Category — Christmas

I’ve been thinking about Joseph today.

Here is this fine, upstanding, young Jewish man.  He held to the law, he honored the customs of his culture.  He was betrothed to a lovely young woman. He was at the beginning of his life, and was making preparations for the next stage – marriage and hopefully a family soon… but not too soon, right?

He loved Mary.  They were about to be married, and it seems that she loved him deeply in return.  Their life together was just about to start.

But something happened.

Joseph knew that he had honored their vow.  He knew that he had not yet touched her, yet she shows up obviously pregnant after going away for a few months to visit her cousin.

This looked bad – very bad.

While our society doesn’t get upset about pre-marital sex or unwed mothers, in the Jewish culture at that time it was a HUGE deal. According to the law Mary should have been stoned to death… and it didn’t look much better for Joseph that he kept his mouth shut about Jesus not being his.  After all, not denouncing Mary meant that he was equally guilty in the eyes of those around them.

Choosing to listen to the Angel God sent was a major act of courage… and was something that followed him the rest of his life.  Disgrace.  Loss of status.  Decreased income to provide for his family.  He lived on with people always remembering that he “couldn’t keep it in his pants” as it were – even though he did.

Yes, it was hard for Mary – but she KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had never had sex.  Joseph couldn’t truly be 100% sure – he had to go by faith.  An angelic visit is pretty solid, yes, but that could have been a dream.

His life changed completely – and he had to move forward in the faith that he was doing the right thing.

During the Christmas season there is much focus on Mary – as there should be!  But I think Joseph often gets the short end of the stick in this story.

He was called to be a role model for the Son of God.  He was chosen to raise Jesus as his own.  To love Him and teach Him to be a man.  And Joseph had to love Jesus as his own son – not treat Him any worse than he treated his actual sons and daughters.  But also not give him preferential treatment…

That’s a pretty high calling.

It is a calling that he chose, however.  He could have ignored the angel and set Mary aside – after all, by all appearances, she had betrayed him!  He could have chosen not to believe.  Mary could have found herself an un-wed mother in a culture where that was not tolerated.  She could have found herself unable to be wed – after all, who would marry the girl who messed around on her fiance?

But Joseph didn’t take the easy road.  He chose to obey God even though it meant that his life would never be what he had imagined.

He chose to walk forward in faith.  To love Mary even though the child she was carrying was not his.  He chose to take her as his wife even though it was a constant reminder to himself and those around him that it appeared they hadn’t done the right thing.

I believe that he truly loved Mary, that he was able to get past this rough beginning to their marriage and accept her as his wife – the good and the bad.  But it had to have had an impact on their relationship, at least for a while.  Betrayal by the one you love most is a hard thing to get past.  But with God’s help, it is also something that you can get past.  I believe that God honored Joseph’s choice.  I believe that God honored the man that accepted His Son as his own.  And I believe that Joseph loved Jesus as his own son.

And so for these reasons I would like to say the following:

Joseph, thank you for making the right choice.  Thank you for taking Jesus as your own and raising Him as your son.  Thank you for showing Him what it meant to be a man.  Thank you for honoring his mother and loving her as your wife.  Thank you for doing your part in giving Jesus younger brothers and sisters to love.

Thank you for being Jesus’ earthly Daddy.

Isn’t it funny how our wants change as we get older.  Although admittedly there are a couple of items on this list that are also on my kids lists (like a laptop – go figure) most of them are drastically different.

And yes, I’m not so old and boring that there aren’t any toys on my list, but there aren’t too many.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

• 4 new tires for the Suby (it being all-wheel-drive, I can’t just replace 1)
• 2 new tires for the VW (replaced the other 2 a couple of months ago)
• new windshield wipers – for BOTH cars
• my wedding ring fixed
• for the Suby to RUN like it’s supposed to!  (Eric is working on that one – the engine is out & he’s trying to figure out what’s wrong)
• new MacBook Pro (to replace the old, dying one)
• bass lessons… the bass to go with them would be neat too, but there’s a couple around I can borrow.
• iPhone (waiting for Verizon for this one…)  – or suitable Driod-esque replacement
• new exhaust for the Suby (while it’s already in pieces…)
• my cooking knives sharpened
• 1 terabyte backup drive (so I can stop using little flash drives)
• hardwood flooring (ah, someday)
• stairs on the deck
• refrigerator – before this one completes it’s slow, painful, NOISY death.
• the furnace working again

As you can see, lots of these wants fall closer to the “needs” category than the “wants” category.

Compared to the girls lists, well, it’s just the laptop that is on both.  They want toys, toys and more toys.  More junk to fill their rooms and have to pick up.  Clothes would be acceptable too I suppose.  Mostly though their lists look like this:

• DSi & games
• polly pockets
• Li’l Pet Shop’s
• barbie dolls
• American Girl dolls (Josephina to be exact)
• new bikes (theirs are too small or need fixed)
• new sleds
• art supplies & a drawing board
• movies (about dogs)
• a BLACK MacBook or Dell (whose kid IS this?  Dell????)
• computer & Wii games
• books
• nerf guns & refill darts
• board games
• iSpy games
• beads
• gum & candy
• Little Miss Matched socks
• nail polish, etc.
• silly bands
• iPad (can’t fault them for that one – I’d take one too!)
• new iPods (not happening since they lost our old ones we gave them)

It’s not too bad, I suppose.  After all they are 8 & 10.  One of them wants about 5 things.  The other wants over 20.

