Christmas is here, and camel race I saw near Jericho

 I am happy each time I read John 3:16, where we learn that God loves us so much that he gave his only son so that those of us who believe in him will have eternal life. The gates of heaven are open to all of his followers.

Above is one of the nativity sets from my house. I made the stable decades ago.

More good words from the Bible: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a son is given; And the government shall be upon his shoulders And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. "
Isaiah 9:6-7

I love the depictions of the wise men and camels on their long journey following the star to what it was shining on, a humble stable and newborn King. While I traveled in Jordan and Lebanon, I saw Bedouins in the desert of Jordan compete in camel races, in years gone by, and these scenes remain meaningful to me. Below is a photo I took of a Bedouin and camels at the race.

In fact, I so loved my time living in the Middle East and studying there that I wrote my senior thesis on the architecture of mosques, "The History of the Development of Mosques."

Here is another Scripture apt for today: 

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about'." Luke 2:13-15.
 

I hope each and every one of you, my blog friends of many beliefs, let joy find you this holiday season.

My new and old Christmas wreaths and a poem written in the 1600s

 

Here are two photos of my new Christmas wreath and a lovely poem included in the book I wrote, Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday.

Come thou bright and morning star, Light of light without beginning!

Shine upon us from afar that we may be kept from sinning.

Drive away by thy clear light our dark night.

Let thy grace, like morning dew Falling soft on barren places,

Comfort, quicken and renew our dry souls and dying graces;

Bless thy flock from thy rich store

Evermore.

Poem written by Christian K. Rosenroth (1636-1689) and translated by Richard Massie (1800-1887)

Below is my old jingle bell wreath with a new purpose in life, recycling at its finest. My younger son, Lane, put it on the front of his vehicle today and added red tinsel rope I wasn't using. He says it will jingle as he drives, which is a festive sound. Lane said we need Christmas more than ever this year, and I agree. Sunday's message in church was about joy and love as we follow the Bible's message. Merry Christmas friends.

The Christmas book I wrote" A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts"

 Two friends reminded me to post about the Christmas book I co-authored, so here I am doing just that.

I enjoyed writing this book and its pages are filled with goodies. My baklava family recipe is shared in it. Once I made this baklava for a potluck and a man from across the room called out "I want to marry the woman who made this baklava." Sorry to disappoint him but I was already married.

 

Anyhow, this book is a resource that is fun and helpful to pull out each year in the Christmas season.  In it we co-authors share what our favorite seasonal movies and books and charities are, easy and inexpensive gifts to make, you name it. Also we wrote about Christmas firsts for us, including Karen's first Christmas with her two adopted children and a purple stocking, Leslie and Cathy's Nativity Treasure Hunt ideas, my camping trip in the Everglades at Christmas and more. Plus the story from the Bible about the birth of Jesus. The full title is "A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday".

Here is a photo I took of a page in the book.

Let's see if I can get the URL for Amazon to display correctly! A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts 

Yesterday Amazon had one copy and today it says out of stock, more to arrive soon. Maybe one of you dear friends bought that copy this morning! They do sell used copies on Amazon. Some of you commented how nice to share the expense of publishing but I am delighted to tell you all that there was no spending of money by the authors; the publisher paid completely for the publication, including paying the authors (that's me) and the artists. This is a traditional publisher, Leafwood Publishers, an imprint of Abilene Christian University Press. I stand amazed at the artwork in the book that the publisher had created.

Here is a photo of our Christmas tree this year, bought from an area tree farm that survived the recent fires. The tree has a lot of decorations on it, as of Dec. 12, and we have many more to add. My sons and Bounce went to the farm to find a tree to cut down. They walked up and down hills and ravines and found a gorgeous tree. We all agree it is our prettiest tree ever. Although that is what we think every year.

How is your Christmas season? Do you celebrate Christmas? Do you have a tree? I hope all of you have a fine December and holiday. This has been a rough year world wide and it is good to see lots of light shining in the darkness.