Christmas Traditions

I grew up in a family with a lot of traditions.

Thanksgiving is really the beginning of the Christmas season for us. Starting with the annual watching of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning. Thanksgiving itself was always a day full of food, family, and football - much like every other American family. Ever.

The day after Thanksgiving, we decorate for Christmas, eat Christmas Cap'n Crunch, drink Dad's special homemade hot chocolate, watch "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street," and crank the Christmas music :)

The Christmas music is pretty much a permanent fixture at that point until after January 1st.

The number of presents we "traditionally" open on Christmas Eve is hotly contested (some years it was just one, some years we opened all of the presents with only stockings saved for Christmas morning), but we almost always went to a Christmas Eve service. Sometimes more than one. Growing up in Colorado Springs, we had quite the smorgasbord of options. Some years they were quite elaborate, such as the full scale production put on by New Life Church. Other years the church where my dad pastored held a sweet, simple candle-light service.

Advent wreaths and readings, shopping, wrapping presents, the ever-growing list of Christmas "classic" movies that we would watch. All of it made for very fun and memorable seasons of my childhood.

One of my favorite Christmas memories is the year I got to play Mary in a variety-style program. My Dad sang "A Strange Way to Save the World" , and my aunt helped me memorize and dramatize a beautiful reading. There's something about internalizing the emotions of those so closely tied to the original Christmas story that makes those Scriptures and stories come alive.

And I think that's really the point. These traditions we create and pass on to our children are completely pointless and worthless if they do not build into our celebrations, and eventually bleed out in our lifestyles, deep appreciation for the true wonder of the season.

The absolute magnificence and glory of the mystery that is the incarnation. Christ coming to earth. God condescending to become human.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
(Isaiah 53:4a NLT)

I hope that in the midst of all the craziness of Christmas, you know the true beauty of Christ, that you have personally experienced his unfathomable love for YOU! Because when it comes right down to it, that's all that really matters.





Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

His,

The first missionaries . . .

(To see the full-size image, click here)

So they hurried off and found
Mary and Joseph, and the baby,
who was lying in the manger.

When they had seen him,
they spread the word concerning
what had been told them about
this child, and all who heard it
were amazed at what the shepherds
said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these
things and pondered them in
her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which were
just as they had been told.
Luke 2:16-20

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

This Christmas carol is swiftly becoming one of my favorites, and I love this version by Steven Curtis Chapman!



I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

May you take time this season to bask in the beauty of the One we celebrate!

His,

". . . a child is born . . ."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Seasonal Encouragement

Today is December 19th.

Amazon.com is telling me that today is the last day to order for shipping before Christmas.

Monday we got the dreaded "all of the gifts you sent broke in the mail" phone call.



Austin and I are making weekend plans, mostly to distract ourselves from the fact that this will be our third Christmas in a row away from home and family.

Twenty families in Connecticut are mired in grief that no family should ever have to confront, and certain "Christians" are all set up to picket the vigil in celebration of "God's judgment."

We had beautiful snow at the beginning of the month, but it has been raining for the past few days, and now it's just pretty gloomy.

(Sorry to be a downer.)

Needless to say, I needed this today:



I hope this blesses you as much as it did me. Praising the Lord that He is present in all of these circumstances, and that His love and wisdom are greater than I could ever grasp!

His,

October 2012 Newsletter

October 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here



If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

July 2012 Newsletter

July 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here



If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

Romania Prayer Request 10

Praise the Lord for a successful project and many lessons learned! Please pray for lasting change in the lives of all of our students and leaders as a result of this trip!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 9

Please pray for safety as we travel,
for great conversations on the way home,
and that our students may never be the same after this trip!

To God be the glory!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 8

Please pray that God is glorified through our efforts and that the Romanian people with whom we are working will be encouraged by the gift of the playground, but also that they would know the truth of God's greatest Gift, His Son!

His,

May 2012 Newsletter

May 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

Romania Prayer Request 7

Please pray for productivity and that God would bless the work of our hands!

