LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR YOU

BLESSINGS TO ALL :)

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO START WITH A LAUGH SO ENJOY THIS FUNNY VIDEO...I KNOW JUST HOW THEY FEEL.
http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/advent2/calendar_day.aspx?day=12&tid=email_edevo

CHORUS  Come we shepherds, whose blest sight Hath met love's noon in nature's night; Come lift up our loftier song And wake the sun that lies too long. To all the world of well-stol'n joy He slept; and dreamt of no such thing. While we found out Heaven's fairer eye And kissed the cradle of our King. Tell him he rises now, too late To show us aught worth looking at. Tell him we now can show him more Than he e'er showed to mortal sight; Than he himself e'er saw before; Which to be seen needs not his light. Tell him, Tityrus, where thou hast been, Tell him, Tityrus, what thou hast seen. [TITYRUS] Gloomy night embraced the place Where the noble Infant lay. The Babe looked up and showed His face; In spite of darkness, it was day. It was Thy day, Sweet! and did rise Not from the East, but from Thine eyes. [CHORUS] It was Thy day, Sweet! and did rise Not from the East, but from Thine eyes. [THYRSIS] Winter chid aloud; and sent The angry North to wage his wars. The North forgot his fierce intent, And left perfumes instead of scars. By those sweet eyes' persuasive powers, Where he meant frost, he scattered flowers. [CHORUS] By those sweet eyes' persuasive powers, Where he meant frost, he scattered flowers. [BOTH] We saw Thee in Thy balmy nest, Young Dawn of our eternal day! We saw Thine eyes break from Their East And chase the trembling shades away. We saw Thee; and we blessed the sight, We saw Thee by Thine own sweet light. [TITYRUS] Poor world (said I), what wilt thou do To entertain this starry Stranger? Is this the best thou canst bestow? A cold, and not too cleanly, manger? Contend, ye powers of heaven and earth To fit a bed for this huge birth. [CHORUS] Contend, ye powers of heaven and earth To fit a bed for this huge birth. [THYRSIS] Proud world, said I; cease your contest And let the mighty Babe alone. The phoenix builds the phoenix' nest, Love's architecture is his own. The Babe whose birth embraves this morn, Made His own bed ere He was born. [CHORUS] The Babe whose birth embraves this morn, Made His own bed ere He was born. [TITYRUS] I saw the curled drops, soft and slow, Come hovering o'er the place's head; Offering their whitest sheets of snow To furnish the fair Infant's bed: Forbear, said I; be not too bold: Your fleece is white, but 'tis too cold. [CHORUS] Forbear, said we; be not too bold: Your fleece is white, but 'tis too cold. [THYRSIS] I saw the obsequious seraphims Their rosy fleece of fire bestow. For well they now can spare their wings, Since heaven itself lies here below. Well done, said I: but are you sure Your down, so warm, will pass for pure? [CHORUS] Well done, said we: but are you sure Your down, so warm, will pass for pure? [TITYRUS] No, no, your King's not yet to seek Where to repose His royal head. See, see, how soon His bloomed cheek Twixt 's mother's breasts is gone to bed. Sweet choice, said I! no way but so: Not to lie cold, yet sleep in snow. [CHORUS] Sweet choice, said we! no way but so: Not to lie cold, yet sleep in snow. [BOTH] We saw Thee in Thy balmy nest, Young Dawn of our eternal day! We saw Thine eyes break from Their East And chase the trembling shades away. We saw Thee; and we blessed the sight, We saw Thee by Thine own sweet light. [CHORUS] We saw Thee; and we blessed the sight, We saw Thee by Thine own sweet light. [FULL CHORUS] Welcome, all Wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span. Summer to winter, day in night, Heaven in earth, and God in man. Great little One! Whose all-embracing birth Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth. Welcome, though nor to gold nor silk, To more than Caesar's birthright is; Twin sister-seas of virgin-milk, With many rarely-tempered kiss That breathes at once both maid and mother, Warms in the one, cools in the other. Welcome, though not to those gay flies, Gilded in the beams of earthly kings, Slippery souls in smiling eyes; But to poor shepherds, home-spun things, Whose wealth's their flock, whose wit, to be Well read in their simplicity. Yet when April's husband showers Shall bless the fruitful Maia's bed, We'll bring the first-born of her flowers To kiss Thy feet and crown Thy head. To Thee, dread Lamb! whose love must keep The shepherds, more than they their sheep. To Thee, meek Majesty! soft King Of simple graces and sweet loves. Each of us his lamb will bring, Each his pair of silver doves; Till burnt at last in fire of Thy fair eyes, Ourselves become our own best sacrifice.

