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Hello Dear Friends ~

Today is the start of Advent, as we begin preparing for the birth of Jesus.

Just a little something about the advent wreath and the candles around it.

The first of the candles lit will be purple, and the first candle stands for Hope.

This is a tradition we had in our family when the girls were living at home.   Pete would light the first candle, the second candle was lit by Kristin our oldest ~ the third candle was my candle, and the last candle was lit by our youngest Aly.

Pete would say the prayer for each candle lit.

Our advent wreath was made by my Dad ~ something to treasure always.

The Advent Wreath is a tradition related to Advent, the Church season immediately preceding Christmas. The Advent Wreath is a popular tradition among many Christians, Catholic and Protestant. It is often used in homes, churches, and schools.

The Advent wreath, first used as a Christian devotion in the Middle Ages, gets its design from the customs of pre-Christian Germanic and Scandinavian cultures, who used candles and greenery as symbols of light and life during the winter. The Advent Wreath is a circular evergreen wreath with four or five candles, three purple, one rose, and (if you use the five-candle type), one white candle for Christmas Day placed in the very center of the wreath. Some Christians use blue candles instead of purple.

The candles symbolize the light of Christ coming into the world. The evergreen symbolizes renewal, and the circular shape the completeness of God. The candle colors are derived from the traditional liturgical colors of Advent (purple and rose) and Christmas (white). Each candle is first lit on the appropriate Sunday of Advent, and then the candles may be lit each day as a part of the individual or family’s daily prayers

Advent Week One

Directions
Light the first purple candle

Prayer:
Stir up thy power, O Lord, and come,
that by thy protection we may be rescued
from the dangers that beset us through our sins;
and be a Redeemer to deliver us;
Who livest and reignest with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Have a wonderful week all.

Much love,

Rose

Good Morning Friends

Once again Pete & I looked at the office/TV room and agreed we needed to make a few changes.

After thinking – what am I was using the space for ~ (Extra room for guest to stay) ~ we chose to use this room for that purpose, and Pete’s office ~

TV is back in the Family Room ~

This ment moving thing around again.  Sometimes you don’t get it on your first try.  So what do we do??  We keep trying until we get it just the way we want it to be.  I say it’s a better look for the Office..

First take on the office – The couch looked good here, BUT – better in front of the windows especially since the TV is no longer in this space.

I love how it looks, and is better when our guests come to stay.  No furniture to be moved except the ottoman.

A few more pictures of the office space.

A better space for the desk – putting the desk here breaks up the big white wall.

Sweet little heart  ~ First one I made, and made me want to make more.

I will be redesigning my Etsy store after the Christmas holidays ~

Be sure to check out the New Redesigned store after Christmas.

http://www.muchloverose.com

Much love,

Rose

Good Morning Dear Friends ~

Today we look at gentleness of the spirit ~

Gentleness to me ~ listening to each other in a sweet tender way.

With all the messages going on Facebook and the sadness people are experiencing I think now is the time to become gentle, speak kindly, show compassion.

~ GENTLENESS ~

Gentleness is not being weak, as with meekness, gentleness is strength under control. It allows us to be tender, just think how big and vast and powerful God is, who is bigger than the universe, who transcends space and time way beyond our comprehension. Yet, He treats us with the utmost of tenderness and care. Knowing gentleness is trusting that God will take care of justice, thus we need to think correctly about who God is and who we are in Him. This understanding of His sovereignty, doctrine and control will move us from the hurriedness of life and the cruelty that goes with it to take the time with relationships, growth because we are at peace with God.

Gentleness allows us to be caring and nurturing to others. It helps us stay calm and not escalate problems or push people’s buttons! To build others up, by allowing them to grow. It places the other first, it is being selfless. As attracting people to you who could use a listening ear or help, at the very least to hear and the most important thing we can do for others is offering our friendship. When we are too full of pride, we cannot be gentle with others; we cannot be a friend, for all we will do is hurt them and push them away. We can look to Jesus who modeled ultimate gentleness and care. Being fully God He does not have to be gentle, yet He takes to time to nurture others even when they make mistakes and fail. He helps them up and puts them back together; He will do this with you too. But you have to allow Him to form you. This character must continue to function in a society that does not see its importance, care for perceived limitations or think it is weak. But when others need an ear to listen they do not go to the ones filled with pride they go to someone who is gentle! Will that be you?

KINDNESS

When you think of kindness, what comes to mind? An encouraging note sent by a friend? A caring shoulder to cry on? Or maybe your mom’s chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven? Whatever you think about, it most likely includes a warm fuzzy feeling. Kindness just does that. No wonder it’s a fruit of the Spirit. When we’re kind, others get to experience that warmth, and whether they realize it or not they’re experiencing some of God’s character.

God’s Kindness

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4-5)

How did the kindness of God appear? Through the life of Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest, most complete picture of kindness we’ll ever know. God saw a whole lot of hurt, brokenness and despair. He saw people with no hope of breaking free from pain and suffering. And so he sent his Son to the rescue. There wasn’t any logical reason for him to do that. No one deserved his kindness—we really brought the suffering on ourselves (see Romans 3:23). But thankfully, God didn’t treat us like we deserved.

