Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!!!

 

“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

 

The Christmas music is playing.  The lights are strung on the Christmas tree.  Candles are glowing on the dining room table.  The story of Jesus’ birth is being retold at our church’s live nativity, in our homes and in our schools.  For truly that is the reason for all this celebration!  There is no other holiday throughout the entire year that is more fun, more divine, more prepared for, more enjoyed … than Christmas!!! 

 

Reflecting on the Christmas story that happened so long ago still brings hope and joy to our world!  Two young people were traveling from their home in Galilee all the way to their home town called Bethlehem to pay taxes.  It was a decree sent out by Caesar Augustus.  (Luke 2:1)  The only way Joseph and Mary could make sense of the timing was knowing that it was prophesied that a baby would be born in the town of David and that God was with them!  Mary was great with child and Joseph tried to comfort her as they went from one small town inn to another just trying to get a room and let Mary rest.  She was in intense pain, thinking maybe labor pains have begun, and they really needed to get somewhere warm and dry!  The whole town was packed to the limits because many others were there to pay taxes too.  Joseph tried everything he knew he do, until finally, he asked for just a small room in a stable!  Somewhere!!!!???!!!  Anywhere!  It would be better than laboring and giving birth along the town streets!  Fresh straw was layed and Mary was finally able to breathe through her contractions without balancing herself on the donkeys back.  It felt so good to finally lie down and even though she didn’t stay in one position for very long, her labor pains were getting worse.  Maybe tonight she would give birth to their son?  An angel appeared to both her and Joseph back in Galilee months ago and told them that they would give birth to a baby boy and they were to name him Jesus.  (Matthew 1:18)  She hoped that would all happen tonight!  Joseph hoped so too.  Throughout all the commotion and travels and hard labor pains and trying to stay warm and out of the cold wind, Mary did give birth to a baby boy!  Just like the angel said!  Even though the stars were out bright, the animals in the stables ate their food, and tired travelers were sleeping nearby, this was no ordinary night for Joseph and Mary!!!   They were so grateful to have somewhere off the streets to be on this night of delivery.  They were now holding and tending to their baby son!  The son promised by the angel.  Their son named Jesus!

 

It wasn’t long before shepherds came barging into the stable!  They could barely talk because they were so excited to see this baby that another band of angels proclaimed was born tonight!  (Luke 2:8)  It must have been grand seeing all those glowing angles in the night sky while those shepherds listened intensely at every word the angels sang.  This was the first time ever that the shepherds saw something like this and after the heavenly host disappeared back into the dark night, they ran off to see this baby the angels talked about!  After searching and looking through the town, it was an honor and miracle to see this special baby boy lying in a manger!  Wise men were on the lookout too!  (Matthew 2:1)  They did tons of studies about this amazing star they spied on high.  They decided to go search it out and see what it must mean.  The star took them to Bethlehem.  It rested a roof top.  They have followed a bright star in the sky all the way to the boy Jesus.  The wise men have been searching for so long and maybe now they would be able to present their gifts to this King!  Their hearts must have felt overflowing as they finally gazed at the tender face of Jesus.  Presenting expensive spices now made their many miles of dessert travels and hot sand so worth it!  It was by far their best part of their faraway travels! 

 

I never get tired of this amazing story!  You can read the entire story with many more details in Matthew 1 & Luke 2!  Jesus came to earth to save sinners from eternal damnation!  Believing in Him will promise you an eternal home in heaven!!!  Jesus was born on earth to die for my sins.  For yours.  For the whole wide world!!!  This was God’s plan to save His most beloved creation of all, mankind.  With the holidays among us, please don’t forget to take a look at your heart.  Be thankful that God sent his son to be born for you and me!  Thank Jesus for dying on the cross.  Take time to reflect on all your blessings.  Jesus longs for the whole world to hear about salvation and turn their hearts to Him.  He will heal your broken heart.  He will restore you.  Rejoice in the birth of Christ!!!                       

