Criscollrj’s Blog (2003-present)

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2023 Christmas Newsletter

WE HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GOOD CHRISTMAS 2023!  HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!

Picture Page 2023

My “Mary, Did you Know” video and my singing

(https://www.thetruthstandsforever.com/god-is-the-rock-of-the-believer.html

Reminisce with my 2000-2005 newsletters mostly all restored now!!!

A fun thing this year, still in process here and there — I had to tweak my old web page coding some, and did get a lot of these showing up again!  Old Christmas Newsletters early 2000s!  You should be able to see a lot of 2000 – 2005 at this point.  There still may be some dead links but I plan to look at them the next few weeks…

THIS is my “snail mail” newsletter – copied below.  Written by approx. 12/20/2023.

Christmas Newsletter 2023

As we still are on the earth, doing our duties and being with our loved ones, we still see illnesses, and just like last year we see COVID going up again, and also flu and other illnesses.  All our prayers to all!!!  Last year our family had COVID in various times:  Roger’s parents had right at Christmas ‘22 and then Roger, Chris and I had mid January ’23.  March of 23 Norovirus got just my mom, me and Roger!  We managed to stay healthy then for a while!

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Christmas

Ephiphany & 12 days… from my friend Karen!

Ephiphany! https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/42565054

This is all from friend Karen’s postings on fb and her blog….. Love it! 🎄🌲👩🏽‍🍼👣

Merry (first day of) Christmas!

There is a misconception that the twelve days of Christmas are those days that lead up to December 25. Not true! Today, Christmas Day, is the first day of Christmas! The 12 days go through the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as “Twelfth Day.”

In the olden, golden days, the twelve days of Christmas were a period of joyful prayer and a rest from unnecessary labor. Christmas tree lights would be lit and families would gather around the manger to share prayers and carols.

The pear tree signifies the wood of the manger, and also that of the cross. The fruit reminds us of the reason for the Incarnation: God’s desire to saves us from the sin introduced by Adam and Eve consuming the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. The fruit is also a reminder of the Tree of Life in the midges of the Garden.

https://www.crazycatladymews.com/category/christmas/12-days-of-christmas/

Keep reading under the cut for the rest of the days!

Continue reading “Ephiphany & 12 days… from my friend Karen!”

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2022 Christmas/New Year’s Newsletter

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS 2022 AND ALL OF THE PEACE AND WISDOM POSSIBLE FOR 2023!!

VIDEO I put together to “Mary, Did You Know — 2007

https://youtu.be/g0aI8cwrW-U

Video from a local lightshow off of a local road that we will greatly miss!

Canon in D

CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH!

Ridgewater off Morley by the 84 & 90 intersection. I hope they’ll have it going a few more days if anyone can go see it!!

Another Post-Pandemic year to contemplate, the Lord has brought us all here through again!  Prayers to those of you ill, suffering, or just tired of dealing with all the insanity, and praying for a blessing to touch you now and in the new year.

Isaiah 43:18–19

18 “Forget the former things;do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  
No matter how it seems, we have to trust God is doing a new thing!!!
1990 Song by DC Talk, Nu Thing, about our Great God!
The former members of DC Talk are now Toby Mac and also Michael Tait of the Newsboys…

2022 Picture page!

To minimize load time I put all the pictures on a separate page.  Please take a look, I wanted to make a snapshot of our whole year!  I will put just a few here — then click the “Read More” if it shows up. Blessings!!

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2021 Christmas newsletter

A copy from my 07 newsletter…. still very true!

Mary’s Song

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.” (KJV)

VIDEO I put together to “Mary, Did You Know —

https://youtu.be/g0aI8cwrW-U

 

 

 

 

Last year’s picture blog — https://www.criscollrj.com/2020-monthly-picture-blog/   2020 picture blog!  (2021 note, I may do this at some point for 21 and more likely for 22.  I am vaguely disappointed in ways with both that method and this one used here in 21…. would like to find the PERFECT picture display method…. ha ha.)

