When something good happens to you do you remember to thank God for it? How about when something confusing happens, do you still praise God through those times? Mary had just been blessed greatly with the news that she was going to be Jesus’ mother. But that good news was also quite surprising. Despite the fact that she was confused by this news, she still praised God.
Luke 1:46-55 says:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in the chaos and forget to praise God. Mary’s song is a great example of how to praise God even when it may seem hard. Don’t forget to praise Him for the wonderful gift that he so generously gave us. Remember to praise God for who He is this Christmas season.
Sometimes waiting for God to fulfill His promises can be hard. It’s not always easy to believe something will happen when you’ve been waiting a long time for it. The good news is, God always keeps His promises. It may seem like it’s taking forever, but only God really knows how long forever is, and He is faithful.
Luke 1:26 – 38 says: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.””
It may have seemed like God had forgotten His promise, but God never forgets. His timing is perfect, and only He can see the future. God knows everything, and nothing surprises Him. Trust that God has everything under control. He knows what’s best for you, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine.
Imagine something you’ve waited a long time for. Is it something you ordered online, a special event, or a celebration? Did you ever begin to wonder if your waiting had been pointless? Sometimes it is hard to keep looking forward to something when it seems like it will never come.
The Jews had been waiting for the birth of Jesus for a long time. Isaiah 7:14 says: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah prophesied Jesus’ birth about 700 years before He was born.
Before even Isaiah prophesied about the birth of Jesus, God had already explained His plan to save the world. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring: he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Think about waiting more than 700 years for something. You would either die before it happened, or would be last in a long chain of people who had begun to give up hope. The good news is, God always keeps His promises. We can trust Him to do what He says He will do. Even when things don’t go the way we planned God is still working. Trust that He has a plan, and that His plans never fail.
What do you think of when you think about Christmas? Is it that perfect tree? How about the lights that you spent countless hours hanging from the roof? Maybe you think about family, the people that you rarely get to see gathering together again. Or is it the presents, those gifts sitting round the tree just begging you to unwrap them? Whatever you think of when you think about Christmas is likely a special memory, or a family tradition. However, none of these things are what Christmas is truly about.
The true meaning of Christmas involves a baby. A baby born in a manger. The Son of God giving up His seat by The Father, and coming down to be born as a man. The story of Christmas is a story of love and sacrifice.
Every day leading up to Christmas there will be a new post diving deeper into the Christmas story. I hope you will check them out and be reminded of God’s great love for us this Christmas.
After hearing about the countless negative reviews of Rings of Power, I was concerned that the show would be absolutely disappointing. Tolkien is by far one of my favorite authors, and I am a huge fan of the Lord of The Rings, so I should have been excited. However, with Disney’s latest shows (Eternals, She Hulk etc.), I was expecting the same nonsense from Amazon. So, I began watching the show critically looking for any flaws, and any way they could have messed up the story.
Amazon did a surprisingly good job keeping with the story, and they deserve a bit of mercy where they do fall short, because the Lord of The Rings movies are different from the books in countless ways. Overall, the story is exciting, and it leaves you wanting to finish the series in one sitting, which I would have done had I been able to. The visuals are great, and it’s a fun show to watch. I have divided this review into three sections, first: the Positive, second: the Negative, and third: the Wrap-Up.
*Warning: There are spoilers to the show included in this review.
* If you have not seen it yet, please simply read Wrapped Up.
Positive Points.
The visuals were great!
Amazon did a great job portraying the city of Numenor. They also did an equally impressive job with Moria. It was exciting getting to see Moria before it was taken over by Orcs.
The story was intriguing, and I didn’t know everything that was going to happen. I had a fun time debating with my family what would happen next. Every time we watched a new episode I would read through the appendices in the Return of The King and compare those to the show. There are multiple ways they manage to keep people engaged and excited about what happens next.
First: They have plot twists scattered throughout the show which leave room for guessing what happens next.
Second: They always end the episodes with a cliffhanger. I watched a show recently where the first episode ended with nearly no conflict, I almost gave up on watching it. The Rings of Power is nothing like that. They keep you excited, and on the edge of your seat, while waiting for the next episode.
Overall, I am excited for season 2 to come out, and I can’t wait till that happens.
Negative Points.
There is one scene in the show that still haunts my memory to this day. Galadriel and Elendil are on their way to the Hall of Records, and then the horse scene happens. If you’ve seen the show you know what I’m talking about. All of a sudden, their galloping horses go slow motion, and you watch Galadriel’s hair blow in the wind for what feels like eternity. This scene alone deserves a bad review, but I got over it.
Another problem I had with the show is a failed sense of drama. There are multiple scenes where they are revealing something huge, and they just fail at it. For example, after Mount Doom erupts one of the Orcs asks Adar what they should call their new home. The scene shows him thinking, and then proceeds to show small text in the corner that says Mordor.
My biggest problem with the show is Gandalf. They spend the entire show focusing on the Hobbits helping a looney old man who fell from the sky. They then turn around, and reveal that he was Gandalf. The appendices in The Return of The King explain that the wizards crossed over the sea, not fell from the sky. And the scene where Gandalf tells Nori to follow her nose felt like a slap in the face.