Now, for some updates on our family:

 

Mike – He is still working hard at Lapp Structures.  His employees and office team make it a pleasant place to work!  Thank you!  At the very beginning of the year, Mike was busy finishing up our house project!  He did a wonderful job at making us a beautiful home!  Mike loves to golf and was privileged to go on some fun golf outings again this year.  Biking to The Haft with a group of friends was an accomplishment!  He helped coach Matthew’s little league team in the summer!  Being a dad fills up any spare time Mike has!  He bumped so many volleyball’s with Hadassah, pitched a ton of balls to Matthew to hit, pushed Ashlyn high on the swing and gave daily moped rides to Austin!  We are very grateful that Mike regained his health in July after being diagnosed with Lyme’s.  God has been good to us and has healed Mike’s body! 

 

Lori – I’m living out my dream.  We have four beautiful children and my life is so busy trying to juggle the teenager that wants to hang out all the time with friends while tending to baby who still needs naps and doesn’t want to be confined to his car seat for any long amounts of time!  I became the official soccer mom as we went from soccer games to volleyball games and practices and now heading for the basketball courts!!!  It makes for a full schedule but we are so blessed to have a thriving Christian school that wants the best for our children and offers us great sports!  This is an incentive and adds so much to our lives.  Thank you!!!  This year has been a huge, very busy year for our family.  Last year this time we moved into our new home.  And since then so much work has been done!  Porches were concreted, grass seeded, landscaping done, the driveway was paved and a basketball net is now in place!  J  We enjoyed the warm summer afternoons at the pool!  Late this summer, we were grieved at the passing of Daudy D..  My grandfather was a man I knew my whole life and I got to live next door to my grandparents all my childhood years!  Daudy D. went to be with his Jesus that he loved with all his being!  We miss him so much but rejoice knowing that he is in heaven having the best Christmas celebration with Jesus we could ever imagine this year!!!  Looking ahead, Mike and I are excited to be celebrating our 16^th anniversary in January and love each other so much!!!  Our marriage is a gift from God and I am so blessed to have Michael as my loving husband!  If you would like to follow our family events throughout the year, you can visit us at:  reallife-lori.blogspot.com.

 

Hadassah - She is a freshman at Linville Hill Christian High School.  She really enjoyed the volleyball season she just went through and is now excited about basketball.  Hadassah made a public stand for Jesus this summer at her baptism service.  She loves to hang out with friends and have a good time!  Her popular statement is, “So, what are going to do tonight?”  Or, “Who can we have over this weekend?”  She shows great diligence with her school studies.  Her internship at Darla’s Hair Care & Spa is being a good experience.  In August, she started a job at Beiler’s Donut Shop.  If you are looking for a fun, tasty treat, she would love to sell you the best donuts you have ever tasted!!!  Come visit her!  Having a teenager in the house is interesting.  It takes her a bit more time getting ready to go somewhere J but we are so proud of how she cares about people’s hearts and the priority of living her life for Jesus!    

 

Matthew – Going into sixth grade at Linville Hill Christian School and starting middle school has been a good experience for Matthew!!!  He enjoys school and has good friends.  He played hard this spring at his little league games and the Tigers finished in first place!!!  Mike was privileged to help coach and lead the team to victory!  Matthew was also diagnosed with Lyme’s this summer but after a few weeks of meds, he has made a full recovery!  Again, we are so blessed and give God the glory for restoring us to good health!!!  Matthew has become a good chess player, thanks to schools electives, and ran hard playing on Linville’s soccer team.  His dream came true when a trampoline entered the back yard this summer!  Matthew is a great friend to Austin.  They love to wrestle on the floor together and “play ball” on the living room floor.      

 

Ashlyn – Our little girl is growing up so fast and is now in Kindergarten at Linville.  She loves to play with Austin and they are becoming the best of playmates.  Ashlyn loves to garden and she was the one that helped me pick the vegetables this summer.  She learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!  Her favorite snack is still cucumbers and black olives!  Ashlyn is often found lately with a pencil and paper and writing letters.  School is bringing a new level of intelligence to her!  Thank you, Miss Peterson!!!  She is super excited about the Christmas season! 

