Merry CHRISTmas!!!

"And she brought forth her first firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"

Luke 2: 7-14


"For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!
I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas as we remember the birth of our Savior and the purpose of His coming.

All the Greatest (John 3:16)

God ... the greatest Lover

So loved ... the greatest degree

The world ... the greatest number

That He gave ... the greatest act

His only Son ... the greatest gift

So that everyone ... the greatest invitation

Who believes ... the greatest simplicity

In Him ... the greatest person

Will not perish ... the greatest escape

But ... the greatest difference

Have ... the greatest certainty

Eternal life ... the greatest destiny

-J. Edwin Hortell

MERRY CHRISMAS!

Bri

My God is Love

1 John 4:9 "That the Love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him"

Can you believe how much God loves us?! It's absolutely incredible. His love was (and still is) so deep for us that He sent His one and only Son to come and save us from the punishment we deserved. So loving; so caring.

It just gives me the shivers to think how eternal, sovereign, infinite, immutable, holy and gracious His love is. I'm so thankful for His forgiveness.

I'm very notorious for posting songs on my blog :) SO I'm doing one this post as well :D And that song would be "O the deep, deep love of Jesus"
As you read the words, think of how His love has impacted your life and what a tremendous difference it's made.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Vast, unmeasured and boundless free!

Rolling as a might ocean in its fullness over me!

Underneath me, all around me, is the current, of Thy love

Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious home above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Spread His praise from shore to shore!

How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!

Now He watches o'er His loved ones,

Died to call them all His own

How for them He intercedeth,

Watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Love of every love the best

'Tis an ocean full of blessing

'Tis a haven giving rest!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

'Tis a heaven of heavens for me

And it lifts me up to glory,

For it lifts me up to Thee!

Bri

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!
Wow, another year has passed, and more memories have been made; camping, father/daughter banquet, the beach etc. and multiple others. I will cherish them forever :)

Dad, thank you for leading us kids in your care, love, and support. It means so much to us! Whether you're taking care of Lydia, helping Braden with school, assisting Benjamin with his scouts, or cheering for me when I'm on the court, you're there for us. We really appreciate that.
Also, I'm so thankful you teach us God's Word. It helps me increase my faith in our Creator.

Yes ........ and I also wanna thank you for your humorous side. You always know how to put smiles on our faces!! I enjoy joking around and laughing with you. It's something that I will continually be grateful for.

I love you Dad! I'm so glad God gave you to me for a father.

I'm so excited for the adventures that await us next year!

I love you!!!!!!!!

Bri

Find Rest my Soul

Verse 1

My soul finds rest in God alone

My Rock and my Salvation
A fortress strong against my foes

And I will not be shaken

Though lips may bless and hearts may curse

And lies like arrows pierce

I'll fix my heart on righteousness

I'll look to Him who hears me

Chorus
O Praise Him, Hallelujah

My Delight and my Reward

Everlasting never failing

My Redeemer my God

Verse 2

Find rest my soul in God alone

Amid the world's temptations

When evil seeks to take a hold

I'll cling to my Salvation
Though riches come and riches go

Don't set your heart upon them

The fields of hope in which I sow

Are harvested in heaven

Chorus

Verse 3

I'll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely

With every day pour out my soul

And He will prove His mercy

Though life is but a fleeting breath

A sigh to brief for measure

My King has crushed the curse of death

And I am His forever

Chorus

O Praise Him, O Praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
O Praise Him, O Praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

O Praise Him, O Praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

O Praise Him, Hallelujah

My Delight and my Reward

Everlasting never failing

My Redeemer my God

Psalm 62:1-2, 4-8, 10, 12

(1-2) "My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

(4-8) "They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse. My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

(10) Do not trust in oppression and do not vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set you heart upon them

(12) And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, for You recompense a man according to his work.

Is your soul resting in God alone? Is He your rock, salvation and fortress?

Bri

Christmas hat ...

Today when my little sister got home from school she showed me her Christmas 'lights' hat. How cute!!! I love you Lydi!!!!

Bri

Just an update

Well I haven't really given a lot of 'updates' on what's going on. So I'll do that now.
I finally went to get my drivers permit with my dad at the secretary of state. I was very happy :) Only I haven't driven with it yet ..... so I have no hours in. I should probably work on that, hopefully soon. The only thing that's a bit annoying is that I'm going to have to drive on the icy roads a lot if I want to drive this winter. :( Not really looking forward to that .... So you'll probably want to pray my family will keep their seat belts on as they go on a couple of wild roller coasters this winter lol

Also, I had an exam in biology today :/ fun, fun, fun ...... Ok, I guess it wasn't that hard, I'm just not the type of person that enjoys tests/exams/quizzes whatever you want to call them. So I had a lovely time studying this past week.

AND it's snowing!!!!! YAY!!! I was thrilled when I looked out the window this afternoon and saw little particles of snow falling through the air. I know not a lot of you are excited for the cold, snow etc. but I certainly am! I love waking up and looking outside my bedroom window and seeing a huge blanket of snow. :)

We also have our Christmas tree up and decorated. One of my favorites things to do with my family; Setting it up, putting the beads and ornaments (which is a lot! :) ) on while listening to Christmas music.

I still can't believe it's December!! This year has gone by incredibly fast!!!!! It feels like yesterday it was spring and we had no school :) lol

Hope you all have a splendid weekend!

Bri

My God wants me to be thankful

Ephesians 5:20 "Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father"

Since this is Thanksgiving weekend, I thought talking about what characteristic God wants from us would be cool. And that would be thankfulness.

Tonight's church service my pastor also talked about the thankfulness of the heart. The passage that he taught on was Luke 17:11-19 about the 10 lepers that Jesus healed; 10 physically and 1 spiritually. That one leper that came back to thank Jesus for healing him. I'm sure the other 9 were thankful that they were cured from the disease, but this one leper made a huge difference. That really stuck out to me tonight.
So often I will ask God for something; I might be praying for it for 10 months or a year. And when I get what I wanted, I forget to thank God. My pastor said that if we ask God for something, no matter how long we ask for it, our thankfulness back to Him should be everlasting. I don't thank God as much as I ask for things from Him.
There's so many things I could thank Him for in a couple seconds; 1) I have hands that I can use so I can type my blog :), 2) I can wake up in the morning and get out of bed, 3) I have parents who are there for me to say 'good morning' to me. (and 'I love you', my favorite :)) 4) A fridge for Thanksgiving left-overs. I could go on and on.

In everything give thanks!

Bri