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| Night Before Jesus Came | Christmas Geese | Marines Christmas Poem | Three Trees |
I see countless Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars, reflecting in 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 their 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 blessing or love he has for each of you
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away the tear
Remember I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
-----Written by Ben, age 13, who on Dec 14, 1997 died after a 4 yr. battle with a brain tumor. He wrote this and gave it to his mom before he died.
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Dearest Jesus,
Holy Child
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.
Martin Luther
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The Poinsettia's Color
One Christmas we had a tree which we trimmed on Christmas eve. The whole
lighting effect was to be accomplished with red bulbs, and, when our work was finally done,
we turned out all the other lights in the room so that the bulbs on the tree should give
out the only illumination.
We saw a startling thing! Near the base of the tree was a poinsettia plant, having some
red flowers and some white ones. When the other lights were turned out and the red lights
turned on, it was absolutely impossible to determine which of the poinsettia flowers had
red petals and which had white they were all white in the red light.
What a perfect illustration that was of what happens to our sins when they
are washed in the blood of Christ! They may be as scarlet, but when the red of Christ’s
shed blood is applied they become as white as snow.
E. Schuyler English
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TWO BABES IN A MANGER
Author Unknown
In 1994, two Americans answered an
invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics
(based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to
teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large
orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left
in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They
relate the following story in their own words: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to
hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told
them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the
inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and
placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage
staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their
stools, trying to grasp every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of
cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper
square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper
was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore
the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small
squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was
throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby's blanket. A
doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United
States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among
them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one
table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had
finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was
startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called
for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the
manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed
manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For
such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he
related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary
put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said,
"And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me
if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I
don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him.
But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like
everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought
about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I
kept him warm, that would be a good gift."
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?" And Jesus
told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me." "So
I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay
with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that
splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his
head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and
sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor
abuse him, someone who would stay with him-FOR ALWAYS.
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Story of The
Persian King
Author Unknown
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and
good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know
about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar,
and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.
One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse
food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left.
Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying,
"I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor,
but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit
me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the coarse food I ate. You brought gladness
to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The
Bible calls Him, "the unspeakable gift!"
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CHRISTMAS TEARS
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A Candymaker's Witness - The Candy Cane
Author Unknown - Fwd. by Joe Waldrop
A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make candy
that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane.
He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White symbolizes the virgin birth and
sinless nature of Jesus; and hard represents the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church
and firmness of the promises of God.
The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of
Jesus Who came to earth as our Savior. The shape could also stand for the staff of the
Good Shepherd with which He reaches down to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep,
have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He
used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we
are healed. The large stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we
could have the promise of eternal life.
Unfortunately, the candy became known as the candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen
at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears
to hear. I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and
His great love that came at Christmas and remains the ultimate, dominant force in the
universe today.
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PLEASE! Would all of you who read our web sites remember with us all our Marines, Soldiers, Goast Guards, Air Force, Navy and Special Forces, both present and past? Write them a note or long letter now and then, and especially at special seasons of the year. Let them know we appreciate their sacrifices and those of their families. Remember also our "first responders" here at home, and all these heroes who, taken together, even in these unstable times, deserve the credit, under God, for our being able to live lives of relative safety and security down to this good day!
Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe to our previous and present heroes who have kept us free thus far! May we often stop and think and pray for all our heroes, who sacrifice their time, comfort, and sometimes their very lives for us. Please, do your small part to plant this PATRIOTIC seed!
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It was only four days before Christmas. The spirit
of the season hadn't yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our
local discount store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last minute
shoppers jammed the aisles.
Why did I come today? I wondered. My feet ached almost as much as my head. My list
contained names of several people who claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings
would be hurt if I didn't buy them anything.
Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last minute items and proceeded to the long
checkout lines. I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20
minute wait.
In front of me were two small children - a boy of about 5 and a younger girl. The boy wore
a ragged coat. Enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much
too short jeans. He clutched several crumpled dollar bills in his grimy hands.
The girl's clothing resembled her brother's. Her head was a matted mass of curly hair.
Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of
shiny, gold house slippers. As the Christmas music sounded in the store's stereo system,
the girl hummed along, off-key but happily.
When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on
the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure.
The clerk rang up the bill. "That will be $6.09," she said.
The boy laid his crumpled dollars atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally
came up with $3.12. "I guess we will have to put them back," he bravely said. "We will
come back some other time, maybe tomorrow."
With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "But Jesus would have loved
these shoes," she cried.
"Well, we'll go home and work some more. Don't cry. We'll come back," he said.
Quickly I handed $3.00 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time.
And, after all, it was Christmas.
Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, "Thank you lady."
"What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?" I asked.
The boy answered, "Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before
Christmas to be with Jesus."
The girl spoke, "My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold,
just like these shoes. Won't mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these
shoes?"
My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear streaked face. "Yes" I answered, "I am sure
she will."
Silently I thanked God for using these children to remind me of the true spirit of
giving."
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Christmas is not
about the amount of money paid, nor the amount of gifts purchased, nor trying to impress
friends and relatives.
Christmas is about the love in your heart to share with those as Jesus Christ has shared
with each of us.
Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus whom God sent to show the world how much he really
loves us. Please show this love all year long to others.