Advent {Day 19}: THIS is “Church”

In the New Testament of the Bible, the book of Acts talks about the first church and how it was defined by community.
True community is what makes the church Church--> Doing life together!

Our family is memorizing Acts 2:42-47. To be honest, my husband and 3-year-old were and I hear it so often it's in my head. I want to purposely memorize this with them in an attempt to live out what those 1st "devoted" followers of Christ knew to do so naturally.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We are so blessed to be apart of true community through our Sunday school class, Journey, at Central Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, AR.

Our families are learning what it means to devote themselves to the apostles' teachings.

We are already fellowshiping and eating together on a regular basis.

And we are waiting in eager anticipation of many wonders and miraculous signs to be done through us.

We are growing closer together as the body of Christ and we are meeting needs as we see them {having everything in common}.

Many of us would sell our possessions and goods to give to anyone in need and that desire is growing rapidly.

We continue to meet together at our Church and of course more eating with one another in homes with glad and sincere hearts.

We praise God and want to be adding to our number daily with those being saved {not swap'n sheep}!!!

Do you know the Christ that bonds people in community like this? If not, MESSAGE ME! I'd love to introduce you!
If you do know Christ, do you have a community of believers to do life with?

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party
Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge 
Advent {Day 7}: Sprinkle Joy @ Home
Advent {Day 8}: UpCycle Gift Wrap
Advent {Day 9}: Sugar Cookies (Gift Ideas Series)
Advent {Day 10}: Snack Mix (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 11}: Relentless Christmas Party
Advent {Day 12}: eBook for ANY Woman! (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 13}: A Rock'n Angel Tree Gift
Advent {Day 14}: Packing with Littles
Advent {Day 15}: Cubbie's Christmas Party
Advent {Day 16}: Donner DooDoo (Gift Ideas Series)
Advent {Day 17}: Donner DooDoo (PICTORIAL)
Advent {Day 18}: RACKing

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Advent {Day 18}: RACKing

Replace Santa...give in secret. This should be a concept for Christian's year-round!
Wanted: Santa ClausRandom Acts of Christmas Kindness

We've used several of these ideas but aren't going to tell you which because it's a secret ;o)
Recommended Sites for RACKing ideas :

http://lillightomine.zeekeeinteractive.com/tyfoon/dnld/p54d668aa41d1c05b4e/FINALllomideas.pdf

http://kidsonthegrand.com/2011/11/29/reclaiming-christmas-spririt-rack-someone/#axzz1go8M8na4

http://pillowthought.blogspot.com/2011/11/random-acts-of-christmas-kindness.html

http://xmasfun.com/RandomActsOfKindness.aspx

http://afaithfulwalk.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/random-acts-of-christmas-kindness-rack/

Have you added RACKing to your Advent season? Share some of your fun ideas...if you wanna ;o)

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party
Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge 
Advent {Day 7}: Sprinkle Joy @ Home
Advent {Day 8}: UpCycle Gift Wrap
Advent {Day 9}: Sugar Cookies (Gift Ideas Series)
Advent {Day 10}: Snack Mix (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 11}: Relentless Christmas Party
Advent {Day 12}: eBook for ANY Woman! (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 13}: A Rock'n Angel Tree Gift
Advent {Day 14}: Packing with Littles
Advent {Day 15}: Cubbie's Christmas Party
Advent {Day 16}: Donner DooDoo (Gift Ideas Series)
Advent {Day 17}: Donner DooDoo (PICTORIAL)

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Advent {Day 15}: Cubbie’s Christmas Party

Last night I skipped out on our youth serves {where I normally serve} to hang out with my oldest daughter in her Awana Cubbie class for their "Happy Birthday Jesus" Party!!!

They started out the night by practicing their song for Sunday's Christmas fellowship. "Ring the Bells on Christmas"

Then they played in the gym for their regular Cubbie game time. RUN!

Then they headed back to their room and heard the story of Jesus' birthday. They retold the story using their felt board characters and made a craft- "Baby Jesus" in a manger.

After knowing about Whose birthday we were celebrating we began the party with some cheese pizza. {oops, I forgot and already fed my kiddo dinner}

Guess who didn't eat any pizza and only chug-a-lugged her drink before dessert because her slacker mamma forgot they were eating at the party and fed her dinner before the party???

Then they decorated their cupcakes for Jesus' birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" and chowed down on some goodies!

{She was intense with this frosting...refused to get more and was determined to spread this miniscule amount over then entire top of the cupcake--->cut little weirdo!}

GREAT NIGHT! I so enjoyed spending time with my baby and her friends. Watching her interact with all her friends. Getting to know all of her friends and teacher a little better!

What fun ways are you teaching your child about Whose Birthday we are celebrating this time of year?

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party
Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge 
Advent {Day 7}: Sprinkle Joy @ Home
Advent {Day 8}: UpCycle Gift Wrap
Advent {Day 9}: Sugar Cookies (Gift Ideas Series)
Advent {Day 10}: Snack Mix (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 11}: Relentless Christmas Party
Advent {Day 12}: eBook for ANY Woman! (Gift Idea Series)
Advent {Day 13}: A Rock'n Angel Tree Gift
Advent {Day 14}: Packing with Littles

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Advent {Day 9}: Sugar Cookies (Gift Ideas Series)

Today I want to focus on Teachers! School teachers, Sunday school teachers, nursery workers, daycare workers, AWANA teachers, dance teachers, coaches, etc.
hands holding apple by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

SPOILER ALERT! Teacher's every where are just as ready as your children, if not more so, for Christmas break! Yep. It's true. They have worked so hard teaching out little ones and they are looking forward to a tiny break. I appreciate all that they do every week. They are reliable. And they aiding me by assisting in my education of my child. A great way to thank them for all their hard work is with a meaningful gift!

