Child in the Manger

Child in the manger, infant of Mary

outcast and stranger, Lord of all

Child who inherits

All our transgression

All our demerits on Him fall

Once the most holy

Child of salvation

Gently and lowly

Now as our glorious Mighty Redeemer

See Him victorious

o'er each foe

Prophets foretold Him

Infant of wonder

Angels behold Him on His throne

Worthy our Savior

of all our praises

Happy forever

are His own

from MWS Christmastime © 1998

Unsnow Poem

(So titled because I never use the word, snow)

Cold and frosty, it silently falls

"It's coming down!" excitement calls

Wonder covers the earth

temporarily increasing worth

Children building and a man is made

The balls are ready, but I'm not afraid

I have my own weapons to hurl away

If only this whiteness could stay

Dear bright covering, you blanket of white

How I love the way you paint the night

The quiet loveliness our world knows

but I love it also when it goes

Ouch!! A Christmas Memory

December 24, 2002 was a good Christmas but I was a bit stiff.  Let me tell you why.  

Growing up, I couldn't roller skate.  I liked to skateboard but I was uncomfortable on skates.  Flash forward to me being an adult with kids.  All the kids could roller blade so I felt pressured to learn.  Little by little, I got better at rollerblading.  I like blading now but don't do it that much.  

We live have a great location for all of us to blade.  The kids and I would play roller blade tag or other games that require one to go fast, take tight corners, and just be dangerous.  I got to the point that I was getting bored with these games so I decided to start jumping over things.  Now, I wasn't jumping over objects, just predetermined distances.  

I started small...jumping over cracks.  I kept adding distance until I decided that I would jump over the manhole cover a few feet into the street from our driveway.  I did this a few times and my confidence was growing.  

The day before Christmas found us skating.  I decided that I was going to jump over the manhole and a skid mark a few feet away from the manhole.  All together, the distance was 6 or 7 ft.  I jumped the distance a couple of times when I decided that we needed to get in the house but everyone could do one last thing.  I was going to do my jump again.  

The start gave me no indication of the disaster that was coming.  Even the initial jump was fine.  Of course, the start and jump meant nothing.  The landing was everything.  

When my wheels hit the ground, the skate flew forward out from under me.  Due to my forward motion, I was moving to a horizontal/sitting position.  This meant that the first part of my body that would hit the ground would be my tail bone.  

People often talk about how your life flashes before your eyes.  Well, I didn't see any of the that, but everything slowed to 1/2 a mile an hour.  When my tailbone hit, I could feel every vertebra in my back hit against the next.  Like dominoes, zzzziiippp, up my spine.  I hit square in that one area and slid along the ground.  

I lay there stunned and embarrassed.  I could hear the kids calling out to me, "Are you ok?'  "Dad, are you alright?"  I started accessing the damage.  Everything still seemed to be attached.  Check 1.  I don't see any blood.  Check 2  I can move...Check 3....as I started to roll over.  I stayed on my hands and knees for a moment and tried to breathe.  I could breathe.  Check 4  I'm alive  Check 5

I told the kids that we were done for the day.  

A Christmas Carol Explained

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

A Christmas Carol explained

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, >Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

      

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.

Have a blessed Christmas!

By Edgar Guest

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;

He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here.

Then he's thinking more of others than

he's thought the months before,

And the laughter of his children is a joy

worth toiling for.

He is less a selfish creature than at any

other time;

When the Christmas spirit rules him, he

comes close to the sublime.

Edgar Guest

Untitled

I am love
I am long suffering
I delay so that all will come to repentance
My kindness never ends
 
To you I am easily forgotten
You look to Me only when I am needed
To you I am a person of convenience

Since I will not force you to love Me
I do not push myself upon you
Consequently, here I wait 


 
 

Warm Glow of Christmas

Multi-colored lights

Sounds of jingle bells

It is the warm glow of Christmas

Holly and mistletoe

Wreaths with big red bows

I never want to miss this

Laughter fills the air

Smiles are everywhere

It is the warm glow of Christmas

Let’s go get the tree

The biggest there can be

I never want to miss this

A stable old and worn

Was where God was born

It is the warm glow of Christmas

Shepherds come to see

All on bended knee

They didn’t want to miss this

I see the point is clear

Jesus came down here

He is the reason for Christmas

He died for you and me

He died at Calvary

we should never miss this    


Copyright 2014 Duane Windell Phillips