"Like
God, Christmas is timeless and eternal, from everlasting to
everlasting. It is something even more than what happened that night
in starlit little Bethlehem; it has been behind the stars forever.
There was Christmas in the heart of God before the world was
formed."
~ Roy Rogers
The Hope of Christmas
Matthew West - The Hope of Christmas (Official Music Video) - YouTube
Take
me back to eight years old
The little church on a dead end
road
With a candle flicker in one hand
And dad's hand in
the other
Take me back to silent night
My heart was full
and the world was right
'Cause right now the world looks nothin'
like
Those innocent Decembers
These
days peace on Earth is hard to find
And I need you to remind me
one more time
You're
still the hope of Christmas
You're still the light when the
world looks dark
You're still the hope of Christmas
And
You're still the hope of my heart
Watch
the snowflakes fallin' down
Like a blanket on this town
For
a moment we can hardly see
The pain this year has brought us
May
the sick find healing's touch
May hatred's fight be one with
love
And may every heart make room for You
The one who came
to save us
'Cause
You're still the hope of Christmas
You're still the light when
the world looks dark
You're still the hope of Christmas
And
You're still the hope of my heart
You're the hope of Christmas
I
bowed my head to pray tonight
Felt my little girl by my side
She
slipped her tiny hand in mine
And we both talked to You
And
it took me back to 8 years old
My daddy's hand and a story
told
About Heaven's love and the manger lo
And a promise
that's still true
You're
still the hope of Christmas
You're still the light when the
world looks dark
You're still the hope of Christmas
And
You're still the hope of my heart
You're
still the hope of Christmas
You're still the light when the
world looks dark
You're still the hope of Christmas
You're
still the hope of my heart
God's
Kids
One cold winter day, a
ragged little urchin stood on a street corner of a large city selling
newspapers. His feet were bare and he had no coat. As he stood there
shivering, a woman walking past noticed the child. She approached hi
and said, "Come with me dear. I want to buy you a coat and some
shoes."
A smile lighted his cold little face as he took her
hand. She led him to a large warm department store, where she had him
completely outfitted from head to toe with heavy winter clothing.
The
boy was putting on the last of his new clothing as the woman paid the
bill and quietly slipped out of the door. When he finished dressing
he looked for the lady to tell her thanks but he was told by the
clerk that she was gone.
He ran from the store frantically
looking up and down the street. He must find the lady to thank her.
At last! There she was walking down the street. He ran quickly to
her, took her hand and said, "Lady why did you go? I wanted to
thank you."
"You're welcome dear," she
smiled.
The little boy then looked up into her face and said
solemnly, 'Lady, who are you? Are you God's wife?" "No,"
she softly replied, I'm just one of His children. "Oh, I knew
it!" he smiled with tears in his eyes. "I just knew you
were some relation!"
6 oz chocolate chips
2 T butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. flour
1 t. vanilla
On low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Add remaining ingredients, stir well. Remove from heat and let cool. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
As I have watched 2 of our grandsons the past 2 days, I’ve thought a lot about what memories I want to leave them with, what traditions we establish. This afternoon I noticed the older of the boys had the fisher Price nativity on the floor (which is fine, they know that is for them to play with) the angel was on the manger, everything else was spread all over and inside the stable was as many toy cars and trucks as he could fit in it. He told me that baby Jesus loves trucks, and he wanted Jesus to be happy. I thought to myself, well here is a new tradition for this year: figuring out what we can do to make Jesus happy. ~~ Marilee
Christmas Love (sweet story)
available online from multiple sources
Heart
Touchers - Christmas Love by Candy Chand
Christmas
Love by Candy Chand - Beliefnet
Christmas Story: CHRIST WAS LOVE | Motivational Stories (academictips.org)
"Each
December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.
But once again, despite my plans, chaos prevailed. I had cut back on
nonessential obligations -- extensive card writing, endless baking,
decorating, and yes, even the all American pastime, overspending.
Yet, still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the
precious family moments, and, of course, the true meaning of
Christmas.
My
son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting
season for a six year old filled with hopes, dreams and laughter. For
weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter
Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the
night of the production.
Unwilling
to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me
there'd be a dress-rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All
parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.
Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So,
just as I promised, on the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in
10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down.
Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to
their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each
class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor.
Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because
the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as
"Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun,
commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus,
snowflakes and good cheer. The melodies were fun, cute and
lighthearted, but nowhere to be found was even the hint of an
innocent babe, a manger, or Christ’s sacred gift of hope and joy.
So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love", I
was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas
was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens,
red sweaters and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front
row -- center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell
out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for
Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is
for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his
portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas
Love."
The
performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her -- a
small, quiet girl in the front row who was holding the letter "M"
upside down. She was entirely unaware, that reversed, her letter "M"
appeared as a "W." Fidgeting from side to side, she soon
moved entirely away from her mark.
The
audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at the little one's
mistake. But in her innocence, she had no idea they were laughing at
her as she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".
One
can only imagine the difficulty in calming an audience of young,
giggling students. Although many teachers tried to shush the
children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised,
and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes
began to widen.
In
that instant, we understood -- the reason we were there, why we
celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos
there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was
held high, the message read loud and clear:
CHRIST
WAS LOVE
And,
I believe, He still is.~ Candy Chand ~ a true story