How do we teach our kids to give instead of receive?  How do we teach them to be content with what they have when their rooms are overflowing with stuff they can’t even find to play with?  I’m open to any ideas on that one.

As we enter this Christmas season I am looking for ways to teach them thankfulness and compassion.

I suppose I want to teach me that too. 

David’s Cookies are the latest craze in gift giving. They are showing up in Good Housekeeping magazine, on 3 on your side on CBS, and in school fundraisers.

My daughters’ school recently did a fundraiser that featured David’s Cookies and I have to tell you that they are delicious – and very easy! They come pre-portioned and ready to pop them into the oven and bake. My 5 year old has no problem baking them herself. No more messy mixing and scooping, just drop the frozen cookie dough onto your pan and put it into the oven.

Cookies aren’t the end of what they offer, however. They have cheesecakes – both individual sizes and family sizes, cakes, pies… if it is a sweet treat, they probably offer it and deliver it straight to your door. They offer pre=baked cookies too. Take a look at their Hot Products for a brief sampling of their sweet treats!

Head over to see what they have just in time for your next Christmas get-together!
Shop online for fresh baked gifts!

Use coupon code LSCHEESE10A now through December 2, 2007 for 10% off all cheesecakes.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, bringing with it the official arrival of the Holiday Rush. There will be Christmas parties, teacher gifts and more in the next month, and you want to be prepared!

Illuminations will be there to help you with a hostess gift or a wonderful gift for those candle lovers on your list. They have some wonderful seasonal candles as well as their regular offerings. Take a look at some of these below!

Yes, this is a bit early, but I wanted to give out a heads up for those looking for a great place to find some Holiday gifts! The Women Business Owners group that I belong to is having their Holiday Expo on December 6th, 2007 from 9am-9pm EST. They will have vendors set up each hour or half hour to serve you!

If you haven’t finished your shopping by then, I highly recommend stopping by – they will have a variety of products to help you out!

Click here for the info on the WBO Holiday Expo!

I’ll send out another post as it gets closer, but I wanted to give a heads up to those that like to plan early…

…with That’s a Wrap!

Yes, the Holiday Season is just around the corner – it’s already the end of September! Before you know it October will be over and the rush will have begun. How will you wrap your gifts this year? Do you have traditions for gift wrapping in your family, or is it time to create some?

Here is a little history of gift wrapping and how it has evolved.

Gifts have been wrapped since the invention of paper in 105 A.D. in China. In Asian cultures today, the packaging of a gift is often more impressive than the gift itse;f – the attention to detail is incredible.

This Chinese paper-making process was kept a secret for centuries, but by 800 A.D. the process was known in Egypt. The secret spread to Europe, where the first paper mill was started in 1085.

Wallpaper was one of the first Eorupean forms of gift wrap, however it cracked or tore when folded. By the early 20th century, gifts were wrapped in plain brown paper or tissue. In many parts of Europe this is still the main form of gift wrap in use.

At the end of 2002, industry statistics showed gift bags had become the No. 1 way consumers choose to wrap gifts. It is quick and easy, and it looks great! Gift bags are expecially good for awkward shaped gifts, as you don’t have to either fit them into a box ot get the paper to stay around your gift.

Now that we have seen where gift wrapping originated, it’s time to take a look at your family’s gift wrapping traditions. Many people wrap everything in gift boxes, while others use gift bags exclusively. Most families use a combination of the two, depending on the occasion and the intended recipient.

My mom has a cool trick that I have borrowed – it keeps any chance of peeking far away, as there are no names on the boxes… She chooses one theme or color combination for each person – i.e. one gets gold & cream, another gets burgundy & gold, another green & red, etc. She knows the colors for each person and every present she wraps for them goes in that color theme – be it a bag or wrapping paper.

This is a great trick when you have little ones that try to guess what’s inside. They can shake the gifts all they want, but they don’t know if it’s for them, their brother or sister, for daddy, or someone outside the family. If you choose an overall theme, the packages look beautiful under the tree, and there aren’t any name stickers to contend with. I will often find a pen that blends in with the wrapping paper & jot the first letter of the person’s name somewhere in a corner, just in case I forget!

Now that you have some extra ideas for your own holiday gift wrapping, head over to That’s A Wrap to get your gift wrapping supplies squared away before the big rush gets here. They have a wide variety of styles and patterns for Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays and more. They offer tissue paper, bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes… you get the idea. Don’t leave your gift wrapping for the last minute!

That’s A Wrap – Giving All Of Your Gifts That Extra Touch