Reinholt1

You are most welcome. I will say a prayer that day for your and your worship leaders as well as for those attending. I work as a chaplain in a hospital now. We are having a service on December 13 in the hospital and I am leading the special candlelight vigil at our infant gardens at the cemetery. (Infant loss families, during the holidays have their own special needs.) These services are very needed although they speak a message very different from the more popular "prosperity theology" messages that are so abundant these days. Life is not all "happy, happy, joy, joy" but if we speak to the suffering that people are experiencing in the moment, then as the scriptures promise us..."Joy (authentic joy) will come in the morning".

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer Vs Jack Frost Shrek The Halls Vs Charlie Brown Christmas Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July Vs How The Grinch Stole Christmas Little Drummer Boy Vs Frosty The Snowman

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer vs John Denver and The Muppets Ruldoph's Shiny New Year vs Shrek the Halls Ruldoph and Frosty's Christmas in July vs A Claymation Christmas Little Drummer Boy vs Winnie The Poo and Christmas Too Frosty the Snowman vs The Year Without a Santa Claus The Night Before Christmas vs How The Grinch Stole Christmas Santa Claus is Coming to Town vs Charlie Brown Christmas Jack Frost vs Olive-The Other Reindeer

Well, this is a funny place to have a liturgy discussion. If you are interested, there are preaching & liturgy email discussion groups where you can pick the brains of other worship leaders. I can recommend a couple to you if you'd like. I have done Blue Christmas/Longest Night services for many years now. They have always been well received, but not always well attended. Don't let that bother you. Depending on your area, 6 -12 people will be all you will have. But for those 6 to 12, you have done a great thing. Things that help...Don't be afraid of a slow pace, one punctuated with a gentle silence. The calm, peaceful safe place where thoughts and tears can express themselves. Simple services one with a simple action of remembrance (usually with candles) is very effective. If you are from a liturgical tradition, let the dark blues and purples of advent speak loudly, things feel very dark for some people right now. Acknowledge that darkness. Hope shines like a small light, glowing bright, guiding us from the other side. Avoid the organist I had a few years ago, who insisted that we were there to "cheer people up" and wanted more joyful christmas hymns sung and not the quieter "depressing" advent and Christmas hymns. (Oy vey was she in denial about the point of having such a service!) Let scripture speak to the feeling of loss and helplessness/hopelessness that some people are feeling. I remind people that the nativity of Jesus was not the joyful story our Christmas pageants portray....unwed pregnancy, homelessness, persecution and exile (and with it loss of job and home), murder/death of babies, selfish/self-centered politics and unfair taxes etc. And yet our God comes to us in human form and is with us in the midst of all this ....bringing COMFORT as well as joy. Comfort is the Good News at a Blue Christmas Service. Refreshments after the service are not usually well received. Lots of hugs and listening and an open offer for some 1:1 listening support whenever the worshiper feels they might need it is welcome. Yes there are alot of wonderful ideas around the internet....poetry, litanies, meditations, music suggestions etc. Don't be afraid to use them. Just remember that there is always "next year". A few things can be helpful as a "take home" item rather than for use in the service. For folks who are grieving, the poem "I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year." has been VERY popular with people in my parishes. It's not very theologically sound (for worship that is) but I defend it under "pastoral care". (I include it in a "thinking of you at Christmas" grief card I send out to family I know have lost a loved one during the year. That poem alone brings more people to my door, even if only for 5-10 minutes. It helps facilitate the healing. If you are interested in the grief cards, you can order them from Creative Communications, either individually or in a set of 5 cards to be used throughout the first year after a death. (Link below to the shepherd guides cards. Note this is the 'Protestant version' of the site. There is a 'Catholic version' of the site as well. Although many of the resources are exactly the same.) http://www.creativecommunications.com/searchbar.php?query=Shepherd+guide Hope this helps, at least to get you started. Happy to discuss further if you'd like. Blessings on your ministry Lisa

1- Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer vs 32- South Park Woodland Creature Christmas 2-Ruldoph Shiny New Year vs 31- Vegietales- The Toy That Saved Christmas 3- Ruldoph and Frosty's Christmas in July vs 30- Litle Drummer Boy II 4- The Little Drummer Boy vs 29- The Tangerine Bear 5-Frosty the Snowman vs 28- Emmett and Otter's Jugband Christmas 6- Twas The Night Before Christmas vs 27- Ice Age- A Mammoth Christmas 7- Santa Claus is Coming to Town vs 26-Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer 8-Jack Frost vs 25-Nestor- The Long Eared Christmas Donkey 9-Meiser Bros. Christmas vs 24- Olive- The Other Reindeer 10-A Charlie Brown Christmas vs 23- Frosty Returns 11- How the Grinch Stole Christmas vs 22- Merry Madagascar 12-A Chipmunk Christmas vs 21- Year Without a Santa Claus 13-Prep and Landing- 2009 vs 20-Whinnie the Pooh and Christmas Too 14-Prep and Landing- 2010- Secret Santa vs 19- A Claymation Christmas 15- Prep and Landing- 2011- Naughty and Nice vs 18- Shrek The Halls 16-A Special Sesame Street Christmas vs 17-John Denver and The Muppets

Disney Store for our family jammies too!

And the only reviewer gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I would definitely want at least 30% off for only 4 stars. I wonder if Amazon will make it a gold box deal for their Christmas in July sale???????: g_think: Thanks for posting! Just the giggle I needed today!

We still haven't finished voting on the the Christmas Movie champ!! And Gator still needs to post her next Hanukkah video!! I don't get it....Why are we rushing the holidays?!!? On this board no less!!!!!

The Santa Clause

Pop culture huh?!? Well have you seen aish.com's latest offering?? http://www.aish.com/h/c/mm/Chanukah_Rock_of_Ages.html Carry on Gator!

!חנוכה שמח Got anything more traditional in that video bag of yours?? I am a fan of the classics!

ummm.....errrrr.... ...'am supposed to be finishing/polishing touches for my sermon tomorrow morning....but I am taking one quick peruse around the internet Never know when I might have missed something!! The cookies will have to wait until after Christmas this year.....but I got 12 days to get them done!

Does the syrup keep that long after you open it....for a year? I would think it would mold or something??? Also, we dont have a GFS around here do you know where else I can get the name brand syrup? Thanks I'd look for someplace locally that does restaraunt supplies, they should carry the the name brand syrup. I had one person tell me that they knew the owner of a local convience store and they would buy the 2.5 gallon boxes of syrup from the owner. (Kind of a friend to friend, under the table type thing.) These boxes are made for small fountain type set ups. The syrup is heavy as heck so take someone with muscles (if you are not that strong.) They have a special attachment to connect to the fountain so the easiest way for the home user to use it is to cut the pouch in a corner and pour the syrup into a large drink container. Store it in the refridgerator. (Bottom shelf in my fridge is dedicated to the drink container. Get one with spout. (The kind of drink container you take for lemonade or ice tea at a family picnic) Then I just pour the syrup into the carbonated water as needed. The expiration date on the boxes is often short. But I have never had any trouble with mold or lack of taste or anyone getting sick. It's just sugar water....it will last if you refridgerate it. You may have to experiment to get the pop to taste the way you think it should. I find when I make Coke that I like it when I have the carbinated water about 1/4 inch BELOW the syrup line and then fill it with syrup from there. (The bottles are premarked to make measuring easy. But the line is base on SodaStream's syrups which have some artifical sweetner in them...hence less syrup.) You can experiment too. I have tried using snow cone syrup and it makes a decent red and grape pop. I have been meaning to boil up my own sugar water (6c sugar and 3 c water. stir constantly until it is at a rolling boil for 5 minutes....syrup will be clear and not gritty.) and then use the true lemon and true grapefruit to make my own lemon and grapefruit flavored soda. I think they will come out OK. Unsweetened kool-aid in the syrup should make a decent flavored soda as well. The tip about having a back up carbonator is a good one....they last a while but always seem to go empty at the most inconvenient times. (Like right before leaving for work.)