Do you understand why we didn’t deserve God’s kindness? Titus 3:3 offers an explanation: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures … ” The word that really sticks out to me here is “enslaved.” That’s what sin does to us. Like a prisoner shackled and chained in the deepest, darkest dungeon, our disobedience—our desire to do things our own way rather than God’s—stood between us and freedom. We were deceived by the things the world said would make us happy—clothes, cars, popularity. And we were captives to the lusts of our flesh. But when we accepted the truth—that true life comes only through Christ—the chains were broken and we were set free.

God knew what we needed before we even asked for it. That’s kindness—the ability to recognize the needs of others and take steps to meet those needs. Kindness is understanding. It’s compassion.

I hope someone shares a little kindness with you today, and you share a little kindness with someone else.

Being kind is so simple.  Just a little smile may make someone who is sad ~ happy.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Much love,

Rose

Good Morning Friends ~

A few posts ago I shared with you the beautiful hydrangea I received from a dear friend.  I finally found the perfect spot for them.

I mixed faux white hydrangea with the pink dried hydrangea.  They look so good together.

A few more pictures of these beautiful flowers.

They sit on top of the wall unit in the Family Room.

A little history on my wall units ~

The doors on the front of the wall unit were made by my Dad about 65 yrs ago.  My parents had a fireplace in there home but,  after we were born my Dad decided to make the fireplace into a bookcase.  He didn’t want us to hurt ourselves if we fell near the fireplace.

After my Dad passed away I was gifted the bookcase.  We had an amazing carpenter make the wall unit using the original door to the bookcase/mantle.  I am so thrilled to have them in our home.

If you are wondering what the white cap is on the wall ~

It is a sprinkler system in case of a fire.  They are in every room in the condo.

Have a fantastic day.

Much love,

Rose

Happy Sunday Dear Friends ~

I will be sending you all the fruits of the Spirit, one by one in the next few weeks

I feel the first fruit we should read about is the fruit of “LOVE”

GOD IS LOVE

Now, why is it that the fruit of the Spirit is love? Because God is love (I John 4:8).

And what does that mean?

It is the very nature and being of God to delight in communicating Himself. God has no selfishness; God keeps nothing to Himself. God’s nature is to be always giving. You see it, in the sun and the moon and the stars, in every flower, in every bird in the air, in every fish in the sea. God communicates life to His creatures. And the angels around His throne, the seraphim and cherumbim who are flames of firewhere does their glory come from? It comes from God because He is love, and He imparts to them part of His brightness and His blessedness. And we, His redeemed children-God delights to pour His love into us. Why? Because, as I said, God keeps nothing for Himself. From eternity God had His only begotten Son, and the Father gave Him all things, and nothing that God had was kept back. “God is love.”

Isn’t it wonderful how much God loves us all.

This is so true how we find God in so many things, and if we really look we can see Him in each other.

Have the best day.

Much love,

Rose

My dear friends ~

If you are willing for Jesus Christ to live His resurrection life in and through you, you will bear spiritual fruit as naturally as a healthy vine will bear an abundance of fruit.

Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” You can be a great preacher, a Christian scholar, a deacon or elder, attend church meetings daily, live a clean, moral life, memorize hundreds of verses of Scripture, direct a church choir, and teach Sunday school, but if you are not bearing fruit in the sense that you are introducing others to Christ, you are not filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God.

I truly believe these words ~

Remember the fruits of the Spirit are:

Love

Joy

Peace

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

Until next Sunday I leave you with these 8 fruits.

I know one of them will pertain to you.

Have a beautiful week.

Much love,

Rose

Good Morning Friends ~

The one fruit I am beginning to know so well is the fruit of patience ~ These past few week have truly made me realize how being patient has brought me to a place of peace.

Peace is a good thing,  when you have peace you become calm,  becoming calm makes for a healthy body which I am truly hoping for.

Whatever the outcome I feel at peace.   Because of the fruit of patience.

~Thank you Holy Spirit ~

What Does ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ Mean?

When Christians speak of the work of the “Holy Spirit”, they are speaking about the operations of the Spirit of God in the material world we live in, and within us. But God the Holy Spirit isn’t here just to hang out, or to do a miracle for sport, or bliss someone out for an hour or so. The Spirit is there to cause things to happen in peoples’ lives that bring them more in tune with God’s purposes on earth (and beyond). Words like ‘result‘ or ‘outgrowth‘ help us little to envision this. When the Spirit starts changing someone, it shows as a growth in character, a change in their way of life that is good for the people they live among. They start actually being the person of love God calls us to be. This change in character and way of life breeds ‘fruit of the Spirit’, like the fruit grown by a tree can feed people and wildlife, and fuel the next generations. From ancient times to today, abundant fruit from an orchard is seen as cause for hope and celebration. Abundant spiritual fruit also breeds hope and is well worth celebrating.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Until next time ~

Much love,

Rose