Relevation 7:9

"...and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb." Revelation 7:9







Friday, December 31, 2010

Slavim pe Domnul pentru 2010

Slava Tie, Doamne, pentru 2010

Azi, in ultima zi a anului 2010, stam si meditam indelung
La binecuvantarile Tale, Dumnezeule, cu care ne mangai asa de bland,
Care ne fac sa fim atat de bucurosi si de multumiti,
Cum nu pot fi alti oameni pe pamant mai fericiti.

Iti multumim Doamne Dumnezeule pentru numarul zilelor ce ni le-ai dat sa traim,
Pentru invatatura din Cuvantul Tau, ca la grijile lor sa nu gandim,
Caci Tu cunosti toate nevoile noastre, asa cum deja ne-ai aratat,
Ca noi sa ne preocupam de lucrurile de sus, cum doar copiii Tai o fac.

Iti multumim Doamne Dumnezeule, pentru ca la varsta pe care o avem,
Ne tii bolile sub control, putem sa umblam si sa vedem,
De aceea incercam si noi, ca semn de recunostinta si multumire,
Sa ne implicam in lucrari dedicate pentru a Ta glorie si slavire.

Iti multumim Doamne Dumnezeule pentru ca ne-ai randuit anul 2010 asa frumos,
Incat toata familia noastra este in Legamantul de credinta cu Domnul Isus Hristos,
Caci nimic nu poate fi mai minunat si mai imbucurator
Decat, ca parintii, copiii si nepotii sa fie uniti in al lor Mantuitor.

Ca sa fim mladite roditoare in a vitei tulpina
Si sa ne tragem seva cu toti din aceeasi radacina,
Noi suntem mladitele iar Domnul Isus Hristos este vita,
Seva cu care ne hranim este Cuvantul divin, roada este credinta.

Ce frumos si ce placut este cand in fiecare dimineata
Primul gand ce ne vine in minte este sa sarim la Domnu’-n brata,
Cu bucuria ce a pus-o in noi, ca prin credinta a nadajdui,
Ca EL este mantuirea noastra si niciodata nu ne va parasi.

Pentru toate acestea, Doamne Dumnezeule, inaintea Ta venim,
Ne inchinam Tie cu recunostinta si Te proslavim,
Si Te rugam Dumnezeule – Tata, in Legamantul cu Fiul Tau sa ne tii,
Atat aici pe pamant cat vom fi, cat si in vesnicii.

Cu bucurie in Domnul nostru Isus Hristos,
Cristache  si Elisabeta Paun

Friday, December 24, 2010

Isaia 9:6-7

Căci un Copil ni s'a născut, un Fiu ni s'a dat, şi domnia va fi pe umărul Lui; Îl vor numi: ,,Minunat, Sfetnic, Dumnezeu tare, Părintele veciniciilor, Domn al păcii. El va face ca domnia Lui să crească, şi o pace fără sfîrşit va da scaunului de domnie al lui David şi împărăţiei lui, o va întări şi o va sprijini prin judecată şi neprihănire, de acum şi'n veci de veci: iată ce va face rîvna Domnului oştirilor. (Isaia 9:6-7)

Şi iată că un înger al Domnului s'a înfăţişat înaintea lor, şi slava Domnului a strălucit împrejurul lor. Ei s'au înfricoşat foarte tare. Dar îngerul le -a zis: ,,Nu vă temeţi: căci vă aduc o veste bună, care va fi o mare bucurie pentru tot norodul: astăzi în cetatea lui David, vi s'a născut un Mîntuitor, care este Hristos, Domnul. Iată semnul, după care -L veţi cunoaşte: veţi găsi un prunc înfăşat în scutece şi culcat într'o iesle.`` Şi deodată, împreună cu îngerul s'a unit o mulţime de oaste cerească, lăudînd pe Dumnezeu, şi zicînd:
    ,,Slavă lui Dumnezeu în locurile prea înalte, şi pace pe pămînt între oamenii plăcuţi Lui.``

Christ our Savior, our Lord

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1) In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10)

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of[all the people of Sheth.(Numbers 24:17)

Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Daniel 24)

I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:1-4)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.(Isaiah 7:14)… I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. (2 Samuel 7:12-14)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:26-27)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.). And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (Luke 2:1-7)

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. (Micah 5:2-3)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ”In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. (Matthew 2:1-6)

“Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” (Zechariah 2:10-13)

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. (Luke 2:9-14)


 
Celebrating Christ our Lord with beloved beautiful fearfully wonderfully made sisters

Anne and Kay speaking, while Doreen jumped next to Holly for the photo


December 25, 2010 - with our friends, the Pearlmans and Steve

to decorate or not to decorate - let's celebrate


...and something they know to make well - funny faces...
 


