Amy's Place .. Poetry and Potpourri .. December 24-25-26, 2004

12-24-04 | JustAmy, St.Louie1, MamaBear, Billie

[JustAmy]

How cute!!

Thanks, Jen.

I'll be back soon.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks Mayor. God bless.

[JustAmy]

I'm rushing out the door but wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

I'll be back later.

[JustAmy]

That is beautiful, Mayor.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Have a very Merry Christmas and get well soon.

[JustAmy]

Welcome to Amy's. We are happy you spent part of your Christmas with us.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

[JustAmy]

Wonderful ..... Thank you, Bob.

I'll be back later.

Wishing you and yours the Merriest Christmas ever.

[The Mayor]

Thanks Amy

We are leaving now for the inlaws now.
Merry Christmas
I will be back in the AM for the Christmas Daily Bread!
God Bless..

[BobS]

Merry Christmas, Amy!

I'm in and out and about for 2 weeks so far. Next week I have sworn myself to stay in bed until at least 6 AM. Except for a pee-pee:)

[JustAmy]

Glad to hear that you are up and about. You should stay in bed until 7:00 AM except for emergencies. :)

Have a wonderful Christmas.

[JustAmy]

Click the carolers for music.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

[JustAmy]

Click for music

If you've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Merry Christmas!

[JustAmy]

Click for Frosty.

Have a Merry Christmas!

[international american]

Merry Christmas, Sweetheart!

[tuliptree76]

Cute pic!

[tuliptree76]

Hi everyone! I watched my best friend's 3 yo daughter in a church Christmas pageant tonight. She was cute, but so scared! At least it was good experience for her.

[SAMWolf]

Merry Christmas
Sam and Snippy and the Foxhole Freepers

[The Mayor]

December 25, 2004

Hiding In Plain Sight

Read: Luke 1:26-35

You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. —Luke 1:31

Bible In One Year: Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16

---

A Baltimore congregation found the answer to their financial troubles on the wall of their church. And it had been "hiding" there for more than 25 years! Someone finally recognized a piece of art hanging in the chapel—it was a valuable woodblock print by Albrecht Dürer, dated 1493. The work shows the angel telling Mary she would give birth to God's Son.

Some members just could not believe they had been unaware of the value of the old masterpiece, saying in effect, "If it were real, why would it be here?"

What about us? Are we overlooking the value of the event depicted on that woodblock print?

Jesus isn't hiding. The truth that God came to earth in human form is plainly announced in His Word. It is reflected in our art and in our hymnbooks. But the significance of Christ's birth is still neglected. We get so wrapped up in activities and programs that we miss the immeasurable worth of knowing who that Baby was.

What's missing is our worship. Think about the meaning of His birth. Jesus is God! He came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21) and give us eternal life (John 3:14-18).

This Christmas, join with the wisemen and shepherds and give praise to Jesus—God who became Man. —Mart De Haan

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race. —Wesley

Christ's birth brought the infinite God to finite man.

[JustAmy]

12-25-04
Graphic by MamaBear

The First Christmas
(written by the animals)

The night air was crisp and the sheep were
out in the fields with the shepherds for the night.

So many people were coming to town and
everything was crazy. We had visitors from
all over the place, and our master brought a
bunch of extra animals to stay with us for the night.

Not too long after dark we settled in for
the night and one by one began to fall
asleep. We didn't realize with all the
excitement just how tired we really were.

Well after we were asleep, we were
awakened by the sounds of a man and a
woman coming into the stable. Where are
we going to put another donkey for the
night? We were full up as it was.

We saw the man laying a blanket on the
straw and the woman lay down on the
blanket. That was the most peculiar sight
I had ever seen. People were going to be
sleeping in OUR stable!

One by one each animal was awakened
by the commotion and was just as
shocked as we were. Just as quickly
as we were awakened, we fell back asleep;
until that wonderful moment, that is.

It seemed like we had just fallen asleep
when all of a sudden we heard a strange
sound coming by the woman. We had never
heard anything like that before. It
almost looked like the woman was holding
something in her arms and she was
speaking to whatever she was holding.

One by one we made our way over
to see what the woman had.
It was a BABY!
The most beautiful baby, and he had
been born right here in our stable.
How exciting!

As we were gazing at the baby,
a bright star was shining just
above us. The stable was just
glowing from the star light.

Before long the shepherds came
because they had seen the bright
star shining and wanted to see
why it was shining over the stable.

How exciting, and we thought it
was exciting to have all the
visitors, but there was something
extra special about this visitor,
we just didn't know why at the time.

As the shepherds were talking to the
man and woman, we heard them say that
this baby was the SON OF GOD.

As the night went on, we had more
people come visit the stable to see
the newborn baby. The Mother bent
and kissed the baby and told everyone,
"This is Jesus. God has given Him to
us. He has been sent to save mankind
from their sins. He is a King,
because He is the SON OF GOD."

Before long, there were men that
came from very far away to see the
baby. They brought Him special gifts.
We wanted to give the baby something
special too. Some of the sheep gave
their wool to keep the baby warm.
The cows helped out by giving milk
for the baby. Some of the other
animals gave up their spots in the
stable to provide a comfortable
place for the mother and baby to rest.

If we could give something to this
king, surely everyone would want to.
But as time went on we found so many
people that hated Jesus. One ruler
even had Him publicly humiliated
and then crucified.

It was then that we realized that
even though we didn't have much to
give Jesus, we gave Him all we had.
And in God's eyes,
that is all that matters.

What are you going to give Jesus for Christmas this year?
Jesus died for you, why not give Him your heart?

From the "My Prayer For You" website

[JustAmy]

Thank you Sam.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas.

[JustAmy]

"He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race."

Merry Christmas, Mayor.
Thank you for bringing us the Christmas message today.

Have a Blessed Christmas!