we all know that home-made is ALWAYS good, right? :-) Well, our manager, Amy, had drawn my name and ~ WOW ~ I'm glad she did! Because inside the gift bag she gave me was this gorgeous, delicious jar of homemade blackberry jam! Do you see how BIG that is?!?! *contented sigh*

OH . . . MY . . . WORD! This will be SO GOOD on my homemade bread with a lovely cup of my Sit By the Fire Tea.

I'm a happy camper. :-D 

Gotta go ~ I'm hungry!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#132~ Gabriel: The Herald

"While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, 'Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.'

"As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate." ~Daniel 8:15-17(a) [emphasis mine]

"In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest name Zechariah . . . Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense . . . Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the alter of incense, when Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear . . . The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.'" ~selected verses from Luke 1:5-19 [emphasis mine]

". . . God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you . . . You will be with Child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus . . . For nothing is impossible with God.'" ~selected verses from Luke 1:26-37 [emphasis mine]

As CHRISTmas approaches, our thoughts fall upon the birth of our Lord and Savior, God's only Son, Jesus Christ. An integral part of the very beginning of the true story of Jesus' birth is the work of the Arch Angel Gabriel. 

Gabriel, of the Arch angels mentioned in the Bible, is the Heralding Angel. He had the privilege of heralding or announcing amazing, history-changing events of the Lord. As you can see above, he announced and explained the events of God that were coming to Daniel, he announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah the priest, AND he had the amazing, once-in-eternity blessing and privilege of announcing to a frightened young Jewish girl that she would be the mama of God's one and only Son, Jesus. 

How amazing!

What trust God has placed upon this amazing creature. Even though his ~ and other Arch angels' ~ appearance is striking, startling beyond words, I can't help but think that he must have been humbled . . . no . . . that's not the right word . . . exceedingly grateful at the favor the Lord had laid upon his shoulders. As a creation of God, he knows that he was created specifically with for this very moment ~ to announce the coming of the promised Messiah! 

As our pastor has rightly reminded us lately, angels ~ especially Arch angels ~ are NOT the sweet, cute, cuddly little beings of a Precious Moments statue. They are MIGHTY. They are strong.  They are fearsome.

The Arch angels come from the very presence of God and, therefore, reflect the glory of God in their appearance just as Moses did for a short while, after God passed by him and he shone with the glory of God. (Ex. 34:29-35) Moses' shining face frightened the Israelites so much that he had to put a veil over his face until it faded. This radiance consumes the very being of these angels. Time and again, we see that these angels are mighty, awesome, intimidating beings ~ they make prophets and priests fall to their faces in fear and reverence. They make Roman soldiers faint at their sight and strength as one (ONE!) moves a boulder out from in front of Jesus' tomb.

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel

of the Lord came down from heaven and,

going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and 

sat on it. His appearance was like lightening, 

and his clothes were white as snow. The 

guards were so afraid of him that they shook and 

became like dead men."

~Matt. 28:2-4
[emphasis mine]

Little whimpy "angels" don't do that. 

Gabriel's imposing figure must have also been a reminder to the minions of the underworld that this was no ordinary Baby ~ THIS IS GOD'S ONE AND ONLY SON, the Savior of the world. Gabriel told Mary that "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, His kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:32-33, emphasis mine)

What an amazing creation Gabriel must be. What an amazing privilege to know, to REALLY know, that you were created "for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14)

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Homemade Herbal Chai Recipe

When the cold winter winds blow outside, there's nothing like a delicious hot drink, a snuggly sweater and a cozy warm home. A favorite drink of mine is a nice, hot herbal tea or chai tea.

 I love it when my tea pot whistles 

at me '-)

As much as I enjoy chai, and as much as I enjoy a toasty warm herbal tea or other hot drink in the evening, I have had to give up drinking chai in the evening because of the caffeine in most chais. Well . . . NOW I can enjoy that same warm, wintery taste of chai in an HERBAL blend!

And you will love this blend, too . . . 