Wanna know How-To Decorating Cans? Click over HERE for step by step instructions.

Filling Cans

Shaped Cookies:

  1. Make any shape cookies you enjoy (smaller than 3" around)
  2. Place desired tissue paper inside
  3. Add cookies
  4. Place bow on top of the lid or printable tag (click lid tag STAR for free printable

These people in our lives love getting gifts {as simple as they may be} just to feel appreciated. Wouldn't you? Homemade adds that special touch as well.

Who make your life  easier by serving you? How are you going to show you're thankful for them this season?

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party
Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge 
Advent {Day 7}: Sprinkle Joy @ Home
Advent {Day 8}: UpCycle Gift Wrap

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Advent {Day 6}: The Fridge

I know this is not your typical Advent day but it's something that needs to be done in "a time of expectant waiting" of  and "preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

Cleaning out and Organizing your refrigerator in precautionary measure that needs to happen in anticipation of the celebratory gifts that need to be stored and/or it's leftovers. As you are cleaning don't forget to Thanks God for all that He has provided!

If your fridge is a disaster right now that's fine! The majority of homes in America are. Here is how I suggest starting the cleaning process:

  1. Take EVERYTHING out placing then on an empty counter
  2. Organize as you pull things out: meats, veggies, fruits, cheeses, entries, trash/expired, condiments, drinks, etc.
  3. Wipe them all down as you pull them out so they won't have that fridge gunk on the bottom when you go to put them back in your clean fridge

Now that you have a nothing but the sticky piles, puddles and dried on yukies Start with your drawers:

  1. Pull all your drawers out
  2. Wash them inside and out with hot water and multi-purpose cleaner over at your sink 
    {or in a bathtub for less splatter clean up or if you have limited counter space}
  3. Let the drawers air dry on a giant bath towel {or over the edge of you tub} while you work on the shelves, trays, and walls
    {you can always hand dry the rest of the way before re-inserting}

Now that those are drying work on the nasty inside:

  1. grab a bow of HOT water, multi-purpose cleaner, dishcloth/spung, and maybe even an old used toothbrush {for the OCD}
  2. spray everything: each shelf, trays in the door, and wall {extra coat for the piles, puddles, and yukies}
  3. start scrubbing from back to front and from the top down {this will help you end up with one giant pile of ... yeah at the end.
  4. Make sure to rinse your dishcloth or spung often keeping the dishcloth warm/hot so it will steam off that cold blah that been growing for a while

WA-LA! Just like new...well, hopefully ;o)

Now here's the fun part...putting things back in an organized manner. WHY?

  1. To help yourself keep it organized {especially with the rapid amount of things that will be coming in this season}
  2. You, your kids and your spouse will know the general area to find things
  3. You'll know when things need to be thrown out!

Hopefully you've got items sorted and wiped down already, if not, do it now. Now that you think you are about to place everything back in, there's one more thing that needs to become a habit when putting ANYTHING into your fridge:

  1. Have a "Throw It Out" rule about how long things can stay in your fridge {mine is ~1  month depending on the item, and the printed expiration date for those that have it}
  2. Label containers with what it contains and the date it was made/stored on the side of the container {easily visible}
    {I like to keep a roll of masking tape and a fun colored pin in the drawer next to the fridge for colorful, handy labeling}
  3. OR Label using the the "TRASH IT" date--> look at the calendar and label the date it needs to be thrown away
    {we usually eat our's before then}
    {*side note: I like to label veggies on top of their lid so can quickly see them when looking down into the drawer}

After everything is sorted, clean and labeled your going to have to decide where the most convenient place is for your most used items OR the best fit:

  1. Some fridge, like mine, already have labeled drawers: "meat", "fruit/vegetable", and "cheese". Use them for that.
  2. This might not work for everybody because you may have way more cheese and meat than the labeled drawers allow. If that's the case and it bothers you to have the wrong labels...relabel if you want.
    {see how having them labeled lets you quickly see what you have and by putting even the veggies in containers into the drawer, you've saved yourself the shelf space}
  3. Place condiments that fit into the door {tallest to shortest}{side note *I like to keep my stick butter in the door so it's closer to room temp when I decide to back since that's the only thing I use if for}
  4. Store other items in the logical space they will fit in. Most fridges have adjustable shelves and trays so move them around and see what works for you.
  5. Large items like milk, juice, or 2 leader bottles fit the best on the top shelf or bottom door tray for us.
  6. Smaller items like eggs can fit under drawers or on shorter shelves.
  7. Make sure to put milk product IN the fridge on a shelf, not in the door for safer temperatures!

How to get rid of left overs:

  1. Leftover lunches! {we do this most days: makes for fast prep!}
  2. Let you Kids choose their meal {let them be creative by making odd combinations-->rice, hotdog, and yogurt}
  3. Use them to help you decide what's for dinner {add a side or entre is easier than making an entire meal}
  4. Snacks
  5. Host more guests for meal times!

I hope these tricks we try to use help you keep that refrigerator rotating in and out yummy food this season!
Have any suggestions to add? Please share in the comment section!

To read more Rothacher's Advent Days click--->
Advent {Day 1}: Cookie Swap

Advent {Day 2}: Dizzie Izzie's
Advent {Day 3}: Giving Christmas Away
Advent {Day 4}: Homemade Gifts
Advent {Day 5}: HIPPY Christmas Party

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