For Sunday, December 9th, 2012

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

DECEMBER 9TH,  2012

12 DAYS UNTIL WINTER
16 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS !

It's SUNDAY

CHRISTMAS CARD DAY

Christmas Card Day, honors Sir Henry Cole (1818 - 1874) of England. Cole created the first commercial Christmas Card in 1843.

Just a few decades ago, sending Christmas cards through the mail was a holiday 'must'. Sending cards through the mail continues to be very popular, but the cost and time for writing and sending cards has caused many people to stop sending them. 

Today is  a good day to send out your Christmas cards and holiday greetings.  If you have yet to do so, use today to get a start.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, with every Christmas card I write....

Christmas!  The very word brings joy to our hearts.  No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given - when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.  

Joan Winmill Brown

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Mirth is God's medicine.  Everybody ought to bathe in it.  

Henry Ward Beecher

Advent Week 2, Part 1 -THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER

 Clip cartoons.  Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, I love to laugh with you. 

I read a story once about some last-minute Christmas shoppers. The store was jammed, and the lines were long at the check out lanes. In addition, there was nobody available to help the customers in the store. Amid this madness, the telephone rang in the mail order office. The caller asked if two copies of a popular book were still available. The clerk went to look for the book. There was indeed two copies left. The clerk told the caller she had two copies left. The clerk ask the caller for her address. The caller said, "Never mind sending them to me. I'll pay cash for the books. Just bring them up to the front of the store...I'm the one standing by the pay phone...

Tired of all the grinches who complain when the holiday season comes around?  Rid the world of them by spreading some holiday cheer. You can make a difference just by baking cookies, listening to carols, or giving a little something to those whom we take for granted.

Let me take a deep breath and practice patience when the phone rings, when I’m interrupted for the umpteenth time. Let me realize that sarcasm and laughing at others can hurt or injure someone. When my day becomes crowded and busy, let me make time for someone who just needs a kind word or a friendly smile.

You may give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.

I saw this little treat bag online and thought how cute it would be to give as a gift this year.  It has a picture of the grinch on it and is filled with little green balls of candy.

The sign on it reads:

This little treat bag says:  

Feeling Kinda grouchy

Holiday spirit can't be found?

Just try these little 'Grinch Pills'.

They're the best medicine around

Whether eating a whole handful,

Or munching one or two

These tasty little pills

Take the 'Grinch' right out of you !

COUNTING MY GIFTS

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.  

Peg Bracken

I am trying to count at least 3 things I'm thankful for each day and then in 1 year's time I'll have counted 1000 gifts.

34.  for the ability to laugh at myself

35.  for friends to share a good laugh with

36. for the laughter of the children in my life

Three gifts gold

37.  the sunrise and sunset

38.  the glitter on my little table top Christmas tree

39.  the gold bell that hangs in the doorway, a keepsake from the very first Christmas after I got married.

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

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.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

WORLDWIDE CANDLE LIGHTING

Held annually the second Sunday in December, the Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends who light candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles burn down in one time zone, they are then lit in the next, creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light as the observance continues around the world.

Please join me today in lighting a candle at 7 p.m and saying a little prayer in remembrance of children, siblings, and grandchildren --and all children -- who died too soon.  

It came without ribbons!  It came without tags!  It came without packages, boxes or bags!... Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!  Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!

  Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

 

A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone dear…

Love,

ma