Mara happy with her long promised present - her very own Ipod



Sunday, December 12, 2010

Happy Birthday Mara

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you, the Lord give you
His peace and joy. Rejoice in the Lord always!

And we thank God for Mara, for her 14 years and all that He has for her. May God's will be done and all His plans prevail!

Mara's celebration was a day in Sedona, as a gift from Georgiana, her sister and my beloved daughter. My cup runs over!
December 11, 2010 - On the way to Sedona Arizona
Lunch at the Grasshopper Grill; the menu was deceiving: I ordered "Deep Fried Grasshoppers" and got a deep fried ice cream instead...
fearless Mara submitting the wild...
...walking the narrow historic streets flanked with art galleries, even as the singing and instruments are flooding with caroling - joy

and praising God for Christ, our Lord, together with the River of Life Tabernacle choir

even the parking lot was filled with lights
and ready to enjoy her chocolate cake

Happy 14th Birthday, Mara! 

Friday, December 3, 2010

Festival of Lights/Sarbatorirea Luminii

Chag urim sameyach - Happy Holidays of lights - Merry Christmas - Craciun Fericit

Jews and Christians have much in                Evreii si crestinii au multe in comun anul
common in celebrating at this time of             acesta in aceasta perioada de bucurie si
year.                                                        evlavie.

Christmas and Chanukah share a                 Craciunul si Hanukah poarta un mesaj
spiritual message: that it is possible to         spiritual: este posibil sa aducem lumina
bring light and hope in a world of                 si speranta intr-o lume impovarata de
darkness, oppression and despair.               intuneric si deznadejde.

The miracle of Chanukah is that so many     Miracolul de Hanukah consta in faptul
people were able to resist the immediate     ca multi oameni au fost capabili sa se
“reality” of the world and to stay loyal to    opuna “realitatii” immediate a lumii si sa
an invisible God who promised that life         ramana loiali Dumnezeului nevazut, care
is only from Him. It was the powerless        promite ca viata este numai de la EL.
who sustained a vision of hope that           Cei oropsiti au fost cei care au pastrat
inspired them to fight and remain               viziunea sperantei si au ramas neclintiti
steadfast in faith to show the Spirit of       in credinta, demonstrand ca Duhul lui
God can be the power of ordinary              Dumnezeu poate fi puterea oamenilor de
people.                                                  rand.

Christianity has in Christ the fulfillment of      Crestinismul are in Cristos implinirea
the promise of hope. The birth of a newborn    sperantei. Nasterea unui copil este
is always a signal of hope for the family              mereu un prilej de speranta pentru
in which he/she was born. Jesus as the              familia in care s-a nascut. Isus Fiul
Son of God, and as an intrinsic part of                lui Dumnezeu si parte intrinseca a lui
God, was the way of giving radical                     Dumnezeu a fost modul de a conferi
substance to the notion that every human          substanta notiunii ca fiecare om
being is created in the image of God. For      este creat in asemanarea lui Dumnezeu.
God to come on earth, bring a holy              Dumnezeu a venit pe pamant, sa aduca
message of love and salvation, and then          mesajul sfant al dragostei si mantuirii,
to die as ransom for sinners and be                 apoi a murit pentru rascumpararea
resurrected to show Himself and to come         pacatosilor, pentru a invia si intoarce
back at some future date was and is the most   in viitor, acesta ramane miracolul
beautiful miracle of hope for this world.        cel mai frumos al sperantei acestei lumi.

There are good reasons to not mush           Sunt motive bune pentru care
together these separate holidays.               pastram distictie intre aceste sarbatori.

As we celebrate God this holiday season,          Sarbatorind pe Dumnezeu in aceasta
let us remain alert and resist the allure             perioada, sa veghem si sa nu cadem
and the seductive charm of the material           prada charmului seducator ale acestei
world and its capacity to reduce all                 lumii, care reduce totul la dragostea
reality and all loving to the consumption           pentru lucruri materiale si la
of "things," and instead return to the               consumerism, ci sa ne intoarcem la
Truth, the Word of God. May He search      Adevar, la Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu. EL sa
our hearts this season and always.          ne cerceteze inimile acum si intotdeauna.



 Sarbatorind lumina dragostei lui Dumnezeu impreuna cu cei dragi - la Kay acasa

from Kay's backyard

cu noii prieteni din Myanmar - femeile din grupul de alfabetizare