THE DAY TIME STOOD STILL

TWAS THE NITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

WE ALL NEED TO "FAITHFULLY" PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL EVERY NIGHT!

My Momma Pat came from Wichita Falls for a Christmas visit yesterday  :)   This is the Mom that raised me from the time I was 5 (and she did a mighty fine job too I must add.  I give her the credit for the spiritual woman that I am today...she taught me well with words, and by example)  It's always a wonderful time when we get together, but this visit...I was a bit nervous about.  Things are a bit unconventional in my home, and I sure wasn't prepared for any type of Holiday Celebration. We are still "new" in the home and it has not been completely set-up yet, packed boxes are still stuffed in every available spot, and all the christmas decorations are in these boxes scattered throughout the house, sooo, my home has not been decorated with "Christmas cheer" as of yet.  We "do" have (not ONE, but TWO) potential christmas trees sitting on the front deck ROFL...we'll see if either one makes it through the door  ;)  anyhow...Mom came on the Monday before pay-day so I haven't had the oppertunity to drive the 25 miles I must drive to do any serious grocery shopping so my pantry and fridge was quite bare having grown and growning boys in the house...they pretty much "stay" that way  ;)   lol  Anyhow, as always, "Granny Pat" came through  :)  she showed up with ham, tator salad, corn bread, cake, and alll kinds of goodies  :D  After stuffing our selves to the point of popping, and chatting and laughing, we gathered in the living room and hers and Poppa Johnnies gifts were passed out.  She is so good at blessing everyone with exactly what they need and want...Everyone looks forward to Christmas from Granny Pat  :D   But the gifts that she brings, that means more than any other in the world to me, is always her prayers, her warmth, her cheer, her peaceful spirit, her suggestions, her "pearls of wisdom"....her un-waivering love.  The story of the "Christmas goose" that was placed in my last post was the "pearl of wisdom" that she passed on to us all this christmas.  When I read it, I knew it was a little morsel that would bless others as it blessed me, and I just couldn't wait to share it with you all.

This week, as we all gathered together in a house that showed no sign of the "worlds happy holiday" I was reminded that it was still "Christmas"...and as I gazed upon my precious Mother taking pictures of "Her" child and grand-children, I thought back to a mother who once gazed into her new-born sons' eyes...KNOWING that one day his life would be taken to spare the human race, and I felt humbled, and much gratitude. What would "I" have done as a young mother in "Mary's" position??  Anyhow, it once again hit home what Christmas is about...the true "meaning."  Honestly...why was it deemed as a time for great celebration???  In my opinion, a moment that should of brought a new mother great joy, and excitement, brought the young mother Mary, saddness and heartache at what the future held for her new-born son.  Anyhow...I just want to say "Thank You so much Mom for everything.  Not "just" for the material things (though you have come through for me and all of us many many times) but most importantly for the hours you spend in prayer on our behalf, for your love, your support, for everything that money or material items could never replace...."Thank You."   We all love you Mom, and I rise and call you Blessed.  God Bless you my dear Mother!  and.... 

                THE CHRISTMAS GEESE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Once there was a man who didn't believe in Jesus, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion & religious holidays like Christmas & Easter.  His wife, however, was a believer and raised their children to have faith in God and Jesus.  One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived.  She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense," he said."Why would God lower Himself to come Earth as a man?"                                                      

So she and the children left and he stayed home.  A while later the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard.  As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm.  He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.  Then he heard a loud thump.  Something had hit the window.  Then another thump.  He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet.  When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.  In a field near his house, he saw a flock of wild geese.  Apparently, they had gotten caught in the snowstorm and were lost, and a couple of them had flown into his window.  They were stranded on his farm with no food or shelter.  They just flapped their wings and flew around his field, blindly and aimlessly.  The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them.  His barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought.  It was safe and warm, and they could spend the night there and wait out the storm.  So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.  But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and did not seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean to them.  The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them more and they moved further away.  He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a trail of breadcrumbs leading into the barn.  They STILL didn't catch on.  The man was getting frustrated.  He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only became more scared and scattered in every direction.  NOTHING he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be safe and warm.  "Why don't they follow me!!" he exclaimed.  "Can't they see this is the ONLY place where they can survive the storm??"  He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human.  "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud.  Then he had an idea.  He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese.  He then released it.  His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one by one,the wild geese followed it to safety.                       

                                                                                                                                         He He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind.  "If only I were a goose, then I could save them."  He thought about what he'd said to his wife earlier.  "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man?" Suddenly it all made sense.That IS EXACTLY what 

God had done!!

We were like the geese--blind, lost, and perishing. God had HIS SON become LIKE US, so HE could show us the way to be SAVED. Then the man realized THIS was the meaning of Christmas. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet as he pondered this wonderful thought. Then he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and unbelief vanished like the passing storm.  He fell to his knees in the snow,and prayed his  first prayer. "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!!

Author Unknown 

This is a Christmas tree.
It is not a Hanukkah bush,
it is not an Allah plant,
it is not a Holiday hedge.
It is a Christmas tree.

Say it... CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas

Yes. CHRISTmas -  

celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!!