Christmas is...

The Greatest Gift

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. ~W.J. Cameron

Jesus is the Gift
Jesus is the gift that perfectly fits every heart
and it is with His love that all celebration starts.
We rejoice in Him as we remember His birth
and thank God for sending His only Son to earth.

His life led from a manger to a cross on a hill
where He faithfully followed His Father’s perfect will.
He freely laid down everything so that we could live,
and there is no greater treasure anyone could give.

Like a scarlet ribbon His love wrapped around the cross
and He offered it to us all at the greatest cost.
So each time that we give we remember what He’s done
and honor the perfect Gift—God’s one and only Son.
~ Holley Gerth



The gift of God.
The birth of Christ.
This is Christmas.
This is the miracle of
Amazing grace and love.
~Boomerkat

Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making.
~Leigh Hunt

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son,
And she will call His name Immanuel.”
~Isaiah 7:14




Except the Christ be born again tonight
In dreams of all men, saints and sons of shame,
The world will never see his kingdom bright.
~Vachel Lindsay


May the Prince of Peace, Lord of All, bring His
everlasting peace,amazing grace,and unconditional
and eternal love into your heart and life at this
special celebration of His Holy birth.

Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings…
…these are a few of my favorite things…

The gentle morning goodbye kiss of the one you love most, as
you lay still snuggled warmly in bed, half in a dream, as he leaves for work…
The feeling that your heart is about to burst out of your chest
with love and wonder as you hold your first born child…
The sense of awe , the tearful joy and overwhelming
gratitude to God when you hold your firstborn grandchild…
The precious gift of true friendship. The joy of a family
Christmas morning filled with surprise and love and laughter.
The amazing, unbelievable promise of an Easter morning sunrise

…and all the “little” pleasures and wonders God has given us.
The sweet sensation of walking barefoot through the dew-kissed
grass early in the morning, the peace of the early morning hush,
crocuses in the snow, snow angels in your own back yard,

hot cocoa with marshmallows, a glass of wine and a great movie,
the gentle spring breeze bringing the scent of lilac and honeysuckle,
the sound of soft, soothing surf caressing the shore in the moonlight,
scampering squirrels and majestic whales, the earth, the heavens…
the little “a-hah” moments of discovery and revelation…
the soul stirring sensual pleasures of all of natures
little wonders.…and created in His image, people, people who make beauty, art, poetry,
stories that carry us away to worlds of beauty and fantasy, the writers who
paint word pictures, and the music makers who stir our hearts, our minds,
our souls, who can make us weep with the artistry of their voices and their
nimble fingers…who can bring to life so many poignant memories simply
through hearing their magical melodies.

…these are a few of my favorite things.

Christmas Spirit 2007

This commentary was delivered by Ben Stein on
CBS Sunday Morning,on December 16, and I believe it echo’s
The sentiments of so many of us. God bless you, Ben stein.

Kudos to Ben for his outspoken, non-PC, and wise words.


I keep seeing in the newspapers that it might not be a "good" Christmas because while visits to stores are up, purchases per visit are down very slightly.

There is also some fear that it might not be a "good" holiday season because fears about the housing correction will scare shoppers into keeping their wallets zipped.

I'm fascinated by this, because I have looked through a Concordance of the Old and New Testaments and I do not find the word "shopping" even once.

I'm not sure when the idea got to be dominant that a "good" Christmas was about total spending, but here respectfully are some alternative suggestions:

Maybe a good Christmas for this most blessed of nations would be when we as a nation and as communities made sure the homeless had a warm, safe place to sleep.

Maybe a good Christmas would not be about buying your kids the latest gizmo for listening to obscene lyrics, but about teaching them that if they are fortunate enough to have extra time or extra money, they can help out at the old age home or at the local animal shelter.

Maybe a good time would not be buying your parents sweaters they will never use, but taking a trip to see them and telling them how much you appreciate that they spent the heart of their lives taking care of you, feeding you, teaching you, putting a roof over your head, warming you with their love and concern.

Maybe the best time of all would be telling your husband or your wife or love partner that you would be lost without him or her and that you're sorry for the selfish things you did that year, and you'll be better next year.

Christmas and Hanukah presents rarely fit and rarely are to your taste. They sit in your closet and collect dust forever.

But gifts in this special, sacred time of love and caring to your family, your friends, and your neighborhood - those are never forgotten. They bring peace of mind for years.

And I seem to recall from my vanished youth that this is the holiday of the Prince of Peace, not the queen of diamonds.

A Child Shall Lead…

Jesus, our blessed Savior, came as a child
to lead all the children of God to salvation
and eternal life in Him.
I pray that all will come to know Him as I do.
His most precious gift is a personal
relationship with Him,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.


“For today in the city of David there has been born
For you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby
Wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a
Multitude of the heavenly host praising God,
And saying;
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among
Men with whom He is pleased.”
--Luke 2:11-14


The greatest gift is given by God, His name is JESUS!

Deck the Halls

I IZ singing...fa lala lala...meeeeow!


...and oh yeah...HO HO HO!

Laughter and Joy!

Let the world be filled with laughter and joy
at this happiest and most blessed time of year.

A Cinematic Confection

How sweet it is!

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd…I’m in heaven!

It doesn’t get better than this, and it seems TT is favorably
impressed. In his blog he says, “…it is--without exception, and by a considerable margin--the best film ever to have been made from a Broadway musical.” Read more of his comments here.
A definite must-see for me!

God Bless Us…every one!

One of the brightest, cleverest, and most entertaining guys in showbiz today is Ben Stein. Certainly not the leading man type (although that is quite subjective…and I kinda like his looks :o), he is not only an actor, author, and TV celebrity, but he is one of the most intelligent commentarians around today. His commentaries always seem to be so well thought out and right on target. He’s not always PC…hallelujah and amen to that! He’s a man after my own heart who is not afraid or ashamed to “tell it like it is” and sometimes as it should be. If someone finds his comments or opinions offensive, well, deal with it. This is still the great US of A and freedom of speech still exists. You go, Ben!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS' "Sunday Morning" Commentary on December 18, 2005. If anything, it is even more apropos in today’s society.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

(The following was not part of the original commentary, but seems to have been added. I think it is well worth including for it’s truths)

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.