Jordyn Sletmoe	Nov 18 (1 day ago)

Okay, so here goes nothing. I'm supposed to be writing my favorite Christmas memory, or my favorite part of Christmas, but those thoughts, even just one by itself is overwhelming. 

I'm not sure what to write, or how to explain what I write. It is very confusing. I might like to write about my favorite Christmas memory, but every time I think about Christmas memories,

all I can think of is the Christmas morning when I woke up at about 2:30 A.M and found that the cat had knocked over my mouse cage and chased them around the room for fun, then ate one, 

left one in my closet and took one to the laundry room. WORST. CHRISTMAS. EVER. If I tried to explain my favorite part of Christmas, I would be left with four pages FULL of my favorite

part(s)  of Christmas. So instead, I am going to tell you about how my family has taught me new things every Christmas. What I mean by that, is, ever since I can remember, Christmas has been

based on it's true meaning. It was never about the presents, although they were nice, and it wasn't about the food ( although it was yummy). It was about Jesus. Ever since I can remember, on 

Christmas morning, we DID wake up very early, but unlike a lot of families, instead of going straight to presents, we waited for my Nana and Papa to get there, and then we read the 

Christmas story from the Bible. For most kids, their favorite part of Christmas is the presents, or the food. But I'm not most kids. My favorite part of Christmas is the reading of the

Christmas story. The setting is magical! We gather around the tree, and find a comfortable seat, and wait for the story to begin. It never fails to get me excited. Each year 

I go away with something different to think about. The love that God showed by sending His ONLY son to this broken Earth never fails to amaze me. Sure, the presents are nice

but they are NOTHING compared to the love that God sends our way. And food could never compare with the time spent with family in a large room, all of us huddled about

the heater, drinking Hot Cocoa and Coffee, and talking about fond memories, sharing tears and laughter. God has blessed me SO much, that I could thank Him for a BILLION years and STILL

 not come to the end of the list of things that He has done for me, the greatest of all being this: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever beleiveth in Him

 should NOT perish but have everlasting life."

Guest Blog: Memories of Christmas

My memories of Christmas as a child are very special to me. When mom asked me to do a guest blog for Christmas, I decided to share some of what made my Christmas so special as a kid. These are in no particular order, just as they come to me:

• Christmas Tree Hunting: We used to go up with my grandparents, way up in the mountains to get the "perfect" tree. Grandma would bring honey and peanut butter sandwiches with hot cocoa to wash them down. We would have snowball fights, make snow angels and just enjoy our family. This has become even more special to me as an adult; I can no longer have real trees in our home because I am severely allergic to them. 
• Waking Up Early: People talk about how their children wake them up in the wee early hours of the morning on Christmas because they are so excited. I am one of those parents! However, my dad was actually the one that could hardly wait to see our faces on Christmas Morning. I think one of the earliest times he may have woke us up was 3am! Even now, our family tends to get up around 5am and dad is usually calling about then to see if the grandkids are up!
• Stockings: Looking back, I realize as an adult that my parents had SO little money. I never knew that as a child because my parents somehow made Christmas so magical without a lot of money. One of those things was our stockings. We never saw what was in them till Christmas morning, so the suspense was real! Some years there was a theme, like when we were into shooting bows. The stockings were full of arrows and different supplies we would need for practicing. Every year there were different things that our parents knew we were interested in. To this day, this is my favorite part of Christmas. I LOVE filling my family's stockings and I love getting a stocking full of treasures from my family.
• Mannhiem Steamroller: You would have to ask my parents where they first heard of this group, but when I think of Christmas, I think of Mannhiem Steamroller. Here is a link to one of my favorite songs by them: Carol Of The Bells
• Santa Claus: Now, I don't ever remember "believing" in Santa Claus, but he or rather the story of Santa was a fond part of my memories. My parents made sure that we understood the real meaning of Christmas and I am so grateful for that. But there were fun memories where Santa was involved. Like the family party where Santa Claus showed up to hand out presents. I remember being so amazed that this jolly fellow that I had only read about was visiting us. He seemed strangely familiar. Years later, I found out that it was a dear family member! We would leave out cookies and milk for Santa the night before and while we didn't believe in Santa, we were amazed that the cookies and milk would be gone in the morning! There was always a family present from Santa on Christmas Eve that was always something we could do as a family. Usually a new game or movie. 

The list honestly could go on and on....I was blessed with an amazing childhood. It had it's hiccups as most families do, but with God as the center of our home, we learned that nothing was too big for God.

I pray as you enjoy this Christmas season that you would take time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Take time to read the Christmas story in the Gospels and just let it sink in....

christmas

Christmas at the Parsonage

Felicia Billings

               Every year for about ten years my pastor and his wife would host a Christmas gathering at their home in December. I looked forward to that as a time to fellowship, but for me it was much more than a ‘church event’.

               I grew up in a single parent home. My mother was very loving and made sure to supply our needs, but often we didn’t have as much time with her or the rest of our family. My family would often have a family Christmas gathering at my grandfather and grandmothers house. I loved helping, learning how to prepare family dishes, and eating wonderful food cooked by my family. It was a wonderful time and I got to see family members that I rarely saw at other times of the year.

Still, I was never ‘full of Christmas’ at Christmas time. I longed for the comfort that I found at one place, church, to be more present in my life than it often was at other times during the year. That comfort came from knowing a God, the only God, who loves me. It came from a church of likeminded people seeking solace, a sheltering place from this word, and coming together in a unified Spirit that is unlike any other kind of unity in this life. I longed for sanctuary, for the still small voice of a Babe to wrap me up in love and let me know that I was His and all was well.

This is something I found at those gatherings. Yes, it was noisy with us Sunday school kids there. Yes, there may be raised voices, fast moving feet trying to help with arrangements, and a lot of festive craziness. Still, in the evenings quiet when pastor called us to gather in the living room of the parsonage to sing Christmas carols, there was that peace. The unity, solidarity, and solace I so craved came together in that living room as we sang of peace, joy, the Babe in a manger, and God’s unrelenting love toward all mankind which will one glorious day be made complete and peace will be fully realized. The Spirit in that living room was the same Spirit in the church. Those memories are dear to me, and I wouldn’t trade them for a single thing in this life. I’m so grateful for Christ’s gift to us and for the time of year we celebrate Him and feel His peace, joy, and love embrace us afresh.

The Christmas Candy Cane originated in Germany about 250 years ago. They started as straight white sugar sticks.

A story says that a choirmaster, in 1670, was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service. So he gave them something to eat to keep them quiet! As he wanted to remind them of Christmas, he made them into a 'J' shape like a shepherds crook, to remind them of the shepherds that visited the baby Jesus at the first christmas. However, the earliest records of 'candy canes' comes from over 200 years later, so the story, although rather nice, probably isn't true!

Sometime around 1900 the red stripes were added and they were flavored with peppermint or wintergreen.

Sometimes other Christian meanings are giving to the parts of the canes. The 'J' can also mean Jesus. The white of the cane can represent the purity of Jesus Christ and the red stripes are for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor can represent the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible.

Around 1920, Bob McCormack, from Georgia, USA, started making canes for his friends and family. They became more and more popular and he started his own business called Bob's Candies. Bob McCormack's brother-in-law, Gregory Harding Keller, who was a Catholic priest, invented the Keller Machine that made turning straight candy sticks into curved candy canes automatic! In 2005, Bob's Candies was bought by Farley and Sathers but they still make candy canes!

http://www.whychristmas.com