ANother Quiz

Back when I was in Confirmation (25 years ago) we took a Christmas quiz. Many years later I found a copy of it on line and saved it in a file.

THis year I posted it on the church blog. You can find the quiz here and teh answers here.

Oh and here are the answers to the quiz from WonderCafe I posted earlier.

1. Mary to foretell the birth/announce the pregnancy; Joseph to foretell the birth and say it was OK to marry MAry anyway
2. MAry-Luke Joseph-Matthew
3. Luke
4. Matthew
5. Who knows?
6. who knows?
7. diddly
8. what donkey?
9. sheep by extension--at least Luke mentions shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.
10. MAtthew
11. Luke
12. what innkeeper?
13. Luke
14. Matthew
15. who?

ANd the extras I added:

1. Luke
2. MAtthew
3. The gospels don't tell us what kind of baby he was

Tooth Fairies Should be Organized

YEsterday morning Eldest came running in saying "Daddy daddy! My tooth fell out!"

Our first thought "Oh no, it fell out over night and is lost" but no, she had it in her hand. SO we set it in a safe place until bedtime, then in a ziplock and under the pillow it goes.

LAter last evening, it comes time for a tooth fairy visit. ANd neither of us have the proper change! Luckily I remember that there may be a loon at teh church so we scrape together $1 of loose change and I run over to make the switch.

ORganized, competent parents would likely have thought of such things before 9:30 right?????

Christmas Is... (For the Christmas Edition of the paper)

Christmas is carols and children. At Christmas time the child-like senses of wonder and acceptance are awakened in us. As we sing the carols and tell the story we are reminded of our childhood memories. The gifts and the foods bring out the child in all of us. The mystery of the stories (either Jesus or Santa) challenges us to move past adult rationalism. Christmas calls us to be child-like once again.

Christmas is waiting and hoping. When will Santa come? When can I open my presents? When will the baby be born? When will the world be better? When will things be right again? We wait and we wait. But we wait with hope. Christmas reminds us to be people of hopeful expectation. Christmas reminds us to hope for the future. Hope is born at Christmas, and so we wait for birth.

Christmas is chaos and calm. There is so much to fit into the month. Parties and concerts and shopping and baking and special church services. Oh my! Chaos is part of Christmas. But there is calm too. There is the peace of the Christmas snow sifting down. There is the silence of the frosty nights. There are both in our story too. The calm of the traditional vision of the manger is shattered by the chaos of a newborn’s cries and the violence of an oppressive world. Christmas comes in the midst of our lives with chaos and calmness.

Christmas is life changing. Some of the chaos of Christmas is because if we take Christmas and the story of the baby in the manger seriously Christmas is life-changing. Birth means that the life beforehand will die. Life will never be the same again, for parent, for child, for everybody associated with the child. At Christmas we mark not just the birth of a child but of a whole new world. And while we wait with hopeful expectation for that birth, we also wonder what will need to die so that the birthing process comes to full potential. Christmas is life and world changing.

Christmas is light in the darkness. Even in the chaos there is calm. Even in the fear of change there is hope. There is hope because Christmas reminds us of light in the darkest times. It is Christmas. The nights are long and cold in midwinter. But then we hear a tale of light, we hear that those who walk in times of darkness will have light shined on them. The world will be changed. New life will be born. There is light and there is hope.

That’s what Christmas is Charlie Brown.

WHat's it worth these days?

Yesterday eldest came home with a very loose front tooth.

Given that:
a) she is only 4.5 which seems early for teeth to be falling out;
b) she complained about it hurting; and
c) she told us it started hurting after she used her teeth to flip up the straw on her juice cup
we were a little concerned she had injured the tooth and made a dentist visit yesterday afternoon. Dentist took an X-ray and turns out that the front teeth are in fact coming in (and very fast since the X-ray in October didn't show them at all) and this tooth should fall out any day now.

Now this is right in keeping with the fact that her first teeth came in early and fast--at 3 months they just started sprouting like crazy. So it makes sense to have this happen early -- she is getting a molar early too, with no complaint about pain.

But the real qustion is: when the tooth fairy visits, what does a tooth go for these days???

Prologue for Christmas Eve (Based on John 1:1-5, Genesis 1:1-4)

(begin with all lights off except for cross, windows & rope lights [front of chancel] & Tree & icicles along side and back – read from front of platform)

In the Beginning was the WORD. And the word was? The word was God. And the word was with God. But the word was what?

The WORD was the catalyst of creation, all things were created through the word. But still the word was what?

Try again. In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and darkness covered the face of the deep. Then God spoke into the darkness saying “Let there be light!” and there was light. (crack/activate light stick – light sticks scattered throughout congregation will also be activated now)

There! There it is! The WORD was LIGHT! In the light was life for all and in the life was light for all. The Word was Light!!!!!

But the darkness remained. For God separated the Light from the darkness and said that it was good. But the darkness remains…

As the years fly by God’s people strive to be people of the word, people of the light. But just beyond the glow is the darkness. Always it seems like the darkness is trying to overtake the light. Empires rise and fall. Prophets and wise women speak out and are silenced. Still the WORD, the LIGHT, is there, shining.

At various times the light is hidden, the word seems silent (drape cloth over the light stick) but the light never goes away. For behold, the light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not, will not, and can not overcome it (uncover the light stick).

And so, all those who walk in times of great darkness still gather to have light shined upon them. And so we gather in search of the light, which shall be for all people, Glory to God in the highest! And on Earth Peace. (lights go on)

NOw Who Would I send this too......

Check this out!

A John The Baptist card for repentant types

A Christmas Quiz

ONe of the participants on WonderCafe posted this quiz in the forum. NO cheating--try it without the Bible in front of you.
According to Scripture (as opposed to common wisdom and carols):

1. Who was visited by an angel to foretell the birth?
2. In which Gospel did this angel appear?
3. Which of the gospel's tells the story of Jesus being born in a stable?
4. Which of the gospel's tells the story of the Magi or Kings?
5. How many Magi visited the baby?
6. What was their mode of transportation?
7. What does Mark's gospel tell about the first Christmas?
8. Which gospel tells about the donkey?
9. What animals are mentioned?
10. Which gospel tells about a star?
11. Which gospel tells about angels singing?
12. Did the innkeepers wife persuade him to give these travellers shelter?
13. Which gospel has Mary & Jospeh taking their baby to the temple to be dedicated?
14. Which gospel has them fleeing in haste to Egypt?
15. What did the littlest shepherd offer to the baby Jesus?

ANd here are 3 questions I added to his:

1. Which Gospel has Joseph and Mary living in Nazareth before the birth?
2. Which gospel mentions a house?
3. How fussy was the baby? HOw do we know?

A Christmas Medley (sorta kinda)

THis is hilarious:

Christmas Gift Remembered

Well actually it was my sister who got it but we all played with it. Especially tic tac toe and making music (which was hard since all the notes were the same length).

TO Aid in Your Procrastination....

Since I know you all need reasons to procrastinate. Besides, Elves and penguins, and treats--what more could you want?

Adventure Elf Help Oliver collect all the stolen loot and save Christmas.

Play this free game now!!