You will need:

~cinnamon stick
~orange peel
~fennel seeds
~ginger root
~licorice root
~cloves
~mortar and pestle OR small hammer and paper towels
~fillable tea bags OR tea ball
~air-tight container

Directions:

1) with your mortar and pestle (or use a hammer with the cinnamon stick between two paper towels), crunch up a small cinnamon stick into small chunks
2) put small amounts of the cinnamon stick, orange peel, fennel seeds, ginger root, licorice root and cloves into the tea bags. Experiment a little with the amounts you like for your own perfect flavor

 Use heat-sealed tea bags . . . OR . . . 

muslin, reusable tea bags . . . OR . . .

 use a tea ball

3) make as many tea bags as you want and store them in an air-tight container for future use OR use your tea ball and make each serving as needed (**tins of homemade tea bags make great gifts**)

I like to use an old mint tin to keep

homemade tea bags in my purse ~ 

that way, I can have my own favorite teas

anywhere I go

4) TO USE: steep tea bag or tea ball for in a mug of hot water for 10 minutes, discard used bag 
5) enjoy  

 Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Homemade Powdered Blush

About 3 years ago, I posted about making your own mineral makeup and even told you about my favorite mineral makeup company, for when I don't use my own or if you don't want to make your own.

Today, I want to show how easy peasy it is to make your own powdered blush. Everything I use is edible and you will probably have most of the ingredients already in your cupboards!

You will need:

~ground nutmeg
~ground cinnamon
~cocoa powder
~arrowroot powder
~beet root powder 
~saucer for mixing
~butter knife 
~whisk
~small funnel
~spoon
~small container/jar with lid
~blush brush

Directions:

1) START SMALL ~ with the end of a butter knife, scoop out a small amount of the powdered ingredients onto you saucer. You can make nearly every "natural"-toned blush color with these ingredients ~ if you like the browner tones, use a little more cocoa; if you like the reds or plumbs, add more beet root. Use a heaping ts. of arrowroot to blend with your mix because 1) you are using food and it will keep it from getting clumpy, 2) it also helps the powder adhere to your skin.

2) Once you have the color you desire, put the funnel into the jar and use a spoon to scrape your blush into the funnel and on into the jar. 

3) Attach lid to store.

4) Pour a tiny bit into the lid of your jar (see top photo) and apply with a blush brush or cotton ball. Again, START SMALL ~ better to add a little more as you need it, then to put on too much and have to do your make up all over.

**BONUS** You can also use this as an eye shadow! 

In these photos I have my brown tone on as both my blush and outer eye shadow :-D 

Enjoy!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><       

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#131~ Born to Die

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the LORD appeared to them, and the glory of the LORD shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born you; He is Christ the LORD. This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.'" ~Luke 2:8-12 [emphasis mine]

CHRISTmas-time. 

What a wonderful time of year. For most of us, in the midst of celebrating the TRUE, miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we also enjoy a time of year that ushers in wonderful winter blessings, traditions and festivities . . . 

If you can maneuver well enough around all the commercialism, it is a time to enjoy the beauty of newly fallen snow, family time, seasonal foods and . . . well . . . joy, peace and good will toward men . . . right?

But does the real meaning of CHRISTmas enter into your thoughts and your celebration longer than it takes to attend a CHRISTmas Eve church service?

The things we do during the CHRISTmas season hold so much significance, and yet we take them for granted ~ the lights with which we adorn our homes, our CHRISTmas trees and even our city streets are testament that Jesus is The Light of the World (John 8:12), many of us have either an angel or a star on the top of our CHRISTmas trees to remember the angel who brought the good news of Jesus' birth to the shepherds (above) or the star that led the Magi on their 2 year journey to see Jesus, the Child King (Matt. 2:1-12); we give gifts to each other just as the Magi gave gifts to Jesus, we hang round evergreen wreaths the remind us that Jesus is eternal and we have eternal life ONLY through Him (John 14:6).

So much prophecy, history . . . it all ties in to the surroundings of Jesus' miraculous birth. 

But there is also great significance in the very birth scene of Jesus. Jesus is our Spotless Lamb of God, the only One Who takes away our sin. At the time that He was born, the Jews were still sacrificing at the Temple. The very shepherds that the heralding angel appeared to and graced with the good news of Jesus' birth were shepherds who were raising sheep especially for sin sacrifice at the Temple. These sheep were special ~ they were to be guarded and protected at all cost, they were to remain spotless and unhurt, unblemished for sacrifice.

When Jesus was born, Mary wrapped Him in swaddling cloths. These long strips of clean cloth served two purposes: 1) these cloths were wrapped tightly around the sweet newborn babies so that they would still feel as snuggled and secure outside the womb and they did inside. (a practice that is regaining popularity, today) 2) infant mortality was, sadly, very high is those days. The baby was likely to be stillborn or die shortly after birth, and these same swaddling cloths were used to wrap and bury the precious newborn.

