Christmas Prayer

Loving Father,

help us to remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of angels,

the gladness of the shepherds,

and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate

and open the door 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 which Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children,

and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds

with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven,

for Jesus' sake. Amen!

~Robert Louis Stevenson

7 days to go...

Today we focussed on the star of Bethlehem. We discussed the miracle of the star that lead those from far away lands to the Christ child.

Jackson is posing as an angel with the star. Simple craft: trace a star cookie cutter on to a black sheet of paper, put a yellow sheet behind it (we taped it), use a hole punch for holes, and lace with yellow yarn.

Toot loved this little craft and spent a while using the hold puncher to create other works of art!

And earlier was Lydie's Mother's Morning Out party. Here she is with her heroine: Ms. Glenda.

Lydie dancing to Christmas music. Oh, how she loves to dance and sing!

Getting ready for a craft- glue droplets and drop in a bag with glitter

A Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds,

and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate

and open the door 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 which Christ brings

,and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,

and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,

forgiving and forgiven,

for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Our memory poem for December)

8 days to go...

My favorite Christmas poem for this year and a thoughtful quote. These are the words that I am thinking on today.

Where Can We Find Him?
Where can we find the Holy One?
Where can we see His only Son?
The Wise Men asked,
And we’re asking still,
“Where can we find this Man of goodwill?”
Is He far away in some distant place,
Ruling unseen from His throne of grace?
Is there nothing on earth that man can see
To give him proof of eternity?

It’s true we have never looked on His face,
But His likeness shines forth from every place,
For the hand of God is everywhere
Along life’s busy thoroughfare.
And His presence can be felt and seen
Right in the midst of our daily routine,
The things we touch and see and feel
Are what make God so very real.
~Helen Steiner Rice

"Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.

Then, do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Fallen leaves

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Finally...

What the Robin Told
The windtold the grasses, And the grasses told the trees.

The trees told the bushes, And the bushes told the bees.

The bees told the robin, And the robin sang out clear:

Wake up! Wake up! Spring is here!