And when they

 

Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

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"The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays." -W.C. Jones

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Shine For Me Again, Star of Bethlehem

BYU Singers

Shine for Me Again, Star of Bethlehem | BYU Singers - YouTube

The night was long, we traveled far,
At times I looked but could not see the star.
Yet still it shone unveiling then
the way to Bethlehem.

My heart held fear mid puzzled joy,
for I was only a small shepherd boy.
And on a hillside soft and green,
I heard an angel sing.

I saw the midnight sky aflame
with radiant angels bathed in light, holy light.
Bringing word that Christ was born and beckoning to find him,
go and find him.

A sweeter face I ne’er will see
Than of those loving eyes smiling up at me.
I found a King;
I found a friend that night in Bethlehem.

But life goes on, years beyond one brief night of my youth.
Time clouds my vision of truth, of truth
And tho I stumble and fall I can hear someone call,
"Do not despair, your star is still there."

That Christmas night so long ago has filled my life with love because I
know that he lives now as he did then, a King in Bethlehem,
Whose love never ends. Shine for me again,
Star of Bethlehem.

These words have resonated in my soul since the first time I heard it.  When life gets hard, I hear those words, “Do, not despair, your star is still there … I know that He lives now, as He did then, a King in Bethlehem, whose love never ends.”

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Banana chocolate chip cookies

from Kierra

1 c. mashed banana

2 ½ c. sifted flour

2/3 c. butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 t. baking powdered

1/2 t salt

¼ t baking soda

1 t. vanilla

1 small package chocolate chips

*nuts, optional

cream butter and eggs until fluffy and add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet mix. When combined, fold in bananas and chips. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

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Legend of the Three Kings

Gaspar (or Caspar), Melchior and Balthasar, three kings from the east, are said to have traveled a long way to see Baby Jesus.  They followed a bright star and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh along with them. The Bible says magi came from the east, following a big star, and that they were looking for the King of the Jews. But magi are wise men, not kings. And the number of and names of the magi are never detailed anywhere in writing. Furthermore, the Bible says the men arrived when Jesus was a young child, not an infant, and they found him at home with his mom — not in a manger in a stable. Scholars believe the men were likely astrologers who arrived a year or more after Jesus' birth. Because three gifts are listed in the Bible, scholars also say that over time, people assumed this meant there were three men. The myth of their names emerged later, after a mosaic depicting the magi was created in the sixth century. The mosaic, housed in the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy, contains the names Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

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Little children are a light for all of us at Christmas. Christ loved children, and said that we must all become like them if we desire to return to His presence. In today's story, we see a young boy following the light. May we all find that light this Christmas ~~ Marilee

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He Heard a Baby

John was almost five years old that Christmas. He did not have a part in the school Christmas pageant, he was just one of many students in the kindergarten class. As the children gathered at school for the program, everyone was busy with costumes and makeup and no one noticed a little boy go out the door into the hall.

He had heard a baby! There was supposed to be a baby—he knew that.

Down the dark hall was the way he had to go. He wondered why God didn’t send the star, and then he remembered. The star wasn’t for him. It was really for the shepherds and the wisemen, and he wasn’t anybody important like that. He’d have to be very brave and go alone to find the baby.

At the far end of the hall, he saw a light from a doorway. Then he heard the baby’s cry more clearly. He knew where to go.

Mary Meadowcroft knelt beside the chair her husband, Joe, had brought to school for his sixth-grade reading corner. She put her young son Jeffrey down to rest. He was normally such a contented baby. Had she known he would cry like this, she would have stayed at home with him instead of coming to school with Joe to see the pageant.

Suddenly, she was startled to hear a little voice questioning, “Are you Mary?”

“Why, yes, I am,” she answered with amazement. “Do I know you?”

“I came to see your baby,” said John.“I didn’t know He ever cried like that,” he added softly.

“Jeffrey is just frightened to be in a strange place.”

“Hi,” John said softly as he knelt down beside the baby. “I’m John. I’m not a wise man or anything, but they couldn’t come.”

The baby stopped crying to turn and look at John. Mary remained perfectly still, her mouth drawn into an astonished “Oh!”

“I forgot to bring something, little Jeffrey Jesus.”

The baby was smiling now. John put out a tentative finger to touch him and said in whispered adoration. “I really do love you, Jeffrey Jesus.”

Suddenly John smiled. “I know what I can give you! I’ll sing you a song that we’ve been practicing! I know all the words!”

By now John’s parents had come searching for him. They were stopped in the doorway by the sight of Mary and the baby listening to John’s gift of song.

Bless all the dear children

In thy tender care,

And take us to heaven

To live with thee there.

The baby beamed at the singing child while the three adults, their hearts full of wonder, saw a glimpse of an angel that night.