Fulfilled Gift- Advent 2

And though we wait and watch with HOPE-

there is something so amazing when the 

Time has Come.

The Lord said to me,
 “You have seen correctly,
 for I am watching 
to see that my word is fulfilled.”
Jeremiah 1:12

"and he went and lived
 in a town called Nazareth. 
So was fulfilled 
what was said through the prophets, 
that he would be called a Nazarene."
Matthew 2:23

We KNOW 
that the WORD 
has become flesh
and dwelt among us.
That is most certainly
GIFT.

Indescribable Gift- Advent 1

ADVENT ONE-

Thanks be to God

 for His 

indescribable GIFT.
2 Corinthians 9:15  (NIV)

Thank God for this gift, 
his gift. 
No language can 
praise it enough! (Message)

 Thanks be to God

 for his inexpressible gift! (RSV)

Art by Pat Maier- 
a perfect beginning to ADVENT.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

 First Grandson
1. Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home; 

all is safely gathered in, 

ere the winter storms begin. 

God our Maker doth provide 

for our wants to be supplied; 

come to God's own temple, come, 

raise the song of harvest home. 

 Faith-filled Friends

2. All the world is God's own field, 

fruit as praise to God we yield; 
wheat and tares together sown 

are to joy or sorrow grown; 

first the blade and then the ear, 

then the full corn shall appear; 

Lord of harvest, grant that we 

wholesome grain and pure may be.

 Time with daughters

3. For the Lord our God shall come, 

and shall take the harvest home; 

from the field shall in that day 

all offenses purge away, 

giving angels charge at last 

in the fire the tares to cast; 

but the fruitful ears to store 

in the garner evermore. 

Meier Baby on the way

4. Even so, Lord, quickly come, 

bring thy final harvest home; 

gather thou thy people in, 

free from sorrow, free from sin, 

there, forever purified, 

in thy presence to abide; 

come, with all thine angels, come, 

raise the glorious harvest home. 

Text: Henry Alford, 1810-1871
Music: George J. Elvey, 1816-1893 

Thanks be to God.

Now Thank We All Our God

1. Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
   Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
   Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
   With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

1. Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
   With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
   And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
   And guard us through all ills in this world, till the next!

1. All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
   The Son, and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven—
   The one eternal God, Whom earth and Heav’n adore;
   For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
   
   
   
   

   Martin Rinkart, c.1636

   tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1856

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

Oh Give thanks!

Reflecting on some songs of the season-

That have years of memories written in the singing.

Lyrics of the song - Give Thanks

Henry Smith Wrote the Lyrics to the Hymn Give Thanks

Give Thanks was written by Henry Smith.

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks unto the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given

Jesus Christ, His Son (Repeat)

And now let the weak say, "I am strong,"

Let the poor say, "I am rich," 

Because of what 

the Lord has done for us. (Repeat)

Give thanks

Give thanks (Repeat)

And the rich colors and textures of fall-

Stand as brilliant sentinels of thankful tribute.

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The Swan House- Atlanta

 Atlanta- Buckhead

The Swan House

 the real life story of the Inman family

and the setting for a historical fiction book- 
Swan-House

and the place of some filming 

for The HUNGER GAMES
Swan-House-Hunger Games

Front entrance
Swan House, traditionally known as one of the most 
recognized and photographed landmarks in Atlanta, 
is an elegant, classically styled mansion built in 1928 
for the Edward H. Inman family, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. 
The mansion, designed by famed Atlanta architect 
Philip Trammell Shutze,
 provides a glimpse into the lifestyle of this Atlanta family
 during the 1920s and 1930s.

some cars that take us back in time

Rear entrance

The distinctive staircase

 in the kitchen

Family dining space- breakfast room

Library- sitting room

 Dining Room

the iconic swan

 out to the front lawn

view from the circle window-
 maid's quarters

Wonder what stories have been seen from 
This Window
over the decades.

Georgia Aquarium- Atlanta

Something childlike happens

 on a trip to the Aquarium.

 You are quickly transported

 to the wonderment of an 8 year old.

Giant crabs, yellow-belly turtles, 

an albino alligator and a pirahna-

all speak to the creative spirit of God.

 And who doesn't love 
to watch penguins-?

on land- 

and their amazing speed underwater.

The "there-wordly" jellyfish 

and tentacled creatures.

 Starfish and anemones
and a crab or two

And the seahorse family.

And then there is BIG GUY-
a whale shark-
 scooping up lots of kelp feedings
Find out more about this wonderful place here:
Georgia Aquarium

Always good to be checking out the worlds 
close by but yet so different.