Getting into the Thankful Mood

One of the most sure ways I get into the Holiday spirit is to write a list of things I'm thankful for. Family and friends are big ones, along with Christ coming to earth and dying for us, but this year I challenge you to take the time and think about the smaller things, like hot water or clouds, and thank God for them.

Here are some things I'm thankful for and why:

1. Shadows
I know it's not summer anymore, but boy was I glad to have shadows on those hot July and August days! The shade is somewhere cool and inviting, a place of rest. I'm thankful that God gave us the shade. He didn't have to.

2. Music
Just like shadows, He didn't have to make music. But could you imagine a world without it? The birds wouldn't sing, the crickets would thrum with their little legs, and the frogs wouldn't croak to their tunes. Lions wouldn't roar, wolves wouldn't howl, and bees wouldn't buzz. Because everything that God made sings praises to Him, without music there would be no sound! Not only did He make sound, but unlike the bees and birds, He also made it possible for us to make our own tunes! Each one of us can make up our own songs as praises to Him!

3. We (humans) can smile
I'm so glad that we have a chance to express our happiness in a way that others can see. Just like it brings joy to see a dog thumping its tail, I am blessed whenever I see someone else grinning from ear to ear.
"You're never fully dressed without a smile." - Harry Connick Jr.

4. We can communicate
Not only can I say the word "apple" and you know what I'm talking about, but there is a letter system that allows me to write the letters "a-p-p-l-e", and you know what I'm referring to. And get this: we can also communicate with God! No matter what language you speak, you have the ability to speak to Him if you know His Son personally!

5. Memories
Aren't you glad that you can remember your own name? Or what about that homework that you suddenly remembered one day? Could you imagine studying for a test without being able to remember what your studying for, let alone successfully studying for it? Aren't we blessed that even when we can't see someone face to face all the time, the next time we see them we can remember them? I sure am!

So go on: make your own list! It doesn't have to be long, or fancy. You don't even have to write down your reasons. But take the time- even if it's mentally doing a list- to be thankful. You will be surprised, and left feeling refreshed and grateful! :)

Blessings,

Thanksgiving, Then Christmas

I'm sure all of you know that Thanksgiving comes before Christmas, right? But have you ever noticed that? I mean, have you ever thought about it?

I know they were both set on their appointed dates for important reasons, but have you ever taken into account that Thanksgiving is before Christmas? I'm sure it's more than a ploy to try and tempt children out of their numerous Christmas list items. But as soon as I saw this from a new perspective, I started wondering if it had any significance.

Christmas is after Thanksgiving, but shouldn't it be the other way around? I mean, Christ came down to earth, making it the first ever Christmas day! That's a good reason to be thankful!
Perhaps so, but I think of something else as I ponder this food for thought. What if we are supposed to be thankful before Christ comes? What if we are to thank Him before His blessings, and trust Him to follow through with them? What if we are to give thanks, and have a heart of gratitude without knowing for sure we are going to be rewarded? It's easy to be thankful during Thanksgiving and Christmas (presents, family, and food are in abundance), but what about the rest of the time? And what about the time in between? I think Thanksgiving is a gentle reminder that starts off the holiday season, reminding those to be grateful for what Christ did for us. It points us in the right direction, reminding us that He didn't have to save us. And those days in between Christmas and Thanksgiving should be a time of heart preparation for the greatest blessing of all: Jesus Christ.

So as you get ready for Thanksgiving this week (and enjoy a couple days off from school!), take the time to be truly thankful, and ask God to give you a thankful spirit throughout the year.

Thanks for reading. :)

Princess Catherine ~*~

Your Mom's Job

Moms have a really hard job--especially mine. With kids ranging from ages 13 to 2, my mother has a lot on her plate! Changing diapers, homeschooling us all, cooking our meals, cleaning...and did you know that she has to do them even when she's tired? It's a continuous cycle.

She may not feel like making dinner, but the whole family depends on her. If your mom suddenly decided that she wasn't going to cook the meals for a week, what would you do? Run around in a panic wondering if you'll starve?

Yeah, so would I.

Oftentimes, I feel pretty guilty. I might come home one summer from playing outside all day and find my mom slaving a way in a hot kitchen to prepare a meal. Do I even thank her for all of the hard work? She's been doing it all of my life, and now I've just come to realize how hard it is.

In my opinion, I think that Mother's Day should happen more than once a year.

But alas, it doesn't.

