NIV Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not be faint.
“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart … filled it, too, with melody that would last forever. Even though you grew up and found you could never quite bring back the magic feeling of this night, the melody would stay in your heart always—a song for all the years.” —Bess Streeter Aldrich
I love this song. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The video contains beautiful pictures filled with light.
His love knows no borders
Nor color nor creed
No rich and no poor,
Neither bondsman nor free
And we who receive Him
Must love without end
And carry His tidings
Of peace and good will
To all men.
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER
by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the 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 bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus sake. Amen!
Herb Biscuit Loaf
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tubes (12 ounces each) buttermilk biscuits
Shop Recipe
Directions
In a shallow bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Dip biscuits into butter mixture; fold in half and place in rows in a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Drizzle with the remaining butter mixture. Bake at 350° until golden brown, 27-30 minutes.
12 bacon strips, diced
1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 envelope (1 ounce) ranch salad dressing mix
Faith, hope and charity define Christmas joy for me. Free agency does as well. In the beginning God chose to give us the freedom to make our own decisions. He did not want us to be slaves or mindless zombies. He wanted us to ‘choose’ to believe in Him, to love Him. He sent us a Savior to show us the way back to Him and to atone for our sins. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, has brought us hope of good things to come eternally. We develop charity – the pure love of Christ- through our service to Him. Our minds have great control over the choices we make and there will come a time when we can choose to follow the Savior. We can acknowledge where we hurt but still choose joy. That moment might be when you see a beautiful sunset and thank God for the beauty in this world. It might be when you are alone, facing trials and you see kindness in the eyes of a friend. It can come when you listen to an inspiring Christmas Carol or in something as simple as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Remember those moments. Savor them. Choose joy. ~~ Marilee
Gold, Common Sense and Fur
Linda C Stafford
This story has been shared by many people. I’m sure it’s been used in many Christmas programs is a great story whether you have children or not. Enjoy!
My husband and I had been happily (most of the time) married for five years, but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if He would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide. God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, he blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter.
My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."
I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint Him.
I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks. I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs.
When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children.
While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother. I didn't even come close. I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too.
Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife."
My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine. My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes."But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes."
My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes." A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing.
I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur."
The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," Pastor Brian laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur."
"My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.
Choose joy
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