here we have candles with numbers on the side, perfect for this!

The Advent Candle
Each day during Advent find a few quiet moments with your family when you can light the candle, read the little thought for the day, and say the short prayer together.
Response:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
December 1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created the sun, the moon, the stars and all the plants and animals. R.
December 2
God then created man and woman. He trusted them to take care of his creation and follow his ways but they let him down. R.
December 3
As men and women multiplied, so did their sinfulness. There were some good people, and one of them, Noah, was told by God to build an ark on dry land to save himself and all living things from a flood which was to come. R.
December 4
Noah did as God told him and built the ark. The great flood came but Noah and his family and all the animals which they had taken into the ark were safe. They did not drown and when the waters subsided they left the ark and populated the world again. R.
December 5
Many hundreds of years later, there lived a descendant of Noah called Abraham. Abraham obeyed God when he was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac. At the last moment God stopped him harming Isaac. In return for Abraham's obedience, God promised his that his family would increase and spread. From his line a Savior would come for all people. R.
December 6
When Isaac was grown up, Abraham sent out a servant to find a wife for him. The servant met a young woman at a spring; she drew water for him and for his camels. Her name was Rebekah and she became Isaac's wife. R.
December 7
Isaac and Rebekah had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Once, while Jacob was asleep, he saw in a dream a ladder set upon earth and reaching all the way to heaven. The angels of God were going up and down it. And he heard the voice of God promising to give him the land on which he lay and to send the Redeemer of the world through his family. R.
December 8
Jacob had twelve sons but he liked Joseph best of all. The rest of the brothers became envious of Joseph and tried to get rid of him. They sold him to merchants who were passing by and told their father that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. The merchants took Joseph with them to Egypt. R.
December 9
Joseph did well in Egypt and eventually become an important advisor to the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh. Meanwhile, many of his people and their families came to live in Egypt and settled there. A long time after Joseph died, when a new Pharaoh was in power, an order went out that all male sons of the Hebrews (Joseph's people) had to be killed. One such baby, Moses, was rescued from death by being found in the bulrushes by the king's daughter, who took him in and looked after him. R.
December 10
When Moses grew up he left Egypt, but whilst looking after sheep, he saw a bush on fire and from the middle of it he heard the voice of God telling him to return to Egypt and deliver his people from slavery. So Moses went back to Egypt and led his people out through the wilderness and the Red Sea. When they reached a mountain called Sinai, Moses spent time alone with God and then proclaimed the Ten Commandments. R.
December 11
Moses then led his people further through the wilderness. They got very thirsty and began to grumble about Moses, forgetting that God had promised to be with them always. God told Moses to strike a certain rock to find water, he did this and water came pouring out. The people were saved from dying of thirst. R.
December 12
For a very long time Moses continued to lead his people on through the wilderness and also through countries full of fruit. All the time they were looking for the promised land and a pillar of cloud guided them all the way. R.
December 13
As Moses and his people drew near to the promised land, the Lord showed it to Moses from the top of a mountain. Moses died before he came down from that mountain and so he never set foot in the promised land, although he had indeed taken his people all the way from slavery in Egypt to the very borders of where they were to settle. He had done what God had asked of him. R.
December 14
The people of Israel arrived at the promised land but when they came to the city of Jericho they could not enter it because it was fortified by strong walls and the people living there would not let them in. Joshua, the new leader, told the priests to carry the ark of the covenant which contained the Ten Commandments of God at the head of a procession around the walls. They blew trumpets and all the people shouted, and the walls came tumbling down. The people of Israel entered Jericho as God had promised. R.
December 15
The people divided the land amongst their twelve tribes (each tribe descended from one of Jacob's sons) and they elected kings. One of them, King Saul, was disobedient to God and God sent his prophet Samuel to name a new king. Samuel chose David, a young shepherd boy. R.
December 16
When Saul died, David became king and ruled successfully for many years. During his time he moved his court to Jerusalem. It was here that he decided that after he died, his son, Solomon was to be king. It is believed that many of the Psalms which we read in the Old Testament are from this time. R.
December 17
Solomon ruled with great wisdom and prudence. Under his leadership the people of Israel grew very prosperous and successful. Solomon built the first Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem but in spite of this, God's people became forgetful of God and all his goodness to them. R.
December 18
The people of God grew self-centered and greedy. They forgot that God had promised to send them a Savior and many of them lost their faith. God sent many prophets to warn his people about the dangers of the way in which they were living. Sometimes the people took notice, but very often they ignored what the prophets said to them and continued to ignore God. R.
December 19
Many, many years later, a young girl, Mary, was living in the little town of Nazareth. She was to marry Joseph a local carpenter. Both Mary and Joseph were very good people. They both listened to God and tried to do all that he asked of them. An angel came to Mary and told her that she was to give birth to a son whose name was to be Jesus. He was the Son of God. Mary said, "Let it be done to me according to your word." R.
December 20
The angel had told Mary that her cousin, Elizabeth, was also expecting a baby. This was a surprise because Elizabeth was quite old but it was a sign that God is all-powerful. Mary went to see Elizabeth, and together they were able to share the great events that were happening to them. They praised God. R.
December 21
Elizabeth gave birth to a son whose name was John. He was to prepare his people for the arrival of their Savior. John was the last of the prophets. When he was grown up he went to the river Jordan where he preached to the people and invited them to say sorry to God for the past and to begin again by being baptized. R.
December 22
When the time came for Mary to have her baby, an official decree had been issued by the government which said that everyone had to return to their own city to register. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem. R.
December 23
Bethlehem was known as the city of David after King David and it was very overcrowded with visitors who had come to be registered. Mary and Joseph couldn't find anywhere to stay and they had to shelter for the night in a stable behind an inn. R.
December 24
During that first night in the stable Mary gave birth to her son. This son was Jesus, the Savior, who had been promised by God to his people throughout their history for so many years. Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Jesus came for everybody in the world. God sent us his Son to show us exactly how he wants us to live each day. R.
© Liguori PublicationsExcerpt from Advent - A Quality Storecupboard
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

