Looking back and looking ahead

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Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and were able to spend some time with your family! Our grown kids and grandkids came to our country home this year to celebrate Christmas ... on Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful time! On Friday night the kids decorated gingerbread houses; it's an annual tradition in our family. As our grands made roofs out of pretzels and Sweet Tarts and peppermints, I couldn't help but remember their dads doing the very same thing—a long, long time ago!

And as New Year's Day approaches I'm reminded that it's time for me to choose a Bible verse to focus on for the new year. I've decided on a portion of James 1:19: " ... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak ... "  I want to really ponder what I will say, before saying it. I hope that I will listen to others' hearts before I jump in with my words. And I plan to share my verse for the new year with the older grandkids and encourage them to choose a verse for 2012 for themselves.

What about you? What were some of your favorite Christmas memories? 

And have you thought about focusing on a particular Bible verse in 2012?  If so, which one did you choose?

Have a wonderful week,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

 Photo © Mary May Larmoyeux

Making a bed for Baby Jesus

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Friday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

When our children were small, one of our favorite Christmas traditions was making a pine straw bed for baby Jesus (instead of pine straw, you could use pieces of hay, balls of cotton, etc.). We’d set up the Nativity with everything except the figure of Jesus. Near the Nativity we filled a small basket with straw.

Whenever family members did secret acts of kindness to honor Christ (such as making someone’s bed, taking out the trash, giving an elderly neighbor cookies, etc.), he/she would secretly place a piece of pine straw on the manger floor. Then, on Christmas Day, the figure of baby Jesus was placed on the bed that had been made as acts of worship.

Doing this helped us all remember the real reason for celebrating Christmas—the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Tomorrow night Pops and I will get out the Nativity set and decorate the Christmas tree. And, yes, we will have a small basket filled with pine straw. Several of our grandchildren are now old enough to understand secret acts of kindness. So, this year some new little hands will be helping to make baby Jesus’ bed.

(If your grandchildren live out of town, you may want to share this tradition with their parents and send a special basket for the straw.)

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/
 hoto © Mary May Larmoyeux

Let's make a salt dough Nativity set

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Friday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

A very long time ago I bought a handmade ceramic Nativity set. Every year when I unpack it, it feels like an old friend who has come back home. I remember long ago when our sons' small hands touched the figures and placed them in the Christmas-tree shaped manger. And I remember how they would secretly place pieces of pine straw in the manger, to fill Baby Jesus' bed on Christmas Day.

One of our now grown children made a simple wooden Nativity set when he was in elementary school. When I look at it today, I have to ask myself, "How could time go by so quickly?"

But one of my favorite Nativity sets was made this year by two of our grands. I saw it sitting in their kitchen windowsill when I went to see them last weekend (see picture). Their mom had helped them make it out of salt dough. You might want to make a Nativity like this with your own grandchildren.

When I googled "salt dough Nativity" I found a great article, "How to Make a Nativity Scene from Salt Dough." It even has tutorials.

Do you have a Nativity in your home that brings back special memories. Have you ever made a Nativity set yourself?

Salt Dough Recipe (from www.squidoo.com)

Blend 2 cups plain flour and 2 cups fine table salt in a bowl.

Mix 1 tbsp vegetable oil with 1 cup lukewarm water.

Add 1 tbsp wallpaper paste.

(The wallpaper paste is optional...you can also substitute it with white wood glue.)

Stir well.

Add liquid to dry ingredients, stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon (or use your hands) to form dough. Turn out the dough on to your work surface until it is smooth and pliable. The dough should be reasonably firm so that the models keep their shape ... and when you are done, get ready for play time!

Keep the salt dough covered in a plastic container or a plastic bag while you are working to prevent it from drying out. Salt dough can easily be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

Notes: If the dough appears to be dry, you can add a little water or if it sticks to your hands, add a little more flour. Also, you can use egg white or water to attach different parts to each other. Use a small brush to make it easier.

Roll tinfoil into balls or shapes as desired, cover with the salt dough and finish shaping. This will speed up baking/drying time and prevent shrinkage as well as big cracks in the salt dough models.

Have a great weekend,
Mary
Encouraging Women with Hearts for Their Homes (free e-zine)
The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart

© 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux.
Photo © 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux.

Shhhh, please don't tell the grandkids.

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Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Many years ago I taught school ... and I loved it. One year the PTA purchased some wonderful hardback books for the children; that were blank inside. The kids had a great time designing their covers and writing their stories!

Like these students, one of our granddaughters loves to write "books." She's only seven years old and her "books" are really short stories filled with lots of hand drawn pictures. Her last story had an "author page" where she printed her name and then said that she "rote this book." I loved it!

Well, here's my secret! (And, if you know our grandkids, please don't tell them.) Pops and I are going to give each of our grandchildren a blank hardback book as one of their Christmas presents. I discovered them on the Internet and thought that you might want to check them out for yourself. They are called Bare Books.

Do your grandkids like to write? Do you?

Have a great week,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart


© 2011 by Mary May Larmoyeux.All rights reserved.


© Cienpies Design / Illustrations / Dreamstime.com

The Scrawny Cedar Tree

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Tuesday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

A few years ago high winds caused a huge Hackberry Tree on the side of our house to split right down the middle. After the wood was hauled away, a scrawny Cedar Tree remained. It actually looked like half of a small Cedar Tree because half of it had been pressed against the Hackberry, which stunted its growth.

I wanted to cut down the struggling tree because it looked so pitiful, but Pops assured me that it would fill out over time. Sure enough, his prediction has proven true. The Cedar has now almost completely filled out. What once was bare now has new life.

Pops and I refer to the cedar as our “restoration tree." It’s a reminder that God makes all things new. In fact, restoration is at the heart of the gospel and is the message of Jesus Christ at Christmas (1 Timothy 1:15).

Your family may know the heartache of divorce. You may be separated from your grandchildren or other loved ones during the Christmas holidays. Or, you may have lost a family member this year and now feel their absence so deeply. I know it’s hard and hope that you will find comfort in Isaiah 43:19:

“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.”

Nothing is impossible with God. He is in the business of making all things new. If we look to Him when walking through our wilderness, we will find refreshing springs, hope, and the promise of a better tomorrow.

Hope:  the message of Jesus Christ. The message of Christmas! (Luke 2:10-12)

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect with Your Grandchild's Heart


© 2009 by Mary May Larmoyeux.All rights reserved.