 

Austin – Blonde hair.  Blue eyes.  Austin entered the toddler world and is so much fun at this stage in life!  He is starting to talk!  He loves, loves his daddy!  Animal books is something we look at daily!  He still likes his nuk and blanket.  His favorite food is pretzels but he loves cucumbers and black olives too.  J Every night when his daddy comes home from work, he begs to go outside.  This summer Mike gave him moped rides daily.  Austin absolutely loved this!!!  Austin adores Matthew and loves to follow him around the house.  Even though the toddler years have their challenges, Austin is adorable and we could not imagine life without him!!!

 

We are super excited about this Christmas season and really do want to celebrate the birth of Christ!  Too often we find ourselves running one hundred miles an hour and if we are not careful, we miss the whole reason for Christmas!!!  Yes, we’ve got cookies to bake yet, gifts to wrap, and parties to attend but we are blessed beyond measure to have good health, great family and friends!  Let’s never forget our blessings and always reflect on the goodness of God!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

 

~ The Lapp Family    

 

Some Christmas meanings.

I can't help but think ... why did I not study on some of these subjects in school when we needed to come up with topics???  I find it so interesting and I have always been the kid that asked, "Why do we do this?  Or that?"

So, because of my little devotional book I'm reading through this holiday season, it got me thinking!  I started researching things like "why do we have Christmas trees?  Or why the lights?  Gifts?

Now the gifts tradition is rather obvious to the Christians because it was Jesus that gifted His life for all mankind.  It was a gift!  For everyone.  Also, bringing it right into the nativity was an awesome display from the Wise men that gave their gifts to the baby Jesus when they found him and worshiped him!!!  I've often asked myself why the three special gifts were recorded?  Did the myrrh, frankincense and gold have a significance in the life of this special baby?  Or was that the poplar gift given to a king?  For, wasn't the reason for all their travels to find this new King?  All the way from the east?

I did some research and found on christiantoday.com some very interesting facts!  In Matthew 2:1 it reads, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem."  I read that "from the East" could mean from different countries.  This struck some interesting thoughts inside of my head.  These men, wherever they were all from, really meant to seek out this baby! 

Where these men called Magi or Wise men or Kings?  Magi means that they were men that interpreters omens and were astrologers.  Again in Matthew 2:2 it reads, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  They have noticed a special star and knew there must be a meaning to all of this!  They set out to find out for themselves!  In my studies, it took me to Daniel 1:20.  "And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm."  This was common for kings to have wise men or magi.  The king in Daniel 2:5 said, "The king answered and said to the Chaldean's, "My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap."  "The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.  Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon."  Daniel 2:48  Joseph interrupted dreams also. 

The word "wise men" means "learned men among the Persians".  Solomon was the wisest man ever to live and in 1 Kings 10, and "when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cup bearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.  Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and you wisdom.  However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me.  Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard."  Then in verse 10 "she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones."  Giving all these precious gifts were fit for a wise man! 

Or were the 'wise men' really kings?  We sing about "We three kings".  We picture them as wearing crowns with big robes!  In Psalms 72 it reads this, "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.  Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.  For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper.  He will spare the poor and needy, and save the world of the needy.  He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight.  And He shall live; and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, and daily He shall be praised."  Matthew 2:11 says, "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh."  Here these kings brought to this new baby King, gifts.  I find it so interesting looking at Isaiah 39.  "And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures-the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory-all that was found among his treasures."  It says in verse 6 that all this will be carried to Babylon.  So then in Daniel 5:2 says, "Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them."  So then, the wise men or magi or kings ... at Christmas they brought back the treasures to Jerusalem!!!  These men may have been the first to bow down and worship the Lord Jesus at a king!!!

So maybe today we don't really have presents of gold or frankincense but we give gifts just like they did to Jesus!!!  This Christmas, take time to remember why we do this!  Remember that Jesus is the greatest gift of all!!!  He offers eternal life!

Only 2 more days till Christmas!

Christmas is coming to town!!!  Only two more days are left till Christmas!

 

Christmas vacation has begun!!!

