Is God In the House? 12/14/2023

 Good Morning,

I am up early this fine morning and my mug is filled with Door County Mistletoe Mocha Coffee. It is time to write.

As we celebrate Christmas through the next 11 days, my thoughts go to the baby Jesus being born in a stable or manger because there were no rooms available for his family. Our Savior Emmanuel had nowhere to lay His head.

Matthew 22:37 And he said, "You shall love the lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and all your might.

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I wonder if the innkeeper had known that the baby to be born in his manger was God Himself, if he would have made room or given up his own bed for Jesus. 

I wonder what we would have done? I wonder what I would have done? There are times that my life is so busy and our home has so many Christmas decorations, I wonder if I make room for Jesus in my home, heart, and my Christmas? Or do we give Jesus what is left over in time, resources, and faith? Does He reside in a manger within us or a clean and pure heart. Is He first in our Christmas or is He an afterthought? 

Food to chew on today?

Marty

Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas 12/13/2023

 Good Morning,

This day began with prayer, will need more prayer and will end in prayer. I am sipping slowly on a cup of Door County Mistletoe Mocha Coffee and it is time to write. 

Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning,. That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them. 

I was checking out at the grocery store just s few days ago, when I noticed the many carts of alcohol being purchased. Now I am not heading down the path of prohibition. I am going to give a little advice to all of us. Christmas is a time of parties, dinners, and other social gatherings. It is at these gatherings one will find some adult beverages being consumed. Again I have nothing heavy handed to say on drinking.

I do caution that getting drunk repeatedly in the name of a good time might be evidence that you have a drinking problem. Do a simple budget sheet and see how much you spend on drinks. If it is as much as a week of groceries, it might be that you have a problem. 

I recall a friend of mine from childhood who when asked what he would like for Christmas, he would reply "For my dad to be sober" .

Some of the best gifts are ones when you take something away. Stop drinking or swearing at your family and see if this isn't a great Christmas. How about not gambling away the bread money? Bring that paycheck home instead of losing it to the casino. How can we look at our kids when their presents went up our nose or into our arm? 

The best Christmas present might just be what you take away and give up.

Love to all,

Marty

Coffee In A Christmas Mug 12/12/2023

 Good Morning,

My day started very early this morning. I will be on the road with a coworker this morning. I always enjoy our time when we work together. I will be bringing a Thermos bottle filled with Door County Jingle Bell Java Coffee to share and also keep us awake.

I Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain, faith. hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I have said over the years that the one person I know who decorates for Christmas to the extreme is my wife Rene. Everywhere you look in our home is a Christmas theme. I mean everywhere! Sitting next to me is a coffee mug and it is decorated for Christmas. 

The day after Thanksgiving Rene starts transforming our home into a Christmas display. The usual coffee mugs are stored away and they will return at the end of January. 

You can't help but catch Christmas fever if you live here. Rene loves to wrap Christmas presents and she doesn't moan about receiving a gift either. So if you were to visit us during the Christmas season you would really see her heart on display. She has the heart of Christmas. 

The heart of Christmas also has the Spirit of Christmas within. Faith, hope, and love goes into all she does at Christmas. So as I close out the blog for the day. I pray that those who read this will catch the fever of a God centered and God honoring Christmas of Faith, Hope and Love. I raise my cup to my wife! These three attributes bring Peace and Joy to our home.

Marty

Favorite Christmas Gift 12/11/2023

 Good Morning,

The day began with a hot cup of Door County Candy Cane Coffee and it is time to write.

I have so many fond memories of Christmas Past  and I could make a list of gifts that I have been given over time that made my heart feel special and light. 

Proverbs 11:25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. 

One memory I recall goes back to 1979 and our daughter was just one year old at Christmas. By this time she was moving about pretty well and jabbering even better. We had a modest Christmas and most of it revolved around our toddler and family. We had  an end table and it had a candy dish filled with Hershey Kisses. The candy was accessible to the little lady. The lesson was to have her ask for things and not just to take them.  They were wrapped in holiday colors. I said that our daughter was jabbering a pretty good amount of words at this time, which in reality only her mom understood. I was a foreigner to toddler gibberish. But I could understand the "Wee Ones heart. She never bothered that table without asking for a chocolate first. If the answer was no, she accepted the answer with a pouty lip, but left the candy alone. This particular Christmas day our child reached into the dish and took two chocolate candies into her hand. She crawled over to me and then sat on the floor. I picked her up thinking she wanted me to unwrap a chocolate for her. Being the easy going dad and that it was Christmas I obliged her simple plan and there wasn't any scolding.  But that was not the plan. I gave her the chocolate and she proceeded to try and put it in my mouth. I was simply known as Da Da then and she would say Da Da and try to give me the chocolate. I let her place it into my mouth and she smiled and handed me the second one. I unwrapped it and she popped that one into her own little mouth. I can still see that smile. 

