Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas

Luke 2 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem 1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
7And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
16So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Jesus Presented at the Temple 21And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD"),
24and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS."
25And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man wasrighteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
28then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."
33And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.



Thank you, God, for the greatest gift You could have ever given to us, Your people here on the earth. . .the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, AMEN.

Tuesday night, we went caroling with the church. I was supposed to be working, so I hadn't planned on going, but I was given an unexpected afternoon off, so I talked Rev into going us, as a family. We carolled at 10 hourses, to some of our seniors and shut-ins, and delivered fruit baskets to them. Skywalker got really fussy (he had missed his nap) so Rev took him home after the third house, and Stonewall and I finished up with the rest, then we went over to a Church member's house for Taco soup. It was a great time of fellowship with my fellow choir members, and a great ministry opportunity. So many of out seniors and shut-ins have had bad years, I really hope that we were used by the Lord to bring some Christmas Joy to their lives!

Yesterday, we had a wonderful family day! We made a gingerbread house, which didn't last 20 minutes before the boys were eating it.

Isn't it cute? I have to admit that I bought one of the kits, with the pre-baked gingerbread that only has to be put together. . . and I am totally glad that I did! I would have been pretty upset if I had really put alot of time and energy into the house and then it was destroyed. . .





Here is a very proud Skywalker and Stonewall with their finished house. . .








And here is Skywalker, caught red-handed tearing apart the gingerbread house. . .Cute, isn't he?





Of course, this morning, started with two very happy, excited boys giggling in our room and begging to go open their presents. . . I have to give them credit, though, they lasted until 7:15 this morning, which is better then I used to do when I was a kid. Here are a couple of pictures of our tree before we let the kids in the room.


















Here is a picture of the boys each enjoying their Santa gifts. . . Stonewall got Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur, and Skywalker got a Smart Cycle.





















I felt really bad, coming up to this day, because all Skywalker wanted were the EXACT same things that Stonewall asked for. . .namely, Spike the Ultra Dinosaur. We couldn't get two of them, and weren't really sure that Skywalker would like it, anyway, so "Santa" went out on a limb and bought Skywalker something that wasn't on his list. . .Thankfully, Skywalker seems to LOVE his present. . .Spike the Dinosaur, though, is another story. . .Skywalker was terrified of him (at least at first). . .I think this last picture speaks for itself:




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