33 years, December 31, 1977....Praise to the Lord!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near; praise him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth, shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been granted in what he ordaineth? Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with his love he befriend thee. Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging, who, when the elements madly around thee are raging, biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace, Whirlwinds and waters assuaging. Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding, who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding, sheddeth his light, chaseth the horrors of night, saints with his mercy surrounding. Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him! All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him. Let the amen sound from his people again, gladly for all we adore him.

---

Words: Joachim Neander (1650-1680), 1680 trans. Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878), 1863;

Music: Lobe den Herren (also known as Praxis pietatis) (Stralsung Gesangbuch, 1665)

Grandmama Sally's Candied Grapefruit Peels

Cut grapefruit peels into strips.

Cover with cold water. Bring slowly to boil.

Remove from heat and drain well.

Repeat this proces, boiling the peels in five waters in all. Drain well each time.

Make a simple syrup allowing 1/4 cup water and

1/2 cup sugar to the peel of 1 grapefruit.

May Add red or green food coloring to the syrup for Christmas.

Add the peel and boil until all the syrup is absorbed.

Cool the peel and roll in sugar.

Spread out to dry.

Enjoy!!

You are invited to join

TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

for our annual

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Monday evening, December 20, 2010

7PM

3251 Greendale Road

Cahaba Heights

Vestavia Hills, Alabama 35243

Refreshments afterwards

The Lessons and Carols program intertwines Bible readings with traditional Advent and Christmas music, helping us enter more fully, liturgically and experientially, into the story of the coming of the Son of God into human history in human flesh to redeem us from the curse of sin and death. It evolved out of historic pre-Christmas celebrations and was first celebrated in its present format in the late nineteenth century at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge. www.trinity-pres.net

Advent Season is here....

The Christian season of Advent begins 4 Sundays before Christmas Day. It is a period of longing, expectation, and preparation for celebration of the coming of Christ to earth and anticipation of His second coming. I made my advent wreath today. We will prepare! Come thou long expected Jesus!

Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;

from our fears and sins release us: let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art,

dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart!

Joy to those who long to see thee, Dayspring from on high appear;

come thou promised Rod of Jesse, of thy birth we long to hear!

O'er the hills the angels singing new, glad tidings of a birth

Go to him, your praises bringing; Christ the Lord has come to earth.

Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end;

by his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.

leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;

this the everlasting wonder. Christ was born the Lord of all.

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,

born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone;

by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne!

Buddy and Bryson liked Mr. Scarecrow!

We had a bluebird in the house!

James of Jerusalem 23 October NT

James of Jerusalem is referred to in the New Testament as the brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

He was for many years the leader of the Christian congregation in Jerusalem, and is generally supposed to be the author of the Epistle of James, although the Epistle itself does not state this explicitly.

James is mentioned briefly in connection with Jesus' visit to Nazareth (M 13:55; P 6:3).

We are told that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him (J 7:2-5), and from this, and from references in early Christian writers, it is inferred that James was not a disciple of the Lord until after the Resurrection.

Paul, listing appearances of the Risen Lord (1 Cor 15:3-8), includes an appearance to James.

Peter, about to leave Jerusalem after escaping from Herod, leaves a message for James and the Apostles (A 12:17).

When a council meets at Jerusalem to consider what rules Gentile Christians should be required to keep, James formulates the final consensus (A 15:13-21).

Paul speaks of going to Jerusalem three years after his conversion and conferring there with Peter and James (G 1:18-19), and speaks again of a later visit (perhaps the one described in A 15) on which Peter, James, and John, "the pillars," placed their stamp of approval on the mission to the Gentiles (G 2:9).

A few verses later (G 2:11-14), he says that messengers from James coming to Antioch discouraged Jewish Christians there from eating with Gentile Christians. (If this is refers to the same event as A 15:1-2, then Paul takes a step back chronologically in his narration at G 2:11, which is not improbable, since he is dictating and mentioning arguments and events that count as evidence for his side as they occur to him.)

On his last recorded visit to Jerusalem, Paul visits James (others are present, but no other names are given) and speaks of his ministry to the Gentiles (A 21:18).

Outside the New Testament, James is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, who calls him "the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ," and reports that he was much respected even by the Pharisees for his piety and strict observance of the Law, but that his enemies took advantage of an interval between Roman governors in 62 AD to have him put to death. His death is also reported by the second-century Christian writer Hegesippus.

Numerous references in early Christian documents show the esteem in which he was held in the early Church.

