Neither in halls nor yet in bowers,
Born would he not be,
Neither in castles nor yet in towers
That seemly were to see;
But at his Father’s will,
The prophecy to fulfill,
Betwixt an ox and an ass
Jesus, this king, born he was.
Heaven he bring us till!
~Coventry Mystery Play, c.1200. Taken from The Christian Almanac, compiled by George Grant and Gregory Wilbur.
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.
That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
~Coventry Carol, c.1500, commemorating The Massacre of the Innocents ordered by Herod the Great and told about in Matthew 2:16-18.
“At last the anchor was up, the sails were set, and off we glided. It was a sharp, cold Christmas; and as the short northern day merged into night, we found ourselves almost broad upon the wintry ocean, whose freezing spray cased us in ice, as in polished armor.
Lank Bildad, as pilot, headed the first watch, and ever and anon, as the old craft deep dived into the green seas, and sent the shivering frost all over her, and the winds howled, and the cordage rang, his steady notes were heard, –
‘Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,
Stand dressed in living green.
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.’
Never did those sweet words sound more sweetly to me than then. They were full of hope and fruition. Spite of this frigid winter night in the boisterous Atlantic, spite of my wet feet and wetter jacket, there was yet, it then seemed to me, many a pleasant haven in store; and meads and glades so eternally vernal, that the grass shot up by the spring, untrodden, unwilted, remains at midsummer.
~Moby Dick, chapter 22 by Herman Melville.
Moby DIck, or The Whale was first published in 1851.
“The whole effort started by mistake. Several days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, people in North Platte, Nebraska heard that their own Company D of the Nebraska National Guard would be passing through town on its way from an Arkansas training camp to the West Coast. A crowd gathered at the Union Pacific train station to greet the boys with cookies, candy, and small gifts. When the train arrived, it turned out it was transporting a Company D from Kansas, not Nebraska. After a moment of disappointment, someone in the crowd asked, ‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ And they began handing their gifts to the war-bound soldiers. The next day Miss Rae Wilson wrote the North Platte Daily Bulletin to suggest that the town open a canteen to greet all troop trains stopping there. ‘Let’s do something and do it in a hurry!’ she wrote. Beginning on Christmas Day 1941 and continuing through World War II, the town offered itself as the North Platte Canteen. For 365 days a year volunteers from the remote community of 12,000 and surrounding hamlets provided hot coffee, doughnuts, sandwiches, and encouragement for young soldiers passing through. Hundreds of families, churches, schools, businesses, and clubs pitched in to help raise money, buy supplies, and make food. They greeted every soldier on every train with gifts and good wishes. By April 1, 194 its last day, the North Platte Canteen had served more than 6 million GI’s.” Taken from The American Patriot’s Almanac, compiled by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb. Semicolon review here.
What small act of kindness or charity is God asking you to do today? Do it. Don’t delay or find excuses; just do it. Who knows how God may multiply your small effort?
Lyrics: Traditional French carol, Les Anges dans nos campagnes. Translated to English by James Chadwick, 1862.
Music: GLORIA arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes.
Theme: Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.â€
Angels we have heard on high……………..or…………….Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains……………………………..Singing sweetly through the night
And the mountains in reply………………………………….And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains…………………………………Echoing their brave delight.
CHORUS:
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?……………..or………………..Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?……………………………Why these songs of happy cheer?
What the gladsome tidings be…………………………………What great brightness did you see?
Which inspire your heavenly song? …………………What glad tidings did you hear?
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
See Him in a manger laid
Whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love.
RBC Ministries: “Back in the Middle Ages in the hills of southern France, shepherds tending their flocks had a custom on Christmas Eve of calling to one another, each from his own hilltop, singing “Glo—ria in excelsis Deo, Glo—ria in excelsis Deo!” Just as angels had made that announcement to shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem two thousand years ago, so a thousand years ago these French shepherds announced again the birth of Christ to one another on Christmas Eve.”
True Believer: “I picture tough, grizzled shepherds with their hearts melting under the light and song of praise. Think of how they reacted. They aren’t giving a newspaper account … think of how you’d react when you run and tell your friends, ‘I just saw angels, and they were singing! It was so powerful, it seemed like the mountains were singing back when it echoed!’â€
Check out this website: Books for Soldiers. You can send books and other materials to U.S. soldiers around the world by signing up at this website and following the instructions.
Operation Paperback is another organization that gives you an address to which you can send a box of books for soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.
AnySoldier.com gives addresses for soldier contacts requesting care packages. You can sign up to get one or more addresses and then send the care package with specific stuff that the soldiers have requested.
At HomefrontHugs USA you can adopt a service person for a six month committment and agree to “send 2 packages a month- they can be small…accompanied by 2 cards or letters.”
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Any of these would be a great Christmas project, and even if the package or card doesn’t get there until after Christmas, don’t you think it will be greatly appreciated?
Photo: U.S. Army Pfc. Harry Lewis reads a book between missions at a patrol base in As Sadah, Iraq, April 8, 2007. Lewis is from 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment (Airborne Recon), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. JoAnn S. Makinano) (Released)
The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?
My God, no hymn for Thee?
My soul’s a shepherd too; a flock it feeds
Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.
The pasture is Thy word: the streams, Thy grace
Enriching all the place.
Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers
Outsing the daylight hours.
Then will we chide the sun for letting night
Take up his place and right:
We sing one common Lord; wherefore he should
Himself the candle hold.
I will go searching, till I find a sun
Shall stay, till we have done;
A willing shiner, that shall shine as gladly,
As frost-nipped suns look sadly.
Then will we sing, and shine all our own day,
And one another pay:
His beams shall cheer my breast, and both so twine,
Till ev’n His beams sing, and my music shine.
11. Give My Life in Pink and Greenby Lisa Greenwald (Semicolon review here) with a gift certificate for a makeover or a make-up session at a local boutique or department store. Or you could just buy some appropriate-for-the-age makeup for your favorite pre-teen to go with this story about growing up and taking responsibility.
12. Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass seems to me to be a remake of the movie Groundhog Day. Well, sort of a remake, similar premise. Anyway the movie and the book together would make a good gift for an eleven year old, maybe even one who’s celebrating a birthday at Christmas time. Brown Bear Daughter was born two days before Christmas, and it’s hard to figure out what to get her for her birthday and for Christmas at the same time.
So there you go: ten+ gift ideas from me and one from Mother Reader, and you can check out Mother Reader’s list for 104 more ideas. Give a book to every child on your Christmas list. Books are cool!
Check out this website: 