Wrapped Up
Despite all the flaws, I still enjoyed the show. It was fun, exciting, and I enjoyed finding out how it tied in to the books. I can’t wait till season 2 comes out, and I have managed to get over my problems with season 1. Every show will have something that just gets on your nerves. What matters is that you decide whether or not it was worth the scenes that made you cringe, the poor sense of drama, and bad acting.
Overall, I would say that the Rings of Power was worth it. It’s a great show to watch with fellow LOTR fans, discuss the flaws, and enjoy the success. I would recommend watching the Rings of Power if you haven’t yet, and if you have, let me know what you thought.
Mountain Dew came out with a new seasonal flavor, Fruit Quake. This flavor is made to taste like fruit cake, one of the worst Christmas treats known to mankind. Of course I had to buy some. So, I went to Target and bought the last case of this strange new Dew.
I hardly had the patience to wait for it to cool off in the fridge, but I waited. When the time came for me to drink it, I was nervous. Would it taste as disgusting as fruit cake? Did I just blow $6.00 on the worlds worst soda? I cracked open a can and took a sip. It was surprisingly good.
I would rate this Mountain Dew:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I’m not a crazy Mountain Dew drinker, but I wasn’t amazed by it. However, I would say it’s definitely worth the experience. It’s always fun trying weird new things, and this definitely fits in that category. So, while the taste doesn’t blow through the star ratings, it is still worth trying, and I would definitely recommend doing that, just for fun.
Spoiler Alert!
If you want to discover the flavor on your own do not continue reading.
The latest flavor of Mountain Dew tastes an awful lot like the Fruit Stripes Gum. If you’ve never tried it before you should buy some and compare the two. Comment with your Mountain Dew Fruit Quake opinion. Let me know what you thought, and what it tastes like. If you don’t see the similarities feel free to let me know. I love trying weird foods, so if there is something you think I should review let me know! I will consider any suggestions.
I started a new series of Minecraft videos! In the series I’ll be making some really cool Minecraft pranks that you can use on your friends in survival.
The first installment in this series is an Exploding Tree Trap. Check out this video to learn an easy way to make trees blow up on your friends.
I’m looking for any ideas you guys have for an awesome prank I can feature in a future video! Just put your suggestions in the comment bar. If I decide to use your design, I’ll give you a shout-out in the video!
A confidential information leak from Mojang studios may have revealed the mobs for next years mob vote. The following is a transcription from a conversation between the two lead designers from the Minecraft mob department. Names have been generated to help distinguish between the two speakers. “I’ve already decided upon the upcoming mob vote.” “Really, what is it Steve?” “Well Alex, its simple. I’ll take the two mobs we wanted from the last mob votes and give them a shot at redemption. Of course, we will still have the absolutely useless mob that no one would vote for in their right mind.” “But Steve, doesn’t that mob always win?” “Sure it normally does, but this mob is so stupid no one would possibly vote for it. I’ll send you an email with the concept sketches for the new mob, and the old ideas we’ll bring back.”
I called up a professional hacker and we managed to intercept the email. Only click the button if you are willing to assume risk for hacking and distribution of confidential information. Also, I would like to warn viewers that the information you see may be frustrating if not infuriating.
The Glare is back with a second shot at entering the Minecraft universe. This handy mob will alert players if an area is dark enough for mobs to spawn.
Look at this adorable unicorn! “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!” This charming new mob does absolutely nothing, but hey, it’s squishy, and it’s made from wool, what could be better!
Billionaire Elon Musk announced the release of his all new burnt hair perfume. Although it may seem absolutely useless, a recent study has confirmed that the unconventional perfume may actually be useful. Shaun Shmelberg with Scentopia magazine announced today that the Musk Burnt Hair perfume is an effective Biden repellent. “It turns out that the President is particularly disgusted by the smell of burnt hair. Using Elon’s new perfume is known to reduce the odds of being sniffed by Biden by 100%.” Once reporters discovered this new method of keeping the president out of their hair, sales boomed. Additionally, a large number of parents have been purchasing Musk’s perfume to protect their children from Biden’s hair sniffing antics.
First Joe Biden, and now the Sniffer. I just can’t take it anymore. It’s one thing to cheat in the presidential election, but it’s something totally different when you mess with Minecraft. Many Minecraft fans out there are asking just how the Sniffer stole the votes. Steve, a local Minecrafter, and a familiar face in the game said this during an interview. “Sure it’s cute, and absolutely the kinda thing I’d want in my house, but how did it beat the Rascal, or the Tuff Golem?” I’ve been around since they released the game and I’ve never seen anything more disappointing.” Steve then recalled how last year his vote for the Glare seemed to go by unnoticed as well.
“The Glare was going to save me. There are many times I walk into my house just to find out a Creeper spawned in my closet. I always forget to double check the light levels. But the Glare was going to stop all of that. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the results, and almost got blown up by another Creeper (This one from my snack room) when they announced the winner. I couldn’t believe it, who would have voted for the Allay, all it does is pick up my junk for me. I mean, sure, my yard looks nicer, but why?” Clearly many Minecraft fans have been disappointed by the results of the mob vote. Looking for a sneak peek at next year’s mob vote, prepare to be disappointed, by checking out our next post.
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