 

 

 

A text only version of this newsletter — this one is picture heavy.  (WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, IF NEEDED–let me know)

 

PRAYERS TO ALL this second very strange year!  After God brought us through COVID last December, we are thankful for no lasting problems except some extra fatigue for about 6+ weeks.

So grateful also for our sons’ recovery and my mother’s.  Strangely no one else in our families got it!  We had two humongous snowstorms in December of 2020 that made life interesting trying to get out of the house for COVID tests and needed grocery pickups. Broke limbs on several of our trees!  The snow stayed around until at least February, and as we gained strength we started walking at the parks and seeing the frozen lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINTER 2021,

JANUARY started off the year baking cookies that we gave to family and friends!1-4-21 Roger went back to college, and has several classes finished now towards his Psychology/Human Services Degree from Southern New Hampshire University! Later in January I began substitute teaching again.  I also FINALLY got back to some transcription for Free State, and did until April when I once again needed a break due to overscheduling!  Looking forward to doing some more this winter to “keep my fingers in the pot.”  I also often do some data entry at home, both for courthouses and for a friend’s printing company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2020 Christmas newsletter

Christmas newsletter

Just one of the 2020 pictures.  https://www.criscollrj.com/2020-monthly-picture-blog/   Click for our 2020 picture blog!!!

Verse I choose for Christmas cards


I wrote the following and printed as my first printed newsletter in 6 years! So much information, yet so much unsaid. I feel like the biggest lesson in this past year is to just grasp each moment and try and live to the fullest, and express gratitude for any good thing that happens. There is so much negativity right now, it is good to be positive as much as possible. And pray for your loved ones, and talk to them as much as you can even if you can’t see them.

Prayers to you all at the closure of this crazy strange year!  Do not believe I’ve sent paper Christmas newsletter since 2014.  I did do electronic newsletter in 2019 (published 12-31), and RIGHT after that my criscollrj.com site failed.  So whether many of you had an opportunity to read it I’m not sure!  I mentioned some dark scary times.  Faith in God is so important, and prayer of family and friends is paramount.  This post says a lot.  Please read if you can.  https://www.criscollrj.com/2011/04/11/the-powers-and-exponents-of-faith/, emphasizing Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” I read through entire blog this year and reviewed it and edited it in preparation of moving back into my soon to be revamped original blog site.  I’m glad I wrote so many of these entries years ago – I’d forgotten many of them.

Continue reading “2020 Christmas newsletter”

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A strange quarantine —

 

 

 

By the time many read this the whole world will know about coronavirus of 2020 and what an odd, terrifying, lifechanger it has been.  I won’t describe it, but wanted to share a word I had of encouragement a week or so, while I was helping Roger to shop for Instacart to help people get food delivered to their homes.  We have also been working for our sons in their group home, where my hours have gone (for that job) from 11-14 a week to 40-60 a week.  Laid off from the school jobs.

I was feeling very panicky one day in the store, as I was watching how people really didn’t seem to be taking the “social distancing” seriously, of staying over 6 feet part.  I try and move with the flow, always staying 6 feet away.  {I also do with my kids on their walks on the park pathways, which is a more complicated feat!)

I was also worried about my daughter working in crowds.  So while we were shopping this one day last week, and I was feeling very anxious, worried over my husband and I in the store and worried over our loved ones, and a kind of voice/feeling came in my hand and said

What would JESUS do.

Take care of the needy.  Supply their needs.  Help the ones who need it.

That was amazing, and then a few minutes later Roger’s customer wrote and thanked us and said we were doing the work of God.  Nooo but that was so sweet!  I got all teary eyed at the grocery store. 

There are so many people all over doing so many things, whether out on the front lines, or at home.  Thank you all!

 

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Incidentally, this is a duplicate blog.  I am cleaning up these pages to repost a clean copy sometime soon into my main blog.  Meanwhile, these posts will show up now and then.