Please also keep our small group leaders in your prayers. Pray that they would take advantage of every opportunity to have crucial conversations with our students and that they would love well!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 6

Please pray for Danine today!
She is heading up our relational ministries - VBS and sports ministry to the local Romanian children!
Pray that she would lean on the Lord and that our students would listen well and respect her leadership!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 5

Please pray for good attitudes and perseverance today!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 4

Please pray for our contractor, Eric today!
Pray that God would give him wisdom and clarity as he directs our students in the construction of the playground!
The school where we are working has NEVER had a playground before, and our prayer is that this would be a lasting blessing for this community!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 3

Please pray for the playground construction and for the VBS with the Romanian school-aged children!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 2

Please pray for our small group leaders. We have 12 adults who will be paired with five or six students each to lead them through our time in Romania. Please pray for wisdom and that they would take advantage of opportunities to love on their students!

Please pray for good rest and preparation for work!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 1

Please pray for safety as we travel and for hearts that are open to what God wants to do in and through us!

His,

Romania Prayer Requests

My husband, Austin, and I work for Youth for Christ Military Youth Ministry through an organization called Club Beyond. (you can read my other posts about our work for more information). What that basically means is Austin is a youth pastor for the children of military personnel who are stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. We hold weekly outreach Clubs, weekly discipleship Bible Studies (like youth group), fun special events, a high school winter camp called Winter Blitz, a middle school camp over Spring Break called Adventure Camp, and a high school service project in the summer.

This year, our service project is in Romania! We leave a week from tomorrow, and we are super excited! We are taking 44 students from our community (Heidelberg), and we will be meeting up with about 300 other military teens from all over Europe (to see where Club Beyond is, click here)! It's going to be an incredible trip!!!

For ten days, I will post a specific prayer request here on the blog, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers!

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here or shoot me an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

Happy Thursday!

March 2012 Newsletter

March 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

He is Risen!

(I know it's long, but there's an AWESOME freestyle/poem/speech in the middle of this incredible song!)

Christ is Risen
by Matt Maher

Lyrics:

Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven's will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!
He is risen indeed!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Why Good Friday Really is Good!

Happy Good Friday everyone!

I know it seems odd that someone would say that Good Friday is "happy," but really, the only reason anyone can have true joy is because they know the truth about Good Friday!

I'm loving YouTube lately, and I thought I'd share the following video - it's a very powerful performance painting set to an amazing song! (Oh the Glory of it All by the David Crowder Band)

Here's the Video:


(If you've never seen this video before - be sure to watch the whole thing, there's a little bit of a twist!)

Here's the lyrics to the song:
Oh the Glory of it All - David Crowder Band

At the start
He was there, He was there
In the end,
He’ll be there, He’ll be there

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all

All is lost
find Him there, find Him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there

After all falls apart
He repairs He repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

oh He is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same

Oh, The glory of it all is
You came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

Oh You are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

Praise the Lord! May we never be the same!

Praying that you have a blessed Easter weekend!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ He was made for this!

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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I love getting to serve the Lord every day with my very best friend! It has been such a wild, crazy, roller coaster ride to get to this point, but I am so thankful that God has given me someone so amazing to face the ups and downs with!

This week I had a fabulous moment of "Austin is so good at his job!"

We hold Club every Monday afternoon for Middle School students and Monday evening for High School students. This week was Austin's turn to give the talk, and his topic was sin and Easter. I was able to video tape a chunk of it:



People are often very resistant to this topic, and Austin was speaking to a pretty tough crowd on Monday evening, but as I was standing there listening to him clearly communicate the Gospel message and the hope and joy of Easter, my heart was so full! It hit me, once again, that God obviously knew what He was doing (He always does) when He put us here and when He put us together!

I may be a little biased (just slightly), but I think Austin is so naturally gifted in speaking and interacting with our students! I LOVE watching him be used by God!

My husband rocks! <3

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me at katylinvw{at}yahoo{dot}com and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

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If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!

Maundy Thursday

I had honestly never heard of this holiday until we began working in Ecumenical ministry. It is not a holiday that was ever observed in the churches I attended growing up. And even after hearing about it, I really had no idea what the holiday was or what it was for, so today I Googled it.

