Do Not Despair

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you lie a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart … filled it too, with melody that would last forever.  Beth Streeter Aldrich

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STAR OF BETHLEHEM
written by Sherri O. Bird
Choral Version by Daniel Carter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaiO05bwB0w

lyrics included

The night was long, we traveled far,
at times I looked but could not see the star.
Yet still it shone unveiling then
the way to Bethlehem.

My heart held fear mid puzzled joy,
for I was only a small shepherd boy.
And on a hillside soft and green,
I heard an angel sing.

I saw the midnight sky aflame
with radiant angels bathed in light, holy light.
Bringing word that Christ was born and beckoning to find him,
go and find him.

A sweeter face I neer will see
Than of those loving eyes smiling up at me.
I found a King;
I found a friend that night in Bethlehem.

But life goes on, years beyond one brief night of my youth.
Time clouds my vision of truth, of truth
And tho I stumble and fall I can hear someone call,
"Do not despair, your star is still there."

That Christmas night so long ago has filled my life with love because I
know that he lives now as he did then, a King in Bethlehem,
Whose love never ends. Shine for me again,
Star of Bethlehem.

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Recipe

Fastest and Best Fudge Ever

4 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

½ t. cinnamon

1/3 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

½ c. margarine or butter, cut into pieces

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine powdered sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon in 8-cup glass bowl. Pour in milk and vanilla. Sprinkle margarine over top.

Microwave, uncovered, at High power for 2 minutes. Mix well and pour into aluminum foil lined and greased 8 x 8 x 2" baking pan. Sprinkle pecans over top of fudge and press in lightly. Refrigerate until firm––abt. One hour.

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I have a song stuck in my mind and my heart today. (Yes, it’s the one the link is to). We sang it in our Christmas Cantata many years ago. I have carried it in my heart ever since. One verse which stands out in my mind from this song about a young shepherd boy who saw the star and heard the angels sing, then saw the Lord:

“But life goes on, years beyond one brief night of my youth.
Time clouds my vision of truth, of truth
And tho I stumble and fall I can hear someone call,
"Do not despair, your star is still there."

This weekend, I looked for opportunities to serve, and felt bad because there are many things which I can no longer do. I began to doubt that I could make a difference, then the phrase came to mind “do not despair, your star is still there”. I knew that Jesus would accept my small offering of serving, because he knows the desires of my heart. One of my readers shared this story with me about an act of service which turned out a little different from what they thought would happen.

From Sandy
I'll never forget the year I delivered a package for a relative. We were visiting my sister and she told me about a family that lived nearby for whom they had prepared a Christmas package. The father in the family was unemployed and they were really struggling. My sister's family decided to take all of the money they would have spent on their own Christmas and provide for this family. She didn't want them to know who the gift was from though and trusted me - a total stranger to the area to deliver the items. My dh and I loaded the food and gifts into our car and headed for the address. After several wrong turns, we found the small home and carried the boxes of gifts to the porch, then rang the doorbell. A tired, sad looking young woman answered the door. As she looked at the boxes and saw they contained food, she began to cry, their cupboards were truly bare. The house was cold because they only heated it enough to keep the pipes from freezing. There was no money for more heat. I noticed that she had taken wrapping paper and cut the shape of a Christmas tree out and taped it to the wall. There were three small gifts under the "tree" which looked like candy bars wrapped up. This mother was trying. Over and over through her tears she kept repeating that she didn't know anyone cared... Then, just as were leaving, she asked once again who the wonderful person was who had done all this for a "single mom" and her family. A single mom? What did she mean? With that we realized we had taken the gifts to the wrong house. We didn't know what to do...there was no way we could take those gifts back. We told her that God knew her needs and to thank him. -That the giver hadn't been sure of sizes, so if anything didn't fit to exchange things for the correct sizes at the local Kmart. My husband pulled out his wallet and gave her money for the power bill, then walked over and turned the heat up and told her that no one should be cold at Christmas. We returned to my sister's not knowing what she'd say or do and told her family what happened. They were stunned, but decided that the gifts had gone to the right people all along, people who needed to know that someone cared. The original family in their neighborhood received many gifts from other people that Christmas. Their stockings were full-and so of course were the stockings of the little family God led us to.

I know that the Lord will lead us to do good. He loves us, all of us.

“That Christmas night so long ago has filled my life with love because I know that he lives now as he did then, a King in Bethlehem, Whose love never ends. Shine for me again, Star of Bethlehem.

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This Christmas
From The Editors of McCall's Magazine 1959

This Christmas, mend a quarrel.
Seek out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust.
Write a love letter. Share some treasure.
Give a soft answer. Encourage youth.
Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.
Keep a promise. Find the time.
Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy.
Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Try to understand.
Flout envy. Examine your demands on others.
Think first of someone else. Appreciate.
Be kind; be gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
Deserve confidence. Take up arms against malice.
Decry complacency. Express your gratitude.
Go to church. Welcome a stranger.
Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again.

Christmas is celebration, and there is no celebration
that compares with the realization of its true meaning -
with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended
itself toward the core of life. Then, only then,
is it possible to grasp the significance of the first Christmas -
to savor in the inward ear the wild, sweet music of the angel choir;
to envision the star-struck sky, and glimpse,
behind the eyelids the ray of light that fell athwart
a darkened path and changed the world.