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A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others By Karen Ehman When it comes to hospitality, it doesn't matter what size your house is, how it's decorated, whether or not it's spotless, or what you cook or don't cook. The secret to making guests feel comfortable is more about the condition of your heart than the condition of your home. Ehman gives you valuable tips on how to decorate well within a budget, make the most of your space, be prepared for unexpected company and create delicious, simple dishes your guests will enjoy.

Steal Away: Devotions for Baseball Fans By Hugh Poland Hugh Poland blends America's greatest pastime with America's greatest strength: its spirituality. With grace and passion, Hugh shines light on the real soul of baseball by providing testimonies of its soldiers of the game. Drawing upon stories from current and former players and managers, including the famous and the unsung heroes, the author shares life's important lessons. Steal Away features Scripture, and great quotes from or stories about Don Zimmer, Orel Hershheiser, Tommy Henrich, Billy Martin, Red Barber, Sal Bando, the 1960 World Series Yankees, Joe DiMaggio, Roy Campanella, Curt Flood, Sammy Sosa's corking incident, John Smoltz, Roger "The Rocket" Clemens, Jackie Robinson, David Clyde, John Boccabella, Shirley Povich, the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Jackson and the Chicago "Black Sox," Buck O'Neill and the Negro League, Mickey Owen's dropped ball in the 1941 World Series, Mickey Mantle, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and many, many others.

101 Ways to Have a Christian Christmas By Brenda Verner For anyone who longs to experience the true spirit of Christmas, Brenda Verner, the Christian Christmas Lady, provides 101 ways to focus on Jesus this Christmas season. Her practical, creative tips include straightforward projects that focus the home on Christ, fun ways to create family traditions, and for the brave and ambitious, even ways to make an impact for Christ in the community. Easy-to-use tips are divided by category for easy reference. The book has a design-driven two-color interior and attractive packaging that makes it perfect for gift-giving.

Don't Forget to Prepare for the Guest Of Honour

 "Prepare for God's arrival!
Make the road straight and smooth,
   a highway fit for our God.
Fill in the valleys,
   level off the hills,
Smooth out the ruts,
   clear out the rocks.
Then God's bright glory will shine
   and everyone will see it.
   Yes. Just as God has said."
Isaiah 40:1-11 (The Message)

I have had the blessing of being an invited dinner guest in family homes all across North America and in South America and Asia. I have dined on bamboo mats carefully placed over compacted dirt floors; I have eaten in formal dining rooms whose walls graced with fine and expensive artwork. I have sat around kitchen tables, I've sat at picnic tables and I've stood around many campfires, carefully balancing a paper plate and a Styrofoam cup of juice. I have eaten prime rib with all the accompaniments and I have shared a hard boiled egg with a small bowl of rice between two people. More than once, I ate local delicacies that were foreign to my tongue in many ways. I have been both humbled and blessed by the kind hospitality offered, I have received each gift of friendship, and fellowship offered me with a very grateful heart.

Although my hosts' circumstances greatly varied, my hosts' shared two commonalities: preparation and a desire to bless me as their guest. In Northern Ontario, my hosts literally ploughed a road to their door and had snowmobiles laying in wait in case their Christmas guests needed alternative modes of transportation. In Thailand, my hostess rolled up her family bedding, storing it carefully in a corner then used the sleeping mats to form a makeshift table, carefully positioned under a single red paper streamer that was left over from a neighbour's wedding. Year after year, I have marveled at the charming and festive decor of a dear friend who truly loves the Christmas season and loves her friends and family even more.

One of my more memorable dining hosts was my own brother who invited my best friend and me to his bachelor suite for a gourmet meal of boxed macaroni and cheese, with an exotic touch of a can of tuna and frozen mixed vegetables mixed in. My brother was not known for his housekeeping skills and my friend and I braced ourselves for the worst. We were happily surprised that he made room for three people to sit around his table and he had actually washed the plates and cutlery with soap and water, rather than his usual quick rinse under the tap. Our beverages were served in fast-food cups but at least they were plastic cups and had been washed. We closed our eyes to the rest of the clutter; it was the thought that counted. No matter how simple or lavish the meal; each host carefully planned the meal and prepared their homes in anticipation of my arrival.

Although my own circumstances have made it difficult for me to prepare meals for my guests, I do what I can in order to bless them, even if it as simple as heading down to the local store to buy their favourite brand of soda. I dust and tidy up, scrub the bathroom as best I can and select music that I hope will be a blessing to play in the background. I make sure I am well rested in order that I can be an attentive and cheerful host and I greet them with open arms.

The month before Christmas is called "Advent" in churches that follow the liturgical year. The word 'advent' is derived from the Latin adventus and means 'a coming or arrival'. Advent might be defined as a season of preparatory anticipation. At the time of the Roman Empire adventus referred to the arrival of a person of dignity and great power and importance, such as a king. It is unfortunate that many evangelical churches do not celebrate the season of Advent as it provides the perfect opportunity for Christians to stop and consider what their lives were like before they became followers of Jesus and what their lives are like now because of all his blessings.

In the same manner in which we clean and prepare our homes in the anticipation of welcomed guests and family members this Christmas season, let us also prepare our hearts in anticipation of the Lord's coming. Christ, our most honoured and eagerly anticipated guest, desires to meet with us in a heart prepared for his arrival. So eager is he to meet with us that he offers to help us with our spiritual housecleaning, working with us; creating a resting place for Himself within our hearts.

I wrote a series of Advent devotionals for 2006 and I offer them to you as perhaps stepping stones on your own journey of 'preparing the way'. You can find the devotions beginning at http://psalm121.ca/archive2006.html#1127123 You will find other helpful resources at I Lift My Eyes Christmas domain, http://blessingsofchristmas.com/

@2008 Katherine Walden
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Christian Quotes on Advent, Christmas Eve and Christmas

Bethlehem's Cradle, Calvary's Cross

Bethlehem's Cradle, Calvary's Cross
Did Mary know the price each would cost?
Announced by the Angels, Rejected by men.
Gift of the ages, Heaven's Diadem.

Bethlehem's Cradle,Calvary's Cross,
A life just beginning. A life lost.
Christ in the manger, a gift of love,
Christ in the garden, sweating drops of blood.

Bethlehem's Cradle needed Calvary's Cross,
Together they would redeem the lost.
One not complete without the other,
Both were required,sin's debt to cover.

Christ of the Cradle, Christ of the Cross,
No longer a Baby, No longer on the Cross,
Over death victorious, forever free,
This is his legacy to you and to me.

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