http://www.catholic.org/clife/advent/index.php?id=4

with tears streaming down my face

Lt. Colonel William Arthur Bamford
(May 25, 1909 - November 28,2006)

Late Tuesday morning, November 28th, all of Heaven celebrated. God's precious saint Lt. Colonel Wm. Arthur Bamford had arrived Home. While requiring several months of care in the skilled nursing unit of Waterford Glen, Wall, NJ, he had often expressed his longings to reunite with his wife, Eleanor, to see Jesus, to go Home. On Tuesday morning, shortly after beginning hospice care, he journeyed in the blink of an eye from the ministering presence of his corps officer Major Jeffery Bassett in his skilled nursing room into the rejoicing, welcoming presence of his beloved Eleanor and Jesus Himself in Glory.

Wm. Arthur, a third-generation salvationist, was born to Army officers John and Sarah (Roberts) Bamford in Stockport, England. The family moved to America a year later, and Sarah died soon after. Captain John Bamford later married Lieutenant Beatrice Barry, who became a loving mother to Arthur. Arthur experienced corps life in several cities in West Virginia, western and northeast Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio while growing up. He wrote of his life as a young salvationist, "When ten years old, I was converted in Steubenville, OH, and began to live for Jesus. I desired to be useful in the Army, and my mother and father were ready to give me every little duty I could possibly do to help me grow." He learned to play cornet, experienced his corps cadet training as "the greatest opportunity in my life because I was able to study the Bible and had greater chances to take part in meetings", and prayed with and encouraged customers on his War Cry routes. During his late teenage years, he was employed as his parents' corps assistant in Williamsport, PA. Consecrating his life to God and the Army at a 1928 young people's council, he entered the Trailblazers session of cadets at the New York training college from the Williamsport corps in 1929.

Arthur was commissioned a cadet sergeant and appointed to the training college staff in 1930. At age 95 he referred to his 1930 introduction to fellow staff member Captain Eleanor Breen as "the beginning of the romance of a lifetime". He next served as assistant in Carbondale, PA, corps officer in Danville, PA, social relief officer at Scranton DHQ, and corps officer in Altoona, PA, where Eleanor joined him after their September 1932 marriage. As a result of the Great Depression, they lived sacrificially in Altoona, going without full salary throughout their five-year stay and, during their first winter, working tirelessly with God's guidance to provide meals to nearly 100 men daily, men who sought food from the Army after streaming from freight trains on which they traveled in search of jobs. Ministry followed at the Lock Haven, PA corps, from which they sent 10 candidates to training college, and the Wilkes-Barre, PA corps. Divisional appointments, held from 1946-1970, included divisional and young people's secretary for Southern New England; divisional secretary and general secretary for Southeast Pennsylvania; and divisional commander forNorthern New England, where a new DHQ building was erected; Northern New Jersey, where increases in lay personnel and local officer ranks were significant, 10 Army properties were acquired, and Prudential Life Insurance Company's Newarker of the Week Award was received; and Western New York. Transferring to Eastern THQ in 1970, Arthur was public relations and service extension secretary before becoming the East's last staff secretary in 1971.

