"A Classic Christmas Song With A Fruity Twist"

Since I began this blog in May, I have had the privilege to write about a variety of subjects. I attempt to follow the leading of the Lord, even in the most challenging and ridiculous topics. We forget that God himself said laughter was like a medicine. The year of 2010 has been one of the most challenging years of my married life and for some of my dearest friends as well. Had it not been for the "joy of the Lord"... well, I'm just not sure. So being true to form, I choose to celebrate this most holiest of seasons by remembering everything that Christ purchased for me, including my joy.

My escapades with produce prompted more than one unexpected response. People have called, e-mailed, and stopped me to say they will never view produce the same. A new best friend that has followed the Blog from the beginning purchased a Wal-Mart Gift Card for ME to buy more produce!!!! How priceless is that?

Of all the reactions, I must admit this "Classic Christmas Song With A Fruity Twist," written by one of my new best friends, is my favorite. She said this was my Christmas Card from her and I could do with it as I pleased. I added a picture and am sharing it with you. So as they say, once your food has been served, "Enjoy!"

On the First day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...

A Pineapple in a Pear Tree....


On the Second day of Christmas of my True Love gave to me...
Two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Third day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Fourth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Five ‘tangy’ tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Seventh Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Eight Packs of Peaches, Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Ninth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Nine Bags of Lemons, Eight Packs of Peaches, Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Ten Banana Bunches, Nine Bags of Lemons, Eight Packs of Peaches, Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Eleven Plums a Plenty, Ten Banana Bunches, Nine Bags of Lemons, Eight Packs of Peaches, Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.


On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my True Love gave to me...
Twelve Delicious Apples, Eleven Plums a Plenty, Ten Banana Bunches, Nine Bags of Lemons, Eight Packs of Peaches, Seven Stacks of Strawberries, Six Grapes a hanging, Five ‘tangy’ Tangerines...four Personal Melons, three Mangoes, two Apricots, and a Pineapple in a Pear Tree.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! HEHEHEHEHEHE! Merry Christmas to all, and may 2011 be the most fruitful year yet!

The Gift of Time

The Christmas Season as wonderful as it is, not only heralds the celebration of the Christ child’s birth, but can serve as a poignant reminder that another year is fading. In between the hustle and bustle of Holiday preparation you take a mental inventory….deep sigh, “Where did this year go?”

Time...you can’t buy or steal it. Who knows if it really does any good to beg for it?????

It is amazing that as an educated society we are so controlled by an inanimate object known as the clock. Cuckoo birds sing about it, the fashion industry decorates it, and the stars record it - time.


Even God Himself used time to set boundaries. He stepped back from this creation and declared, "This is good."


Our mirrors, pictures, videos, hospitals, nursing homes, and cemetery markers serve as a constant reminder as to how fleeting time is. Our biological clocks are forever ticking in the background of our days and nights.

Time restraints ranks at the top of our stress lists. We stay up way too late and get up way too early trying to cram more of it into our lives. The demands of time wreak havoc in every arena.

We celebrate time with birthdays, anniversaries, Bar Mitzvahs, graduations, and feasts.

Regret is the painful reminder of how often we have misused and abused this gift. We curse, mourn, and recklessly wish it away. We are terrorized and tormented with it. The judicial system allows the guilty to be sentenced by it.

We allow the medical profession in their most educated guess to set terms and limits on our time. Multiple disease processes and trauma erases memories of it.

Time is like a shadow…elusive to the grasp. Unfortunately, after a night of frivolity, there are occasions we don’t even remember what we did with it. Time carries its'own load of  both lies and truths.

Managing time is an industry unto itself. They have designed day-timers, calendars, watches; and clocks to help us better organize our lives. Consultants are paid exorbitant amounts of money to help our companies better organize our time and make us more efficient. We can be penalized or compensated for our time.

Man’s own ingenuity has figured out a way to seemingly control and manipulate time. Man has devised a way to divide it into zones. Daylight Savings Time allows us to advance and reverse it. Typically we just waste it like the sands of the hourglass.

Men and women alike are looking for the fountain of youth to hide the ravages of time. Society has made it a criminal offense to reveal the truth of the amount of time you have lived here on earth. Time’s trademarks of wrinkles and gray hair are no longer symbolic of honor, but shame.

We are rarely satisfied with the dispensation of time that we have been allotted.

We spend endless amounts of money to insure it. We medicate, drown, ignore, and totally disregard the value of time. We take it for granted.

We carelessly spend it like there was no tomorrow and selfishly guard it like it was Fort Knox. We believe the lie that time is our enemy.

There is NOTHING..I REPEAT…NOTHING that escapes the effects of time, not even our eternal destiny.

Ultimately, time is the gift of God. In His all knowing wisdom if we had needed more or less of it don’t you think that He would have changed our portion? Time is a season for us to share, love, and to bring honor and glory to the ultimate Time Keeper.