In the Holy Nativity of our Lord a Christmas poem by Richard Crashaw

In the Holy Nativity of our Lord a Christmas poem by Richard Crashaw ******************************************************************** http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo REMEMBER EVERY DAY IN THE WORD IS A GOOD DAY:) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THE GIFTS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO BABY JESUS AND WHY THESE GIFTS. COME WITH ME WHILE THE INFORMATION UNFOLDS TO WHAT THESE GIFTS REPRESENTED. Before I begin to talk about the gifts that the wise men gave Jesus, I think it’s important to first set the stage. I’m going to read from Matthew, Chapter 2. Matt. 2:1-13 So we know that King Herod wants to have Jesus killed and Herod has asked that the wise men let him know where Jesus is so he can “worship” him…we know he just wants to know his location so he can kill him. Of course the wise men are too “wise” for that and never return to King Herod to tell him where Jesus is. After following the star the wise men find Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. It’s interesting in verse 11 that as soon as the wise men find Mary and Joseph they enter the stable and immediately begin to worship Jesus. As soon as they saw the baby they wanted to worship Him. Why? Because they knew that he was the King of Kings… and the gifts they then gave him was further credit to that. It’s interesting to note that we never find out what the names of the wise men were. Although they were giving Jesus these rare and expensive gifts they had no desire to be known, they just wanted to be sure that he received them. So why did they give these 3 gifts? I mean frankincense and myrrh is not one of those gifts that you would say “Oh, I got frankincense and myrrh for Christmas!…Yes!” These type of gifts were typical back in those days to give to kings. In 1 Kings when the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon she brought him Gold and spices. Gold, Frankincense were rare, valuable and precious items and many wanted to give their best for their king. The wise men…recognizing Jesus as King of Kings wanted to give their best as well. Each of the three gifts given had both a symbolic meaning and a practical use. Let’s start with the easy one first…Gold Gold Gold, as it is today was very valuable. To find gold you have to dig underground and find which was very difficult back in Bible times because you didn’t have the tools you have today. Gold has always been a means of exchange…something that for Mary & Joseph would come in handy as they would soon travel to Egypt and would need food, clothing and shelter. Symbolically Gold represents kingship. The King that Christ is for us. It also represents the purification process we go through in our trials as a Christian. Gold is one of the only metals that when heated with fire will not lose anything of it’s nature, weight, color, or any other property. Genuine faith is the same way. Gold is used in scripture when talking about the strength of someone’s faith. Job refers to gold after he has been through all his trials. Job 23:10 Jobs says, “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure gold.” Frankincense Frankincense is made by cutting a tree named “Arbor Thurisfrom” found Persia, Arabia and India. It’s like a sap that is gathered and then dried for 3 months and becomes a like a hardened resin or gum. Frankincense is used as a perfume but mostly it was burned as a sweet incense during worship. During the Exodus Aaron would burn Frankincense at the alter as a sweet offering to the Lord. Practically Frankincense would be a familiar smell to baby Jesus as this was the same God that was worshiped in the Old Testament. It would also help it getting the stable smelling better with all those animals in there with them. You could say that Frankincense was kinda of the Yankee Candle of that time. Symbolically Frankincense represented the divinity of Christ because as mentioned Frankincense was burnt as an offering to God. Myrrh Myrrh, like Frankincense, also is the sap from a tree that is hardened and then used. However, unlike, Frankincense which is sweet…Myrrh has a bitter taste to it. Myrrh was mostly used to embalm the dead because it had the property to preserve. It was also used as a perfume, an ingredient of holy ointments mentioned in Exodus but it’s most practical use for Mary & Joseph would be it’s medical uses. Today Myrrh is used today in toothpaste, mouthwash and make-up. Lastly, Myrrh represents the bitter cup that Christ had to drink in suffering for our sins and the healing for us that his death brings. BUT IT DOES NOT END THERE THE STORY FOR JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. WE LOVE AND SERVE A LIVING KING AMEN. ********************************************************* PRAISE YOU JESUS FOR YOU ARE THE BEST GIFT OF ALL WE NEVER HAVE TO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PURCHASE FOR YOU WERE GIVEN AS A FREE GIFT TO ALL. LORD BLESS YOUR PEOPLE AND PROTECT AND KEEP THEM SAFE THIS CHRISTMAS AMEN. BLESSINGS  PEACE PROSPERITY TO ALL >>)))>