from the angels:

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men
on whom his favor rests."

spa day

as part of my christmas present, momma and i went for massages, manicures and pedicures today. one word - FAB-U-LOUS!

a couple pics from the day: the cute little salon. complete with bamboo. some crazy, gritty purple stuff they smear all over your feet. the finished product (aren't the pretty?).

"wanna build a snowman with me?"

i made the mistake of asking my mother the above question, to which she said, "uh, no. it's cold out there."

however, being the creative one that she is, she decided we'd make a different kind of snowman. in fact, we'd make 5. miniature ones. inside.

only my mother.

the meadows family:
complete with snow scene.

left: momma, daddy and

chesapeake (our cat)

right: gordon, brandon and sarah.
notice my bros snowboards - i added that little touch. :-)
and yes, i know g and i don't have mouths -

i couldn't get them to stay on.

they actually turned out pretty darn cute. what do you think?

Merry Christmas from the Meadows Family!

more lyrics.

these are similar to the last, but much older.
read and refresh your soul.
pray this.

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

Frances Havergal; 1874

now go listen to chris tomlin's version of this song.

i really enjoy these lyrics.

something very simple and poetic about them.
as well as truthful.

(verses only seen here)
we stutter and we stammer till You say us
a symphony of chaos till You play us
phrases on the pages of unknown
‘til You read us into poetry and prose

we are kept and we are captive till You free us
vaguely unimagined ‘til You dream us
aimlessly unguided ‘til You lead us home

passed over and passed by until you claim us
orphaned and abandoned ‘til you name us
hidden and disclosed ‘til you expose you hearts

-healed; nichole nordeman

my fav line; "a symphony of chaos til You play us"

a symphony of chaos. like when you hear a symphony warming up before a show and all the instuments are playing their own thing. there's no music; just noise. i feel like that a lot.

thankfully there is One who makes beauty out of chaos.

the count is in . . .

27 inches!

check out the snow hanging over the eves of the house. wild.

this evening dad and i went on a walk. saw just about every mode of transportation: cross country skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles, 4- and 3-wheelers, snowborad and skis being pulled by trucks, sleds full of kids being pulled by parents. it was quite wonderful. in salisbury everyone would be locked indoors with 27 inches of snow. here, people are out and about in whatever way they can be. guess you get used to it living here.

baking and shoveling, shoveling and baking.
(the two things that have consumed my day)

momma and i hit the kitchen this afternoon

(since we were/are snowed in)

at the end of the day, here's what we have to show for ourselves:

sugar cookies (of course)

peppermint patties

cinnamon rolls

cranberry-apple chutney

on the other side of things and between food prep,

i shoveled our drive with daddy

good times had by all.

yes ladies and gentlemen . . .

we are under a BLIZZARD warning!!!

was only about a half inch this a.m. when i woke up.

6.5 inches so far . . . calling for up to 30 inches by tomorrow. whoa!

Merry Christmas to me!

psst . . . guess what . . .

i have a flickr site now.

www.flickr.com/photos/pinkhouser

if you care to view, enjoy!

derek

if you don't listen to derek webb, you should. i mean really listen. whether you agree 100% with him or not, he makes you think and challenges.

link to some of his lyrics: his latest project "mockingbird"
http://derekwebb.musiccitynetworks.com/index.htm?id=7013&inc=7&album_id=731

recommendations:
a new law
a king and a kingdom
rich young ruler

"if there were less of what seems like ease in our lives they would tell more for Christ and souls . . . we profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could."

--amy carmichal