FR TONY UPDATE
ADVENT: WEEK ONE (continued)
THINKING OUTSIDE THE CHRISTMAS BOX
FR TONY UPDATE:
Fr. Tony continues to do well. It's nice to be back in a place where there's not much to report, unlike the frantic updates from the weeks prior.
So far this week:
- Wounds continue to heal nicely
- Appetite is getting better and better (good thing, as we have to put 20lbs back on the man!)
- Tony's bloggin' again
- Working on getting another edition of LEAVEN put together
- Audio Sermons sent to out of state parish
- The "search" continues for new parish
- Tony still aiming to be back in the saddle Dec. 16th (y'all be there)
- Continue to feel truly blessed by all the kind and caring individuals who have stuck through this horror with us, cheered us on from near and far, remained understanding through the occasional stress induced rants and raves of this clergy spouse, prayed without ceasing, and provided much needed TLC and understanding.
ADVENT: DAILY MEDITATION
Romans 13:11-14
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers. (v. 11b)
This Advent Season many lives are consumed by illness, poverty, depression, abuse or isolation are desperately in need of hope. Hope for being surrounded by a caring community who will offer love and support. But most of all, hope that this life is not all there is - that there is a better world waiting for all who have put their trust in God's gift of salvation.
Each day that passes brings us one step closer to finally receiving all that has been promised to us. Even in our brokenness, we know that one day all sorrow, sadness, emptiness and sickness will be over. These bodies and minds that are so weak now will be restored to full health, and joy will return. That's a hope to hold onto!
God of all hope, help us to hold on to the promise of your salvation this Advent Season. Amen.
THINKING OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS BOX
LOOKING TO BUY AMERICAN MADE FOR CHRISTMAS?
FUTURE HEIRLOOMS: Amish Made
We are very proud to be able to offer our customers quality, handcrafted, Amish made crafts. We only offer items that we believe will give you years of pleasure and last for generations to come. Each piece is individually made, the way it used to be.
Great gifts that look like they'll stand up to the test of time, and maybe inspire a some imagination.
FAT BRAIN TOYS
While great toys are made in EVERY country, you still can't beat the safety and quality of "American Made"! While this is very much a work in progress, Fat Brain Toys is identifying all the products in our catalog that are manufactured right here in the USA. We carry several hundred American made toys, games, and gifts.
LOOKING FOR GREEN IDEAS?
Green Christmas: Tips for an Eco-Friendly Holiday
Yes, the holidays draw out the best in most of us each year. But they also bring what seems like an environmentalist's worst nightmare: tons of extra garbage, millions of chopped-down trees, and megawatts of flashing lights. With a little tweaking, however, everything from holiday gift-giving to light-stringing can celebrate the environment, too. Here's how:
a) Recycle that gift wrap and packaging:
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's day, Americans throw away a million extra tons [900,000 metric tons] of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging.
b) Get the REAL thing:
Nearly all of the trees sold at seasonal Christmas-tree lots are grown on tree farms. So forests aren't hurt by choosing a cut tree. On the other hand, artificial trees, consume significant energy and petroleum-based materials during their manufacture. Oh, and don't forget all the recycling possibilities of a live tree. And remember, planting a rooted Christmas tree in your garden helps offset CO2 emissions! Best of all, if you're going to keep a true Advent Season and wait to set up and decorate your tree close to the FIRST day of Christmas, you can pick up trees around town for about $5.00!
c) Light up your Merry Christmas life with new LEDs:
The newest energy-saving stars on the holiday scene are Christmas lights made with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. If everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in a month. LEDs release little heat, and they last about 200,000 hours. In the unlikely event that one does burn out, the rest of the lights keep on glowing.
a) Recycle that gift wrap and packaging:
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's day, Americans throw away a million extra tons [900,000 metric tons] of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging.
