Into the Light

Christmas is not just a time for festivity and merry making. It is more than that. It is a time for the contemplation of eternal things. The Christmas spirit is a spirit of giving and forgiving.” J. C. Penney

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Celtic Woman - O Holy Night (2020 Version) - YouTube

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the Spirit felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees
Oh, hear the angel voices
O night divine, the night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night, O night divine

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
With all our hearts we praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine

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Decorating Tip

For a simple but beautiful centerpiece, set three or five candles of different heights in the middle of the table on a tray, then surround the bases of the candles with seasonal items. Cuttings from your Christmas tree, or from evergreen trimmings in your yard are a great first layer. Then apples, glass ornaments turned hanger side down, pine cones, nuts, wire star garland, leftover ribbon.

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Wreaths aren't just for front doors. Add a really pretty one to a plain wall or wind tinsel around a frame, attach some tree decorations and hang it somewhere that doesn't usually get decorated like a bathroom or garage.

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My grandson, Lucas, has figured prominently in many of my Christmas stories. He is one of our 11 adored grandchildren. Lucas joined our family when he was almost 1 year of age. He brought with him many challenges. Lucas is afraid of a LOT of things: loud noises, bees, sunflowers, thunder, lightning, costumes and the dark, to name a few. When he was about 3, Gina and her family joined us for Christmas. Lucas was fascinated by our tree. We turned the lights on and he carefully reached out, touched the closest bulb and said, “Light, Pomma.” He went from one bulb to another, touching them and saying, “Light, Pomma.” At 8, the fear of the dark is not as strong in Lucas as it was at 3, but he still fears the darkness. I fear the dark, too, not so much the absence of light that is there in the quiet of the night, but the darkness that occurs when sadness and confusion fills our world. Lucas and I have both learned that light is good. Daylight enables us to see the real world, with all of its beauty. An even more important source of light comes from the Son of God. As I’ve walked along my path this month, I’ve read the four gospels and completed reading the book of Acts. My life is filled with light, the light of Christ. When Lucas was young, he loved to be sang to at night. His favorite bedtime songs were the songs about Jesus Christ. He went to sleep every night filled with the light of Christ. Walking this path has helped me walk every day in His light as I’ve increased my know ledge of his life. There is a song I love called “Miracles”. This song by Shawna Edwards says “Jesus is a God of miracles. Nothing is at all impossible to Him. But I know this: Of all His miracles, the most incredible must be the miracle that rescues me." ~~ Marilee

The Miracle (A Song for all Christians - by Shawna Edwards) - YouTube

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A Christmas Prayer
Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,
Help us to remember the birth of Jesus
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and
open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and
good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings, and teach us to
be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy
to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening
bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.
Amen

THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT

by Alice Smith

"Hurry up! We’ve got to get to Nanny’’s house." The children were happy and excited as we started off toward my mother-in-law’’s, a 45 minute drive down the coast.

This particular Christmas Eve was cold and misty, the traffic bumper to bumper. My husband edged our car into the passing lane of the four-lane highway, which was bisected by a median strip. The visibility became increasingly limited; feeling anxious, I looked back at the children sitting calmly in the back seat. They were more precious to me than anything in the world.

Suddenly, it was as if a voice spoke to me saying, "Move over! You’re in the wrong lane," even though I absolutely knew we were not on a two-lane road. I turned to my husband. "Honey, we’re on a two-lane road and you’’e on the wrong side," I said with deadly intensity. "Pull over quick."

He knew, and knew that I knew that we were on a four lane highway. But when I repeated my warning again, he immediately began edging back into the right lane. No sooner had we made it back than cars that had been behind us began careening into the median, anywhere to get out of the passing lane. Horns were blaring, cars pulling off the side of the road. Then we saw why: A car; with its bright lights shining, was racing down the wrong side of the road, the lane we’d been traveling in. My husband and I looked at each other in stunned silence. We could have been involved in a terrible head-on crash.

Extrasensory perception? Maybe. But I choose to think that God sent me a life-saving message.

Our family had a special reason to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus, that memorable Christmas Eve. We had been given the most precious of Christmas gifts––––the gift of life itself.