What happened to Christmas

This year, let us try to remember the baby that was so adored. His name is Jesus. He died for our sin Open your hearts and let Jesus in. On this Christmas morning step away from the norm, and please, please remember our savior was born. Have a blessed Christmas.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody (with lyrics)

John Denver The Box 1973

This poem The Box was written about 1912 by Lascellas Ambercrombie -

Kindly Do Not Touch.

Once upon a time, in the land of Hush-A-Bye,
around about the wondrous days of yore,
they came across a kind of box,

bound up with chains and locked with locks

and labeled "Kindly do not touch; it's war."

A decree was issued round about, and all with a flourish and a shout 

and a gaily-colored mascot tripping lightly on before. 

Don't fiddle with this deadly box, or break the chains, or pick the locks. 

And please don't ever play about with war.

The children understood. Children happen to be good

and they were just as good around the time of yore. 

They didn't try to pick the locks or break into that deadly box.

They never tried to play about with war. 

Mommies didn't either; sisters, aunts, grannies neither. 

They were quiet, and sweet, and pretty in those wondrous days of yore. 

Well, very much the same as now, not the ones to blame somehow

 for opening up that deadly box of war.

But someone did. Someone battered in the lid.

and spilled the insides out across the floor. A kind of bouncy, bumpy ball 

made up of guns and flags and all the tears, and horror,
and death that comes with war.

It bounced right out and went bashing all about,
bumping into everything in store. 

And what was sad and most unfair was that it didn't really seem to care 

much who it bumped, or why, or what.....or for.

It bumped the children mainly. And I'll tell you this quite plainly,

it bumps them every day and more, and more, and leaves them dead,
and burned, and dying, thousands of them sick and crying. 

Cause when it bumps, it's really very sore.

Now there's a way to stop the ball. It isn't difficult at all. 

All it takes is wisdom, and I'm absolutely sure
that we can get it back into the box,and bind the chains, and lock the locks. 

But no one seems to want to save the children anymore.

Well, that's the way it all appears,
cause it's been bouncing round for years and years.

In spite of all the wisdom 'wiz since those wondrous days of yore 

and the time they came across the box, bound up with chains

and locked with locks, and labeled "Kindly do not touch; it's war."

Chicago_When All the Laughter Color My World

                                                                                                                                                              "When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow"

When all the laughter dies in sorrow

And the tears have risen to a flood
When all the wars have found a cause
In human wisdom and in blood
Do you think they'll cry in sadness
Do you think the eye will blink
Do you think they'll curse the madness
Do you even think they'll think
When all the great galactic systems
Sigh to a frozen halt in space
Do you think there will be some remnant
Of beauty of the human race
Do you think there will be a vestige
Or a sniffle or a cosmic tear
Do you think a greater thinking thing
Will give a damn that man was here

Ryan Stevenson - Eye of the Storm

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm

A Wedding Prayer- Marisa & Ben- 10-16-2017

 

Heavenly Father and Great God,

We thank you that your hand and your will has guided and led us to this day. We gather to celebrate the love and commitment of Marisa and Ben, as they share their first meal together as husband and wife.

We pray that you will give Your Holy blessing today upon their marriage, and ask that You continue to bless them with Your love and mercy throughout their lives together.

We ask that you bless this food, and pray it be the  first of many loving meals they share together with their family and friends, and we ask that Marisa and Ben will always be blessed by Your amazing grace.

We thank you that we may come before you to pray and ask these things  in the sweet name of your son Jesus through whom we are granted our salvation. Amen

You're Going To Miss It

Michelle Zunter

One day you're going to miss it. One day there will be a peaceful silence while you go to the bathroom instead of small hands busting through the door or someone wailing bloody murder outside with an owie until you jump off the toilet holding your pants in a panic.

One day you'll miss the frantic desperation of never catching up because one day everything will catch up. Your children will grow up and you will eventually get a decent break. One day.

So savor the good times now, right? Not so easy. But I tell myself all the time that one day you're going to miss it.

This is the thing I tell myself day in and day out when I'm on the verge of losing my sh*t. This mantra keeps me going because no matter how cliche it sounds, it's true. I need this running thought in my head especially now as summer break has peeked through the curtains, ready and waiting for the show (circus).

One day there won't be baskets of laundry overflowing with play clothes, gym clothes, or uniforms. One day there won't be endless piles of dishes in the sink. 

And you're going to miss it.

You're going to miss someone needing you all the time. You're going to miss being called out for maybe a hundred times a day for all things great and small.

One day there won't be anyone around to worry about entertaining on school breaks because they'll have their own lives, friends, and passions.

That life you think you can't wait for now — perhaps for time alone with your spouse, time alone with yourself — or just some time period — will come and then it will all be done. All the irritation over mud on the floor, stains on the carpet or messy rooms never cleaned will be washed away with the tides of life.

So maybe you can't muster the feelings of cherishing the moment with your loud, messy, chatty children today, but it does help to keep in mind that this day will pass and one day you are going to miss it.

One day you're going to miss dropping them off or picking them up from school. You're going to miss their scrunched up, disgusted faces when they see what you've made for dinner. You're going to miss being called into their room for the 10th time asking for a glass of water, another hug, a 3rd story, or to excitedly tell you the sudden revelation they just had.

You're going to miss all those endless questions because — guess what? — for a time they do think you know everything. This won't last forever, of course.

One day they won't be asking you to look at everything they do every minute of the day. One day they won't be constantly seeking your approval. One day, they will hopefully have the confidence to do most things without you.

So, the next time you feel like screaming, yelling, or running out the door because no one is listening to you about cleaning up, just tell yourself that there will come a time when you will miss all of this maddening, beautiful chaos. It might help a little to ease your sense of hopelessness on those particularly hectic days that are not so kind to your sanity.

While it may not be possible to fully enjoy all the moments that come to you as a parent, it's definitely possible to know that one day you will miss this.

Slipping Through My Fingers

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Birthday Reflection

Paul Anka - Sunrise, Sunset

My Father-Daughter dance at my wedding. Thinking of you Daddy.

Isn't She Lovely

Isaiah 40

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28‭-‬31 NIV

Gentle Stranger by Captain & Tennille

Somewhere on a beach in Martinique:


Gentle stranger, you came into my life
When I was feelin' sad
And I looked up that day
To see your face shinin' in the sun

Your eyes were kind and you spoke softly to me
You were just passing through
Tomorrow you would be gone
But we shared conversation and wine and talked of many things

And on that night I slept softly in your arms
And you'd kept me warm
You kept me from harm, you gave me love

Yes, I knew you'd be leavin' in the mornin'
By the dawn you'd be goin' on your way
But we can never know about tomorrow
And I know you made me beautiful, beautiful today

Gentle stranger, I'm now returned again
To lonely days and nights
But now I cannot feel the pain so much
For a memory of you
Comes and wraps itself around me in the dark
And in my dream I sleep softly in your arms

And I am warm, I am safe from harm, I am loved

Grateful Dead - Looks Like Rain

I've never been much of a Grateful Dead fan, but boy did I ever love this song.

Did you ever waken to the sound of street cats making love?
You guess from the cries you were listening to a fight.
Well you know, oh know, haste is the last thing they're thinking of.
You know they're only tryin' to make it through the night

No Doubt

I don’t so much pray that my death will be without pain, but that it will be without doubt.
John Piper

Welcome Home

Joe Beam described what he thought his first moments in heaven might be like. “I’ll see angels of all kinds, Godly people singing, and the Loving Light streaming from the throne. Somewhere, sometime, in that introduction to the home of God, I expect to hear an angel call my name. He’ll know me, though I won’t yet know him. ‘Joe. Good to see you here. Welcome home.’”

Colton Dixon - Through All of It

Sunday Will Come

“Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.” 

― Joseph B. Wirthlin
source: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/10/sunday-will-come?lang=eng

Good Friday. The Day Death Died

Never again wonder if you are loved. If you had been the only sinner on the planet, Good Friday would still have happened, just for you. Someone asked Jesus, "How much do you love me?" He answered, "This much," as he spread out his arms and died. All for you. Just for you. 
- Jim Dennison
source: http://www.denisonforum.org/why-easter/326-good-friday

Who You'd Be Today

For Mike

1Corinthians 13 "The Love Chapter for Mothers"

The Love Chapter For Mothers

If I talk to my children about what is right and what is wrong, but have not love, 

I am like a ringing doorbell or pots banging in the kitchen.

And though I know what stages my children will go through and understand their growing pains, and can answer all their questions about life and believe myself to be a devoted mother,

 but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give up the fulfillment of a career to make my children’s lives better and stay up all night sewing costumes or baking cookies on short notice, but grumble about lack of sleep, 

I have not love and accomplish nothing.

A loving mother is patient with her children’s immaturity and kind even when they are not; a loving mother is not jealous of their youth, nor does she hold it over their heads whenever she has sacrificed for them.

A loving mother believes in her children; she hopes in each one’s individual ability to stand out as a light in a dark world; she endures every heartache and backache to accomplish that.

A loving mother never really dies.

 As for home-baked bread, it will be consumed and forgotten; as for spotless floors, they will soon gather dust and heel marks.

 As for children, right now toys, friends, and food are all-important to them. But when they grow up, it will be their mother’s love that they will remember and pass on to others.

 In that way, she will live on.

So care, training, and a loving mother reside in a home,

 these three; 

but the greatest of these is a loving mother.

-by Dianne Lorang

I'll Stand By You

Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too

When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothin' you confess, could make me love you less

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

So, if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now

Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you

When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you

And when, when the night falls on you, baby
You're feelin' all alone
You won't be on your own

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Yeah

Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you

I'll stand by you
No, no, no, no, no
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you

Songwriters
HYNDE, CHRISSIE/KELLY, TOM/STEINBERG, WILLIAM E

Published by
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lift Up Your Head

God does not want you to be downcast – constantly looking at the regrets behind you, the problems around you and the sin within you. Rather, lift up your head and see the help above you – walk with your head held high, and your eyes fixed on Him.

Merry Christmas

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail the incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new born King!”