Every year since then when I purchase some candy for Christmas I recall the first gift our daughter gave to me and the pureness of the thought. I bet you can't figure out what candy I purchase?

God bless,

Marty 

Don't Get Lost In The Forest Of Christmas 12/10/2023

 Good Morning,

The sky is gloomy as I sit down to write. The sun is taking it's sweet time rising this morning. I have a hot cup of Door County Highlander Grog Coffee at my side and it is time to write. 

Photo Credit Max McCoy

Making plans for Christmas is now full speed ahead and I just want to share a thought or two on making those plans. We can get very caught up in the "Forest Of Christmas' that we can lose sight of what is important. There are work parties to attend, church gatherings, last minute presents to buy, food to purchase, decorations to be put in place and then you can add family photo appointments, cookies to bake and more items than I can list. 

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. 

I have hunted some very thick woodlands in Wisconsin and Michigan in my life. And there were times when during the middle of the day I was in such thick forests that it seemed that daytime was closer to nightfall at 11:am then the actual mid morning. The trees just seemed to block out the light. 

We can get caught up in the Forest of Christmas and then later wonder, "Did I celebrate Christmas". Friends, we need to be careful not to let the world interfere with what is really important at Christmas. Look at your to do list for Christmas. Look it over closely. Set the calendar  next to your list. If the two combined together make you sigh in despair and you see nothing but rushing around ahead of you, you are already lost in the world's Christmas Forest and not one of true meaning. Family time is most important, yet families can have so many intertwined families that Christmas and getting everywhere becomes a hassle and the joy is lost in the forest. Be careful not to grow a Christmas Forest where you are so tired that Christmas becomes a chore. Pick and choose the obligations that need to take place. 

I have decided to not attend a work Christmas party. I love my coworkers , but attending the party would require a total travel time of 4 to five hours, an overnight stay and time away from getting our own personal Christmas things done. My employer knows how to throw a party, but on my list of to dos, it just had to be cut. The forest was getting too thick

It is ok to cut a few things out of the forest just to make time for the more important things. So make this Christmas a time to Celebrate the birth of Jesus, give some gifts and take some other things away. 

God bless,

Marty

Wow No Power! 12/9/2023

 Good Morning,

I believe there is only one thing that tastes better than that first cup of Door County Jingle Bell Java and that is the second cup. It is time to write.

Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord , O my soul and never forget all His benefits. 

Early around 1:30 am this morning our electricity went into the off position. I am not sure what caused the power outage. I was sound asleep when it occurred, but was awakened by the sound of our generator starting up. It is a little loud while running. We are blessed to have an automatic source of electricity from a generator attached to our home. A few seconds after the power goes out the generator starts up and supplies power to our home. It does not power up everything, but covers a couple lights, refrigerators, freezer, furnace, garage door and most of all the outlet to the coffee maker. There is still a little power source left over to assist a neighbor if needed. 

A few years ago we started saving some money and actually skipped a vacation and a couple other items that year so we could afford to have this generator installed. It has been worth the effort. 

The outage did not last that long and for the two of us there was no inconvenience. I doubt if any of our neighbors were in peril from the cold last night either. 

While I was sitting in our kitchen looking at basically nothing, I thought about those people who experience outages and shortages every day. My thoughts went to a global prayer for those who have no water, power, heat, shelter, and food. I humbly counted our blessings and became very grateful for what God has given us. I say we saved money to purchase a generator, but really it was God who gave us two good jobs at the time. It was His money, and it is His generator. 

Today is a day to be grateful for all of our blessings and let God know just how thankful we are. All of our blessings are never permanent and can be lost in one tornado, fire or flood. 

Marty

Making The Dip For A Party 12/8/2023

 Good Morning,

Door County Jingle Bell Java Coffee is steaming in the mug next to me and it is time to write. 

Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. 

Tonight my wife Rene and I will be attending a Christmas get together. We asked what we could bring and we were asked to bring some fresh fruit. Rene helped me to decide what we would bring  that could be somewhat festive. So last night I made a bowl of dried strawberry dip. It will be accompanied by fresh strawberries that can be dipped into the mixture. It was so funny when my wife came into the kitchen to survey the mess I had made. I cook and she cleans up the mess. I hadn't really made too much of a mess, which is not always the case. I was placing the final touches on this sweet and aromatic dip. Rene let me know three times just how good the kitchen smelled. I knew then and there that it was a hint for her to lick the mixer beaters when I was finished. I handed Rene her prize and I was told that she couldn't wait for the next day, when she would dip a couple strawberries into the concoction. I asked her if she hung around the kitchen as a kid waiting for her mother to hand out cookie dough samples. There was a big affirmative grin on her face. 

My point for today is this. Sometimes you just have to be a kid again and relive memories of old. I say go for it. There will never be another December 8th 2023 so go ahead and lick the beaters. Share some samples with the kids or grandkids. Take time to enjoy life!

Marty