Let's give a big shout out loud and say "It's Christmas Time!!!!"

 

Today, Christmas vacation began as soon as the parties were finished up at school!!!  I helped with the kindergarten party and I think their little hands and smiles are so cute as they make a craft and eat some yummy snacks!!!  Austin even got to join the fun!

 

We made the cupcakes yesterday afternoon and now today we sang happy birthday twice!!!  Once to Miss. Peterson (her birthday is tomorrow) and again for baby Jesus!  Because that is really why we are celebrating Christmas!  Because of His birth!

This little hat I have worn for three out of our four children!  Every time I get so many compliments and it really adds fun and humor into the holiday!!!  Plus, if the kid is adorable, of course everyone will say, "Oh, how cute!"  :)))  And by the way, he likes popcorn!

 Ashlyn and I prepared a craft for the class to do today!  She loved this and the kids did a great job making a nativity scene!

He wanted to play with the glue and paper and help himself to whatever caught his eye but we managed to keep things under control!

Then we served snack!  Such fun foods and so pretty!

Um, then he discovered the headphones.  "No, they are not ours and no you may not ruin these!"

Ashlyn brought us home a card the other day and insisted that we open it right then and there.  So, Mike and I did!  It was wrapped up nicely and inside was a homemade card from her! 

Matthew's class went caroling for some older folks this morning.  Hadassah's school had their festivities yesterday!  We hope others were blessed!

Yesterday, Ashlyn did a prerun on the craft we did in her class.  She loved this!

The house is cleaned.  Fresh greens are laid here and there!  We are ready for Christmas!

Matthew played another game of basketball but this time the other team was better!  Good job at playing hard boys and making an effort to get more baskets!!! 

This is my Bible verse for the day!  I have a phone app that gives me a verse and devotional every day and I loved the promise and verse today!!!  Another great reminder of why we celebrate Christmas!

And lookie here!!!  I finally got my very own copy of this magazine!  I've asked at stores.  I've stopped at a few stores.  Everyone said they were sold out!  So, I ordered this online the other day and I am thrilled that it arrived right at Christmas vacation!!!  I can't wait to dig into this magazine!!!!  It was so cute when we got the mail today!  Ashlyn always opens all our Christmas mail!  She loves getting mail and cards for herself and so opening up tons of cards is great fun for her!  I told her she may open up my package today and see what's inside!  When she pulled out the magazine she said, "Oh look!  This looks like the fixer upper people!"  :)))

I guess you know now that we watch the show "Fixer Upper!"  :)

I made one last grocery stop this afternoon and grabbed a few more seafood foods for our meal tomorrow night!  Our family is going to enjoy some good food together and we are excited about our upcoming weekend and days ahead!!!

PS. I am so glad to have that nasty stomach bug out of our house and done with!!!

Stay warm!  Happy holidays!!!

Only four more days till Christmas!



 

With it being Christmas time, I ordered a devotional book called "The heart of Christmas", by Hank Hanegraaff.  This book is meant to be read each day, for twenty five days, leading up to Christmas day!  This little book brings the reason for some of the traditions we do each year.  Like the Christmas tree.  And Santa Claus.  One of these days I'm going to look up more traditions and find out where they were started!  It also gives some scripture to read and a carol at the end of each day.  It has been interesting to actually read the words to many of the familiar Christmas songs we sing each year.  I find myself humming them as I read.  I'm realizing that too many times I just sing these same songs without really knowing what I'm saying. 

 

The devotional for this morning talked about "advent" meaning "coming".  He gave examples of how Joshua was the leader for the Children of Israel to go into the Promise Land.  Jesus in our Savior for our "promised land" ... heaven!  The scripture took me to when the angel appeared to Joseph and told him that it's OK to take Mary as his wife and to not be afraid.  I sat there and thought that maybe if Joseph would not have thought about making a divorce against Mary, the angel may have never appeared to him.  Now, I know God knows all things but I had to think of how it may have been.  God saw that Joseph was struggling with the idea of Mary just mysteriously becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  He must've have doubts.  Really, who wouldn't?  This is the first time this was ever heard of.  Why was it happening to him?  To them?  How was he to believe Mary even though she was such a sweet girl and has always been honest and humble?  How could he believe such a story?  And then in walks God into his life through a dream.  God sends an angel!  Gabriel came and talked to Joseph and told him that this really was a true story!  Mary was really still a virgin and yet pregnant with the Son of God.  He was not to be afraid!  He was to name this baby boy Jesus!

