Jesus Is Better Than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole …JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh …JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year …JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies …JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited …JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart. You have to stand in line to see Santa …JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap …JESUS lets you rest in His Arms.

Santa doesn’t know your name, all he can say is “Hi, little boy or girl, what’s your name?” …JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too, our history and future, and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly …JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO …JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says, “You better not cry” …Jesus says “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”

Santa’s little helpers make toys …JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but …Jesus gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa put gifts under your tree …JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

It’s obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember, WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
JESUS is still the reason for the season.

Lessons to Live by

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"


1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. So stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business..
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35.. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere..
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The REAL story behind the 12 Days of Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol. (This makes an interesting addition to family get-togethers at Christmas.)

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Daddy's Poem

Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favourite dress tied with a bow.

Today was Daddy's Day at school, and she couldn't wait to go.

But her mummy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home.

Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.

What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.

And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school eager to tell them all.

About a dad she never sees
a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the back wall, for everyone to meet..

Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats One by one the teacher called a student from the class.

To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare.

Each of them was searching, a man who wasn't there.

'Where's her daddy at?' She heard a boy call out.

'She probably doesn't have one,' another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,

'Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day.'

The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mum.

And looked back at her teacher,
who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak

And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique. '

My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away.

But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
and how much he loves me so. He loved to tell me stories
he taught me to ride my bike.

He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone.

And though you cannot see him. I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart I know because he told me,
he'll forever be in my heart'

With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.

Feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favourite dress.
And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears.

Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.

Doing what was best for her, doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.

She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud.

'I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star..

And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far.

You see he is a soldierAnd died just this past year.

When a roadside bomb hit his convoy and taught brave men to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away.'

And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day.

And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise.

A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them, who knows w hat they felt inside.

Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.

'I know you're with me Daddy,' to the silence she called out.

And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.

But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long- stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star.

And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far..

Refresh Your Spirit

Everyone needs a spiritual tune-up from time to time, says Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of 365 Prescriptions for the Soul. When life throws you a curveball, such as illness or money troubles, it's easy to feel disconnected from your faith. When he needs a little inspiration, he says he looks for a sign: "For me the most significant sign is a penny. Its value is in the message, not the materialism."

The face of a penny contains three messages: The word Liberty, reminding us we are all free to be ourselves. The image of Abraham Lincoln, facing forward, which reminds us to accept our mortality and live in the moment. And above all is the phrase "In God we trust." Each time Siegel finds a penny, he picks it up and spends a moment thinking about those ideas.

When he collects a 100 pennies, he buys a lottery ticket, with the promise that if he wins he'll use the money to do good in the world. "I think of the found coins as pennies from heaven - crumbs left for someone to follow home," he says. "It's an uplifting experience."

Heaven & Hell

A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table..

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew,
which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.

They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, 'I don't understand.

'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill.
You see, they have learned to feed each other.

The greedy think only of themselves.'

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.