ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
DECEMBER 24th, 2008
TODAY'S THOUGHT
The heart goes home at Christmas, across the miles and years.
Alice Leedy Mason
TODAY’S ACTION
Find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings
TODAY’S QUOTE
No gift is too small to give, nor too simple to receive, if it's chosen
with thoughtfulness and given with love.
Unknown
IT’S WEDNESDAY !!
Happy Christmas Eve everyone!
I guess if you are not ready for Christmas by now, it’s may be too late.
I remember well the Christmas Eve’s of the past when we were up til all hours wrapping and putting gifts under the tree. The babes were always up early on Christmas morning and very often we’d just gotten to bed and it was time to get up again.
My family always got together in those days at my Mom and Dad’s for dinner and gifts and often we had a piñata for the children to knock around and eventually burst. The scramble to pick up the pieces of candy and little treats was a sight to behold.
One year I made matching outfits for all the babes to wear. They laugh about those pictures of them now, but I love to remember those days. No, I wouldn’t want to go back and do it all over again, once was enough. It was probably the happiest times of my life.
I plan to have a newsletter again tomorrow, but just in case I’ll say
MERRY CHRISTMAS
May the dear Lord bless us, every one!
Have a great day all ! Another wonderful one on the Way !
TODAY’S PRAYERS
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love.
Come, Lord Jesus, come
Please pray for God's protection of
our troops and HIS wisdom for their
commanders.
Lord, hold our troops in
your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the
selfless acts they perform for us
in our time of need. I ask this in the
name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
GOD BLESS YOU!
25 WORDS
God, I thank You for today, for the ways You will bless me,
and for the ways that I will serve others in Your name
TO REMEMBER…
I am in the hands of God,
and in God’s time all things will be made well.
TODAY’S TRIVIA
Today is National
Egg Nog Day
National Egg Nog Day comes but once a year. It celebrates a special, traditional holiday drink. It is consumed with or without Rum. The timing couldn't be any better-- the day before Christmas--- Christmas Eve!
Egg Nog is a seasonal holiday drink. It appears just before Thanksgiving, and is enjoyed by many at the Thanksgiving meal. Consumption then takes a break until the December holidays are in full swing. Consumption of eggnog peaks on Christmas Eve. By the New Year, it is no longer available in stores. If you want eggnog after New Year's you will likely have to make it yourself
Old English Eggnog Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 quarts light cream
1 pint Cognac
1 cup light Rum
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Cinnamon
Separate egg yolks and whites.
Refrigerate egg whites until step #8.
In a large bowl, beat egg yolks well.
Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until well mixed and light.
Add light cream, stirring until well mixed.
Slowly stir in Cognac and Rum.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled. 2-3 hours.
About one hour prior to serving, beat egg whites until foamy.
Gradually add confectioner's sugar, beating well.
Egg whites are ready when soft, fluffy peaks form as the beater is raised.
Gently fold egg yolk mixture into the eggnog.
Cover and place back in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
As you place the eggnog out to serve, sprinkle a little cinnamon on top for effect
Today is Last Minute Shoppers' Day
Tonight is
Silent Night, Holy Night in Austria, commemorating composition of the Christmas carol in 1818 near Oberndorf
The Pope and 10-thousand others celebrate the
birth of Jesus with a Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
Tonight is
Remember To Read The Instructions First Night, a night for assembling toys
1818: At St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, 31-year-old teacher and organist Franz Gruber composed a melody on guitar for a poem written by 26-year-old Josef Mohr entitled
Stille Nacht. That evening
Silent Night was sung for the first time
1931: New York City construction workers, at the future site of
Rockefeller Center, dragged in a 12-foot
Christmas tree and decorated it with tin cans and paper. The first official Rockefeller Center tree, with 700 blue and white lights, appeared two years later
1968: The
Apollo Eight astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve television broadcast. This night proved to be one of the most emotional moments of the space flight. It was Christmas Eve, and Lovell, Anders and Borman, 250,000 miles from home, were reading verses from their bible and transmitting a message to all mankind calling for peace on earth
TODAY’S SMILE
A CHRISTMAS PARABLE Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He wasn't a scrooge. He was a kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men.
But he didn't believe all that stuff about incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to declare that he did."I am truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer. "But I simply cannot understand this claim that God became man. It doesn't make any sense to me."
On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. "Id feel like a hypocrite," he explained. "Id much rather stay at home. But I'll wait up for you."Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier. "If we must have Christmas," he thought, "It's nice to have a white one."
He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound, It was quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his livingroom window.
When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window."I can't let these poor creatures lie there and freeze," he thought. "But how can I help them?"
Then he remembered the barn where the children's pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter. He put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn.
He opened the doors wide and turned on a light. But the birds didn't come in. "Food will bring them in," he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn.
To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shoeing them in the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction--except into the warm, lighted barn. "They find me a strange and terrifying creature," he said to himself. "And I can't seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me.
If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety..."Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.
Then he sank to his knees in the snow. "Now I do understand," he whispered.
"Now I see why you had to do it.
Attributed to Louis Cassells
EACH DAY IN DECEMBER
Dec. 24 - A Candlelight Service:
Since it is often difficult for parents with young children to go to a candlelight church service on Christmas Eve, why not hold your own candlelight service at home? Give each family member a Scripture verse to read, then light some candles and sing your favorite Christmas hymns. After dad closes the service with a Christmas blessing, tuck the children into bed with pleasant thoughts of tomorrow.
(For those of us without children at home, it is a good time for us too to light the candles and read the Scriptures)
TODAY’S WORD
Surly : sur·ly (adjective)
Bad tempered, unfriendly, rude and somewhat threatening
a person with a surley manner
TODAY’S REFLECTION
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. I will be a father to him,and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever
2 Samuel 7: 12-16
There is a Child born for us, a son given to us.
This was the hope-filled promise of the prophet Isaiah. He foretold the coming of the Prince of Peace among the people—like a great light into the darkness.On this night we remember the news of great joy brought by the angels to the shepherds near Bethlehem: ‘Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you—he is Christ the Lord’.
This is a joy to be shared, a joy we extend especially to children at Christmas. There is the magic of Christmas night, so beautifully told in ‘Silent night, holy night’. Isaiah’s hope is fulfilled—we are given ‘a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger’. What more can we say?
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