Wednesday, December 20, 2017

My First Christmas In Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below with tiny
light, like Heavens, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear.
But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas Choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy the voices bring,
For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear,
And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.
For I can't count the blessings or love he has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear,
Remember I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

** This poem was written by a 13 year old Ben to his mother before he
died of a brain tumor.  He died in 1997, and that year his spent his
first Christmas with Jesus.



Monday, December 18, 2017

A Letter To My Son

Dear Son,

Well Christmas time  is here once again, I’ve put the tree up as I do each year, and your stocking has been hung with care. Oh yes Christmas is in the air, but this year is different for you’ve grown up and taken a wife, you’ve started your grown up life.  As I go through the Christmas decorations I see the ones you make when you were my little boy. Oh how my heart swelled with pride joy and love when you brought these trinkets home saying “I made this just for you and of course your new Christmas ornament went right on the tree at once, you’ll never know how much joy you brought into my life the day you were born, I must admit I miss those days when you were mommy’s little boy.  I  close my eyes and I can still smell your baby lotion, oh my the diapers I did change! Excuse me while I dry my tears. Oh where did the time go? It was only yesterday that we went to see Santa remember  you always told Santa “ I just want too much”. Did I rush through life working late so you could have more  toys, more clothes and more of everything I never had as a child. Oh where did the time go you should still be playing doctor with the cat and dog you grew up with. And we should still be playing chase out in the yard and through the house I should still be the room mom baking cookies for you to take to school, I should still be, walking you to your first grade class- oh I miss those years so! Did I take them and you for granted? Oh I hope not! I think sometimes if I could only have you little once more I’d do things differently! But then I realize- that a single mom and her small son did OK! After all  you’ve grown up to be a fine young man with values and morals that makes my heart once again swell with love pride, and joy.  For I know that you’ll always be my little boy! Merry Christmas son.

Love,

Your Mom


 

Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Stranger

At Christmas time there was a man who looked so out of place
as people rushed about him at a hurried sort of pace.
He stared at all the Christmas lights, the tinsel everywhere,
the shopping center Santa Claus, with children gathered near.

The Mall was packed with shoppers who were going to and fro,
some with smiles and some with frowns and some too tired to go.
They rested on the benches or they hurried on their way,
to fight the crowd for purchases to carry home that day.

The music from a stereo was playing loud and clear
Of Santa Claus, and snowmen, and a funny nosed reindeer.
He heard the people talk about the good times on the way,
of parties, fun and food galore, and gifts exchanged that day.

"I'd like to know what's going on," the man was heard to say,
"There seems to be some sort of celebration on the way.
And would you tell me who this is, all dressed in red and white?
And why are children asking HIM about a special night?"

The answer came in disbelief, "I can't believe my ear!
I can't believe you do not know that Christmas time is here;
The time when Santa comes around with gifts for girls and boys,
when they're asleep on Christmas Eve, he leaves them books and toys."

"The man you see in red and white is Santa Claus, so sly.
The children love his joyful laugh and twinkle in his eye.
His gift packed sleigh is pulled along by very small reindeer
as he flies quickly through the air, while darting here and there."

"The children learn of Santa Claus while they are still quite small.
When Christmas comes, HE is the most important one of all!!"

The stranger hung his head in sorrow, he closed a nail-pierced hand.
His body shook in disbelief, He did not understand.
A shadow crossed his stricken face, his voice was low but clear,
"After all these years, they still don't know," and Jesus shed a tear.

 

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Christmas Pageant

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. But once again, despite my plans, chaos prevailed. I had cut back on nonessential obligations-- extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and yes, even the all American pastime, overspending. Yet, still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and, of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old filled with hopes, dreams and laughter. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production.
Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, just as I promised, on the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in 10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. The melodies were fun, cute and lighthearted, but nowhere to be found was even the hint of an innocent babe, a manger, or Christ's sacred gift of hope and joy. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love", I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row -- center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her -- a small, quiet girl in the front row who was holding the letter "M" upside down. She was entirely unaware, that reversed, her letter "M" appeared as a "W." Fidgeting from side to side, she soon moved entirely away from her mark.
The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at the little one's mistake. But in her innocence, she had no idea they were laughing at her as she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".
One can only imagine the difficulty in calming an audience of young, giggling students. Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.
In that instant, we understood -- the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:
CHRIST WAS LOVE.
And I believe He still is.



Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Dear Santa, Love Mom

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned, and cuddled my two children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my daughter's girl scout sash with staples and a glue gun.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kid s (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to carry a screaming toddler out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.
I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.
If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like a car with fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking daughter doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with one potty-trained toddler, two kids who don't fight, and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, "Don't eat in the living room" and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. And please don't forget the Playdoh Travel Pack, the hottest stocking stuffer this year for mothers of preschoolers. It comes in three fluorescent colors and is guaranteed to crumble on any carpet making the In-laws' house seem just like mine. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container. If you don't mind I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children
to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family; or if my toddler didn't look so cute sneaking downstairs to eat contraband ice cream in h is pajamas at midnight.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the chimney and come in and dry off by the fire so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always...Mom.

PS One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa!!!


 

Monday, December 11, 2017

Story Of The Geese

There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation of Christ or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her religious observance of Christmas. "Ifs all nonsense - why would God lower himself and become a human like us? Ifs such a ridiculous story I" he said.

One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see. So he ventured outside to see. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but had been caught in the snow storm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles.

He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, ''The barn would be a great place for them to stay! Ifs warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm." So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety and shelter.
Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human.
He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them! Then I could save them! They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."
At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them- then I could save them." And then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind, and he fell on his knees in the snow and worshipped Him.



Sunday, December 10, 2017

A Christmas Letter


Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that some of you are upset that slowly but surely, people are taking My Name out of the season.
How I personally feel about this celebration of My birthday can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.  If you want to celebrate My birth this Christmas, the best gift for me will be that you all get along with each other.
Now, having said that, let Me go on.  If it concerns you that many of the towns in the country where you live don’t allow the display of scenes depicting My birth in public places, then just display a Nativity scene in your window.   If all My followers did that there would be many of them all around town.
At the same time, please understand that I didn’t actually ask anyone, anywhere, at any time to make a point of celebrating my birth.   So I don’t mind if the nativity scenes don’t make it out at all.  I'd prefer you all to remember who I AM and the reason why I was born.
I would stop worrying about the fact that some people in some places are calling the tree a ‘holiday tree’, instead of a Christmas tree.  It was me who made all trees.  You can remember Me anytime you see any tree.  You could decorate a grape vine if you prefer - I actually spoke of that in a bible teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and the fruit that could be displayed on the vine to show you’re My disciples.  (John 15: 1 – 8.)
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list:
1.  Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, visit someone in a nursing home or hospital.  You don’t have to know them personally.  They just need to know that someone cares.
2.  Instead of giving your children more presents than you can really afford, spend more time with them.  Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you all down here.  Hold them in your arms and love them.  Then remind them that I love them too.
3. Pick someone who has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her. 
4.  Did you know that someone in your area may consider attempting to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless?  Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
5.  Instead of worrying about what the retailers in the shopping centres call the season, be patient with the people who work there.   Give them a warm smile and a kind word.  Even if they may not be allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas”, that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one.
6.  If you really want to make a difference, support one of My missionaries – one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard of Me.
7.  Here’s a good one.  There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive.  If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them via an organization that will make the delivery for you.
8.  Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then make sure you live out your life like a Christian.   Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in My presence.  Let people know by your actions that you are one of Mine.

Don’t forget - I am God and can take care of Myself.  Just love Me and do the things I have told you to do in the Bible.  I’ll take care of all the rest.  Check out the list above and take action.  I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court.
And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love; and always remember....

I LOVE YOU – Jesus.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Santa's Prayer


My dear precious Jesus, I did not mean to take your place,

I only bring toys and things and you bring love and grace.
People give me lists of wishes and hope that they came true;
But you hear prayers of the heart and promise your will to do.
Children try to be good and not to cry when I am coming to town;
But you love them unconditionally and that love will abound.
I leave only a bag of toys and temporary joy for a season;
But you leave a heart of love, full of purpose and reasons.
I have a lot of believers and what one might call fame;
But I never healed the blind or tried to help the lame.
I have rosy cheeks and a voice full of laughter;
But no nail—scarred hands or a promise of the hereafter.
You may find several of me in town or at a mall;
But there is only one omnipotent you, to answer a sinner’s call.
And so, my dear precious Jesus, I kneel here to pray;
To worship and adore you on this, your holy birthday.