John 14:27

 John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

“He gives us hope when hope is gone.  He gives us strength when we can’t go on. He gives us shelter in the storms of life.  When there’s no peace on earth, There is peace in Christ”.  McKenna Hixson

Matthew West - Because of Bethlehem (Lyric Video)

This video shows Matthew West sitting on a stool, surrounded by candles singing this song.  One of the things i especially like about this song is that it deals with Christ’s entire life, not just his birth.

From a child in a cradle to a king upon a cross…

Love is born, hope is here

Heaven's light has made the darkness disappear

Peace on Earth, good will to men

God with us all because of Bethlehem

Carrot Cake Muffins

1 ½ c. flour

1 ½ t baking soda

½ t. Cinnamon

½ t. Salt

¾ c sugar

2 large eggs (beaten)

½ c vegetable oil

1 t. Vanilla

1 ½ c shredded carrots

½ c chopped walnuts

4 ounces softened cream cheese

3 T powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar, stir to combine. Add in beaten eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in shredded carrots. Grease muffin tins or line with paper liners, then fill with batter to 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 22-25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely. Make your icing, combine all icing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled muffins.

Christmas is about believing in things which are unbelievable.  What a crazy story some people think it is – the Son of God being born to a virgin in a stable filled with farm animals? REALLY?? (dripping with sarcasm)??  At Christmas time and throughout the  year, we need to think with our hearts rather than our brains.  We need to become like children and trust that God is with us every day.  Mary answered the call of a messenger from God.  In my mind, I hear her say, “Ready now am I to do thy will”. She chose to become the mother of Our Saviour.  Joseph chose to love her and to become the earthly father of Christ.   The shepherds chose to believe the angel song.  The wise  men chose to follow the Star.   All of them filled their lives with hope.  I choose to believe it all.  We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and created this world for us.  He wants us to return to Him and my heart is filled with the hope that through Christ, we will.  I know that we are never alone.  His Love never dies and our lives will continue beyond this realm of existence.  Hope is my reality.   ~~ Marilee

Here is a super easy Nativity craft for children 

Easy Baby Jesus in Manger Craft

There are many wonderful stories circulating on the internet at Christmas time.  This is one of them.  The original story was written by Rev. Howard C. Schade pastor of the First Reformed Church in Nyack, New York; it was published in the December 1954 issue of Reader's Digest.  Through the years, it has been rewritten with changes, some people claiming the story happened as recently as 1970.  Others have claimed they wrote it.  People have changed the setting, added details, etc to make the story their own.  I have read many of them and like most of them.  Why? Because it is a story of hope, and of God’s love for His children.  It is a fabulous story:  A lonely couple, separated by that greatest of evils (the Nazis) brought together on the holiest day of the year by a man of the cloth.

The White and Ivory Tablecloth 

At Christmastime men and women everywhere gather in their churches to wonder anew at the greatest miracle the world has ever known. But the story I like best to recall was not a miracle — not exactly. It happened to a pastor who was very young but his church was very old.

Once long ago it had flourished. Famous men had preached from its pulpit and prayed before its altar. Rich and poor alike had worshiped there and built it beautifully. Now the good days had passed from the section of town where it stood. But the pastor and his young wife believed in their run-down church. They felt that with paint, hammer, and faith they could get it in shape. Together they went to work.

However late in December a severe storm whipped through the river valley and the worst blow fell on the little church — a huge chunk of rain-soaked plaster fell out of the inside wall just behind the altar. Sorrowfully the pastor and his wife swept away the mess but they couldn't hide the ragged hole. The pastor looked at it and had to remind himself quickly, "Thy will be done!" But his wife wept, "Christmas is only two days away!"

That afternoon the dispirited couple attended an auction held for the benefit of a youth group. The auctioneer opened a box and shook out of its folds a handsome gold and ivory lace tablecloth. It was a magnificent item, nearly 15 feet long; but it, too, dated from a long vanished era. Who, today, had any use for such a thing?

There were a few halfhearted bids. Then the pastor was seized with what he thought was a great idea. He bid it in for $6.50. He carried the cloth back to the church and tacked it up on the wall behind the altar. It completely hid the hole! And the extraordinary beauty of its shimmering handwork cast a fine, holiday glow over the chancel. It was a great triumph. Happily he went back to preparing his Christmas sermon.

Just before noon on the day of Christmas Eve as the pastor was opening the church, he noticed a woman standing in the cold at the bus stop. "The bus won't be here for 40 minutes!" he called and invited her into the church to get warm. She told him that she had come from the city that morning to be interviewed for a job as governess to the children of one of the wealthy families in town but she had been turned down. A war refugee, her English was imperfect.

The woman sat down in a pew and chafed her hands and rested. After a while she dropped her head and prayed. She looked up as the pastor began to adjust the great gold and ivory cloth across the hole. She rose suddenly and walked up the steps of the chancel. She looked at the tablecloth. The pastor smiled and started to tell her about the storm damage but she didn't seem to listen. She took up a fold of the cloth and rubbed it between her fingers. "It is mine!" she said. "It is my banquet cloth!" She lifted up a corner and showed the surprised pastor that there were initials monogrammed on it. "My husband had the cloth made especially for me in Brussels! There could not be another like it."

For the next few minutes the woman and the pastor talked excitedly together. She explained that she was Viennese and that she and her husband had opposed the Nazis and decided to leave the country. They were advised to go separately. Her husband put her on a train for Switzerland. They planned that he would join her as soon as he could arrange to ship their household goods across the border. She never saw him again. Later she heard that he had died in a concentration camp. "I have always felt that it was my fault — to leave without him," she said. "Perhaps these years of wandering have been my punishment!" The pastor tried to comfort her and urged her to take the cloth with her. She refused. Then she went away.

As the church began to fill on Christmas Eve, it was clear that the cloth was going to be a great success. It had been skillfully designed to look its best by candlelight. After the service, the pastor stood at the doorway. Many people told him that the church looked beautiful. One gentle-faced middle-aged man — he was the local clock-and-watch repairman — looked rather puzzled. "It is strange," he said in his soft accent. "Many years ago my wife — God rest her — and I owned such a cloth. In our home in Vienna, my wife put it on the table" — and here he smiled — "only when the bishop came to dinner."

The pastor suddenly became very excited. He told the jeweler about the woman who had been in church earlier that day. The startled jeweler clutched the pastor's arm. "Can it be? Does she live?"

Together the two got in touch with the family who had interviewed her. Then in the pastor's car they started for the city. And as Christmas Day was born, this man and his wife who had been separated through so many saddened Yule tides were reunited.

To all who hear this story, the joyful purpose of the storm that had knocked a hole in the wall of the church was now quite clear. Of course, people said it was a miracle; but I think you will agree it was the season for it!