b) Get the REAL thing:
Nearly all of the trees sold at seasonal Christmas-tree lots are grown on tree farms. So forests aren't hurt by choosing a cut tree. On the other hand, artificial trees, consume significant energy and petroleum-based materials during their manufacture. Oh, and don't forget all the recycling possibilities of a live tree. And remember, planting a rooted Christmas tree in your garden helps offset CO2 emissions! Best of all, if you're going to keep a true Advent Season and wait to set up and decorate your tree close to the FIRST day of Christmas, you can pick up trees around town for about $5.00!
c) Light up your Merry Christmas life with new LEDs:
The newest energy-saving stars on the holiday scene are Christmas lights made with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. If everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in a month. LEDs release little heat, and they last about 200,000 hours. In the unlikely event that one does burn out, the rest of the lights keep on glowing.
d) Paper or Plastic? Neither, thank you.
Just as it's good to take your own bags to the grocery store, you can do the same while Christmas shopping. If you're concerned about someone thinking you may be shoplifting... simply clip your receipts to the outside of the bags with binder clips.
e) Wrap with creativity:
Instead of buying your paper, get creative with what you have around the house. Wrap presents in posters, decorated grocery-store bags or pages from glossy magazines. Pick up end rolls of newsprint paper from the local Newspaper, and jazz it up with some crayons or sketches. Or put a small present in a beautiful scarf and "make the wrapping part of the gift," says Jennifer Hattam, lifestyle editor for Sierra magazine.
d) GIVE THE GIFT OF ZERO (This is very cool!)
Start a new holiday tradition - give the gift of Zero. Whether you travel or ship gifts this season, The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero climate program can help you calculate and offset your carbon emissions by planting native trees and restoring forests. Long after most gifts are forgotten, your trees will live on. The Gift of Zero is a renewable way to be part of the solution to climate change. Here are a few ways to make a gift on behalf of yourself or in the name of friends and family.
1) Log onto our carbon zero calculator and measure your footprint. Make your gift a tribute to someone you love.
2) Support sustainable shopping this season - online with Gaiam or in stores with a North Face Gift Card. Your donations help the Fund restore critical habitat by planting trees.
3) Travel Light: With a small donation to the Fund via Travelocity or Delta, you can zero out the carbon emissions of your travel home for the holidays.
4) Go Virtual: Log onto the iVillage forest and help the Fund and Universal plant real trees that will help restore those harvested during the holidays.
With your support, we can address the most pressing environmental issue of this century and protect America’s land and water legacy for future generations.
Just as it's good to take your own bags to the grocery store, you can do the same while Christmas shopping. If you're concerned about someone thinking you may be shoplifting... simply clip your receipts to the outside of the bags with binder clips.
e) Wrap with creativity:
Instead of buying your paper, get creative with what you have around the house. Wrap presents in posters, decorated grocery-store bags or pages from glossy magazines. Pick up end rolls of newsprint paper from the local Newspaper, and jazz it up with some crayons or sketches. Or put a small present in a beautiful scarf and "make the wrapping part of the gift," says Jennifer Hattam, lifestyle editor for Sierra magazine.
d) GIVE THE GIFT OF ZERO (This is very cool!)
Start a new holiday tradition - give the gift of Zero. Whether you travel or ship gifts this season, The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero climate program can help you calculate and offset your carbon emissions by planting native trees and restoring forests. Long after most gifts are forgotten, your trees will live on. The Gift of Zero is a renewable way to be part of the solution to climate change. Here are a few ways to make a gift on behalf of yourself or in the name of friends and family.
1) Log onto our carbon zero calculator and measure your footprint. Make your gift a tribute to someone you love.
2) Support sustainable shopping this season - online with Gaiam or in stores with a North Face Gift Card. Your donations help the Fund restore critical habitat by planting trees.
3) Travel Light: With a small donation to the Fund via Travelocity or Delta, you can zero out the carbon emissions of your travel home for the holidays.
4) Go Virtual: Log onto the iVillage forest and help the Fund and Universal plant real trees that will help restore those harvested during the holidays.
