Then, we met some of my family at Liberty Park for Echoes of Christmas. My friend Amanda told me about it last year, and we loved it. It is a great reminder of what this season is all about.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Twenty-first Day of Christmas
Then, we met some of my family at Liberty Park for Echoes of Christmas. My friend Amanda told me about it last year, and we loved it. It is a great reminder of what this season is all about.
The Twentieth Day of Christmas
No pictures today. Instead, I share a story that a friend sent in an email.
This story shared by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of Children’s Defense Fund is priceless. I Hope it blesses you all as much as it did me!
It was Christmas Eve and the pews at New York City’s Riverside Church were packed. The Christmas pageant was underway and had come to the point at which the innkeeper was to turn away Mary and Joseph with the resounding line, “There’s no room at the inn!” The innkeeper was played by Tim, an earnest youth of the congregation who had Down Syndrome. Only one line to remember: “There’s no room at the inn!” He had practiced it again and again with his parents and the pageant director and seemed to have mastered it.
So Tim stood at the altar, bathrobe costume firmly belted over his broad stomach, as Mary and Joseph made their way down the center aisle. They approached him, said their lines as rehearsed, and waited for his reply. Tim’s parents, the pageant director, and the whole congregation almost leaned forward as if willing him to remember his line.
“There’s no room at the inn!” Tim boomed out, just as rehearsed. Everyone let out a collective sigh. But then, as Mary and Joseph turned on cue to travel further, Tim suddenly yelled, “But wait!” They turned back, startled, and looked at him in surprise.
“You can stay at my house!” he called.
Well, Tim had so effectively preached the Christmas Eve message at Riverside Church that Pastor Bill Coffin strode to the pulpit, said “Amen!,” and sat down. It was the best sermon he ever preached.
I pray that we all make room at our house for the birth of Jesus—the Messiah, this Christmas. Merry Christmas and God’s richest blessings for the New Year.
The Nineteenth Day of Christmas
The Eighteenth Day of Christmas
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sixteen and Seventeen
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Fifteenth Day of Christmas
When I was about eleven, my mom had been going through a training in how to talk to kids about drugs. She practiced on the three of us girls. Camille and I apparently said that we would never do drugs or drink alcohol, but Melanie said that she was curious about it all. Well, we had been begging to get our ears pierced, but the age set by my parents had always been twelve. So, in a moment of inspiration, my mom asked Melanie if she got he ears pierced, would she make a promise to never use drugs or alcohol. Of course, she said "yes" and Camille and I made the same promise.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Twelve and Thirteen
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Fourteenth Day of Christmas
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Eleventh Day of Christmas
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Tenth Day of Christmas
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Ninth Day of Christmas
We then picked up Mike from work and went to This Is The Place for the Candlelight Christmas. I highly recommend it. The Father Christmas was so cute. We also loved the square dancing, the silent nativity and the puppet show.