Now . . . here's something I find profoundly interesting . . . 

When the shepherds who raised the sacrificial lambs saw one that was especially "perfect," he would wrap it up in the same type of swaddling cloths that new mothers wrapped their dear newborns in. These lambs were carried around strapped to the shepherds so that they remained spotless and blemish-free. These lambs were of great worth.

So much prophecy and meaning that could only be orchestrated by a loving God for His One and only Son . . . it all ties in to the surroundings of Jesus' miraculous birth. Jesus, as our perfect sacrificial Lamb, was wrapped in swaddling cloths that were prepared for Him whether He lived or died. 

And He was born to die.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Busy, Thankful Thanksgiving

We are plenty busy this year, at Thanksgiving. However, all the preparation will be worth it when family gets together to enjoy our small feast and to enjoy each other's company. 

So very, very thankful to have my family with me for the day, as DD#1 lives just far enough away from us that the drive and everyone's work schedules make it difficult to connect in person. Oh, how I miss that beautiful face.

In the meantime, I am going to post the links to 2 of my favorite past Thanksgiving offerings that you may have missed: 

~Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclaimation

and

~the REAL story of the First Thanksgiving from Those Who were There. These are excerpts from the actual diaries of Gov. Bradford and Edward Winslow.

Enjoy and share these pieces of history so that they won't be forgotten.

REMEMBER and be THANKFUL for all that God has done for you. THAT is what this holiday is all about.

From our house to yours ~ God's richest blessings upon your household and our great country . . . Kim<><

New Mommy Love ~ Homemade Sitz Bath

Most of my readers are ladies and if you haven't been already, you may someday be blessed with a sweet, beautiful, new baby . . . or someone you know will have a baby.

Oh, those sweet little toes and fingers, they were just made for kissing. That precious little face with it's soft, pink lips and dainty little nose . . . well . . . they were just made for kissing, too.

Now . . . let me take you to a different part of bringing home those sweet little babies, and that it Mommy Care ~ mom's postpartum care. 

To be honest with you, there were A LOT of things that my mom never told me. Some of the things I had to find out the hard way, or from caring friends, were . . . 

~most likely, you will NOT go home in your skinny jeans; the best going-home clothes are anything you wore around your 5th month of pregnanacy
~after a certain point in labor, all those Lamaze tricks just won't work anymore. Sorry :-(
~if you plan to nurse, just be aware that the first few days will likely be painful . . . but you WILL get through it and it WILL be worth it!
~if you have a C-section, MAKE SURE the nurse takes ALL of your staples out before you leave the hospital (guess how I know) :-( 
~if you have a C-section, you may start to feel stronger quicker than your Dr told you that you would ~ DO NOT over-do it or your Dr will put you on bed rest or even back into the hospital

. . . And . . . 

~if you have a "natural" birth, your poor little "bottom" is going to be sore for a few days. Owie.

One of the best ways to relieve the pain and itch from the stretched and mending paraneal skin is to do two things: 1)  gently moisturize the area with extra virgin olive oil OR extra virgin/raw coconut oil, and 2) take a sitz bath at least once a day/night. 

You can use store-bought products and spend a small fortune and be using something with chemicals in it on a very private area (and risk an irritating reaction) or you can make your own before the baby is born, so you will have them ready when you get home. 

 I keep my herbs in glass jars with 

tight-fitting lids

It's easy to fill tea bags 

with herbs

You will need:

~1/2 c. sea salt (grey Celtic sea salt OR Dead Sea salt)
~1/4 c. witch hazel bark
~1/4 c. yarrow
~1/8 c. uva ursi tea
~small mixing bowl
~whisk
~jar with lid 
OR
~make-your-own tea bags
~sitz bath bowl (**optional**)

 Use drawstring bags

or 

heat-sealed bags

Directions:

1) whisk all ingredients to mix
2) store in jar with lid OR fill your tea bags and store in an air-tight container

To Use:
 
Just after your baby is born: while running medium/hot water in your tub, drop a tea bag or two into the water and let it steep until the water gets a full as you like it. Gently sit down in the tub, slightly recline if you can so that you are not sitting directly on your tender paraneum. Try to relax and let the healing herbs begin to relax and heal.

Once you have started to heal (3-5 days later): use other tea bags or sprinkle a heaping TB of the herbs directly into your water. Relax and enjoy.

