We Whisk You A Merry Kissmas

This craft is a sweet surprise for the chocolate lover in your life! A homemade Christmas gift, it's easy enough for children to make and give.

Makes a great teacher gift (hint, hint, hint), stocking stuffer or workplace Secret Santa present.

To make your "Kissmas Whisk"

~~> place a handful of foil-wrapped chocolate kiss candies between the tines of a new kitchen whisk. Or go all out and add some wonderful 100% Venezuelan dark cacao (HEB). Of course, you have to have kisses in there to carry our play on words but any excuse to nibble that dark cacao is scrumptious.

And make sure you embrace that teachable moment for your little ones. Really work with that wonderful word . . . . tines.

~~> Wrap whisk bottom with plastic food storage wrap and tape wrap to handle.

~~> Add a pretty bow or ribbon, and attach a copy of the Kissmas Whisk gift tag for a charming stocking stuffer or 12 Days of Christmas gift.

This could also be an old fashioned (the whisk) romantic (the kisses) gift from Dad to Mom. Dad, make SURE you know her chocolate preferences because Kisses offer choices these days!

I think this gift should be given to family members with a full melodious rendition of,

"We whisk you a Merry Christmas,
We whisk you a Merry Christmas,
We whisk you a Merry Christmas,
Come right over here!"

Then Grandmom or cousin Mark or Sissy gets a big family kiss and hug!

FYI: full, total, complete and all credit for this grand idea goes to Cynthia Townley Ewer. The original post can be found at Organized Christmas. They even offer a printable gift tag in .PDF format.

PurpleGal graphic source: http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/people/women/2.shtml

Friday Finds

• The Art of Manliness a blog dedicated to rediscovering the lost art of being a man. It features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men. In our search to uncover the lost art of manliness, we’ll look to the past to find examples of manliness in action. We’ll analyze the lives of great men who knew what it meant to "man up" and hopefully learn from them.

• Veritas Vos Liberat written by Joseph, a seminarian studying for the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St Louis, Missouri. He is currently in his Theology II year, and, God willing, will be ordained a priest in May of 2011.

• I found this amazing video via The Four Mass'keteers who credits Lady Dawn @ The Dawn Patrol.

• The Four Mass'keters also have a wonderful post, I Don't Get It (which should really be entitled, I Don't Get Why They Don't Get It!) It is posted by Athos, one of the 4 contributors. Here is a snippet:

"I spent 20+ years as an United Methodist pastor. . . . nearly all [of those] whom I left for full communion with the Catholic Church - which for 1,500 some odd years was the only Church in the West (not counting the schism with the East) - love and believe in Jesus Christ. But they have no use for the 'one holy Catholic and apostolic Church.'
Nearly all of them seem to boil the Christian faith down to a sincere kind of 'hunch' set of criteria which, ipso facto, includes the denial of the Catholic Church.
Never mind that everything that they love most about the Christian faith came directly from and as a result of the unwavering protection of the dogmas, doctrines, and tenets by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church for those 1,500 years prior to the "Reformation" (and on to this present moment).
They set great store in the individual conscience as a trustworthy guide and stand by their pastor so long as
(a) he doesn't commit an egregious act like shop-lifting or adultery and
(b) he strokes their egos sufficiently.

Note: I, Soutenus, would add (c) makes them feel

1. warm and fuzzy or
2. uplifted or
3. like they have learned something new or
4. (a biggie in my neck of the woods) . . . . entertained

Morning Coffee has been doing a day by day re-telling of Esther. It has been interesting to read the commentary along with the Bible passages, of course! This blogger is Protestant but, in the book of Esther I do believe we are similar in our insights and interpretation. The blog's author, Renae, has a deep love for Christ and is a joy to visit. The day to day commentary on Esther begins in her May 25th post and is ongoing. Her other blog is Coffee Talk - Essays for life from the Preacher's Wife.

Generic Disclaimer:
My Friday Finds are simply that -- cool posts, clips, website landing pages or blogs I have discovered in my meanderings. These are not places with which I am extremely familiar. I don't know a lot about these sites so enter at your own risk!

graphic source: Ava's Originals

Find it Friday 1

Fun for a Friday . . . can you find the answer? Actually you may already know the answers!

To the Isrealites encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai the Lord appeared in the form of
a) a burning bush
b) an earthquake
c) a thick cloud
d) a pillar of fire

You can find the answer in Exodus 19:2, 9, 16; 20:21

Paul noted that Christ died for the
a) righteous
b) good
c) ungodly
d) circumcised

You can find the answer in Romans 5:6

Can't find your Bible? Click here to find the answers bolded & in red.