Recycle Christmas... Pray!

Call me a miser, but I'm dismayed at all the beauty we throw away each Christmas. The wrappings, ribbons, and bows that get trashed seem like such a waste. Needless to say, I'd like to congratulate the person or persons who have made the beautiful, reusable gift bags so popular throughout the year.

Call me a pack-rat, but I tend to save many of the greeting cards I receive on various occasions. I keep them for sentimental reasons or because I hope to use the artwork as references for craft illustrations. I'm a die-hard saver of Christmas cards, too! Someone once showed me how to fold a Christmas card to make a tiny gift box decoration or ornament. The designs can sometimes be cut and used the following year as gift tags. However, the neatest use for Christmas cards concerns prayer!

At meal times during the holidays we can share Christmas cards we've received. We can pray for those folks and then display the card until after Christmas. Once the cards are taken down after the holidays, they can be put in a box and kept at hand. Throughout the year at mealtimes, we can pull out a single card and pray for the person or persons who sent it.

The Christmas card prayer tradition often is very timely in the way that a person's name is remembered on a day when prayer is needed. Consider it a holiday suggestion. Recycle Christmas... and pray!

"I thank my God in all my rememberances of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all." Philippians 1:3-4

From December 21, 1992

The Love at Christmas

I saw the love at Christmas time --
it was wrapped so pretty and neat,
or it was spoken in words in Christmas cards
that sounded so nice and sweet.
Why does it come on just one day,
and why must it be bought?
Remember, it's not the gift you buy,
but it's the love that's in the thought.
Still, why only on the 25th,
and only the month of December,
or only on someone's birthday
if we happen to remember?
What about the other days of the year?
Why can't love be spoken then?
Why are feelings kept silent and never shown
until Christmas comes again?
Sure, Christmas celebrates the birthday of Christ
and only comes once a year,
but shouldn't we show the love every day?
Isn't that the reason Christ came here?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...." -John 3:16

From January 12, 1982

The Holidays

A time of year called "The Holidays" is something we enjoy;
it's something especially looked forward to by every girl and boy.
We begin our celebrations late in the month of November,
and we hustle and we bustle right up to the last day of December.
We anticipate Thanksgiving Day with anxious appetites,
and we plan, prepare, and partake of a multitude of delights.
We donate food and money to furnish baskets for the needy,
and we suppose this act of generosity keeps us from being greedy.
We thank the Lord for all our blessings and the food upon the table,
for our health, our home, family, and friends and the fact that we are able.
Then we make our Christmas shopping lists and begin an earnest search,
and we look forward to activities with family, friends, and church.
We sing and speak of the Christ child whose birth we celebrate.
We give canned goods, toys, and clothing for those less fortunate.
We attend our banquets and our parties, exchange gifts and distribute cards.
We decorate our homes, our packages, and our yards.
We scurry to and fro and speak of little elves.
We give to Lottie Moon and satisfy ourselves.
But if we slowed down long enough, would we see more than lights and glitter?
Would we see a fatherless child who needs a fatherly baby-sitter?
Would we see the darkened home whose rooms are drafty and chilled?
Would we see the ailing widow whose wood box is not filled?
Would we see the hollow-eyed child who needs more than a second-hand toy?
Would we notice the eager, able hands of someone unemployed?
Would we spot the lonely, older couple with hearts of resignation,
whose only need is company, laughter, and a little conversation?
Would we see a home-bound neighbor who would appreciate a ride
to see the beautiful sights of winter and Christmas time outside?
Would we remember the elderly person who no longer lives at home,
or the person on the street, who is forced to roam?
We thank the Lord at Thanksgiving and praise Him on Christmas Day,
but do we understand the meaning of following in His way?
Do we exchange gifts with friends and family and receive some satisfaction
of donating cans and toys without any true sacrificial action?
As we spend money, time, and effort putting nativity scenes on our shelves,
do we live as Jesus lived -- do we give of ourselves?
Especially at this time, but throughout the whole year, too,
I'd like to ask the question, "What would Jesus do?"

And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. - Matthew 20:32-34.

From November 11, 1986

The Shepherd's Story

Have you ever wondered what happened after the shepherds left the manger? Well, just maybe...

The stars were shining brightly
upon the shepherd lad;
he looked up from his resting place
among the sheep he had.
The sky grew even brighter,
and then the glow took form,
and an angel spoke unto the men
and promised them no harm.
The angel told of the Christ child's birth
below in Bethlehem,
where and how he could be found
by every one of them.
Then suddenly the skies burst forth
in songs of praise and joy,
something overpowering
for a young shepherd boy.
When the angels disappeared
and the shepherds found their strength,
they left the sheep for Bethlehem,
running the entire length.
Once inside the crowded city,
they began searching for a manger
among the tired travelers,
the beasts, the buildings, the strangers.
Faintly, from the noisy mass
a baby's cry was heard,
and the shepherds made their way
to a stable where animals stirred.
The young shepherd gazed upon the Child,
found just as the angel had said,
wrapped in strips of cloth
with hay beneath his head.
The lad worshiped there in awe
and left praising God to men,
returning to the hillside
to take care of sheep again.
Many nights he lay awake,
wondering if the angels would return,
but no more was said from Heaven;
no more could the shepherds learn.
He had toddling nephews who were slaughtered
He knew years of quiet waiting,
and he spent a lifetime remembering angels,
listening... anticipating.
He heard rumors of a prophet.
He heard stories of miracles done.
A man, the Messiah,
Jesus, God's own Son.
The grown shepherd traveled to Jerusalem
and arrived in time to see an empty tomb.
Jesus' followers told the story
of events in an upper room.
The shepherd visited the believers
who claimed Jesus fulfilled God's Word,
and tears filled his eyes as he listened
and joy filled his heart as he heard.
For he remembered how upon that hillside
the angel had foretold that day
and how the babe was found in a manger,
resting upon the hay.

From December 18, 1990

My Brother's Keeper

They arrived at the inn, but all rooms were full.
Am I my brother's keeper?
Jerusalem wept for her sons' death toll.
Am I my brother's keeper?
The hungry are starving.
The oppressed cry out.
The wicked prevail;
They will not die out
As Cain asked in the garden, in fear for his soul,
"Am I my brother's keeper?"

They come -- the lame, the sick, and the blind
Am I my brother's keeper?
They took Him away; Peter followed behind.
Am I my brother's keeper?
From manger to cross.
From hay to thorns,
disbelief, indifference,hatred and scorn
HE came to save and to serve all mankind.
Am I my brother's keeper?

Sometimes midst all that goes on in the world, we feel helpless to make a difference. Can we change the condition of those around us? Are we responsible for anyone other than ourselves? Jesus came from glory in order that we might know something other than our own miserable human condition and its consequences. We are to follow His example of selfless love.

"Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Phil. 2:4-8