"Nativity" And "Nativity"

"Nativity" - Fra Angelico

Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod's jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith's eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.

"Nativity" by John Donne

Please Pray

From Renzmqt:

Gram. can you help me get the word out. I'm asking for prayers for my work partner Mary Ann and her family. Her mother was found unresponsive in her driveway about an hour ago. Mary Ann is waiting to hear if they will be transporting her to our local Med Ctr before heading down to Crystal Falls (about 1 1/2 hours away). They don't know what happened - they're trying to warm her up - it's bitter cold up here. Apparently she was on her way to pick up her significant other from church, she never showed up so he got a ride with someone else and they found her. Mary Ann is also waiting to hear a prognosis before calling her sister who lives in Dayton, OH. So, please, prayers for Mary Ann and her family.

UPDATE:

renzmqt said...

She apparently has suffered a bleed, right side is weak. Its possible that the bitter cold actually helped keep her alive. They were transporting her to either Madison or Green Bay. Mary Ann was getting ready to head south and her sister was heading west from Ohio. Thanks for your prayers.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

 

Isaiah 9:6-7

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it
with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

"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. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

A Blessed and Merry Christmas to all!

Note: Many years ago, my mother made the Nativity set in the picture in a ceramics class. I think it's lovely, and, of course, I treasure the set, because she made it for me. In due time, the Three Kings and the camels shall miraculously appear.

The post is timed for Christmas Day on the East Coast. I'll be in church.

First Present Opened!

Today I opened my first present. It's from me to me. I bought new speakers for my desktop computer. My speakers were quite old and quite cheap, leftovers from my very first computer. They came with the cheapo package of computer, monitor, keyboard, and speakers. I replaced all the components except the speakers. Little did I know how bad they were and how much I was missing until a young friend installed the new speakers for me. Yay! I'm in the real music business now. They're not the most expensive speakers in the world, but compared to what I had, they're like being at a live concert.

Prayer For Peace

The list at the Global Peace Index shows:

the GPI rankings for the 140 countries analysed in 2008 and the 121 countries analysed in 2007, as well as year-on-year comparison. Countries most at peace are ranked first. A lower score indicates a more peaceful country. You can click on a country to see the detail of its peace indicators and drivers.

Below are the 15 most violent countries listed in descending order to the most violent, which is Iraq.

Myanmar

Pakistan

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nigeria

Colombia

Russia

Lebanon

North Korea

Central African Republic

Chad

Israel

Afghanistan

Sudan

Somalia

Iraq

Let us remember the people living in the midst of turmoil and violence during the season when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Prayer For Peace

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

[Book of Common Prayer, p. 815]

"With God On Our Side"

Prayer For Those In The Armed Forces

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Book of Common Prayer, p. 823)

Thought For The Day From Gandhi

My friend, Georgianne, always ends her email messages with this quote from Gandhi:

“Everything you do will be meaningless, but you must do it.”

Winter Funnies

With thanks to Doug. Doug gives gifts all year round for your pleasure and my pleasure.

I Am Alpha And Omega

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelation 21:1-

"The Mom Song"

Enjoy! Of course, I never did this. I've seen the song on video before, but never with captions, and I could not get all the words in the past.

Thanks to my niece.