 

Do you think Joseph sat up and thought long before being able to move?  Or do you think it was so real that he jumped up and ran to Mary's house and told her that it's going to be OK.  She believed it would be OK but hearing those words come from Joseph was so comforting!  God was with them!  He believed her!  He believed the angel!  Did he have answers for all the towns people that still thought they were crazy folks?  Did he just believe and not have any more questions?  Probably not, but he did know that because of God, this was all possible!  It was enough for him!  He trusted in God and took Mary as his wife!

 

Christmas day is coming!  Take time to read and reread about the birth of Jesus!  Let your mind wonder and put yourself in their shoes.  How it must have been.  Think of the excitement of a new baby.  Of seeing and hearing angels.  Of knowing that this was the plan for redemption!

 

And because I love pictures, here are more of our darling children!  :)

 

Bring peace.  Bring joy.  Bring song into your homes today!

Christmas with the Lapps and Dienners!

We woke up Saturday morning with icy roads and the weather outside brought the feeling of Christmas!!!  It was a fun way to start the day knowing that we did have a Christmas gathering today!  My day started out earlier than I really wanted it too though.  Austin woke up crying at 5 AM and Mike got up and put him in bed with us.  A minute later Austin was sounding like he was going to throw up.  I jumped up and took him quickly into the bathroom.  Him and I went out to the couch and tried to rest through many attempts of him trying to throw up.  He only actually brought something up once and by 10 AM, he seemed to be feeling better! So, we packed up our things and headed to Mike's parents. 

 

When we arrived, mom had the table set up so nice!  Her candles were burning and the food was ready to eat!  When Steve's got there, poor Celine and Sophia were not feeling well.  And, Javon had the runs.  After lunch, I suddenly had to lay down from a stomach ache.  I prayed and hoped it wasn't what the others had!  It only lasted for about an hour and my stomach felt a lot better but I took special care of what I ate the rest of the day. 

 

We started to play games.  RISK was an old game and that got replayed.  We will also and forever be playing Settlers.  :)  We also played Now You Have It, Now You Don't with the adults.  Steve's didn't stay for the evening.  Their kids were still not feeling the best.  Then, Hunter started to throw up.  Twice.  It seemed to go from person to person! 

 

We sat and chatted till 10 PM!  The was fun.  The food was excellent!  I just wish everyone would have felt much better!!!

 

Mom's red winter berries looked so pretty with the icy on them.  And Austin ate lots of pretzels to help keep his stomach from being hungry and hurting.

 

Time to open presents.

His dream gift ... a bat and ball, plus a tool set.

Mommy Lapp made a thick blanket for Ashlyn and Sophia!  So cute!

Matthew was given a sleeping bag.

Hadassah got a thick blanket for her bed.

Then on Sunday we gathered with the Dienner Family!

We play lots of games!!!  We missed Daudy D. not being there!!!  It was so neat to have pillows made out of his shirts and all the children got on!  Daudy will forever live in our hearts!

Look who came to visit me!!!  This is the first time ever that I got to watch Blue Birds from my kitchen window!!!  I love it!  They are feasting on the blue bird worms and fresh suit I made for them!!!  They are so pretty!

Add a cardinal to the birds and it's magic!!!!  I love this!

 

We are excited about Christmas only being five days away!!!  We are busy finishing up gifts and buying food for the next week!  The Christmas music is still playing non stop!!!  One thing I do wish happens yet!  We have been hit with the stomach bug and I hope that will be out of our house by this weekend!!!

 

Stay warm!  Stay healthy!  Eat your veggies!!!  :)

 

And here is some Christmas photos to bring on some cheer and gladness!!!  :)

 

Merry Christmas!