Seeing that it only happens once a year, I'm going to make it a very special occasion for my mother. Here are ten ways to bless your mom for Mother's Day! They range from super-easy to challenging in no specific order.

#1. Wash the meal-dishes. A very good thing, and fairly easy. Your mom will greatly appreciate it, seeing as it gives her a time to relax after the meal.

#2. Offer to make a meal. Bonus: make it a healthy, good-tasting meal! Dinner is a great meal, seeing as there are so many options. Maybe you could do shrimp, pasta, with Alfredo sauce, and a simple salad. Or homemade macaroni and cheese with green beans. Or you could enlist your dad to grill salmon and vegetable kabobs while you make mango margaritas and fruit cocktail! This could be moderate or hard, depending on what you embark to make.

#3. Make her a sweet card. Put a poem in it! Draw a picture! Get the message across that you're truly thankful for you mother! This is, like, the easiest thing to do.

#4. Buy her flowers. Traditional and sweet, it's very easy. The only bad thing is that flowers don't last for long. And artificial flowers aren't really the same.

#5. Clean the house. Depending on the state of your house, this could be very easy or very hard (lol, in my house this would be the hardest thing to do! :). Even just a general picking-up can make your house look bigger and cleaner. This makes moms very happy.

#6. Make a dessert. It goes hand in hand with making a meal, and it can be pretty easy. Just a cake, or rice-crispies, even yogurt with berries!

#7. Watch your siblings, or even *gasp* change a diaper! Yeah. Diapers=not so cool. But it really helps! Your mom probably hates changing diapers as much as you do! Of course, this doesn't really count if you don't have siblings watching/diaper age.

#8. Do a few extra chores. This is kind of re-stating a lot of the previous ones, but it's still worth mentioning. Once again, easy to hard.

#9. Put on a skit for her entertainment. Enlist your siblings or even your dad for this one! Make a script, gather props, dress up in wacky clothes, and break a leg! Or, you could get your friends into it and invite their mothers over, too!

#10. Give her a big hug and a thank you. Original, easy, and probably the best.

All of these might surprise your mom, and make her very happy! And a bonus with it: doing these will train you for the day when you find yourself a mom.

HAPPY (early) MOTHER'S DAY!

Princess Izori

Two Events That Changed The World (Part 1)

The crowds are shouting, the soldiers yelling, the women crying. Three men stumble along the streets toward the place where no one ever wants to go: Golgotha. This infamous hill is where many people had been put to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible ways to die that man has thought up. Hammers clang against the nails and the crosses are raised. Six hours of incredible pain pass and finally the man hung in the middle raises his eyes to heaven and says, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." It is finished.

This small paragraph has only scratched the surface of what Jesus went through for us. We can't imagine the excruciating pain that He suffered. We know that he was nailed to the cross and that He was beaten, but in addition, Isaiah 50:6 (NIV) says this:

"I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide face from mocking and spitting."

Can you imagine? He was beaten, mocked, spit at, and HIS BEARD WAS PULLED OUT! What unbelievable things He endured, and He CHOSE to do this!

But WHY do He choose it?

Because He loves us so much(John 3:16) that He came into the world and died for every single person. He did it to save us. That, then, raises two questions.

1) Why did we need saving? When Adam and Eve sinned they disobeyed God and then severed their relationship with Him. In order to restore that relationship, a perfect someone, without blemish or defect(sin), had to be sacrificed. Since all men are sinners we couldn't restore that and work our way back to God. Only God, Who is perfect, could be that perfect sacrifice, so Jesus came and died. Only He could fix the bridge between man and God.

2) Why did Jesus have to die? The Scriptures say this:

"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22, NIV)

There HAD to be some kind of bloodshed so that we might be forgiven. Otherwise, we would still be without hope. Also, since the wages of sin is death(Romans 6:23) Jesus HAD to die in order that sin could be payed for. There was no other way. He had to die for our forgiveness and for sin's dues.

Praise the Lord that He cares for us that He would send His Son to DIE so that we could LIVE! If Jesus hadn't come and died we would still be lost and with absolutely no hope at all! Truly He loves us more than we could ever imagine!

~Princess Gloria

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."---Ephesians 3:17b-19, NIV)

Happy New Year!!!!

