Home In our Hearts

I'm sorry for the white background. I thought I had it figured out last night, but it didn't work today

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“Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today’s Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday." — Gladys Taber

 

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The best-selling Christmas song of all time is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, (according to the Guiness Book of World Records.)  It is also the bestselling single of  any genre of all time.    The bestselling Christmas album is Elvis Presley’s first Christmas album “Elvis Christmas.”  This is a video clip from the movie White Christmas 1950.

Bing Crosby - White Christmas (1950).avi - YouTube

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten

And children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten

And children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white

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Christmas Prayer

Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father, help us to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of angels, the gladness of 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 the 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 brings us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake Amen!

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Last night, I sat down to relax, clicked on a streaming site and put “Christmas movies” in the search box.  To my surprise, there was “Santa Claus Conquers The Martians”.   I was about 9 years old when this movie came out.  “It’s a Wonderful Life” was the best movie ever, this one was not.  My dad took Dennis (my younger brother) and I to see it in 1964.  He grumbled all the way home about the complete and total waste of time and money that movie was.  The only redeeming point in the movie was that it contained the first screen appearance of Mrs. Claus.  The movie faded into obscurity until it obtained cult status in 1990.  At that time, it was determined that it was so bad that it was good.  It has been consistently rated as one of the 100 worst movies ever made.  It’s totally harmless, it's just low budget and dumb.  If you want to watch a movie which is a real groaner that will make you shake your head and grimace, this is the one for you.

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Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef (I use ground turkey)

1 onion, diced

16 oz. can pinto beans

14 oz can diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

4 oz. diced chilis (I use the mild, but you can use hot.  Make it as spicy as you want)

1 can beef broth (I use chicken broth)

¾ cup frozen corn

⅓ cup diced green pepper 

1 package taco seasoning

Season as you’d like

Brown ground beef, green pepper and onion in large soup pot.  Drain fat.  Add remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer for 30 minutes.  It can also be made in a crock pot.

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Luke 2: 1, 3-6

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Luke shared the circumstances surrounding Christ's birth.  Jesus came as a baby, a precious gift from God.  It is so easy to lose Him in the hustle and bustle of December craziness.  Find a way to remember Him in your homes, with your families.  Show gratitude for that gift.  Our granddaughter Adrianne is in college this year.  It’s unbelievable how quickly she has grown up.  I thought about her and Christmas and nativities,and asked her if I could get her one for her room.  She said “yes”.  We gave it to her over Thanksgiving.  My mind wandered back to the first nativity I gave her.  She was about 5 years old.  We have many nativities in our home, and some are breakable.  That year, I put some within reach of the kids.  I was concerned about the possibility of breakage, but I wanted Adri and Brigham to interact with them.  I read a hint online about making a “1 finger rule” and thought that was a great idea.  The kids could touch any nativity they wanted to, any of them.  There was just one rule.  They just had to touch it with one finger, to keep it safe.  We gave Adri a simple, non-breakable nativity for Christmas.  She played with it,and told the nativity story in her own words over and over again. I walked into the room and saw a piece tipped over on the floor.  I reached down to pick it up, and Adri said, “One finger, Grandma.”  She cherished her nativity.  She protected it and kept it safe. ~~ Marilee

 I have several fun nativity projects for children on my pinterest page.  They are in the crafts for kids section.  They’re all Marilee approved.  The following story is a great one about the impact a nativity can have.  I do not know the author.  The story appears on numerous Christmas sites.

For Always

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools.  They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage.  About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage.  They related the following story in their own words.

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas.  We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem.  Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.  Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened.  Some sat on the edges  of their stools, trying to grasp every word.  Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger.  Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me.  No colored paper was available in the city.  Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw.  Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby’s blanket.  A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we brought from the United States.  The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help.  All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat–he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.  As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.  Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger.  Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.  For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately–until he came to the part where Mary put the baby in the manger.  Then Misha started to ad lib.  He made up his own ending to the story as he said, “And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.  I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.  Then Jesus told me I could stay with him.  But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did.  But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift.  So I asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?” And Jesus told me, “If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.”  So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him–for “always.”

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks.  Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.  The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon not abuse him, someone who would stay with him – FOR ALWAYS.

This December, let us give Christ the gift of a home in our hearts.