At this late date, if you are still desperately seeking the perfect Christmas gift, turn life off and give the most expensive thing you have to offer—your time.

Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for believing my time was my own.

Without the gift of time I would NOT be writing this Blog, learning new computer programs, or about to launch a new website. Without a doubt, all of this would have been impossible.

Thank you to those who have given and offered so freely of their time and support. Thank you to their families who so generously shared their time.

Prayer is hard work and requires the sacrifice and investment of time. Thank you to the faithful intercessors who cover us with the 'fire by night and the cloud by day.'

Thank you to my Godly husband who has invested most of his lifetime supporting and encouraging me to go for the gold. My precious husband who unselfishly has given me his energy and time when he himself seems to be running on 'Reserve."

Thank you to the readers for your gift of time. With all of the choices available, I do not take for granted that you would take the time to visit Modern Orange and leave encouraging comments.

As I reflect on my own personal 'Time Account," I leave you with a few timely quotes.

The only gift is a portion of thyself.

Time the most precious gift one can give. Each moment is unique because it will never happen again…the gift of your time spent with others is the ultimate display of unconditional love.

“Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence—neither speed up, nor slow down, add to nor diminish—it is an imponderably valuable gift.” Maya Angelou

"Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?" Author Unknown

"If there was ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing, IT IS NOW." Author Unknown, from Words of Encouragement for Teens

"Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time." Brian Tracy

"Time and words can't be recalled, even if it was only yesterday." Yiddish Proverb

"An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold." Chinese Proverb

t-t-f-n (ta-ta-for-now)

The High Cost of Favor

Mary’s pregnancy tests were not celebrated with little test strips turning pink, baby showers, toys or embossed birth announcements. The nursery for Jesus was not remodeled, papered, painted or furnished with the latest Jenny Lind furniture. His bassinet was a feeding trough. He was not born in the latest new tech birthing center with soft lights and the best of doctors, but a stable that was cold, uncomfortable and smelled of hay and manure.

Mary and Joseph’s first born was not brought home in designer baby gowns to a gathering of doting grandparents and family. Joseph and Mary did not read through all the latest baby books or consider their family tree in deciding what to name this mystery child.

This child was born in obscurity. His birth was announced only in the supernatural realm. Heaven had a mandate to protect Him from the murderous sentence that had been pronounced on all the male children 2 years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding districts by King Herod.

The most innocent of innocents burst through the Virgin womb with a death sentence around His neck. The place of His birth began the prophetic fulfillment that He was born to be slaughtered - Migdal Edar, “the tower of the flock”. In ancient Israel this was the exact location where lambs were raised for sacrifice and ceremonial slaughter. John 1:29 truly “He was to be the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.”

His first outfit may have only resembled swaddling clothes, but in truth, He was clothed in the unseen mantle of Destiny. Only a select few of God’s creations recognized this Gift of God!

By social standards he was considered illegitimate, cloaked in shame. The nagging question always plagued Him, who really was the Father? No DNA testing was available. The only place I can locate any record of Jesus being celebrated during the 9 months of pregnancy, was by another unborn baby that had also been destined for a life of isolation, misunderstanding, rejection and premature death…John the Baptist, and his mama.

DEFINITION OF  FAVOR
(1): friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior (2) : approving consideration or attention


: BEHALF, INTEREST : in favor of
a : in accord or sympathy with
b : to the benefit of :
 in support of A VERDICT IN FAVOR OF THE ACCUSED!

Much has been taught and written about the “Favor of the Lord.” The subject of favor has even been the foundation of ministries.

Psalm 5:12 (Amplified Bible) For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor). This scripture indicates that favor is a separate blessing to be desired, and bestowed by the Lord as a reward for the righteous.

How many times have we cried out and prayed for favor in every conceivable situation without much consideration for the cost of this grace?

The Birth of Jesus Foretold


Luke 1: 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
** Favor put demand on Heaven. ** Favor is not delivered by the lower echelon of God's army but, God's own messenger angel, Gabriel. **Favor may take generations to manifest.** Favor may require you to put on your seatbelt and a helmet. **Favor will require an extra measure of God's grace, mercy, and total faith that He will be with you in whatever He requires.


29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel[e] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
**This new found blessing was causing great turmoil in this child's soul. 


34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”


35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
**This teenage girl, with reckless abandon and faith, sealed her fate and that of her child's with her own words.**

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
** If she could have been totally honest, I am sure there were times she wondered if she had made the right decisions.**

Luke 2:34-35 (New Living Translation) Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
** A bittersweet prophecy about  this child produced as a result of God's favor. A prophecy that would strike fear in the boldest of mother's hearts.**


Luke 2:40 (New Living Translation) There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
**The same grace and favor that had come on the mother of Jesus the Christ had now come on her beloved child…..The same favor that cost the mother of Jesus her future would NOW cost her Son his.**