Since this is the first post this year, I (Catherine) wanted to start off with one of my favorite, if not my favorite, Scripture passages:

Jeremiah 29:11, 13
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (NIV)

For a New Year tradition, I always read one of my favorite Scripture verses or passages as we count down till the new year. Then, I can start off the new year by reading the Bible, and what better way is there to start it off? (It's also fun to say "I've been reading this passage since last year! :) This year, I read Jeremiah 29:11, 13, and I wanted to do a quick "looking" at it.

The first phrase "For I know the plans I have for you", really speaks for itself, but slow down and think about it. This is God talking, and HE- all powerful, creator of the universe- pays attention to what you are doing and the wonderful things HE has in store for you! That's amazing when we stop and think about it, isn't it?! :)

But, we get blessed more than that! Not only does HE know our plans, and the plans HE has for you, HE also has made the plans that will prosper you and not harm you! Prosper means "to be successful or fortunate, esp. in financial respects; thrive; flourish" (from Dictionary.com). Basically, you want to prosper! I wish people who where worried about the economy would read this verse. Now, I don't believe that God will make us all rich, powerful, and famous (then none of us would be if all of us were!), but the plans HE has for us are the best ones that we could ever have, and so, since they are the best plans, they will make us the most content with our life, our family and friends, the money, and the earthly things we have. We will also have the blessing of knowing HIM more! How many other people can promise (and carry out that promise) that much?

Hope is something that I couldn't imagine living without! We see this on movies a lot. The hero (or heroine) always "hopes against hope", and their hope is almost always rewarded! And why do we see our favorite characters on the TV shows and movies hope against any hope? Because the movie directors- although they can stumble in other areas- know that we as humans need hope; it gives us a will to live on, and that's how HE made us! We all know what future means, and HE is giving us that! It may not be the future we humans think of- a long and peaceful life on earth- but I believe it means that we will have a future to look forward to in eternity! Heaven; an eternity with the LORD! Now, for some of us it does mean a long a peaceful life, but only HE knows what our lives will be like (remember the first phrase).

Now, moving on to verse 13. People often quote verse 11, but don't read far enough down the page to verse 13. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." This verse is a great one to bring up when someone questions you about whether or not God is a personal God. This seeking and finding is a personal seeking and finding, and then HE says we will find HIM when we seek with all our heart. God is someone we can know. Did you know that? :)

Okay, this might not have been as quick as you were expecting, but still! :)

May the LORD give you a blessed New Year!!!

Princess Catherine ~*~

Beginnings

Do you ever feel sad after Christmas is over? I know I always do. However, the thought just came to me this year that Christmas really isn't and ending. People say that the holiday season is over and the year is ending, but that's not the point. When God sent us His Son, He meant it to be the beginning of a story. A story that would last 33 years. But, then again, I'm implying another wrong conclusion. The end of the story isn't Easter, either. In fact, the story never ends! You might have heard people say that Easter is a holiday that celebrates new birth. I have always heard and said that, and in a way it's true. But Easter really isn't the beginning at all. Christmas is truly the beginning of the story that goes from the birth, to the ministry, to the death, resurrection, and finally the ascension of our LORD, Jesus. The story isn't finished yet. Jesus is coming back! He left His throne to redeem us, but someday He will return in glory to take us back to where we all belong. Our heavenly home! People have waited for thousands of years, but then again, they waited a really long time for the Messiah to come the first time, to. I'm still waiting, but I know He will be here soon. Someday when that happens, the story will finally have a happy ending. Wait...that's just the beginning for us! Maybe it won't end...


"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:16-21

Blessings in Christ,

Princess Melody

Silent Night

What's your favorite Christmas song? I (Princess Melody) don't know if I could choose just one, but I would have to say that one of my favorites is Silent Night. Ever since I was little and watched "Mickey Mouse Christmas Sing-Along", this song has always held a special meaning for me. Something about "holy night" and "sleep in heavenly peace" always felt so Christmas-y. Just recently though, I thought about why it has such a pull. I realized that Silent Night is a very peaceful song ("all is calm, all is bright"). It occurred to me that, if you're anything like me, that that's just what we need during the Christmas Season, peace. Sometimes we just get so rushed decorating, shopping, baking, and wrapping that we forget why Christmas is a holiday.

