Joseph Smith - Dec. 23

One of the most powerful testimonies of Christ was given by a man also born this month. Born Dec. 23, 1806, Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God as a humble boy of 14 and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ upon the earth.

Today I read:

Joseph Smith History

D&C 76: 22 - 24

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the ^atestimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he ^blives!

23 For we ^asaw him, even on the ^bright hand of ^cGod; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only ^dBegotten of the Father—

24 That by ^ahim, and through him, and of him, the ^bworlds are and were created, and the ^cinhabitants thereof are begotten ^dsons and daughters unto God.

The song tonight was "Praise to the Man"

Song of the Heart - Dec. 22

Music can touch my heart like no other thing. It speaks to my soul. Often, music is used to announce momentous events - choruses of angles sang praises to God at the birth of His son. Some of the best music ever composed was written the century prior to the restoration of the gospel. Many of those composers have testified of divine inspiration and guidance in their compositions. For me, music and Christmas are intertwined. I have Christmas music playing in my car, at home, at school. We attend concerts and sing carols at church. Some of the messages make me cry, some make me shout for joy and all touch my heart.

I read today:

D&C 25:12

12 For my soul ^adelighteth in the ^bsong of the ^cheart; yea, the ^dsong of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

Psalm 95:1

1 O come, let us ^asing unto the Lord: let us make a ^bjoyful noise to the ^crock of our salvation.

Alma 5:26

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a ^achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the ^bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ^ccan ye feel so now?

Today's song is "Angels We Have Heard on High"

Activities ideas for today-

*play Christmas music all day long

*Sing as a family - either go caroling or in your own home. Play name that carol.

*Read the history to Handel's Messiah & play the music through out the day.

*Give away a CD of your favorite Christmas music.

Not the best video, but the music is Christmas.

And just to share my silly side - I laugh every year I watch this.

Red Envelope today - I spent today playing with my nieces and nephews. I have chased and tickled. I have listened to wonderful readings. Today, we all made fudge, snowflake crystals and cinnamon ornaments. So much fun. I just might uproot my sister Tracy's spot as the favorite aunt this week. ;)

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love - Dec. 21

Tonight I read:

Matthew 22: 36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt alove the Lord thy God with all thy bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy cmind.
38 This is the first and great acommandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the alaw and the prophets.

John 14:15
15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my ccommandments.

John 13:34 - 35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in the last General Conference
"For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.

However, seeking God with all our hearts implies much more than simply offering a prayer or pronouncing a few words inviting God into our lives. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.”We can make a great production of saying that we know God. We can proclaim publicly that we love Him. Nevertheless, if we don’t obey Him, all is in vain, for “he that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Today song is Love One Another

Invitations for today:
*Express your love for the Savior & your Heavenly Father in your prayers today.
*Tell someone that you love him or her. Show that love in the days and weeks to come.
*Write a personal Christmas letter to each of your children expressing your love for them. Let them read their letters on Christmas (or another special day) Keep the letters - they will become treasured keepsakes.
*Write a love letter to your spouse or find a meaningful way to communicate your feeling for them.

My Neighbor - Dec. 20

In a world divided by national, religious, political, and racial hatreds, take a few minutes to review Jesus' answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

Today I read:

Luke 10:29-37

29 But he, willing to ^ajustify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my ^bneighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and^awounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain ^aSamaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had ^bcompassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took ^acare of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the ^ahost, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

And this poem:

Old Gentleman Gray

Said old gentleman Gray, "On Christmas day,
If you want to be happy, give something away."
So he sent a fat turkey to shoemaker Price,
And the shoemaker said, "What a bird, now how nice;
with such a good dinner set before me,
I'll send my chicken to poor widow Lee.
"This fine chicken, oh see!"
Said the pleased widow Lee,
"And the kindness that sent it, how precious to me.
I would like to make someone as happy as I,
I'll send washwoman Biddy, my big pumpkin pie."
And "Surely," Biddy said, " 'tis the queen of all pies,
Just to look at its yellow face gladdens my eyes.
Now it's my turn, I think, and a sweet sugar cake
For the motherless Finnegan children I'll bake."
Said the Finnegan children, Rose, Denny and Hugh
"It smells sweet of spice, and we'll carry a slice
To poor little lame Jake who has nothing that's nice."
Oh, I thank you and and thank you!" said little lame Jake
"I'll save all the crumbs, I won't waste a one
And give them to the little sparrows that come."
The sparrows they twittered as if they would say,
Like old gentleman Gray, "on a great Christmas day,
If you want to be happy, give something away."