There appear to be at least three persons named James mentioned in the New Testament, and possibly as many as eight.

written by James Kiefer

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies...easy to make and DEEElicious

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1egg

1 t. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the peanut butter, sugar, egg and baking soda in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cokie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown but still soft to the touch. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 2 dozen

Sunset over Catalina Island

JeffCo Tribute to the Governor....a big sucess

Governor Haley Barbour gave tribute to Governor Bob Riley and wished Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, Dr. Robert Bentley (center) well in the November election.

1stBirthdayParty

Nicodemus was a religious leader among the Jews in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. He is mentioned only in the Gospel of John, where he appears three times. In John 3, he speaks privately with Jesus. In John 7, he is present at a meeting of Jewish leaders who are considering how to silence Jesus, and he says, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" To this, others reply, "Are you from Galilee, too?" In John 19, Nicodemus joins withJoseph of Arimathaea in giving an honorable burial to the body of Jesus. The best-known of these passages is John 3, in which Jesus tells Nicodemus: "In order for a man to see (enter) the Kingdom of God, he must be born anew (or born from above), born of water and of the Spirit." Most Christians have understood this as a reference to Holy Baptism, but others suppose the water to be amniotic fluid, and take the reference to "water and the Spirit" as contrasting natural with spiritual birth. The dialog between Jesus and Nicodemus is given in the form of three speeches by Nicodemus and three replies by Jesus. Since ancient manuscripts have no quotation marks, it is not certain whether Jesus' third reply extends to the end of verse 21, or whether it ends earlier, perhaps as early as the end of verse 12, with the remaining verses to the end of verse 21 being a meditation by the Evangelist. Either way, these verses (including the famous John 3:16) affirm that God sent His Son into the world to bring light and salvation. Prayer O God, who led the learned scholar and judge Nicodemus to seek for wisdom from the mouth of your Son Jesus Christ, give to all persons, both scholars and others, minds that are open and hearts that are ready to hear the good news of salvation, not rejecting out of hand what seems strange or unfamiliar in it, but carefully studying to understand it; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever. written by James Kiefer w-annotations by Irene Rible and E. Barsabe

Eastern Orthodox Cross Chrismon Ornament...

Cross-stitching Chrismon Ornaments

It has been a long time since I attempted to cross-stitch. I just completed my first piece for our church Chrismon ornaments project.....I like it! I feel a new hobby coming on!!

Republican Women of the South Welcome JeffCo DA Brandon Falls

Please join Republican Women of the South

next Wednesday, June 23, 2010

10:30 AM Coffee

11:00 AM Program

Noon Lunch

($17.00, reservation required, candouglas@bellsouth.net)

Vestavia Country Club

Invite your neighbors to come meet our guest speaker, Jefferson County District Attorney, Brandon Falls

Brandon K. Falls was appointed by Governor Bob Riley to the position of District Attorney, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division, on September 1, 2008. He has been employed with the District Attorney's Office since October 1997 and has served as a Deputy District Attorney in Circuit Court, District Court and Screening Divisions. He became a Division Supervisor in January 2005 and was assigned to the DA's Office at Juvenile Court. Upon leaving the Juvenile Court assignment, Mr. Falls supervised deputy DA's in the Circuit Court Division.

Mr. Falls has been responsible for hiring, training and supervising all law clerks who work part time in our office. He also coordinated extern and intern positions with various law schools so students could receive school credit for their time spent in the DA's Office. He initiated the program to instruct attorneys on legal and trial issues essential to prosecution and has lectured on topics including case analysis, cross-examination, rules of evidence and sentencing laws. He has served as a member of the interview committee which interviews and recommends applicants for positions of Deputy District Attorney.

Brandon graduated from the University of Alabama in 1994 and received his Juris Doctor in May of 1997 from the University of Alabama School of Law. He has since served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cumberland School of Law and has been a faculty instructor for the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and the National College of District Attorneys. He has lectured at the University of Alabama School of Law, the APOSTC Law Enforcement Academy at Tuscaloosa, the Birmingham Police Academy and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. He is a member of the Alabama Bar Association, Birmingham Bar Association, the Alabama District Attorneys Association and National District Attorneys Association.

Mr. Falls is dedicated to serving the citizens of Jefferson County through prosecution of criminals and supporting all victims of crime in every way possible. He and his office are available to answer any questions citizens may have regarding the criminal justice process.

Jefferson County Republican Primary vote count...

You can get the Jefferson County election night summary report here:

Mansions of the Lord

Mr. FV answers questions from Mr. Anti-FV...

Mr. FV answers some questions from Mr. Anti-FV here. A conversation worth listening to; it lasts about an hour. Get a cup of coffee, sit back, listen and learn.

Mother's Day Flowers from Gilbert, Stacy and Bryson