"Were it not for the shepherds, there would have been no reception. And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts." Max Lucado

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Some Children See Him
written by Wihla Hutson & Alfred S. Burt (c)1951.
Performed by Kenny Rogers and Alison Krauss

Some Children See Him (feat. Alison Krauss) - YouTube

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Some children see Him lily white,
the baby Jesus born this night.
Some children see Him lily white,
with tresses soft and fair.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
The Lord of heav'n to earth come down.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
with dark and heavy hair.

Some children see Him almond-eyed,
this Savior whom we kneel beside.
some children see Him almond-eyed,
with skin of yellow hue.
Some children see Him dark as they,
sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray.
Some children see him dark as they,
and, ah! they love Him, too!

The children in each different place
will see the baby Jesus' face
like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,
and filled with holy light.
O lay aside each earthly thing
and with thy heart as offering,
come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!

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RECIPE

DAD'S PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

12 oz Peanut Butter Chips

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/4 C Butter, Divided

½ C Peanuts

6 Oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Dash Salt

Over low heat, melt peanut butter chips, 1 cup of condensed milk, and 2 tablespoonsl butter. Stir occasionally and when completely melted remove from heat. Stir in peanuts. Pour into a waxed paper lined 8 inch square pan. In a sauce pan, melt chocolate chips with remaining condensed milk, and butter. Add salt and stir to mix well. When completely melted, pour over peanut butter mix already in 8" sq. Pan. Chill at least two hours or until firm. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Makes 2 pounds of candy or about 36 pieces.

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I had this morning all planned out. I was going to get up, make Dean his favorite apple muffins, hash browns and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Dean beat me out of bed. I got in the kitchen and he was making pancakes. Grrr.. My next move was to put a heating blanket on our bed. I know that doesn’t sound very charitable, but you see we don’t heat our bedroom, so it’s really cold when you first get in bed. I had this great idea, I’d put a heating blanket on it and turn it on about 15 minutes before we get in bed tonight, and he’d have a warm toasty bed to get into. Great idea, right? He came in and caught me at it and explained we don’t need a heating blanket. Guess what. He’s getting it anyway! I WILL COUNT IT! We’re not getting out much these days and I haven’t gone anywhere to do any charitable acts. Well, no where except for Physical Therapy. I volunteered to cut my time back on the upper cycle so another client could use it, but the Physical Therapist didn’t see that as a good option for me.. Hmmm…. Imagine that! What I have discovered is that I’ve been the recipient of many acts of charity today. My husband made breakfast and helped me with the bed. A friend dropped off a Christmas present for me. I got 3 cards in the mail, and waves and smiles from people seeing me in my car. Charity and Service is contagious. I hope it has brought you many smiles today. Tomorrows path will be to prepare to Do the 12 Days of Christmas with someone, only use stories or scripture trees with them. It should be fun to pick out 12 scriptures about the Savior and find stories to go with them ~~ Marilee

The most precious part of a Christmas gift
Is the love with which it is tied.
The part of a card that kindles stars
Is the friendliness tucked inside.
O it isn't the gifts or the money spent
That makes the Christ Child live
Not the Christmas cards, nor the carols sung
It's the bit of ourselves we give.

Emily Carey Allenson

The Gift by Aseling Debison

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For it's feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the town folks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense
And perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird, in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

She waited till just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
Maria, what brings you to me
If the bird in the cage is your offering
Open the door and let me see
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale' s song.