Here's what I came up with:

Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as "Holy Thursday" or "Great Thursday" in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In contrast to joyful Easter celebrations when Christians worship their resurrected Savior, Maundy Thursday services are typically more solemn occasions, marked by the shadow of Jesus' betrayal. While different denominations observe Maundy Thursday in their own distinct ways, two important biblical events are the primary focus of Maundy Thursday solemnizations:



Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. For this reason, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.



During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Likewise, many congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal.

text source

After experiencing a Messianic Passover Seder with my PWOC group on Tuesday morning, this holiday holds a lot more meaning for me than it ever would have before! First of all, on Tuesday I learned that Passover and all of the symbolism it embodies, is not just full of meaning for Jewish people, but for all believers - who are grafted into Abraham's family. It is even commanded in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7&8)! Crazy, right?

Sometimes I think that as "new covenant" believers, we discount the traditions and rich heritage of Judaism and dismiss it as "legalism" or "law" - which could not be further from the truth! The beauty and richness of many of the traditions and festivals of Judaism hold even more meaning for those of us who believe in Jesus as Messiah because the prophecies to which most of the symbolisms refer have been fulfilled in Christ! Praise the Lord!

All of that to say, although some people may observe Maundy Thursday as a rote, liturgical service simply because "that's what we do on the Thursday before Easter." I plan to celebrate this day - today and in the years to come - as a reminder of my Servant King who washed the feet of his disciples, observed the Passover in obedience to God, and gave Himself up as "our Passover Lamb," the perfect and final sacrifice for the sins of all humanity!

Praying that the traditions of Easter may have deep and lasting meaning for you this year and forever!

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28

His,

Often imitated . . .

. . . but never duplicated.

That's right. I'm talking about the Chipotle burrito.


I have blogged about my love for all that is Chipotle on several occasions. Like the story of my elation over FINALLY getting a Chipotle in Iowa. (which was convenient when we lived in Iowa. Now that we live in Germany, not so much!) When we were giving thanks alphabetically, Chipotle made my "C" list. It even made the list of my top 5 loves!

So, there is no doubt that I love Chipotle; however, the last couple of times that we have been in the States, friends and family alike have been trying to convince me that there are other burrito joints that are just as good - if not better than the original - the burrito that has had my heart since I was just a teenager!

At this point I'm pretty sure we've tried them all, and I've got to say that a lot of them were pretty good.

Qdoba makes a mean queso sauce and in the summer time their mango salsa is to die for. They also have a loyalty card program which is a bit of a perk. And they're my parents' favorite of the many burrito options in their area.


Bullritos are the fan favorite in the Houston area. They have a fun ordering system where you check what you want on their printed bags (a lot like Which-Wich) and turn it in at the beginning of the line. They assemble it and at the end of the line the cashier calls your name, or whatever name you wrote on the bag during the ordering process - the boys have a lot of fun with this ;). One of their distinctions is a delicious Cilantro Ranch sauce. Yummmm!

Most recently, we were introduced to Moe's in Charleston, SC. Moe's has a pretty wide selection with funny names like "The Homewrecker" and the "Joey Junior." They also do free chips and salsa with every order, and the location we went to had a soda machine that looked like it was straight out of an episode of Star Trek - complete with a touch screen and several different flavor variations for each soda option.


But I've got to say, while I'd never be one to turn down a burrito - any burrito (especially living in Germany where good Mexican food is VERY hard to come by), Chipotle is still my favorite. By a landslide! I don't know if it's just that it was my first burrito love, or the delicious combination of their steak and rice and salsa and sour cream and guacamole that no one else will every be able to fully duplicate!

Not that I haven't tried. I mean the closest Chipotle to us is in London, which is an eight hour drive, so it may as well be in the States with as often as we get there, so I've tried my hand at recreating Carnitas and Cilantro-Lime Rice, but it just isn't the same. There were rumors at one point that Chipotle may be opening a new location in Munich, which is much closer, but alas we have not seen any movement on that for awhile, so . . . We will have to make due with our homemade version and our memories of the real thing!

Do you have a food item or a restaurant that you have to struggle to do without? Or someplace you can't imagine moving away from?

Hope you're having a great week!