Retiring in 1973, the Bamfords settled in Portland, ME, where the Colonel served as corps sergeant major. He also served as Manchester, CT interim corps officer in 1974. Moving to Asbury Park, NJ in 1985, the Bamfords became loyal soldiers of the Asbury Park corps and, in 1989, became residents of the Retired Officers' Residence. Arthur suffered the crushing loss of his beloved Eleanor, his wife for nearly 69 years, in August 2001. He moved to Waterford Glen, Wall, NJ, in 2003.

The Colonel's living was an expression of Jesus. It was holy living. It revealed a gentleman who, in keeping with his chosen Scripture verse, sought to acknowledge God in all his ways. He was an example of Christian leadership. As a corps officer, he was a hard worker and "a true shepherdof the flock that was put in his care". He taught, worked with, loved, andvisited his people, sharing the joys and sorrows of their daily lives. As a staff officer, he upheld high standards, demonstrated integrity, and served with thoughtful kindness. A comrade wrote of him, "As busy as he was, no one who entered his office seeking counsel felt like an intruder orsensed that his concerns could not be laid aside long enough for him to listen and give sympathetic understanding." As a retired officer, he continued to intercede at God's throne on behalf of others. A gracious encourager, he thanked and assured others and, until the last months of hislife, regularly telephoned others, some weekly, to listen, to support, and to remind of his prayers. One who benefitted from his active concern in retirement states, "When Colonel Bamford was in your corner, you weresupported!" He also modelled godly living in his own home while caring forthose he loved most.

Viewing will be on Friday, December 1, 9:30-10:15 a.m. at Ely Funeral Home, 3316 Rte. 33, Neptune, NJ 07753 (Phone: (732) 775-0567). A funeral will follow at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Lt. Colonel William A. Bamford will lead; Commissioner Robert Rightmire will speak. Major Jeffery T.Bassett will conduct a committal service at 2 p.m. at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, NY. The Colonel leaves his sons, Lt. Colonel William A., Donald J. of Red Hook, NY, and W. Dean of Burlington, MA; 12 grandchildren, including Southern New England Divisional Commander Major William A. Bamford III; 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Family Address: Lt. Colonel William A. Bamford, 4534 Fern Dr., Bradenton, FL 34208.
Major (Mrs.) Patricia Mack
Retired Officers' Representative
USA Eastern Territory
November 29, 2006

thou shalt not kill

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it." Henry David Thoreau

Lt. Colonel W. Arthur Bamford PTG

"Colonel Bamford was promoted to Glory around 11 this morning, now he is happy. He wanted so much to be with Jesus and his beloved Eleanor."

Would appreciate your prayers today, friends. I doubt that anyone outside of immediate family had as great an impact on my life as the Bamfords.

Evelyn

Fri. 1 Dec. is World AIDS Day

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

http://www.ucc.org/worship/ways/pdf/ww61-2.pdf

prayer request

Please pray for us! The kids had a great weekend at camp, but Satan may have lashed out in his anger. We're not sure exactly what the whole story is yet, but God knows everything! So please ask that we would have wisdom and discernment and peace and soft hearts and courage and grace and love and forgiveness and repentance and reconciliation.

Whew! Big prayers! We really need them right now, though, friends.

Thanks,
Evelyn

scandals waiting to happen

Thanks to Captain Stephen Court over at ArmyBarmy for recommending this:
http://beyondthebrook.blogspot.com/2006/11/holiness-and-ted-haggard-syndrome.html

It says a lot of what I was trying to say, but of course better! ;-)

Evelyn

Michael Collins again

from http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html

The youtube address for Michael Collins's ACC preach:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sC1mSO3kxZg

Captain Stephen Court writes:
Michael Collins. If you've not discovered Michael C. you are like a Philistine soldier who never heard of Goliath, a Jewish soldier who never heard of David. But this is your chance to hear a mighty champion - enjoy.

Evelyn

listen to General Gowans (Ret.)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lZooKReTlqg

"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king."
(1 Samuel 15:22-23)

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
(Mattthew 7:24-27)

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
(Luke 6:46-49)

watch it!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sC1mSO3kxZg

Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women

This is where I've been the past few days.

http://www.efecw.net/

Wed.-Sun. 15-19 Nov. 2007
8:45-21:45

mark your calendars!

On the fourth try (!), we got approval for our homeland furlough dates for next year. (We have three months in America after serving three years abroad.)

2007
27 May - 22 June (inc. Mission Kaleidoscope Congress, June 8-10 in Hershey, Pa.)
26 September - 30 November

If you want to see us, then invite us!!

Evelyn

SUPPORT THE SALVATION ARMY

please pray for Chris

from Chris:
"A quick prayer request...
I am under attack from areas that I never expected. But that's just how the enemy works right? The jerk loves to kick me when I'm down. But anyway, please, oh pretty, pretty please pray for me. I've been shot down and I need some cover fire to get through this, so please dump out some prayers for me. Lord save me... So anyway, keep my back covered while I try to make it through the trenches! I can't do this on my own, please help. Keep me covered. Thanks in advance, Chris"

class

Well, class went better today. There is a new student, who is a British missionary here and has two (almost three!) kids.