One dark, bitter cold night in the tiny town of Bethlehem, a girl of about fifteen huddled in an old cave used as a stable. She held in her arms a baby boy, wrapped in a few dirty rags and covered with her own shawl. Her soon-to be husband, Joseph, was filling an animal's feed trough with hay so she would have somewhere to lay her firstborn Son. Cattle mooed, sheep baaed, and that donkey the girl had ridden here was braying still. This girl was Mary, and the baby she held was Jesus. She and Joseph, two people of immense courage and obedience, raised a baby that holds the reason we celebrate this season.

You see, the Christmas story is really just the beginning of the Easter story. Sometimes in the Christmas season, we need quite moments amid all the hustle and bustle to simply remember that. I like to sit by my lit up Christmas tree with the lights off, reading the Christmas story in the Bible, humming Christmas songs, or simply just thinking. The men who wrote Silent Night had the right idea. The night Jesus was born was silent and calm, and so should our Christmas season be. Where you go to find peace this holiday season is left to your discretion, but I challenge you to find a quiet place to remember this Christmas just why we are celebrating!

Princess Melody

A Christmas Challenge

'Tis the season to be jolly!

Here it is: the beginning of December, and before long, it'll be Christmas and we'll be saying, "What happened to this month?"

If you're like me, you haven't gone out and done your Christmas shopping yet. We all will probably make a trip to the mall or to some other store within the next couple weeks to make sure we're ready for Christmas. And, of course, there's all that food we need to buy for Christmas dinner, Christmas parties, and snacks in general. Don't want to run out of that! :)

Have you noticed how people don't call Christmas Christmas anymore? Over the past years the word has been taken out of the holiday so that this time of year is now called exactly what I just wrote: a holiday. If you buy something at the store and go to check it out you will receive your receipt and your change, and then the cashier will wish you "Happy holidays." Please understand that it is not wrong to use this phrase, but when it is used in place of Christmas all the time, people have succeeded in taking Christ out of the season, if you know what I mean.


Why don't we do something about it? I don't mean that we should be calling our senators and asking them to pass a bill stating that everyone must use the phrase "Merry Christmas" and that "Happy holidays" is strictly forbidden. I'm asking 'Why don't we stand out a bit from what everyone else is saying?'


So here's my challenge to you and to myself: As we're out and about this Christmas season, maybe at a store or restaurant, and someone says "Happy holidays!" PLEASE DON'T PUNCH THEM IN THE NOSE!!!! :) That would not be a good way of sharing the love of Christ! However, why don't we just say (politely, of course) right back to them,"And a merry Christmas to you, too!" You know what? People probably wouldn't get upset if we were to say that. My mom has started to reply to people that way and no one has gotten angry or defensive about it. In fact, they probably don't even care, and who knows? Maybe it will stand out to someone, or maybe it will simply be something that no one notices.

I know that this will be a bit difficult for me, because it is so much easier to reply "The same to you!" and be on our way, than it is to take the time to wish people a merry Christmas. I know also that sometimes we(I) might forget, or might be too scared, but why not stand out a bit this Christmas? Why not be a little different from the world?

" If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I(Jesus) have chosen you out of the world." ~John 15:19a

~Princess Gloria

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

It's finally here! Thanksgiving! WHOHOO!

Thanksgiving is usually the start of Christmas for us, which is part of why I'm so excited. I know that right after all the football and the turkey that there's going to be Christmas trees and stockings, egg-nog and hot chocolate, snowy days and, on Christmas, the presents.

But what exactly is Thanksgiving?

You might say, "Well, everyone knows what Thanksgiving is! Its when you have extended family over and you watch football, and then you have a really big feast!"

But to understand what the REAL part of Thanksgiving is, we should take a look at the first one.

Thanksgiving was started by the pilgrims, as everyone knows, after they had stayed a little in Plymouth Plantation. They had crossed a nearly uncharted sea so that they could have the freedom for them and their children to worship God, braving unknown dangers, treacherous storms, and a winter of starvation and sickness...for their faith! All of that so they could worship the way they thought was right.

Isn't that amazing?

Those pilgrims (and also the 'strangers', or the non-pilgrims that had sailed to the New World) had a lot to be thankful for. They had survived a very hard winter of starvation and sickness, not to mention storms and wandering completely off course on their voyage their, they had a strong alliance with the neighboring Indians...this doesn't really sound much like what we go through today, does it?

The original Thanksgiving feast was to celebrate all the mercies and care that God had shown them. Basically, it was a party to celebrate God.

Today, it sounds more like a party to celebrate turkey.

