"Lord, Forgive!"

Author unknown

The day before Christmas had been full of incidents, some of them unpleasant. Father seemed to be burdened with worries as well as bundles. Mother's anxiety had reached the breaking point on many occasions throughout the day. Wherever the little girl went, she seemed to be in the way. Finally she was hustled off to bed. The feverish excitement of the Christmas planning had completely unnerved her. As she knelt by her bed to pray the Lord's Prayer, she got all mixed up and prayed, "Forgive us our Christmases, as we forgive those who Christmas against us."

As we watch the tense, nervous shoppers this season, we might feel like praying as the little girl did, "Forgive us our Christmases."

Where Jesus Was Born

By Charles W.H. Bancroft

There's a beautiful legend that's never been told,
It may have been known to the wise men of old,
How three little children came early at dawn,
With hearts that were sad, to where Jesus was born.

One could not see, one was too lame to play,
While the other, a mute, not a word could he say.
Yet led by His star, they came there to peep
At the little Lord Jesus, with eyes closed in sleep.

But how could the Christ Child, so lovely and fair,
Not waken and smile when He heard the glad prayer
Of hope at His coming, of faith at His birth,
Of praise at His bringing God's peace to the earth?

And then as the light softly came through the door,
The lad that was lame stood upright once more;
The boy that was mute started sweetly to sing,
While the child that was blind looked with joy on the King!

A Prayer for Christmas Morning

By Henry Van Dyke
(from A Treasury of Christmas Stories)

The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and crowns another year with peace and good will.

Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.

Close the doors of hate and open the doors of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our bed with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Finding the joy

By Natalie Vela

Christmas can be a sad and difficult time of year if you're alone, lonely, or have been through a recent heartbreak.

Here are some tried and proven tips to help you make it through the season of joy without feeling like an outsider:

- Give to those less fortunate than you. Volunteer to serve meals at a soup kitchen or orphanage on Christmas Day. Make an effort to converse with and listen to those you're serving. Taking time to appreciate them and the struggles they've been through will not only give them a lift, but will help you realize how blessed you really are.

- Don't wait for someone to invite you for Christmas dinner.--Find someone who really needs to be invited, and invite them. Make it your goal to make Christmas special and memorable for them, and happiness will find you.

- Share with someone the real meaning of Christmas. Whether it's someone who's unfamiliar with the story, or someone who's heard it many times before, reviewing the story together of how God gave the gift, His Son, will help put things back into perspective. God was separated from His loved one at Christmas too, and He did it so that we could be together with Him forever.

- Give of your love to those you are around, and watch the joy come flooding in on you!

At Christmas

By Edgar A. Guest

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;
Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.

When it's Christmas man is bigger and is better in his part;
He is keener for the service that is prompted by the heart.
All the petty thoughts and narrow seem to vanish for a while,
And the true reward he's seeking is the glory of a smile.
Then for others he is toiling and somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas he is almost what God wanted him to be.

If I had to paint a picture of a man I think I'd wait
Till he'd fought his selfish battles and had put aside his hate.
I'd not catch him at his labors when his thoughts are all of wealth,
On the long days and the dreary when he's striving for himself.
I'd not take him when he's sneering, when he's scornful or depressed,
But I'd look for him at Christmas when he's shining at his best.

Man is ever in a struggle and he's oft misunderstood;
There are days the worst that's in him is the master of the good.
But at Christmas kindness rules him and he puts himself aside,
And his petty hates are vanquished and his heart is opened wide.
Oh, I don't know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas man is almost what God sent him here to be.