Ideas for today-

*Do a good deed anonymously

* Volunteer your time with a positive attitude

*Share your bounty with others

*Give a gift to your neighbors - a service, a treat, a gift, your time.

*Record your family's services for other &/or services others have rendered for you.

The song for today is "Because I Have Been Given Much" which I can't link because of copyright but I would like to share the first line.

Because I have been given much

I too must share.

Because of thy great bounty, Lord

each day I live.

I shall divide my gifts from thee

with every brother that I see

who has the need of help

from me.

This song was one of my mom's favorite songs and was played at her funeral. When I sing this song, I always see her loading up someone's car with produce from our garden, or her sewing a special Christmas gift at 3:00a.m. or figuring out how to meet someone else's need. Even at the end of her life, when it became apparent that she wouldn't sew much anymore, she choose to give away almost a 100 apple boxes of material "because the sisters would be able to use it" rather than sell it. She taught me the difference between real service and token service. Second only to the gospel, the greatest gift she gave me was her example of serving others. I love my mom.

Christ Centered - Dec. 19

As the holidays get busier and busier, we become involved in so many things... running errands, attending parties & concerts, family traditions, buying gifts, choosing wrapping paper, ribbon and tags. It is so easy to become focused on material things. Take some time today to remember where our lives ought to be centered.

Today I read:

John 6:35

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the ^abread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never ^bthirst.

John 10:14

14 I am the good ^ashepherd, and ^bknow my ^csheep, and am known of mine.

John 11:25

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the ^aresurrection, and the ^blife: he that ^cbelieveth in me, though he were ^ddead, yet shall he ^elive:

John 8:12

I am the ^alight of the world: he that followeth me shall not ^bwalk in ^cdarkness, but shall have the light of life.

I love this video. I have just watched it 4 times and I could watch it a hundred more. These are all photographs, not paintings. My favorite music has always been the hymns but my very favorite is "Come Thou Fount." It makes my heart ache with emotion. Whenever I sing the line "Here I raise my ebenezer, Hither by thy help I'm come" I feel strength and determination fill my soul. An ebenezer is a monument - it literally means "stone of help" and it a standard raised as a recognition of the Lord's help, goodness, blessings and love.

The song for the day is another favorite - "How Firm a Foundation"

So many memories with this song. I remember singing it with my Dad growing up, he would always point to each word as we sang, even when I could read. It was the first song I could sing in Spanish in the Missionary Training Center & in Chile because it has a really good beat and I could keep up. When I hear the music, I immediately start singing "Que firme ciemento o Santos de Dios..." This song is part of the Nauvoo Pageant so now it reminds me of both missions.

The invitation today is to relax from the commercial chaos. Stay home, turn off the TV, play with your children, listen to Christmas music all day, make hot chocolate, look at the Christmas lights and think of Christ's gifts. Read stories from the December Ensign, New Era or Friend.

Don't you wish I had posted this this morning? :) My day has been full of holiday busy. I am a part of a produce co-op so most of the morning was filled with co-op stuff, finishing off gifts & delivering, Visiting Teaching, and tackling the mammoth job of finding my house in the chaos of the last few weeks. However, tomorrow is the Sabbath and I am grateful for this devotional so that tomorrow might be a bit more Christ centered.

Activity for today:

Make Graham Cracker Mangers - someone shared these with me years ago and we have done them a few times. Very fun, especially for the littles. Use 1 graham cracker & cut into quarters. "Glue" 2 quarters together long wise with chocolate frosting making a V. "Glue" the remaining 2 quarters to the ends of the V, making the legs of the manger. Fill with "hay" (coconut died yellow with food coloring) and you are prepared for Jesus' birth!

