If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments. Howard W. Hunter

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Let It Be Christmas

performed by Alan Jackson

Let It Be Christmas - YouTube

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the hearts of all people both near and afar
Christmas everywhere
Feel the love of the season wherever you are
On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe
Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
With the gold and the silver, the green and the red
Christmas everywhere
In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds
In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow
Elderlys' memories that never grow old

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring
Christmas everywhere
In what this day means and what we believe
From the sandy white beaches where blue water rolls
Snow covered mountains and valleys below

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere

~*~*~*~

No-Bake Cookie Clusters

1 c. chunks of chocolate chip cookies
1 c. chopped peanut
1 ½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ½ c. peanut butter chips

Combine chips and melt over low heat. Immediately add cookie chunks and nuts. Stir until well coated, then drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper lined cookie sheet.

These cookies can be done with any variety of cookies and chips. It’s super easy for little “helpers.”

~*~*~*~

When we first moved into our home in 1990, I loved the space and the light. There were so many windows! I loved it. There was just a few little problems – there was no lawn, no driveway, no basketball hoop, no flowers and no trees! The next spring, we cut globe willow branches from the man camp. We stuck them in a bucket of water and waited for them to root. Every day I would go out and lift a branch to the top of the water to look for root signs. When the day came that I saw the first little buds, I was so excited and wanted to plant them that day! Dean explained to me that we had to let the roots grow and develop. Later that spring, we planted 3 globe willows, as well as fruit trees, flowers, a garden and grass. My home had a yard! One day, I was outside and thought I saw something move. I looked at one of the globe willows, and there was a swallow perched in it. There was life in my trees! We still have 2 of those trees (One blew over in a wind storm) and there are still birds in them. Yesterday, my path took me on a walk to think about Joseph, and I found myself thinking about my husband. They both did whatever it took to protect and care for their families. Joseph worked with his hands and created beautiful things. Dean works with his hands and creates beautiful things. Joseph moved his family to the deserts of Egypt for safety. Dean moved our family from Idaho to the deserts of Utah so that we could be together and he could provide for us. Joseph returned his family to Palestine and established a home in the farming community of Nazareth. He planted any trees they had, plowed their gardens, and provided homes for God’s creatures. He was a man of faith, who listened to the promptings of the spirit. Dean is a man of faith who tries to do God’s will. Joseph was a man of mystery, we know so little about him. Dean is a quiet man, a good man, and to many, a man of mystery. I have a much better image of Joseph in my mind today. I’m grateful for the hard working, devoted man he was. He was a man worthy to raise the son of God.  Let us look for the Joseph's around us, for men of honor and integrity, to whom God is everything.

 Today I am going to call, or text a shut-in and ask them about their favorite Christmas memories.  ~~ Marilee

~*~*~*~

"It will lose its Christmas"
By Bob Perks

It was magic. The day after Thanksgiving always was more exciting than the big day itself.

It was the day they pulled out the Christmas decorations from the attic. The day Christmas really became a reality.

"Do you remember where we keep them?" the father would ask.

"Are you kidding me? I know exactly where they are!" the young boy shouted.

Then, running up the stairs he headed directly to the far corner. Rummaging through some recently added boxes, pushing aside the bags of summer clothes, he dived into the dim, dark recesses of the storage area.

"Hey, where are you?" Dad asks. It wasn't really that dark. The boy could be seen perfectly well, but Dad played along with the excitement.

Suddenly, the boy popped out with the big plastic Santa face that always hung in the same spot on the porch just to the left of the front door.

"Ho, Ho Ho!" he said. "Have you been good?" the boy said in the deepest voice he could muster.

Dad just laughed and said, "Come on, we've got a lot to do today." This was it. This was a time held precious in the heart of a boy and through the years burned in the memory of the man he was to become.

One by one the boxes were pulled from the attic. It was amazing how so many things were added every year. This was the Christmas house. There was no mistake that Santa loved stopping here each year. It reminded him of home.

Well, that's what the boy decided anyway.

Lights were hung. Garland draped. Paper cut outs adorned the windows and Christmas designs were carefully stenciled to areas surrounding them.

If you remember stenciling you're probably older than you would like to admit.

Oh yes, don't forget the can of spray snow, too.

"Okay, that's it!" Dad said. "Let's put these back in the box. We won't use them this year."

The boy was stunned.

"What...what are you talking about?" he asked.

"We have too many things. We don't need to put everything up," Dad said.

"But, Dad..."

"Come on, that's enough."

"No, wait. You don't understand. This one goes over there, and that always hangs near the back door in the kitchen," the child said. "Not this year," Dad replied.

He then began to carry one of the boxes up the stairs.

The boy rushed to the bottom of the steps and cried out, "You can't put them back. We have to use them. If you don't use them they'll lose their Christmas!" he said with tears gushing from his eyes. The father surprised to see this reaction, stopped and turned towards the boy.

"What? What are you saying?" he asked.

Sniffling as he wiped the tears away, the boy said in a soft mournful tone, "Once you use something for Christmas you have to always use it. If you don't, it will lose its Christmas. Christmas is magic and everything in it becomes magical," he said.

Dad turned around and came back down the steps. Placing the box on the table, he turned and held his son.

"Okay, okay, I didn't know that. We'll put them up," he assured him. I can't say it is a fact. I can't tell you that it's some old world tradition, but it became one that day and remains so to this very day.

The years past and Christmas was celebrated in the same way. That is until 1972. That was the year that home lost its Christmas. It was June and a few months prior the boy's Mom had suffered what appeared to be a stroke. Later the doctors would discover the previously treated breast cancer had spread. His Mom died that June.

He was now 22 and married. Two weeks after her death a flood destroyed much of the memories in that home.

Thanksgiving was non existent. Christmas still a possibility. That is until Dad declared, "There will be no Christmas in this house!"

The boy and his wife were now living there. As much as he loved his mother he believed that her loss had nothing to do with the celebration of the birth of Christ.

"Dad, we need to at least put up the tree," he said one day just two weeks before December 25th.

"No!" Dad responded  "There will be no Christmas here."

Then standing near him, the boy touched his hand and said, "But they will lose their Christmas."

The smallest, almost unnoticeable smile came to Dad's face.

"I lost my Christmas, too."

There was no Christmas in the house that year. Years later, when he sold the house many of the decorations were tossed away.

I know. I was that boy.

Many Christmases have passed since then. Each filled with love, happiness and incredible memories.

If you are struggling with the idea of Christmas. If you are hurting because of the loss of a loved one, the pressures of finances, or simply can't find Christmas, I ask you to reconsider.

Remember the real reason for it. It is not a party. It is not a package under a tree. It is not thing.

It's a holy day. It is a celebration of the birth of the Christ child. It is your acknowledgement of faith in a God Who loves you.

I promise you this. Even if you hide away in your room that day, even if you don't light a candle, hang an ornament, or sing a song, your heart cannot lose its Christmas.

It is and always will be waiting for you.

"I believe in you!"
Bob Perks copyright 2007

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