“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us." Matthew 1:23
It is hard to believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow night! What a whirlwind the past month has been. The Christmas season is always so special as it is filled with family and things we love. I feel like there are plenty of times during the year where I take so much for granted and complain about little things, but during this season I am constantly reminded of how truly blessed I am. I am so lucky to have a wonderful loving family that has always been there for me. I have two jobs I simply adore and have more best friends than I can count on two hands. I have a wonderful place to call home and lots of delicious food to fill my stomach. However, above all these things I have the most important thing of all; I have a relationship with God! It is hard to believe that thousands of years ago Mary was on her way to Bethlehem and would soon give birth to our King in a manger because their was no room for them at the inn. Last week I received a wonderful devotion that I wanted to share it with you today. The last sentence is especially powerful.
The short excerpt is by an unknown author, and the Scripture is Luke 2:30-33 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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 Jacob s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was a preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He did not go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying . . . His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. All armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.
Merriest of Christmases to you and yours!!
Posts
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
In the frozen tundra we love our cold weather. Even in the midst of a snowy winter Minnesotans still love to eat chilled food. One of my very favorite chilly foods is frozen custard and when I crave it in Minnesota there is only one place to go: Culver's!
I think Culver's used to be just a Northern chain, but they have now expanded their map...Rockwall, Texas even has one now! They are famous for their butter burgers (I am ashamed to say I cannot vouch for these as I have never tried one) and of course their frozen custard. Each day each Culver's location has their vanilla custard, their chocolate custard and then there is the flavor of the day. This can range from Strawberry to Butter Pecan Brittle to Heath Bar Delight to Candy Cane Oreo. The flavor of the day is always my favorite and you have to get it while you can since flavors are rarely repeated during the month. On Wednesday we ventured out in the midst of our winter wonderland and hit up the one and only Culver's!
Another Culver's staple are cheese curds. I know, I know, they sound gross, but I promise they are divine! The are like round, bite sized mozzarella sticks and they are a pure delight when dipped in ranch.
I was certainly a happy Hopsy when I got my hands on the custard of the day, mint Oreo, in concrete form. Yum, yum, yum!
It looked great before, but it looks even more fabulous now and the work has only just begun!
Everyone got wonderful gifts (nothing is hung on the living room walls yet either, so excuse the somewhat bare look)...
Lindsey had a similar dress issue the night before the ball too. Here we are in our last minute finds! I have to admit was NOT a fan of my makeup. I went to a new girl at Bobbi Brown and asked for elegant, more bride like make up. This was not at all what I had envisioned, but thankfully it looked OK with the dress.
LJA 