My Red Envelope today is a bit different. It is more of like sharing my Red Letter news. First, we received an email yesterday saying that we have been accepted into Nauvoo Pageant for this next year!!!!!!! We will be in the opening cast (red cast) in Nauvoo June 28 - July 10. And to make it even better, my dad, step-mom and step-sister have also made the cast. I will get to serve with my dad on his first official mission. And even better, Ryan will get to serve a mission with his grandparents. How often does that happen?

Of course the first thing I did was call my sisters to tell them the news. During the conversation, my sister Sara realized that I was going to be alone this Christmas and she & my sister Tracy joined ranks to persuade me to accept a plane ticket home. Can you see my smile? I am so excited, grateful and just feel full of joy.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Giving of Yourself - Dec. 18

It isn't what you have that counts, it's what you give. Giving of yourself can fill your world with joy, purpose, and contentment.

Today we read 3 Nephi 13: 19 - 21

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where ^amoth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

20 But lay up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We read the following story - again, one of my favorites.

Christmas Day in the Morning

By Pearl S. Buck

He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o'clock, the hour at which his father had always called him to get up and help with the milking. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still! Fifty years ago, and his father had been dead for thirty years, and yet he waked at four o'clock in the morning. He had trained himself to turn over and go to sleep, but this morning it was Christmas, he did not try to sleep.

Why did he feel so awake tonight? He slipped back in time, as he did so easily nowadays. He was fifteen years old and still on his father's farm. He loved his father. He had not known it until one day a few days before Christmas, when he had overheard what his father was saying to his mother.

"Mary, I hate to call Rob in the mornings. He's growing so fast and he needs his sleep. If you could see how he sleeps when I go in to wake him up! I wish I could manage alone."

"Well, you can't, Adam." His mother's voice was brisk. "Besides, he isn't a child anymore. It's time he tok his turn."

"Yes," his father said slowly. "But I sure do hate to wake him."

When he heard these words, something in him spoke: his father loved him! He had never thought of that before, taking for granted the tie of their blood. Neither his father nor his mother talked about loving their children--they had no time for such things. There was always so much to do on the farm.

Now that he knew his father loved him, there would be no loitering in the mornings and having to be called again. He got up after that, stumbling blindly in his sleep, and pulled on his clothes, his eyes shut, but he got up.

And then on the night before Christmas, that year when he was fifteen, he lay for a few minutes thinking about the next day. They were poor, and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and mince pies his mother made. His sisters sewed presents and his mother and father always bought him something he needed, not only a warm jacket, maybe, but something more, such as a book. And he saved and bought them each something, too.

He wished, that Christmas when he was fifteen, he had a better present for his father. As usual he had gone to the ten-cent store and bought a tie. It had semed nice enough until he lay thinking the night before Christmas. He looked out of his attic window, the stars were bright.

"Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy, "What is a stable?"

"It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."

Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds had come...

The thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift too, out there in the barn? He could get up early, earlier than four o'clock, and he could creep into the barn and get all the milking done. He'd do it alone, milk and clean up, and then when his father went in to start the milking he'd see it all done. And he would know who had done it. He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he musn't sleep too sound.

He must have waked twenty times, scratching a match to look each time to look at his old watch -- midnight, and half past one, and then two o'clock.

At a quarter to three he got up and put on his clothes. He crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.

He had never milked all alone before, but it seemed almost easy. He kept thinking about his father's surprise. His father would come in and get him, saying that he would get things started while Rob was getting dressed. He'd go to the barn, open the door, and then he'd go get the two big empty milk cans. But they wouldn't be waiting or empty, they'd be standing in the milk-house, filled.

"What the--," he could hear his father exclaiming.

He smiled and milked steadily, two strong streams rushing into the pail, frothing and fragrant.

The task went more easily than he had ever known it to go before. Milking for once was not a chore. It was something else, a gift to his father who loved him. He finished, the two milk cans were full, and he covered them and closed the milk-house door carefully, making sure of the latch.

Back in his room he had only a minute to pull off his clothes in the darkness and jump into bed, for he heard his father up. He put the covers over his head to silence his quick breathing. The door opened.

"Rob!" His father called. "We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas."

"Aw-right," he said sleepily.

