A Christmas Poem From AM~Erica

So anyway...

I penned this in 2006 to be a children's nativity play. I thought it would be fairly easy to track down a version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" with a spin of the telling of the Nativity Story to be adapted into a narrative children's Nativity play. To my shock...there wasn't. So, with a copy of the original poem, a plate of pumpkin pancakes & some coffee at IHOP, and opening myself up to His Word & guidance...I just wanted to be a vessel in His storytelling. And this is what happened. And we did a play that year.

And I wanted it to have the same kind of feel of being gathered around the selected family member to read the story of the night before Christmas by the fire, everyone in their jammies getting ready for bed in anticipation for the following morning...

So, I have made it an annual thing to share it with anyone who is willing to read it.

As your Christmas season winds down, don't forget what was actually going on that night. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

(a few revisions to wording from it's original debut...still the same story)

I bring to you now, "'Twas the Night That was Christmas":

~~~~~~~~~~

'TWAS THE NIGHT THAT WAS CHRISTMAS

‘Twas the night that was Christmas, when all through the stable,

not a creature was stirring beneath the barn’s gable.

The signage was hung outside the inn with care

with the statement of “No Vacancy” there.

Poor Joseph, with Mary about to give birth,

traveled to Bethlehem to pay up their worth.

Only a stable stall left to shelter Mary from danger

so she could bear a son and place Him in a manger.

***

The shepherds were resting upon the hillside

of Bethlehem’s outskirts, where their sheep do reside;

after making sure no wolf was around,

they took a nap right there on the ground.

When all through the skies, there arose such a clatter!

The shepherds sprang up to see what was the matter;

they each picked up their staff and their sash

to see that an angel appeared in a flash!

“Please, don’t hurt us,” they shouted and prayed;

the angel of God said, “Do not be afraid:

I bring you glad tidings with good news to tell!

The Savior is here in a manger knell.”

Then heavenly hosts joined in from above

to help deliver this message of love:

“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on the Earth

to all whom His favor rests,” was sung of the birth.

“Now run, see the babe in swaddling clothes –

you will find Him in the stable where the large starlight shows.

We give you our word, and on angels’ wing

your flocks will be safe as you bow to the King!”

***

Now there were magi from the Orient, afar,

who studied the skies and found a new star.

They told this king, Herod, by name,

and he sent them to follow after making this claim:

“If this leads you to the ‘King of the Jews,’

please come tell Herod so he can praise the little King, too.”

But the magi knew (because they are wise)

that what Herod wanted was the baby’s demise.

So, off they set, with no plan to return,

bringing with them gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The journey was long to find Joseph and wife,

and the baby boy Savior, who would change every life.

That star shown brightly, much more than the moon;

a spotlight for the One delivering God’s people soon!

The stage is now set for those who come by

to listen to the mother sing a soft lullaby.

Now lay there, the babe in the manger stall,

being adored by those who received the great call.

So tiny, yet regal, in such a low place,

adorning a halo surrounding His face.

God chose to come to the Earth as a child –

(to be with, and like, the ones that He’d styled)

as a sweet baby boy in a place so lowly,

to arise so divine, and perfect, and holy.

The time has now come to worship and sing

that Jesus Christ is crowned Savior and King!

Now the Savior is here to save us from strife!

So…Merry Christmas to all, and to all, eternal life!

~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas, everyone! May it be merry, bright, meaningful & thoughtful.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Preparing for That Time of Year

So anyway...

It's time to refocus on much more positive subject than my previous SCATHING POST. Instead we will focus on that time of year. Yes...THAT time of year!

Even though stores & advertisements have already jumped on the winter holiday bandwagon, we hitch our ride on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Since some family comes over for brunch on that day, we like to show off our decorations. And we have made it a tradition, but decided to do some different things this year. Because I've talked about CHANGING TRADITIONS before, too. We decided to approach this family holiday tradition differently this year.

For one, I've already DECORATED A TREE, but it wasn't for us, if you remember. But it's now time to handle our own house...

Usually, we think the kids feel forced & at least one of them gets super grumpy & it makes the day very stressful. So we changed & decided that it wouldn't bother us if the kids didn't want to do anything. If they do, fantastic! Teen Girl jumped on the task of cookie baking...

Teen Girl took the pic of her 10 dozen cookies. She added the milk. She rocked!

While that was going on, hubby put together our brand new, 9 ft, prelit tree. Hubby has been wanting a hugenormous tree for years. He finally got it.

Hubby introducing the baby to a Christmas tree

And it's huge. However...I am the designated tree fluffer. So...a brand new tree, way taller than I am, and trying to figure out which way it's gonna go. Yeah...it took me around 4-ish hours to fluff. That's crazy stuff, folks! But the boys were all putting lights on the house & bringing up the rest of the decoration boxes.

FINALLY, it came time to decorate the tree. Here's how it came out:

That Santa tree topper is our original tree topper...first time in years he's been  on the tree top

Our tree has white lights & mulitcolor twinkly lights. For the last several years, we decided a star would be more appropriate for our 6 ft & 7.5 ft trees we've had. That pretty star looked dwarfed on this largenormous tree. So...we got to bring Santa back! Santa was the very first tree topper for hubby & I, back in 1995. Even when we switched him out, he was still part of the Christmas surroundings. Awww...it's nice to have Ol' St. Nick back on top!

That was a tradition throwback. But we changed something. This is a huge thing for my hubby, too...we didn't put garland on the tree! *GASP* Instead...we just draped ribbon. You have no idea what change up this is!! But we love it.

But the decor doesn't just stop there...
We also did the mantle:

We are very happy with it...however, for most people...do you notice anything missing? That's right! There are NO stockings hung by the chimney with care. Not at all! There are just too many people who celebrate together in this house...so, instead...

We had to hang them by the tree, instead. We couldn't fit ALL of these on our poor mantle. I'm big on having the stockings by the fireplace...but you know what? I love them here! So adorable!

Then...I put up our fairly new-to-us Nativity. We had been using the one my mom & dad had since they were married. That Nativity scene is 44-years-old. We really needed a new one, as the antique was starting to show age (we were hoping to just keep the poor camel's let on). Last year, after my grandmother had to move out of her home into an assisted living facility, we ended up with her all white collectable Nativity fom Avon:

Yes...it is set up under our TV so it's always there to look at as our reminder...not in a corner somewhere.

That's what we got done today. We aren't done, as I put up more trees & decor. But the main part is pretty much done. It may get a tweak or 2...but that's our day's work.

And...all of this while listening to Christmas music. Of course.

It's not time for the outside lights for us yet. We will wait until Thanksgiving night to switch those on. You know, like the Plaza lights! LOL!

Let's get this Christmas party started!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica