Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

2020 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 20

Everything about the birth of Christ points to the fact that God’s love, mercy and grace is available to everyone. Joseph and Mary were not wealthy people. Nazareth was not a well known city, in fact the area around Galilee was considered depressed and not worthy of much attention. The journey to Bethlehem was a bout 90 miles over rugged terrain and probably took about 10 days to complete and there was no servant or mid-wife to assist along the trip or take part in the birth. These young parents could not afford to buy their way into suitable lodging when they arrived in Bethlehem. They had to settle for whatever was available and that was the stable area under an inn. The first people to hear of the birth of the Messiah were shepherds working in nearby fields. Their profession was considered to be a rough life. When they visited the Christ child they had no gifts to give him except their praise and worship. There is no gift we can offer God in exchange for salvation and eternal life except ourselves.

As I have previously mentioned, one Christmas tradition is matching sleep ware for the grand kids. After Christmas dinner and gift opening the grandcrew don their new sleep attire and spend the rest of the evening playing games. The girls are Star Wars fans while the grandson prefers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You may see one or two more outfits before the marathon comes to a close.

While the birth of Christ focuses on the virgin Mary, one cannot discount the man chosen to be the earthly father of the Savior. Matthew tells us that Joseph is a direct descendant of king David and his linage goes all the way back to Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. The selection of Joseph is the fulfillment of prophecy. The apostle author also tells us that Joseph was righteous man. An angel did not visit Joseph to tell him that Mary was going to give birth to the Messiah, in fact we are not told exactly how the news was made known to Joseph. What we are told is that Joseph was considering calling the marriage off but he did not want to publicly embarrass Mary. It was at this point that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and informed Him of the circumstances regarding Mary’s condition. The angel explained the situation to Joseph and told the carpenter that he should have no fear or concerns about taking Mary as his wife and Joseph complied. What we see from Mary and Joseph is obedience to the will of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Either one or both of these people could have said, “No” to the Lord and missed the single greatest blessing in the history of man, but they chose to set aside their own thoughts and desires to obey the Creator of the universe. Have a blessed day.

This was my wife’s parents home in a small town in Southwest Missouri. I took this photo on a Christmas morning before anyone else woke up. I had to go out the back door and walk around another building to keep from putting footprints in the snow. Her parents have passed, the house has been sold and only the memories of past Christmas celebrations remain. It has been quite a few years since we last had a white Christmas in this area and I would like to see my home covered in snow this year.

2020 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 18

Isaiah 9:6-7 tell us much about our Savior seven hundred years before His birth. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;” These verses also tell us that the government will be upon His shoulders and that His government will never end. God was not talking about physically overthrowing the Roman government and setting up a new center of power in Jerusalem: God was talking about eternity! We are reminded in Isaiah 55:8-10 that God does not think like us and we are incapable of thinking like Him, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”. That child born in a manger in Bethlehem is going to govern eternity.

It’s hard to believe 17 years have passed since this photo. The little guy that Nana is holding was only three months old; now he stands at 6′-2″. For several years we took some family photos around the large tree in the church foyer.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Son of God. Christ himself said that he did not come into this world to condemn it, but through Him the world might be saved. Christmas is the celebration of life, joy, peace on earth, and good will. There is a price for this victory over death and the gift of eternal life. A sacrifice must be paid and it must be paid in blood. God brought His own Son into this world to pay that price. Christ was born to die for you and me,, so come and worship the King.

I have a lot of images of the grand kids in their”jammies” on Christmas Eve, but they look pretty good when you dress them up. Hard to believe it’s been nine years since this photo was taken.

Christmas is definitely the favorite holiday in our family. It is interesting how the whole world celebrates Christmas when so many actually don’t believe in the One who is the focus of the holiday. In contrast, most of the world was unaware of the historic event on the night that it actually took place. Shepherds in nearby fields were notified and wise men who studied the stars were aware of the event, but the world as a whole took almost no notice of the fact that the Messiah, promised in the old testament, had actually been born. Today, many our society take almost no notice of the fact that the Savior is still active in the affairs of mankind and is still in the business of saving souls. Christ was born to bring salvation and we must be born again to receive that salvation. Time and time again the Scriptures tell us that Christ did not come to condemn this world but to save our souls. 2 Peter 3:9 proclaims that God has no desire to see anyone perish but would like for every soul to be saved; however, He has given us the free will to make a choice. On that first Christmas night, Love was born.

This little Santa ornament is celebrating his 39th Christmas as a part of our family. My wife took a ceramics class at church and in 1981 she purchased several ornaments for our tree. She did all of the work on the ornaments and we still have them. I love Santa’s rosy cheeks. Since ceramics are delicate, this Santa has retired from hanging on the tree, but he can be found on display in the house with the others in the collection.

Angels played a special role in the birth of Christ. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and Elizabeth to inform them that they would become the parents of John the Baptist, the one who came before Christ and proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Six months later Gabriel informed Mary that she was to be blessed above all by being chosen to give birth to the Savior of mankind. Soon after, Gabriel visited Joseph and informed him that he would be entrusted with the responsibility of being the earthly father to our Lord. On the night of Jesus’ birth, an angel appeared to shepherds in nearby fields to give them the good news. We can assume it was Gabriel only because he seems to be the primary messenger. After his announcement, the angel is joined by a multitude of heavenly hosts singing praises to God. The number is not specific, but most scholars tell us that a multitude is in excess of one thousand. Wow!!! Now that’s a choir.

Not so Wordless Wednesday

Lucy, our house princess, is a Christmas baby. She was born on Christmas Eve and will be 4 years old in a couple of weeks. She has brought much joy into this home with her happy disposition.

Christmas Music Marathon – Day 13

I have mentioned that the primary reason for this marathon is to focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas. This is the season when people seem to be a little more willing to give. They seem to be more willing to show a little kindness to their fellow man and help someone with a need. We may talk about Santa Claus and being naughty or nice, but the celebration is about the birth of the Savior of the world. 700 years prior to that first Christmas night in Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah (7:14) proclaimed the coming of the King of kings. He even knew what the Son of God would be called, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel means, God with us. In other words, God was coming to this earth as a baby boy and live among men. If there is a church near you that is holding a Christmas Eve service, I encourage you to attend and spend a few minutes thanking our Creator for His marvelous gift of salvation. Why do we celebrate Christmas: The reason is in the name, CHRIST – mas.

Nana has always had plenty of help in the kitchen when baking Christmas goodies. The two grand daughters pictured here still like baking. One of the greatest blessings my wife and I have enjoyed is having the grand kids living close to us. All of us live in the same town and about three miles apart. We have enjoyed soccer, baseball, dance, Easter, birthdays, school plays, vacation Bible school, and Christmas every year. Now they are beginning the next phase of life. The oldest (not pictured here) is married, the two girls in this image are in college and the grandson is a junior in high school. Family time is the most precious time of all. Have a blessed Christmas holiday.

When the grand kids were young the oldest would interview her younger siblings and make a detailed Christmas list of things they wanted for presents. The list was even broken down into categories like, clothes, electronics and toys. Have you ever spent time shopping for the perfect gift for someone that you love?
When you found that gift, you were almost as thrilled as the recipient when the gift was opened. God has purchased the most precious gift ever given. It is a gift that everyone needs and it comes at a very high price. The gift cost God his only Son, but when we accept that gift of salvation, there is rejoicing in heaven and no one is happier than our Creator.

Aww…some Mondays

This is the little tree and sits in the home office. You have already seen the Coca Cola Santa and a few of the ornaments, but I have a few special ornaments that adorn this tree and I would like to share them with you now.

Yes, that is a photo ornament of Lucy, our house princess, but it is the Santa I want to call to your attention. He is 70 years young. My mother bought several plastic ornaments and a small tree for me to decorate when I was a small child. I think the purpose was to keep me out of the main tree.

Yes, this snowman and Santa are from my same childhood tree.

This fishing reel is about 50 years old and is a one that I gave my dad for Christmas one year. I had a friend make a custom rod specifically for this reel. Fishing was a passion of my Dad and he used this reel for a lot of years. I don’t fish with it, but it will always have a special place in the house.

Finally the train engine. Dad worked for the Frisco railroad for over 40 years and his father before him. Dad loved everything about the railroad, especially the glory days of the steam engines. My father passed away on December 16, 2009. We had an evergreen wreath placed at the front of the sanctuary and adorned it with his railroad watch and this little engine. And that is the story behind the special ornaments.

2020 Christmas Music Marathon Day 11

Mark your calendars. It is my understanding that a special presentation will occur on the evening of December 21. Jupiter and Saturn will align in such a way and be so close together that they will resemble the Christmas star. Who knows, perhaps the creator of the universe used this type of phenomenon to announce the birth of His Son. Heaven knows we could use a reminder of the purpose for our annual celebration.