Countdown to Christmas Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10 & 11

Wow sometimes life really makes you stop what you are doing and just experience it. I think that is what happened to me these last couple of days! Well I am back on track with our countdown so here we go!

Day 6: Luke 1:11-17

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

Day 7: Luke 1:18-25

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,

25 "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."

Day 8: Luke 1 26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God.

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Day 9: Matthew 1:18-21

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Day 10: Matthew 1:22-26

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,

25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Day 11: Luke 1:39-45

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,

40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Countdown to Christmas: Day 4 & Day 5

Day 4 comes to us from Jeremiah 33:14-16

14 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

Day 5 is from Luke 1:5-10

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

Peace be with you!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 3

Good morning my lovely readers! Today's verse comes from Isaiah 11:1-10

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 

2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 

7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 

9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 

10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples-of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Peace be with you!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 2

I hope everyone had a lovely 1st day of December. I got to spend it with my hubby, mom, and dad celebrating Thankgiving by going out to eat. It was delicious and nice to see them.  I love when the holidays are simple. Just spending time together catching up. To me that is far more memorable then spending lots of money on each other.

Today's verse comes from Isaiah 9:2-7. 

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 

3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 

4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 

Peace be with you!

Countdown to Christmas

I found on Pinterest a count down to Christmas that has a bible verse for each day.  This to me is so important because I think we are starting to lose what Christmas is really about.  I saw on the news the other day that the average family spends roughy $300 to $500 per child on Christmas! All I can say is wow on this one.  As someone with a child on the way my husband and I have discussed what we plan to do for future Christmases. All I can tell you is right now we know we won't be spending that much on this little one but focusing on what Christmas is really about.

Today's verse comes from John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

If you want to follow along feel free to check out this blog each day or check out Pinterest.

Peace be with you!

Quick Easy Smoothie

This mama-to-be is suffering with an ear infection.  I have been taking my NingXia Red, using Lavender Essential Oil and Purification Essential Oil blend on the outside of my ear and 2 drops of Mullein Garlic Oil in  my ear.  I am surviving and will make it to my Raw Foods 101 class tonight to teach the awesomeness of incorporating raw foods into your diet.  Actually, right now my ear doesn't feel too bad.  But it does slightly hurt to chew.  So I decided to whip up a quick smooth to fill me up and give me a nutrition boost to help get over this ear business.

Quick Easy Smoothie
1 Acai Smoothie Packet (you can find this in the freezer section of most health food stores)
1 - 1.5 Cups frozen Raspberries
1 fresh Banana
1.5 - 2 Cups Vanilla Flax Milk (feel free to sub with your favorite non-dairy milk)
Blend away and enjoy!

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

I love fall! It means I can bake with cinnamon and pumpkin purée and drink hot apple cider.  I decided to make a cookie that would be a good snack or even a quick breakfast last night and I must say these turned out pretty darn good! This recipe is gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and wheat free.  Feel free to substitute chocolate chips for dried fruit and the almonds for another nut you like or leave it out all together. 

3 Cups gluten free rolled oats
1 can puréed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup whole flax seeds

1/2 cup chopped raw almonds

1/3 cup enjoy life semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sweetener of choice (honey, coconut nectar, maple syrup, or org. Cane sugar)

Mix together use hands to form into patties and bake at 350 degrees for ~15 min or until slightly brown around edges.