And then, after you have had your warm, healing, relaxing bath, give your sweet little baby a kiss for me.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<>< 

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#130~ Pride vs Humility

"Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall."

~Proverbs 16:18

"But I am the LORD your God,

Who brought you out of Egypt.

You shall acknowledge no God but Me,

no Savior except Me.

I cared for you in the desert, 

in the land of burning heat.

When I fed them, they were satisfied;

when they were satisfied, they

became proud;

then they forgot Me."

~Hosea 13:4-6 

"My people are destroyed from lack

of knowledge . . . 

because you have rejected 

knowledge . . . 

because your have ignored the law of

your God . . . 

they exchanged their Glory for

something disgraceful."

 ~selected portions of 

Hosea 3:6-7

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . . always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." ~2 Timothy 3:1-4, 7

What a time of history we are living in. There have been times over the last 5 years that I have almost been overwhelmed with grief for my country and for several years, I've watched the advances of sin in the lives of dear friends and loved ones. What an age of deception and sin we live in! But . . . at the same time, we are blessed, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, to be lights in the darkness. And as the rising sin of these last days increases, so increases our light shining brightly like stars in the darkness. (Phil. 2:15)

A monstrous sin that I see over-taking so many is pride. And NONE OF US, no not one, are exempt from it. There's always something that we do a little better than someone else, something that we learn just a little quicker then the next person, a talent that we have that someone else doesn't. Even the most precious, godly person you and I know has some little pang of pride about something.

Pride is the "original sin." Lucifer/Satan was Heaven's worship leader and was incredibly beautiful. But in his pride, he thought he would be a better god than GOD. (Isaiah 14:12-15) God then cast him down to earth and time was never the same. Do you remember this bit of history? What did Satan, the serpent, tempt Eve with? A piece of fruit? No . . . it was pride. He tempted her with the prick to her pride to "be like God." (Genesis 3:4) Oh . . . yesssss, you can almost hear his hisssssss as his words must have dripped with the honey of prideful liessssssss. 

The farther our world gets away from the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ, the more corrupted by pride people get. The basis, the beginning, of almost all sin is pride and it seems that no one has the humility to hear ~ and possibly accept ~ that they are going down the wide path and need to be redirected onto the narrow way (Matt. 7:13). It seems that no one understands the futility, the consequences and the danger of pride. 

Now, I'm NOT talking about taking personal pride in something you have done well. God gives us each talents and abilities to use for HIS glory ~ He expects us to use them and use them well and not waste our gifts ~ it's our attitude that matters. Are you humble and even somewhat amazed at your own gifts and talents ~ that's one type of "pride" ~ or are you so convinced that YOU are the all-in-all that you are unteachable? "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else." (Galations 6:3-4)

Pride will lead to a great, great fall. Whether a person or a nation. It has always been that way. YOU have something ~ a talent, a job, a family, a church, a deep faith, a home, an ability, a social status, an education, certain knowledge ~ something ~ that someone wants. Have a humble pride in having this gift from God, but do not let it go to your head in such a way that you will "have a great fall."

If you see someone you love heading that way, gently remind them Whose they are and lead them to repentance. If you see this in your own life, remind yourself Whose YOU are and repent. We serve such a wonderful God Who forgives and restores.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Latte Mix

I have already given you my Spiced Chai Latte Mix, now I want to show you what I did to give that recipe a great fall kick.

Dress up your canning jar mixes by cutting

out pretty fabric squares, lay them 
over the lid and under the ring, 
then screw it onto the jar.

You know, you HAVE to have pumpkin . . . everything . . . in the fall on into winter, right? So, I decided to modify my recipe and do that "pumpkin thang" to it. :-D

You will need:

~1 c. coffee ~1 ts. cinnamon ~1/2 ts. cardamon ~1/4 ts. Frontier powdered pumpkin pie spice ~1/8 ts. ginger ~whisk ~small mixing bowl ~air-tight glass container

Directions: 

1) whisk to mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2) carefully pour into air-tight glass container

To use:

#1 ~ use 1/3 c. per mug, fill with hot water, stir thoroughly to mix.

#2 ~ if you are making a pot of coffee and want something with a little kick, especially on a chilly day or night or around a camp fire, add a heaping TB of chai mix per scoop of coffee to your coffee maker. A great taste treat!

And as an extra treat ~ enjoy your spiced pumpkin latte with a batch of pumpkin chai cookies. 

Yes . . . I know . . . you're welcome. ;-) 

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><