The door closed and he lay still, laughing to himself. In just a few minutes his father would know. His dancing heart was ready to jump from his body.

The minutes were endless -- ten, fifteen, he did not know how many -- and he heard his father's footsteps again. The door opened and he lay still.

"Rob!"

"Yes, Dad--"

His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of laugh.

"Thought you'd fool me, did you?" His father was standing by his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.

"It's for Christmas, Dad!"

He found his father and clutched him in a great hug. He felt his father's arms go around him. It was dark and they could not see each other's faces.

"Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing--"

"Oh, Dad, I want you to know -- I do want to be god!" The words broke from him of their own will. He did not know what to say. His heart was bursting with love.

He got up and pulled on his clothes again and they went down to the Christmas tree. Oh what a Christmas, and how his heart had nearly burst again with shyness and pride as his father told his mother and made the younger children listen about how he, Rob, had got up all by himself.

"The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I'll remember it, son every year on Christmas morning, so long as I live."

They had both remembered it, and now that his father was dead, he remembered it alone: that blessed Christmas dawn when, alone with the cows in the barn, he had made his first gift of true love.

Our song today has a great message for the day - we sang "Have I Done Any Good?"

Today's suggested activities -

*Finish all of your Christmas shopping for others. If that is done, have a gift-wrapping party in your home where each kiddo wraps their gifts for others.

*If you haven't already, visit your Home Teaching, Visiting Teaching families today.

*Take a homemade treat to members of your bishopric, ward missionaries, or others who serve you. Make sure you leave it anonymously.

*Begin a Family Service Star - This has become a family tradition for us for years. The family I gleaned the idea from does theirs for the whole month of Dec. but we discovered that with only one child, the last week before Christmas worked best for us. The idea is to encourage service within our family. Sometimes we spend so much of our time helping others and our family gets the leftover time. Also, I wanted to encourage my kiddo (and our foster kids over the years) to serve each other.

Find or make a star. I bought a $1.79 twig star spray painted gold at JoAnn's. One family member begins by doing a service for another family member and leaves the star near the deed. Now that family member is now "it" and does a deed for someone else, leaving the star for them to find. Hands down this has been one of our best family traditions. I remember when Ryan was really little he had a hard time finding things that he could do. One day Tim came home for a few minutes and for some reason took his shoes off. A few minutes later he went to put them back on and they were missing. When he asked what happened, Ryan gleefully told him that he had helped him and put them in his closet and now it was Daddy''s turn for the Service Star! It has been so much fun to make beds, do chores, perform small acts for each other and then let the recipient find the star. In larger families, you don't always know which family member did the service or who has the star. So much fun!

So, as I said, this is a big tradition for us. Weeks ago, I was looking at the calendar and realized that Ry would be leaving for Tim's today so I decided that we would do our Service Star this past week - his last week home. And. then. I. forgot.

I remembered last night. My heart ached. In a way, it wouldn't feel like Christmas without the Service Star. Traditions are called traditions because they happen every year, not just when you feel like it, or remember them. Aaaarrrgghh. My heart felt anew how this Christmas is going to be different than any other because it is the first Christmas in 12 years that Ryan will not be here.

I didn't say anything to Ryan when last night, he brought it up. I explained the situation and apologized. I lamely suggested that we could do it when he came home. He thought for a minuted and then he came up a solution that will work for us. We are going to take turns being "it" and will report to each other the service that we have done that day when we talk on the phone. I am so grateful for him. My heart felt at peace. And I am so thankful for this tradition that has instilled in him and desire & willingness to serve others, especially his family.

And lastly, our Red Envelope activity was to see the lights. We found a super cool neighbor fairly close that has the lights set to music on your radio station. SOOO COOL! We had never seen that before and we loved it. So much fun!

Tonight's Red Envelope will be to get Starbuck's hot chocolates for our drive out to meet his day. I have pictures for this post, but I am out of time to get them on. I will do it tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Children - Dec. 17

Christmas would hardly be Christmas without little children. They are so much of the magic of the season. The Savior also loved the children. In both the Americas and in Israel, He called the little ones to him. His was an example of patience, love, and tenderness as he played with and blessed the little ones.

