Archives for 2011

Still Little Girls at Heart

December 28, 2011 by 3 Comments

My big little girls are still at it. Still trying to capture the magic under the Christmas tree. As you can see, this year Kristin and Kelli sported elf hats while the Peanut M&M man even got in on the fun :)

These sweet girls of mine will probably still be taking this shot when they’re my age because when it comes right down to it, they’ll always be little girls at heart. Little girls that I love — at Christmas and always!

I’ll be back with regular posts on Sunday. Enjoy the rest of your holiday week!

Filed Under: family, holidays, photo fun

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

December 23, 2011 by 3 Comments

Just popping in long enough to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to share one of our annual timed photos. Christmas just ain’t Christmas at the Barker house without some timed photo fun. As you can see, a family from the North Pole dropped by this year :)

Enjoy the days of Christmas! May God bless you in amazing ways!

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.” Psalm 67:1

*I may post another photo or two during the holiday week, but then I’ll get back to my regular blogging schedule the first of the year. If you missed my annual holiday poem, “A Song of Christmas Praise”, just scroll down to the next post and enjoy!

Filed Under: family, holidays, photo fun

A Christmas Gift for You

December 18, 2011 by 7 Comments

As we head into this final week leading up to Christmas, I’d like to share my annual Christmas poem with you. Just a little gift from me to you to help you celebrate the birth of our Lord. Believe it or not, this year marks thirty years that I’ve been including an original Christmas poem in my Christmas cards. I think that might make me old! :)

I’ll be taking a break from my normal blogging schedule. I plan to enjoy a wonderful Christmas with loved ones, and I pray that you will as well. I’ll post a photo or two in the next couple of weeks and will resume regular blogging in the new year. And now, I hope you’re blessed by “A Song of Christmas Praise”!

A Song of Christmas Praise

If I could write a Christmas song
It would be a song of praise,
An offering to my God and King
For this holy holiday.

From my heart the words would spring
My spirit would find the tune,
His glory from my lips would spill
Fresh love for Him would bloom.

For one joyous night so long ago
My Savior came to earth for me,
To rescue me from sin’s dark hold
To give me hope, to set me free.

And now I celebrate His birth
And if I could write a song,
It would be a song of Christmas praise
For to the Savior I belong!

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

*If you don’t have the joy of knowing Christ as your personal Savior, consider the following and accept Him today!

God loves you and wants you to have eternal life: “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.” John 3:16

But our sin stands in the way: “For all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23

Jesus is the only way of salvation: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6

Respond in faith and receive Jesus: “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Rom. 10:13; “Whoever is thirsty, let him come”. Rev. 22:17

A Prayer To Receive Christ: Lord, thank You for loving me. I believe You died to pay for my sin and You were raised from the dead to give me eternal life. Forgive my sins and come into my life and be my Savior and Lord. Help me to follow You. Amen.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

*Flickr photo by alancleaver_2000, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Gift, holidays, poem, salvation Tagged With: , , , ,

Return Trip

December 14, 2011 by 5 Comments

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20

This final verse in Luke’s famous account of the birth of Jesus struck me differently than it ever had before when I read it last December. I’d always thought the phrase “The shepherds returned” meant they returned to their flock, but now I see an entirely different scenario.

If you’ll remember, the verses preceding this one tell how after hearing the angelic announcement of the birth of a Savior, the shepherds hurried off to Bethlehem to find the babe. After they saw the Son of God, “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” (v. 17)

Now if they spread the word, they certainly must have gone out into the community and beyond to tell everyone they saw what they had seen and heard. So when scripture goes on in verse 20 to say “The shepherds returned”, might it mean that they returned to Bethlehem to see Jesus once again?

I think that might be what happened. After they spread the news, I think they may have felt irresistibly drawn back to the Babe. I think they may have wanted to come close to the Savior again. Their return trip might just have been back to Bethlehem instead of back to their flock.

Let’s plan our return trip even now. After we travel to and fro, celebrating Christmas—the birthday of the King—with family and friends alike, let’s make sure we return to glorify and praise our Savior in our daily lives when all the holiday hubbub is over. Let’s return to worship Him year round.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you . . .” James 4:8a

*Flickr photo by rahego, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Christmas story, holidays, praise, Word of God, worship Tagged With: , , , ,

The Constant of Christmas

December 11, 2011 by 5 Comments

The holiday season can be a difficult time for many. Heartaches hurt more, burdens feel heavier, and changes can be more challenging to accept. Loneliness looms larger and disappointment runs deeper as well. At times, Christmas joy can be hard to find.

Where do you find your Christmas joy? If you search for it in people—family and friends—those can change or disappoint. If in new possessions or extravagant treats, those can be stripped away or give only short-term fulfillment. If in well-laid plans for the perfect Christmas, a winter storm or unexpected illness can topple those in an instant.

Only in the manger can we find unchanging, unfailing Christmas joy. Oh, we can and do experience holiday joy with our families and friends, with our activities and traditions, with music and feasting. But the deep, abiding joy of Christmas—and of our lives—that no circumstance or human failing can touch can be found only in the constant of Christmas. Only in Jesus.

Let’s look to the manger this holiday season. Let’s let Jesus anchor our Christmas joy. For He is a rock like no other. He is the constant of Christmas.

“‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:20b

*Flickr photo by jeffweese, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Christmas story, holidays, joy, search, unfailing
Next Page »