“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.”  Sigrid Undset 

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RAOK: If you see a vehicle trying to change lanes or exit a parking lot with difficulty (i.e., no one will let them in), stop, give them a friendly wave and let them enter your lane safely.

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What Child Is This? (Christmas) Reese Oliveira w/Masa Fukuda & Brynnley S. LIGHTtheWORLD
video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRC6YSgdtGE

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the Son of Mary.

The babe, the son of Mary.

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 Jello Poke Cake from Shelley
1 loaf frozen pound cake, thawed at room temp
2 cups whipped topping
3/4 c. boiling water
1 - 3 oz  package of cherry jello
1/4 c. cold water
 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate 1 1/2 c. cherry pie filling, divided
Pierce cake with skewer at 1/2 inch interval, poking skewr through cake to bottom of pan.

Add boiling water to jello, stir until completely dissolved.  Stir in cold water; spoon over cake.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Make curls from chocolate.

Invert cake onto platter.  Cut cake horizontally in half.  Spread bottom of cake with 1/3 c. cool whip, cover with 1 c. pie filling and top layer of cake .  Frost with remaining cool whip.  Garnish with remaining pie filling and chocolate curls.

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Matthew 2:11 ¶ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh


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When I was growing up, our family did a lot of traveling by car. Mom and Dad rode in the front seat, with Dennis between them while Lee, Suzy and I sat in the backseat.  I was the youngest of the 3 of us backseaters, so I would start out in the middle.  I did a lot of grumbling.  I moaned. I groaned. When that did no good, I demanded a window seat because I felt sick.  I almost always got moved to the window when I pulled out the car sickness card because the truth of the matter was that I DID get car sick.  No one wanted to be between me and the window when that happened.   Suzy got her revenge at night by kicking me in bed.  One morning, Dad woke us up in what I thought was the middle of the night insisting we get an early start because it was going to be 120 degrees in Barstow that day and he wanted to get through there before we cooked to death. This was back in the days before air conditioning was standard in cars.  I grumbled.  I moaned.  I groaned.  None of it did any good.  I stuck out my lower lip and I pouted!  Then I looked out the hotel window and saw the most glorious sight I’d ever seen.  I saw the sun rise in the sky.  The colors were so beautiful that I asked my parents if that was where God lived, if we had found Heaven.  They laughed at me, but in my heart I believed that I had seen Heaven and that it was beautiful.   I was so good all that day!  All of my life I have longed to see Heaven again.  In 1 Corinthians 2:9 we read “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”  What a glorious place it must be, even more beautiful than my sunrise.  And just think, it’s all made possible through the love of Our Savior, Jesus Christ who entered this world as a tiny innocent child and grew to be the trail blazer, the path setter, the guide for all of us who wish to find our way to Heaven. Let us follow Him and love Him this Christmas season and always~~ Marilee

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‘Twas The Night Jesus Came

'Twas the night Jesus came and all through the house, 

not a person was praying, not one in the house.

The Bible was left on the shelf without care, 

for no one thought Jesus would come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed, 

not once ever kneeling or bowing their head.

And Mom in the rocking chair with babe on her lap, 

was watching the Late Show as I took a nap.

When out of the east there rose such a clatter, 

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash, 

tore open the shutters and lifted the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear, 

but Angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

The light of His face made me cover my head, 

it was Jesus returning just like He'd said.

And though I possess worldly wisdom and wealth, 

I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which he held in his hand, 

was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as he searched for my name, 

when He said "it's not here," my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love, 

He gathered to take to his Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without sound, 

while all of the others were left standing around.

I fell to my knees but it was too late, 

I'd waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight, 

Oh, if only I'd known that this was the night.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear 

the coming of Jesus is now drawing near.

There's only one life and when comes the last call, 

We'll find out that the Bible was true after all.