I had one for a few years now...have one of the earlier models (big and a little clunky) but it works great! I understand the concern with the initial cost..I was leery too. But It pays for itself very quickly. You can make plan soda water. If you add a squeeze of fresh lemon or a packet or true lemon you can make your own perrier knock off. I am not a big fan of the soda club mixes...at least the original ones were part sugar and part artificial sweetner. And I hate the taste of artificial sweetner. (I have not yet tried their new soda mixes...the ones that are all sugar. So they may be OK.) What I do is head to my local restaurant warehouse (GFS in my case) and I buy a 5 gallon box of name brand pop syrup. I cut open the pouch and pour it into two 2 1/2 gallon plastic drink dispensers. And I just tap what I need from the little spout. It lasts me almost a year. But I can have real coca-cola or sprite or whatever. And I can make it fresh in my kitchen as I need it. And you can control the amount of syrup you use. You can control how fizzy you want it to be too. (Because you pump the carbonation in...so you can use 3, 4 or 5 pumps.) You can't over carbonate (A danger I suspect)...it makes a rather rude noise as it blows out any extra air if you try to put too much carbonation in. A word to the wise....when they recommend carbonating plain water first and then adding the flavoring...THEY MEAN IT. (You can't recarbonate any flat soda either.) If you try to carbonate something with syrup in it....you will have a HUGE mess. (Like sticking a menthos into a two liter bottle of pop type mess.....) $53 is a great deal to jump into this if you have been thinking about it....I'd doubt that you'd find another deal this good. It usually runs about $100.

1- The Santa Clause (2010 Champ) vs Elf 2- Home Alone vs Polar Express vs Mickey's A Christmas Carol

The Santa Clause- 2010 Champ vs Christmas Vacation- 2009 Champ Die Hard vs Home Alone Polar Express vs Mickey's A Christmas Carol And for the first time in Tournament History A 4 Way Dance - Pick only 1 Winner It's a Wonderful Life vs Jingle All The Way vs Elf vs A Christmas Story- (2008 Champ)

huh...I woulda thought that a veterinarian's office would be using udder cream for a hand lotion..... Anyways....*MY* vet (and her tech) always enjoy a good bottle of scotch! Barring that....a really nice book to give to your veterinarian's office is a book called "Animal Rites" By Andrew Lindzey. It is a care of the sick book, like your priest/pastor would have, except it is for animals. Has all types and prayers and blessings, and yes, even a funeral rite for animals in all circumstances. Very helpful for all the things that happen in a vet's office. And very respectful for those that love animals.

Jingle All The Way vs Elf Miracle on 34th Street (1994) vs The Santa Clause Die Hard vs The Christmas Shoes Miracle on 34th Street vs Polar Express Mickey's A Christmas Carolvs Four Christmases Home Alonevs Surviving Christmas Christmas Vacation vs Last Holiday It's a Wonderful Lifevs A Christmas Story

All the trees are so pretty! TyreeJames' blue and and silver is very elegant. And I like Shugga's too....the small bulbs and glitter snowflakes really set it off. (Gotta enlarge the thumbshot to really appreciate that tree!)

WOW! Congratulations! And blessings to you in your new home! May it always be a place of comfort and joy to you and yours!

I *LOVE* your white tree....very pretty!

Here's our tree. My parents live in a condo so we have to do a smaller tree. Almost all the ornaments (99%) are handmade. Been making them for years. My favorite is Santa walking his reindeer. (You can see it in #3...just click on the picture to make it bigger.)

OK! I took the plunge and bought a Nook. (and I am sure there are many other new e-reader owners out there.) HELP!! How do I know the legitimate sites that sell ebooks?? I know Amazon and Barnes and Nobles does. (And yes, I know I can borrow from the library.) But I have looked over several sites in the last couple of days, and there seems to be a lot of pirated stuff out there. (And, of course I am also concerned about viruses etc.) Where can one go, besides Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and overdrive.com???? I want to load some of mom's favorite books on the Nook. And I want to do it legally.

It takes me several nights of a few hours too. Easily 20 -25 hours before I am done. But we have a ribbon or bow on just about every package. How do you insert a picture into the post? It asks for a URL but my photos are on my hard drive not online. Thanks