I was reading a kids book a while ago that was about Thanksgiving. This is what it said about the holiday--and I kid you not--:'Thanksgiving is when we get together to celebrate turkey.' (paraphrased, of course. My memory isn't that great).

What on earth happened to the 'Praising God' part of Thanksgiving?

I, for one, think that the 'God part' of Thanksgiving disappeared as our culture started to change. Now people don't want to acknowledge God because that would mean they would have to answer to someone. Our generation is one that doesn't like consequences.

Because our culture doesn't like God, they try to ignore him in every way as possible. So now some people call Thanksgiving 'Turkey Day'.

Happy Turkey Day?!

I think not!!

I, for one, am going to stick with Happy Thanksgiving, thank you very much!

So, to all of our dear readers and followers...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Princess Izori

Thanksgiving Excitement

I just love Thanksgiving!

I would have to say that it's my second favorite holiday; for me, Christmas is first! But back to the point...there are many things that I like about Thanksgiving and I'm excited about them!

One is that I have two siblings in college and they are home for the holiday. I'm really excited about being able to see them again! Also, I get a Thanksgiving break from school, and I always enjoy that!

For special occasions, I'm usually the one to set the table, which is a job I enjoy, and you may think, "Hmmm. That's strange. I know that I personally don't enjoy setting the table!"

I am the same way most of the time, but Thanksgiving is a special day. On that day my mom let's us use her good china and maybe a tablecloth (or is that only at Christmas? :). God has given me the gift of being a person who likes to help arrange food in pretty ways at special events, make centerpieces for tables, or set the table using good china and a tablecloth. Last year, I even got onto a website that taught me how to fold napkins different ways. I just really enjoy "primping" food and tables, and I am so thankful for that 'talent'! :)

Well, I've shared with you what I like to do with my Thanksgiving holiday.

What about you? Do you have a specific tradition or something you do that you'd like to share with us? Just leave it as a comment.

We'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and remember, whether or not you celebrate this holiday, to always give thanks to your King.


~Princess Gloria

Being Thankful for the Right Reasons

Turkey, football, favorite family memories...Thanksgiving is a holiday growing as a favorite among Americans. I was thinking about what I should right this week, and (although it is probably nothing like what the other princesses are posting), I decided on the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Sometimes I think this is a little ironic. Stores and T.V. stations put a lot of money into advertising their Black Friday sales. Cooking and appliance magazines start selling Thanksgiving food and turkey cookers in August. Your parents and relatives have probably been planning for months for the big night. However, through it all, the true meaning of the season seems to have been lost and replaced with football games.

The holiday known as Thanksgiving seems to have lost the relevance of its name in our culture. Who are all the advertisements actually thanking? It's kind of like sending out a thank you note with no particular address on it. What's the point?

Actually, there is a lot of point to this holiday.

When a separatist religious group hated by the king of England made the dangerous journey to America, they changed the course of history forever. The courage of people like William Brewster, Priscilla Mullins, John Carver and others is commonly misinterpreted today. While we are taught in school that the pilgrims came simply for religious freedom, that is not the whole story. The Mayflower Compact is even sometimes edited in school history books! If you read the original manuscript, you will find that they came not only for religious freedom and to build a colony, but also for the advancement of the Christian faith. When it came time for the great Thanksgiving feast, the pilgrims really had a reason to give thanks. They could thank God that some of them had survived. They new that God had saved them from the fierce Native American tribe that most certainly would have killed them if the tribe had survived. They were truly thankful that God had sent the Native Americans to help them. They had so much to thank God for that they created a holiday to commemorate it!

The sad thing about that is, the true meaning of thanking God has somehow been lost in our culture.

Remember not only on the fourth Thursday in November, but also every day of the year, that God has truly blessed you, and you know who you are thanking.

Princess Melody

A Thanksgiving Traditon at My Home

Each year at my (Catherine's) home at Thanksgiving time, we all sit at different computers and write letters to one another, saying how thankful we are for them. We tell them how we enjoy their God given gifts, how we love them, and how we are so blessed in who they are and who they are becoming. This is a sample for what we do:

Dear Blog Readers,

I am so blessed at your encouraging comments, wonderful insight, great questions, and curiosity. I enjoy reading your own blogs, and see how other people care about purity. I know that my team and I are encouraged by your support! :)

Princess Catherine ~*~

And I really do mean everything that I wrote! Thanks for all of you! Followers, commenters, readers, and passers-by; thank you!

Purely HIS,

Princess Catherine ~*~