Christmas Songs

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Here are Christmas songs you were not likely to hear while Christmas shopping.

Mary’s Song – “My soul magnifies the Lord for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” Luke 1:48

Zechariah’s Song – “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David.” Luke 1:68-69

Simeon’s Song – “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32

Anna’s song (Her words are not given, but her response to meeting the Savior is.) – “She began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38

The Angel’s Song – “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” Luke 2:14

Christmas songs… Today’s gift!

Merry Christmas!

*****

Coming tomorrow and each day for the 12 days of Christmas, is Wanderers a story of Epiphany. It will come in 12 parts, ending on January 6, Epiphany. Wanderers can also be found in the collection of short stories My Best Christmas and other stories of the season, available at Amazon.com.

The Star of Bethlehem

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Now I’m not going to get into a whole big astronomical ‘thing’ about the what, when, where and why of the star that led the magi to Jesus. I’ll leave that to others. Whether it was a one-time miraculous stellar event or the result of eons of God’s precise planning that brought planets and stars together, I’m not here to say.

I believe that the creator of all things, in his divine wisdom, wanted to get the attention of ancient scholars, sky gazers from the east.  He wanted to introduce them to the child King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So in the fullness of time this celestial event took place and motivated these magi to travel to find Jesus. And they did.  And they brought him gifts and they worshipped him.  

So why am I bringing this up so many days before Epiphany, January 6, when all of this is usually celebrated? You see, one of the ideas about the ‘star’ is that there was a conjunction of planets and/or a bright star. When they all came together the result was a remarkably bright object in the sky which caught the attention of these night sky observers. Again, why am I bringing this up?

It just so happens that in a few days, December 21, 2020, to be precise, there will be a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, just before sunset, in the southwest sky. The two bright planets, ‘wanderers’ as they were called back then, will come together and appear as one really bright object.  It should be quite a sight if you are favored with clear skies, an unobstructed view and catch it at the right time. 

Now I’m not suggesting that after seeing this conjunction that you hop on the nearest camel and head to Bethlehem and look for Jesus.  However, it just might be a good time to give some credit to God the creator for the gift of his remarkable world.

Oh, and as for looking for Jesus… he’s not that far away. He’s called Immanuel, God with us, after all. Today’s gift, to be sure!

The First and Last… Really, the Last One… I Think

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Back in September I flippantly reported on seeing the last robin of the year. Chagrined, I’m here to say that since then I’ve seen several more of them that seem to have missed their southbound flight.

So, today, Saturday, November 28, I believe I saw the last one… again… for real. I was at the end of my walk and there perched Mr. Robin red-breast in a berry laden bunch of shrubbery, perhaps eating one last Michigan meal before heading south. It’s almost December! We’ve had snow here already! For Pete sake, it’s time to go! And I’m sure it will soon be winging to warmer climes and worm-filled unfrozen turf. If not, I’ll be sure to let you know.

*****

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26.

Today’s gift!

Thanksgiving Day – 2020

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Sometimes (most times?) it’s best for me to let someone else do the talking…

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

    Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

*****

All good gifts around us

Are sent from heav’n above,

Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord

For all his love.

-Matthias Claudius

Now Available!

On By dklinegIn Christmas, Other Stuff..., School Things1 Comment

Here it comes, a shameless self-promotion…  I humbly offer my apologies before I even start.

You see over the last 30 years I’ve written more than a few short stories, a lot of them about Christmas.   I wrote them mainly for my students back then.   Some of them were even good enough to be published in a few educator’s magazines.

So with that little bit of fleeting success, I decided long ago that I’d like to see them published, put into a book.  I tried back then.  However, after only a few tries to get some real publishers interested, the stories stayed in my file, on my computer and in my mind …  until recently.

After hearing about the whole concept of self-publishing a while back, the idea of putting my stories together in a book started percolating again.  Self-publishing… hmmm … The cool thing about self-publishing a book is that, really, only one person needs to like it …  in addition to one’s mother.  (I must say that when my mom was alive, she liked my stories, too.)

So over the course of the last year or so, I investigated the process, dusted off the old stories, reformatted them, wrote some new ones, had someone check them over and submitted them.  Lo and behold both the paperback and eBook versions were accepted by Kindle Direct Publishing.

Now available at Amazon.com

I want to make it clear that I’m not in this for the money or to make someone’s best seller list.  Although, with this blog readership of about six, who knows what might happen. Things might just take off.

I wrote most of the stories mainly for my students and the people closest to me.  And, I had fun doing it.  Besides, even after all these years, I still think these stories, in their quirky little ways, still belt out a pretty strong message about Christmas and it’s true meaning, which, of course, is that Jesus was born, Immanuel, God with us.  That, my friends, and not some flashy newly published book … is today’s Gift.

 *****

If you want to see the blurb at Amazon.com, click on this link.  If not, that’s fine, too.

Thinking about Light

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I’m thinking about light today.

Let’s try this…

An unexpected doctor’s appointment this morning pushed me out the door well before sunrise in order to complete my daily walk. I grabbed my flashlight and headed to the trail. I didn’t need a flashlight.  The sky was clear and the bright waning gibbous moon lit my path. Ah, light on my path made me think of … 

Nope, nothing is coming to mind.  I think I’ll try something else. 

How about… ?

Next week my wife will be out east visiting my sister. What better thing is there to do when home alone than to paint.  Since it’s fall and the days can be dark and gloomy, I bought a nice bright work light to illuminate the room I’ll be working in.  Ah, light to illuminate the darkness… 

No, that’s not working for me today, either.

Hmmm… not a great start for today’s post, even though I have these catchy little personal stories.  Either one could lead nicely into the heart of a post about LIGHT.  I could go with something sweet and sappy. Or, perhaps I could launch into a whole big thing about light and dark, good and bad, do’s and don’ts. However…

Let’s try this instead…

Thinking of Light

Jesus said…

I

I am

I am the

I am the Light

I am the Light of the

Jesus said I am the Light of the world

Today’s gift … Jesus, the Light of the world.

Jesus said…

world

of the world

light of the world

the light of the world

are the light of the world

you are the light of the world

Jesus said you are the light of the world

Today’s gift for others … YOU and I, the light of the world

The First and the Last

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I walk on the same trail pretty much every morning throughout the year – spring, summer, fall and winter.  As the seasons progress the creation around me changes.  Plants change. Animals change. Weather changes. In one way or another things that I experience along the way change as well.

Early one morning, not so long ago, I was walking along, deep in thought.  As, as we walked, God and me, for some reason I noticed there was something missing.  Robins.

Some people make a big deal out of seeing the first robin of the year.  No doubt they see it as a hopeful sign that winter is loosening its grip and spring is just around the corner.  Maybe, for some, that first sighting gets noted in a journal, prompts a phone call to someone special or becomes a reason to bring donuts to work.  I don’t know.

What I do know is that rarely, if ever, do you hear someone talk about seeing the last robin of the year.  Last week, as far as I know, I saw the last robin.  It was a dark morning when a small bundle of feathers skittered across the trail then fluttered into the brush.  I heard a brief chirp and then it was gone.  The last robin.

I’m not sure when that bird’s internal clock said it was time to head south.  I’m not sure where it will end up or if it will ever come back.  I don’t know the future, the robin’s or mine.

Here’s what I do know.  The God who created the seasons, the plants, the robins and you and me, loves his creation.  He loves us.  It’s been that way since the beginning.  He’s been with us all the way – in our past, right now and in our future.  He knows our future because he is already in it.  He’s Alpha and Omega, after all.

*****
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26

Note: I didn’t have a good picture of a robin. I went with a bluebird, instead. 🙂

The Amish Guys

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I’m sitting on a train in Cleveland. It’s 5:30 AM. I’m not sleeping. I haven’t been. I haven’t been sleeping since, oh, let’s say 3 AM. I try not to look at the clock so early in the morning.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to write another one of those goofy blogs from the train. Who reads them anyway? I have to say, though, that occasionally I do check on my ‘blog stats.” Every once in a while it will show a reader from China or Great Britain, in addition to a handful in the States that stumbles on this jumble of musings. But, I’m getting off the track. (Not a good thing to say while riding on the train, is it?)

As I was saying, I’m sitting on the train, not sleeping, but writing… When one gets on the train in the middle of the night, there’s a bit of pressure to get the right seat. Since, today, the train car is quite empty it shouldn’t have been too tough to find one on the correct side with a window available to the scenic views. And it wasn’t. So at 12:30 AM we plunked our stuff down, unbeknownst to us at the time, right in the middle of a nest of Amish folks.

Now I’ve traveled with Amish folks before, talked with them, even listened from a distance as they sang Sunday morning hymns. Nice people. I expected no less this morning as they were all snoring nicely when I got on the train. 

Then at one point, maybe at another stop, or maybe one guy discovered the other after riding a bit. I don’t know. Anyway, this Amish guy changed seats from sitting with his wife to sitting with another Amish guy in the seats right behind me. They must have been best friends. I say best friends because from the moment his butt hit the seat those two guys didn’t stop talking. No sleeping, just talking, talking, talking. For hours… Amazing… best of friends for sure.

Now I’ve been in similar situations where I’ve been able to hear the one sided drama of a person’s life as they shared it with another, and anyone within 50 feet, on their cell phone.  Sometimes the conversation is interesting, sometimes not. 

However, in this case, I got both sides.  Unfortunately, these guys were speaking a language only another Amish guy could understand. I couldn’t begin to tell you what they were talking about. Oh well, I was trying to sleep!

Oh, now it looks like the guys might need to get some rest, since the one went back to sitting with his wife. He might be able to get some sleep. It’s quieter there, I’m sure. They’ll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep now between here and Utica where they’ll be getting off.

I shouldn’t complain. It’s a gift to have someone to talk with like that. And the Amish guys did, all night! And, besides, now I’ll be able to nap along the way, I’m sure. Ahhh… It’s quieter now.

No! Wait! They’re back at it again! Hmmm … I think it’s time for me to get some coffee.

Palm Sunday – 2020

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Today is Palm Sunday.  Hosanna!  

In a typical year folks would be in their churches waving palm branches and shouting or singing their hosannas in praise of Jesus, the King.  

This isn’t a typical year. There’s a nasty virus that has us worshiping together, but alone at home via electronic devices.

Because it’s not a typical year, there’s probably a shortage of palm branches.  Surely, they and the florists that provide them have been deemed non-essential. Perhaps there are those among us who found a branch or two in the backyard and are making due with oak branches to go along with the hosannas.  

Indeed, it’s not a typical year so maybe we are led to branch out (sorry!).  Take a look at your hands. Stretch them out, raise them up and sing your hosannas today.  They are palms after all.

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Then in the coming week take those same palms and extend them, well scrubbed, of course, to a friend or a neighbor or a stranger and let your acts of gentle kindness speak hosannas of praise to the King who we celebrate today. 

Today’s gift… King Jesus!  Hosanna.

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