I Am Thinking Of You

I am thinking of you all during these holy days of Christmas.

I am thinking of how you are like shining lights within our world today.

I am thinking of how your love and generosity is caring for the needs of others.

I am thinking of God’s gracious love shown to us through the birth
of Jesus Christ ~ the Savior of the world.

May the song of the angels on that first Christmas night still sing
in our hearts today:

“Glory to God in the highest ~ and on earth, peace and good will to all.”

Merry Christmas ~ ~ ~ Anna Lin (Linda Thomsen)

Photos on Pinterest

This Christmas Day

This is the joy of Christmas morn,
When creatures of God in mirth
Sing carols of peace, and hope, and love
To tell of our Savior’s birth.

No eye has seen, no mind has known
The wonder of this great gift;
Yet still we look to see the babe
With joy our hearts to lift.

Hush now child upon the hay
Angels watch ’til dawn,
Glistening radiance sent to say
Christ the Lord is born.

~ Anna Lin

A God Who Became One Of Us ~~ A Christmas Story

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religious holidays like Christmas. His wife however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and, His Son, Jesus, The Christ, despite his disparaging comments…

One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. “That story is nonsense!” he said. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!” So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese.

A Quiet Moment

Radiant beams from your holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at your birth.
Jesus, Lord, at your birth.

~ Joseph Mohr

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Christmas Is A Time Of New Beginnings

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away; behold, the new has come!”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Christmas is a time of new beginnings.
At some moment in this holy season you will feel
a sense of wonder and your heart will fill with tenderness and love.
Be aware that in that instant Christ is born within you once again.
It is a fragile love that needs to be nurtured every day to grow into
all the magnificence God intends for you to be.
It is time to rebuild our spiritual communities – – time to set our priorities in order so that the world may heal from its mistaken pathways.
Seek first the realm of God’s grace and God’s truth and together
we shall stand amazed at the miraculous changes that will occur.
Invite your friends and neighbors to come to church.
Ask them again – and still once more.
Through you God will work to set them free from all the troubles they bear. One by one our communities and our world will be reborn into places of peace and joy and love. The moment is coming for you to begin – –
watch for it, and everything new will come to be.

~ Whispers in the Wind by Anna Lin

Photo on Pinterest

This Christmas Day

This is the joy of Christmas morn,
When creatures of God in mirth
Sing carols of peace, and hope, and love
To tell of our Savior’s birth.

No eye has seen, no mind has known
The wonder of this great gift;
Yet still we look to see the babe
With joy our hearts to lift.

Hush now child upon the hay
Angels watch ’til dawn,
Glistening radiance sent to say
Christ the Lord is born.

~ Anna Lin