Twas The Night Before Christmas - A Christian Version

As always, you are welcome to use this poem for your personal use only so long as proper credit is given to the authors. If you want to use this for your business, please contact Heather Wilson-Smith for release options. Thank you for respecting our hard work.

Twas the Night Before Christmas - Christian Version 

By: Heather Wilson-Smith & Melanie Etheridge 

Twas the night before Christmas & all through the house 

Not a creature was praying - not one in the house 

Thier Bibles were lain on the shelf without care 

Becasue Mom and Dad were too busy to share. 

The children were dressing to crawl into bed 

Not once ever kneeling or bowing thier heads 

Mom's wrapping gifts to put under the tree 

While Dad's making sure there's nothing wrong with the Wii. 

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter 

Dad sprang to his feet to see what was the matter 

Away down the hallway he flew like a flash 

Looking for the culprit that caused such a crash. 

He stopped in his tracks to take in the sight 

Of angels declaring the real reason for this night 

It was Jesus they said - not Santa or Elves; 

You have made this celebration more about yourselves. 

The shame Dad felt made him cover his head 

Jesus was the real reason just like the angels said 

And though Dad posessed worldly wisdom and wealth 

He cried when he thought of it in spite of himself. 

Now Peace! Now Joy! Now Goodness & Love! 

On Mercy & Grace! Now look above! 

For God sent His Son to die for your sin 

The battle was waged - He fought and you win! 

A free gift was given on that Blessed night 

The gift of salvation - a gitft you can't buy. 

Dad fell to his knees - consumed with regret 

He hadn't given Jesus His place of Honor yet 

He stood and he cried as the angels rose out of sight 

This Christmas would be different - starting tonight! 

Embrace Change, Embrace Life

Sometimes, life throws at us the most unforgiving circumstances, and we try and wade through to the best of our ability, getting soaked to the bone and gasping for breath as we try so hard to stay above the water. You wake up one day to a pretty normal life and by bedtime, your world is completely changed... It's not fair and it's not fun but it is what it is... it's life. 

The only thing we can do in this situation; the only solution to the pain of heartache (on any level) is to just try to accept that changes will *always* come, life evolves and moves, lending itself to adventures you never would have taken had this 'change' never happened.

Embrace change...welcome it, even if it hurts...because when you do, you will embrace life. And that's when things get good...

Be adventurous today friends.

Clean Your Fans Daily

Photo: foolmoon.buzznet.com

I have a small fan that I use when I sleep. It had gotten so dirty and dusty (don't.judge.me. lol) that it wasn't cooling. The fan would spin and spin but there was no coolness or wind to be felt. Probably all the dust and gunk that I had allowed to get in there...

So, in my deperation for a cool nights sleep, I jerked it up and took it outside. I turned on the water hose and almost killed my poor little fan spraying all the dust off. I wiped, cleaned, and fussed & cussed (again, no judging) for about 30 minutes. Mainly mad at myself for letting it get this bad...

But isn't this just like life? How many times have we let ourselves go to the point that our lives and thoughts are just filled with dusty crap? How many times have we prayed for a refreshing breeze only to have it stifiled by our own junk? <sigh>

God gives us such Grace and Mercy but just like this fan, we can get so clogged up with the junk that this life brings and we can prevent ourselves from feeling Him and thereby knowing how much He loves us. 

Sure, His Grace and Love are there for the taking but if we don't protect it, and love it and make sure it's running properly, we can clog up the connection. Not by His doing, but by ours.

I don't know... I guess it's just so important for us to remember who we are, what we are, and make sure we clean our fans daily. 

Have a breezy day, y'all. ♥

Abundant Love

“ You've captured my heart, dear friend. You looked at me, and I fell in love. One look my way and I was hopelessly in love! How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend— far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine, your fragrance more exotic than select spices.” – Song of Songs 4:9-10

Oh, how He loves us! He loves us with a pure, selfless love – one that cradles and comforts, not hinders and punishes.

We don’t have to spend even a moment searching for Him under every nook and cranny. We don’t have to call Sister Sue to see if she can get a ‘word’ for us. We can reach out to Him, knowing that He’s right there because of His unfathomable love for us.

When we cry out for Him and say things like, ‘Oh God, please invade my life!’ or, ‘Please, God, please!’, it goes against what He’s already told us (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38-39). He makes His home IN us (2 Cor. 5:17). There is nothing, not one thing that we can do to separate us from the Love of God.

We have to come to the conclusion that we don’t have to seek God but rather, He has already found us. We are not removed from Him. He has captured us, and taken us into His palace of Love.

He has given us food for life – the food that keeps us stuffed and never hungry. Through Jesus, He has quenched our thirst. We are storing up His love within us to be released unto others or back to Him in worship.
The love that He has for us is a love unlike anything you’re ever known. It’s deeper than the love you feel for your spouse, and more pure than the love you have for your children. It’s greater than our minds can grasp.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us of this love. I encourage you to read it, let it sink into your heart and reflect on what it means for you. Understand that He’s talking to you. When He looks at you, He goes weak in the knees. He is accessible to your love.

Next time you feel unloved or far away from God, ask yourself a simple question. “Would you give your own child for another person to live?” I’m sure your answer is the same as mine. Emphatically no.

But God did. My friend, He loves you. He thinks you are altogether beautiful and He can find no flaw in you. (Song of Songs 4:7)