This morning we read:

Luke 18:15-17

15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little ^achildren to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

3 Nephi 17: 21, 23-34

21 And he took their little children, one by one, and ^bblessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and ^aencircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

Today's challenge: Spend some quality time with little ones today! Enjoy them and don't worry about the activity. If you do not have children, seek them out. Friends will share.

Other ideas for today/activities we have done in the past:

*Make paper snowflakes and decorate the windows &/or tree.

*Have a snowball fight. If you don't live near snow - make your own. Buy some white knee hi nylons (.33 cents) and put 1 c. flour in the stocking. Tie it off and cut it. You can make 4 "snowballs" from one pair of knee hi's. Wear old clothes on a dry day and have a wonderful "snowball" fight in the back yard. This activity is awesome! I have done it many times and we love it. We have done it for scouts, reunions, co-ops summer fun, and winter snowball fights. *Note - one necessary rule - limit the number of "snowballs" any one person can hold at one time. :)

*Make scented ornaments. Mix 1 c. regular applesauce, 1 1/2 c. ground cinnamon, & 1/3 c. glue. Mix together and form a dough ball. Chill for at least 30 mins. to stiffen. Sprinkle more cinnamon on the counter and roll out to 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out Christmas shapes/ornaments. Use a drinking straw to make a hole for the ribbon. Let the ornaments dry completely before threading with ribbon & hanging on the tree. This activity will make your house smell incredible for the whole Christmas season!

*Make Crystal Snowflakes - directions here. I have done these with my 3rd graders for two years in a row. So much fun! I learned the hard way this year - take them out of the water the next day or within 36 hours. My class had to do ours twice this year because we left them in the water and the crystals re-dissolved into the water.

*Read all the Christmas picture books you can find at the library or at home.

Our song was "I Think When I Read That Sweet Story"

The songs sound better imho, when you click on "music & words" on the left. I love this song. So sweet.

Lastly, we read the ABC's of Christmas. We read a slightly different version, but I like this one better.

A is for Angels, appearing so bright, telling of Jesus that first Christmas night. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host." Luke

B is for Bethlehem, crowded and old, birthplace of Jesus by prophet foretold. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel." Micah 5:2

C is for Cattle, their manger His bed, there in the stable where He laid His head. "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger." Luke 2:7

D is for David and his ancient throne promised forever to Jesus alone. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David." Luke 1:32

E is for East, where shone the bright star which Magi on camels followed afar. "Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews" Matthew 2:1-2

F is for Frankincense, with myrrh and gold, brought by the Wise Men as Matthew has told. "And when they had opened their treasurers, they presented unto him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Matthew 2:11

G is for God, who from heaven above sent down to mankind the Son of His love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

H is for Herod, whose murderous scheme was told to Joseph in a nocturnal dream. "The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt ... for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." Matthew 2:13

I is for Immanuel, "God with us," for Christ brought man back to the Father's house. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

J is for Joseph so noble and just, obeying God's word with absolute trust. "Then Joseph being raised form sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife." Matthew 1:24

K is for King. A true king He would be, coming in power and authority. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, they King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation." Zechariah 9:9

L is for the Love that He brought down to earth; that night in the stable in lowly birth. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." I John 4:9

M is for Mary, His mother so brave, counting God faithful and mighty to save. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." Luke 1:38

N is for Night, when the Savior was born for nations of earth and people forlorn. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Luke 2:8

O is for Omega, meaning "the last;" He's eternal: present, future and past. "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Revelation 22:13

P is for Prophets, when living on earth foretold His redemption and blessed birth. "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." Numbers 24:17

Q is for Quickly, as shepherds who heard hastened to act on that heavenly word. "And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Luke 2:16

R is for Rejoice. The sorrow of sin is banished forever when Jesus comes in. "And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth." Luke 1:14

S is for Savior. To be this He came; the angel of God assigned Him His name. "She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

T is for Tidings related to all, telling of Him who was born in a stall. "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10

U is for Us, to whom Jesus was given to show us the way and take us to heaven. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

V is for Virgin, foretold by the sage, God's revelation on prophecy's page. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:23

W is for Wonderful, His works and His words, the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas!