DECEMBERT10th

"Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written,

nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning the Christ.

And it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost;

where, I knw if there should be no atonement made,

all mankind must be lost."

Song:

Carol of the Shepherds

Story:

Keeping Baby Warm

by Lynda H. Laughlin

It was an inexpensive dime-store Nativity set,

and he was only three years old. His back was

toward me, but I could see that his chubby little

hands were busily working on something at the

old table.

"What are you doing?" I asked him impatiently,

annoyed at him for touching the decorations after

he had been told not to.

As I started toward the scene of his latest

mischief, he turned toward me with wide blue

eyes filling and a single tear starting down his

cherubic cheek. Then I saw it. A carefully folded

tissue had been tenderly placed over the small

ceramic infant.

"Baby Jesus was cold, Mommy," he whispered.

Ten years have passed, and the tiny Nativity has

been replaced by a much larger one. But this

year, as every year, I found a carefully folded

tissue covering the baby Jesus. I think I know

who did it, and I hope he never stops

Christmas Prayer

by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake, Amen!"