Although -- the teacher did criticize my American accent when saying Rs. So then I really rolled my Rs, a little too much, she said! Somewhere in there is a happy middle ground to sound like an Estonian. :-( Why am I so sensitive?! I know I sound better than almost everyone else in class, but this little criticism still hurt.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Evelyn

Youth Ministry Rant

http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/Yaconelli/rant.php

Captain Steve Court quoted this over at the Army Barmy blog, so I thought I'd put the link to the whole article here.

gather ye rosebuds while ye may (to all 18-year-olds I know!)

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem by Robert Herrick.
The genre of the poem is carpe diem.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting;
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.
That age is best, which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Time still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

interesting to hear what another American thinks!

http://jennuhler.blogspot.com/2006/09/eesti.html

Sometimes I feel so angry with myself, that I make so many mistakes in Estonian, and that I am so afraid to speak! Why can't I be more like the Masons (who've lived here for TEN YEARS!)?

So, reading this made me feel a little better about myself. I'm coming along, slow but sure!

Evelyn

Head Isadepäeva! Happy Fathers' Day!

“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6a)

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:13-17)

Please read this! Palun loe seda!

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
(Ephesians 4:29-5:4)

Ühtegi nurjatut sõna ärgu tulgu teie suust, vaid rääkige ainultseda,mis on hea teiste ülesehitamiseks, et kuuljad saaksid armu.
Ja ärge kurvastage Jumala Püha Vaimu, kes on kinnitanud teid omapitseriga lunastuspäevani!
Kõik kibedus ja raev ja viha ja kisa ja teotamine jäägu teist kaugeleeemale koos kogu kurjusega.
Olge üksteise vastu lahked, halastajad, andestage üksteisele,nii nagu ka Jumal on teile andestanud Kristuses.
Võtke nüüd Jumal eeskujuks nagu armastatud lapsed,
ja käige armastuses, nõnda nagu Kristus meid on armastanud ja oniseenese loovutanud meie eest anniks ja ohvriks, magusaks lõhnaks Jumalale.
Aga hoorusest ja kogu rüvedusest ja ahnusest ärgu olgu teie seasjuttugi,nõnda nagu on kohane pühadele.
Samuti riivatus ja rumalad sõnad ja sündsusetu lõõpimine ei sobiteile, vaid selle asemel olgu tänu.
(Pauluse kiri efeslastele 4:29-5:4)

echoes many of my own thoughts on the matter

http://www.challies.com/archives/002181.php

Mardilaat

http://www.folkart.ee/eng/e_mardilaat.php

I have been so confused about the timing of this (and the women's thing which is also next weekend), and now I see why! St. Martin's Day is THIS week, but the craft fair for some reason is NEXT week!

I don't claim to be the world's greatest genius or anything, but the amount of confusion I have been experiencing these past few months does seem excessive!

Evelyn

Good fences make good neighbors ... and good Christians!

http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/1999/summer/9l3045.html

eesti keele tund!

Today I start my Estonian class at Tallinn University! I'm SO scared and nervous! I haven't studied Estonian in a classroom for six months (since the course at the University of Tartu ended)!

I'm starting with "Practical Estonian for Beginners II" -- I begged out of part one and now I'm afraid I'll look LOLL (stupid!) and should have just started at the very beginning! (Even though I thought it would be exruciatingly painful to sit through counting to ten and all that again!)

So, here's my schedule. Pray for me!

Tuesday
10-11:30
12-14:15

Wednesday
10-11:30

Thursday
10-12:15

Evelyn õpilane (the student)

William Booth

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/131christians/williambooth.html

the view out our window today

http://chrischronicles.blogspot.com/2006/11/snow.html

Head Hingedepäeva!

snow!

Local Weather Forecast
Tallinn, EST
Local forecast
Hourly
Ten-day
Maps
Current Conditions (as of 8:20 AM)
Today's forecast
°F °C
Snow Showers / Sun
28°F
Feels like: 28°F
Barometer:
29.5 in
Dewpoint:
21°
Humidity:
70%
Visibility:
6 miles
Wind:
17 mph N
Sunrise:
7:41 AM
Sunset:
4:25 PM
Observed at Tallinn.All times shown are local to Tallinn.
Today
Hi:
27°
Lo:
24°
Snow Showers
2 PM
27°
Snow Showers
8 PM
27°
Snow Showers
11 PM
27°
Snow Showers

Head Pühakutepäeva