This then is the message

 

1 John 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.  

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"Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance—a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved." -Augusta E. Randel

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Let It Be Christmas
performed by Alan Jackson
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sseRlBDDVaU&feature=related

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the hearts of all people both near and afar
Christmas everywhere
Feel the love of the season wherever you are
On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe
Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
With the gold and the silver, the green and the red
Christmas everywhere
In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds
In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow
Elderlys' memories that never grow old

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring
Christmas everywhere
In what this day means and what we believe
From the sandy white beaches where blue water rolls
Snow covered mountains and valleys below

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere
Christmas everywhere

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Holiday Recipe

Oreo Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies

from Betty

1 box fudge brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on box for cakelike brownies

16 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

1package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3cup canned pumpkin (solid pack, not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4cup sugar

1/2teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2teaspoon vanilla

1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip frozen whipped topping, thawed

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
Mix brownie batter as directed on box for cakelike brownies. Stir in 1 cup of the chopped cookies. Spread in pan. Bake 24 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side comes out almost clean. Cool completely, at least 1 hour. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl frequently. Beat in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Spread evenly over crust. Spread remaining whipped topping over top. Refrigerate 2 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle remaining cookies on top.

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Holiday Scrabble

Preparation: Scramble Christmas related words, then print them on papers. Divide people into teams. Hold up a scrambled word so that everyone can see it. Give the first team 30 seconds to unscramble the word. If they cant figure it out, it goes to the other team. Rotate through team members so that everyone plays.

Who/Where Am I?

For this game, you need a pack of sticky notes. Preparation: Write a name or character on each paper. Stick a paper to each person's forehead, and they have to try to figure out who they are (like Joseph, Santa, a donkey) or where they are (like stable, Bethlehem, North Pole) by asking questions of everyone else.

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In John 8:12 we read “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” I’m so grateful for that light. Grateful for the hope it gives to a tired world. Why December 25^th when there is nothing in the bible itself which indicates the date of Christ’s birth. Early Christians developed the theological idea that Christ was conceived and crucified on the same calendar day. It became a part of their belief system. The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) dated Jesus' conception to March 25 (the same date upon which he held that the world was created) which implies that our Savior’s birth occurred nine months months later on Dec. 25. The early Christians took over some of the customs from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian meanings, like mistletoe, holly, and even the singing of Christmas carols. Today’s story tells the story of a man living in the small town of Fillmore, Utah. He showed the light of Christ in his dealings with his fellow man. The poem Admonishes us to share that light all year round. ~~ Marilee

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He Fixed My Car, and My Christmas

by Glen Gillette, Las Vegas, Nevada

In 1958, I was a first-year high school teacher in Beatty, Nevada. On Dec. 22, I headed home to Idaho in my 1951 Hudson to spend Christmas with my parents.

Just south of Fillmore, Utah, a radiator hose broke and the car started to overheat. I hitchhiked into Fillmore and got a ride to a Chevron station. I explained my plight to the owner, Dan Brinkerhoff, who sent a tow truck to bring in my car.

Dan discovered that the engine had become so hot it had warped the head, so he called a nearby wrecking yard and found the needed part. I boarded a Greyhound bus, bought the part and then caught a return bus to Fillmore.

By that time it was dark, and Dan had closed the station. He immediately went to work on my car, laboring for several hours while I slept curled up in the backseat. Finally, he woke me and announced I was ready to go. When I went to settle up, he would not take a dime for anything he had done.

I got to spend the holidays with my parents, and I shall forever remember Dan for the wonderful thing he did for me.

Let Every Day Be Christmas

by Norman Wesley Brooks

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,

for loving, sharing, giving are not to put away

like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.

The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

Peace on Earth, good will to men,

kind thoughts and word of cheer,

are things we should use often

and not just once a year.

Remember too the Christ-child, grew up to be a man;

to hide Him in a cradle, is not our dear Lord’s plan.

So keep the Christmas spirit, share it with others far and near,

from week to week and month to month, throughout the entire year!