Christmas Blessings to You!





I pray that you have a very blessed and warm Christmas with those that  you celebrate with.

Treasure each moment.

Relax

Thanks for visiting.





Chalk Paint Class and Shop

We have a new shop in town called The Dandelion.

They just started selling Annie Sloan Paint and supplies.

They have been offering classes and so a friend of mine and went this past Saturday.

There were six in the class and each station looked like this.

We did different techniques and I am so glad I took the class.

The couple who own this shop are so nice and helpful.

Sherry holding up her painted piece.

We got a 10% off purchases made after our class.

I bought a medium brush and a small sample of paint

for a few small winter projects (like a picture frame).

They sell lovely home décor as well.

Here is a tour for you. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many lovely things in this shop.

Hope you enjoyed the tour.

 

Blessings,

Talk on Tuesday

Handel's Messiah  

Tonight's talk with the ladies (for more information on who the ladies are go to my page above)

 was on George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

He was born in Halle, Germany and moved to England in 1712.

This was a time when musical activity and Italian opera ruled the day.

Handel wrote approximately 40 operas and 26 oratorios.

 

Handel was twice bankrupt but never gave up.

In 1741, his situation was so bleak, he seriously considered going back to Germany.

(Don't you just love the hair! They all seem to have a similar look.)

A friend of his, named Charles Jennens, wrote a script and presented

it to him requesting that he would compose it.

This script was an oratorio that included Old Testament scriptures related to the coming Messiah;

the birth of Christ; the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and His return.

 

Handel composed the Messiah in 24 days.

He never left his house and often went without eating.

While writing the  "Hallelujah Chorous", his servant discovered him with tears in his eyes.

He exclaimed, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!!" 

 

That just gives me the chills. Every time I hear the Hallelujah Chorous,

 I know that all of heaven was involved in the composition of that music.

 

This video takes place at a food court in a mall.

Unsuspecting shoppers receive a heavenly serenade.

 

John Wesley said of Handel's Messiah, "In many parts, especially several of the chorouses,

 it exceeded my expectation."

Beethoven once said: "Handel was the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head, and kneel before his tomb."

King George 111 called Handel "the Shakespeare of music."

George Bernard Shaw commented that "Handel is not a mere composer in England: he is an institution. What is more, he is a sacred institution."

 

At a Messiah performance in 1759, honouring his 74th birthday, Handel responded to enthusiastic applause with these words: "Not from me - but from Heaven- comes all."

 

George Handel had one desire--to die on Good Friday.

He died the day after on Holy Saturday,

 April 14th, 1759.

He is buried at Westminster Abbey.

 

For the postcard for this talk, I found a vintage card of children singing

and then on PicMonkey added a frame and typed in the words.

 

 

This is the back of the postcard.

I enjoyed researching this.

The Messiah and especially the Hallelujah Chorous has so much

more meaning to me now, knowing more about how it came to be.

I'm sure Handel never dreamt in a million years that in a mall in North America a group of people would do a flash mob to his composition of the Hallelujah Chorous.

The ladies enjoyed the talk, I hope you did too.

 

For more information you can go here.

 

Blessings,

 

 



 

 

Talk on Tuesday

Amazing Grace

 

Tonight I shared about the author of the famous hymn "Amazing Grace"...John Newton.

We hear this song sung or played at so many functions but a lot of people are not aware of its history.

 

John Newton was born in 1725 in London, England.

His father was a shipmaster.

His mother died just before John's 7th birthday.

His father remarried two years later.

John spent two years in a boarding school and then at age 11 went to sea with his father.

 

In 1743 Newton was forced into the service of the Royal Navy.

He tried to defect and was punished in front of a crew of 350.

Newton was stripped to the waist and tied to the railing and received

a flogging of eight dozen lashes and reduced in rank to seaman.

Disgraced and humiliated Newton contemplated murdering the captain

and then throwing himself overboard.

Later while on route to India, he transferred to a slave ship bound for West Africa.

The ship carried goods to Africa and traded them for slaves to be shipped

to England and other countries.

Newton caused problems on this ship as well,

 so he was left in West Africa with

a slave dealer where he was subjected to mistreatment and abuse.

He was rescued, and on the way home a severe thunderstorm overtook the ship he was in.

As the ship was filling up with water quickly, John cried out to God to spare his life.

This began his conversion to Christianity, however Newton continued to work in the slave trade.

 

"I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word,

 until a considerable time afterward."

 

John Newton continued in slave trading until 1754 when he suffered a stroke.

Newton studied and became a priest in June 1764.

He was known for his pastoral care.

William Wilberforce sought his advice about leaving politics.

Newton encouraged him to stay in Parliament and "serve God where he was".

(Free card from Little Birdie Blessings.)

This was the front of the postcard I gave the ladies.

 

In 1788, thirty four years after retiring from the slave trade, Newton broke

his silence by writing a pamphlet called, "Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade"

 

John Newton lived to see the passage of passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807.

He died seven months later.

 

Amazing Grace was written in this vicarage and was published in 1779.

 

It is the most famous of all the hymns.

 

(This is the back of the postcard)

 

Here is a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace by Celtic Woman.

 

 

There is a movie called Amazing Grace. Here is the trailer for it.

An excellent movie by the way.

 

 

Aren't you grateful for God's grace in your life?

I know I am.

None of us deserved God's grace.

We have all done things that we are ashamed of.

It doesn't matter what our background is or what our experiences in life have been.

We all need God's grace.

So be encouraged today.

It is God's grace extended to you that saves you, keeps you, and uses you for His glory.

Such an amazing grace!

How sweet the sound.

 

Blessings,

 

Linking up here:

 

Woman to Woman

Tour of a Vintage Shop



Tango and Magpie

 

These pictures were taken last year.

I am going there again tomorrow with a friend.

Enjoy the tour.

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 







This shop is right next door.

Thought you might like some bonus shopping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 















 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed shopping in the comfort of your home.

And you didn't spend a dime!

I always have to go around at least twice in these shops.

I always miss things the first time around.

Sometimes I go around three times!

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

I know I will!

I'll be shopping!!

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

Sharing at these parties:

 

Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours