The True Christmas

For unto 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.

Of the increase of his government and

of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his

kingdom,

to establish it and uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this forth and

forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do

this.

~Isaiah 9:6-7

For he grew up before him like a young

plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we

should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire

him.

He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted

with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their

faces

he was despised, and we esteemed

him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our

transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that

brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

~Isaiah 53:2-5

Merry Christmas!

RhoXie

Y'all's Christmas Present

So I'd been trying to think of what to do about Christmas and my blog. Then it hit me. Why not do a post of snippets from Inkling Adventures? So that's what I'm doing! Enjoy.😸

~

Hazel laughed cruelly. "Well... I was just wondering what your mom would think of her replacement."

"Ooh!" Hazel's friends exclaimed.

"Aunt Helen isn't a replacement for Mom," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Of course she isn't," Hazel replied. "Who'd want to replace a mom who does even have the guts to live? I mean, really."

“I knew you’d find out sooner or later. If you didn’t, I would’ve told you in a few years,” Dad said, then asked, “How much do you know?”

I counted off on my fingers. “You and Mom were Inklings – but I’m not sure what that means – the real reason Mom died, and that elves exist. That’s about it.”

Elflings shall hear the call;

The Black forever shall fall.

Deepest dark they will face,

Seeking to defeat evil’s race.

“You’re as bad as my dad,” I muttered. “God made us but no longer cares about us.”

“If you indeed believe that to be true, then your life lacks much truth in it,” Nelacra sadly said. “For you are wrong. God cares for you in ways you will never imagine.”

I didn’t answer her, but I didn’t believe her either.

Darkness met my eyes when I opened them again. Something woke me. what was it?

I lay still and listened. Then I heard it. A voice calling my name.

“Priss!”

The voice came from nearby. It sounded familiar, and the tone urgent.

“Priss!”

I swallowed. “Is that all?” I attempted to say the words jokingly and mask my fear.

“No,” said Lamsor gravely. “There is Zaltin the Black as well.”

"Oh, yeah. Him," I said. He's the one who has Dad. He's the one who has to pay.

We were face to face with the remaining Night Wizard.

He was a tall figure, dressed in silver. Writing in a foreign language covered his robes. But what unsettled me most was his smile. It seemed friendly yet cold at the same time.

The smile of death, I thought and then realized what that meant.

The judge turned to Mr. Inndigo. “Do you wish to cross-examine the witness?”

“I do, your honor,” he answered promptly.

Mr. Inndigo stood and walked towards me.

I grinned. Yep, I was right. It's Daynin. A wizard for a lawyer, not bad.

~

And that's it! Hope y'all have a merry Christmas.

RhoXie

Want to know more about Inkling Adventures? Check out these posts!

• Inkling Adventures Visuals
• Visiting The Land
• Priss' Prophecy
• Not the Cover Reveal

Jedi Braid Bun and Variations

Say hello to Sarah, everyone! With December here, I'd like to show y'all an easy hairstyle that works all day. It's a beautiful bun with a story behind it. 

Sarah's dance studio was having a costume day one Friday, and Sarah was going has a Jedi. I had the wonderful privilege of braiding her hair for the event. However, we were pressed for time, and I didn't get to do it quite the way I'd envisioned it. Today I'll get to share some variations.

The Jedi Braid Bun

1. Part hair in the middle.
2. Run finger up from behind the right ear up to the part and section off the hair in front of the finger. (Optional: Secure loose hair out of the way.)
3. Section off the last fourth of hair from step 1.
4. Divide the the fourth into three equal pieces and braid down the length. (Left piece over middle; right piece over new middle. Repeat till braid is done.)
5. Secure Braid with a small ponytail holder.
6. Repeat steps 5&6 on the remaining three fourths.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 on the left side of head.
8. Gather all the hair that is not braided into a ponytail but DO NOT secure.
9. Add all braids  and ponytail all the hair including the braids. Make sure the braid lay flat against the head.
10. Wrap the braids around the rest of the hair, and twist into a bun by making a slightly twisted loop of hair and pulling the ends thru.
11. Tighten the loop by pulling on the ends. Then Tuck the ends under and pin in place. Make sure the ponytail holders on the braids are hidden.

Variations:

1. Turn the ponytail into one big braid and bun normally.
2. Leave it as a ponytail.
3. Braid the rest of the ponytail in little braids and bun it as above.
4. Or braid it and leave as a ponytail.

Well, there y'all have it. One hairstyle five ways. Hope that meets all your holiday hair needs. As always if you need help, just leave a comment.

Lessons from the Move

  

   My family is now happily semi-settled in our new house. However, the process has taught a few thing I'd like to share with y'all.

1. No matter how worried you are, trust God. We seriously didn't know if we'd have a house for a while. Then we didn't know if we'd have buyers. But God came through.
2. Real friends are a gift. So many people helped us. They gave us boxes, meals, and storage space. And those are just the ones I can easily list!
3. You don't need all the stuff. I had no electronics, slept on a bare mattress, and ate off paper plates. But I survived it!
4. You never know when God will bless you. I've wanted a lap-desk for the longest time but could never I liked and could afford. But one was left at the house, a really nice one.

   I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving Day, and I'll see y'all again next week.

RhoXie