With your support, we can address the most pressing environmental issue of this century and protect America’s land and water legacy for future generations.
CHRISTMAS IDEAS WITH A BRITISH FLAIR
As I missed the deadline (Stirring Up Sunday- 1st Sunday in Advent), I've been on the hunt for a good Dundee Cake for our Tony. I'd tried to establish a tradition of baking them myself, but with the recent months' obligations..... well... it just didn't happen. So, I turned to the internet and found a Bakery that just might fit the bill!
House of Douglas Bakery Cosby, TN
"We bake everything from scratch," says David Waddell, who owns the bakery with his wife, Linda. "people tell us that they come here because they miss the taste of freshly-prepared 'real' foods."
Have placed an order for their shortbread and a Dundee Cake. Will let you know how well they did.
WOLFERMAN'S Shawnee Mission, Kansas
"Wolferman's has been a proud purveyor of specialty foods for over 100 years. Louis Wolferman founded what would become the nation's premiere specialty foods company in 1888, with the opening of Wolferman's corner grocery store in Kansas City, Missouri. He adopted the slogan "Good Things to Eat" and insisted on only the finest products with the best possible ingredients for his customers."
I found out about Wolferman's when we received their mail order catalog. How we got on their mailing list is a mystery to me. They have the most mouth watering looking Scones, English Muffins (all sorts of flavors), Crumpets, Breakfast Breads, etc. How I never ran across them is beyond me, but am hoping to give them a try. This vendor might be great to have on hand when looking for something a bit different to give during the 12 Days of Christmas.
WILLIAM'S PORK
"William's Pork Bangers have made it to David Rosengarden's Best Breakfast sausages list. This is our second time William's products have made David Rosengarten's best of products. First with our Back Bacon, and now with all four of our British Style Sausages."
Why mail order Pork, you may be asking? Well, having now lived with a Brit for well over a decade, I've heard more then a few times about how much better British bacon is. This has recently been confirmed by our Britt, who also seems to drool at the sound of the words "real bacon".
Looks like you can get high quality pork products from William's: Bangers, Irish Bacon, British Back Bacon, and much more. Hmmm.... guess we'll have to give this one a try as well.
House of Douglas Bakery Cosby, TN
"We bake everything from scratch," says David Waddell, who owns the bakery with his wife, Linda. "people tell us that they come here because they miss the taste of freshly-prepared 'real' foods."
Have placed an order for their shortbread and a Dundee Cake. Will let you know how well they did.
WOLFERMAN'S Shawnee Mission, Kansas
"Wolferman's has been a proud purveyor of specialty foods for over 100 years. Louis Wolferman founded what would become the nation's premiere specialty foods company in 1888, with the opening of Wolferman's corner grocery store in Kansas City, Missouri. He adopted the slogan "Good Things to Eat" and insisted on only the finest products with the best possible ingredients for his customers."
I found out about Wolferman's when we received their mail order catalog. How we got on their mailing list is a mystery to me. They have the most mouth watering looking Scones, English Muffins (all sorts of flavors), Crumpets, Breakfast Breads, etc. How I never ran across them is beyond me, but am hoping to give them a try. This vendor might be great to have on hand when looking for something a bit different to give during the 12 Days of Christmas.
WILLIAM'S PORK
"William's Pork Bangers have made it to David Rosengarden's Best Breakfast sausages list. This is our second time William's products have made David Rosengarten's best of products. First with our Back Bacon, and now with all four of our British Style Sausages."
Why mail order Pork, you may be asking? Well, having now lived with a Brit for well over a decade, I've heard more then a few times about how much better British bacon is. This has recently been confirmed by our Britt, who also seems to drool at the sound of the words "real bacon".
Looks like you can get high quality pork products from William's: Bangers, Irish Bacon, British Back Bacon, and much more. Hmmm.... guess we'll have to give this one a try as well.
