Christmas – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Christmas Poem

Waters rush within,
living rivers flow—
wise men follow star—
God is here not far,
nearer than we know.

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Matthew 2:1-2
¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

John 7:38
³⁸He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Merry Christmas

Dale offers the prompt “show us your Christmas” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge. The above ornament is somewhere on the tree.

Also posted on Poet’s Corner.

New Heart—Ovi Poetry Challenge

The Baby sleeps. The stars shine high
upon the earth through darkened sky.
The virgin hums a lullaby.
The Lord has finally come.

As sacrifice He died then rose.
Let’s follow Him, be one of those
who lives the love that Jesus shows
and offers to us all.

The Spirit now makes new the heart.
Those fruitless thoughts that demons start
will stop. We have been set apart
for Him forever more.

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Ronovan Hester offers the word “new” as inspiration for this week’s Ovi Poetry Challenge. Also published on Poet’s Corner.

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May you have a blessed Christmas season

Challenge—Six Sentence Story

Thinking of himself as a miniscule speck on a miniscule planet lost in a non-miniscule universe challenged Brian’s mind. He hoped aliens from a galaxy far far away would come with their advanced technology to tell the world what life was all about. Only they could save him and the world he lived in.

Passing a church Brian heard people singing songs of joy because the Lord had come. He complained to the wind about deluded people who thought there was a God out there working miracles on their behalf.

At least that’s what he did until the miracle occurred which allows me to end this meaningless tale that was going nowhere as Brian suddenly stopped running his mouth and wept for joy.

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Denise offers the word “challenge” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

May the Lord bless you this Christmas season

Christmas Art

Dale offers the prompt “Christmas art” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, the last regular challenge of 2023.

Although I didn’t make the wreath below, I did hang it on the door.

For the other three I used LaTeX this past weekend to insert text over photographs that I took some time ago.

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May the Lord bless you this Christmas season

Last Week’s Christmas Walk

Dale asks us to “show us your Christmas” for the Cosmic Photo Challenge. On my walk on Christmas day I spotted these flowers among others.

My smile this week for Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile is much the same as it has been. In particular I was wondering if I would find anything to photograph on December 25th worth posting to meet Dale’s challenge. Sometimes I’m too distracted. There are times I am so preoccupied I forget to take photos. I smiled with relief when I spotted these flowers. I don’t know why I saw them. I must have missed them on previous walks. Perhaps they weren’t blooming then.

Merry Christmas

Confucius is dead. Mohammad is dead. Shinto is dead. Buddha is dead, but Jesus is alive and therefore I can believe IN Jesus. I can’t believe in the others. They are all gone.
David Pawson, The Key Steps to Becoming a Christian, Part 3 (about 18:45)

I love the traditional celebration of Christmas on December 25th especially as Mario Murillo presented it yesterday in his post. However, placing the actual birth of Jesus at the beginning of the Jewish calendar, that is, on Nisan 1, opens up, for me, an unexpected fulfillment of prophecy.

Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Christian pastor, made the case that Jesus was born on March 20, 6 BC. If you watch the 28 minute video, When Was Jesus REALLY Born??, (Jim Bakker Show November 12th, 2012), look for the following:
1) In the spring lambing season the shepherds would be in the fields at night attending the birth of the lambs.
2) These lambs from Bethlehem were the temple sacrificial lambs. By pointing out the sign of “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12 NIV), the angel was telling the shepherds to also attend the birth of Jesus.
3) Central events in the life of Jesus occurred on Jewish holy days: the Lamb Selection Day (Palm Sunday), Passover (Crucifixion), the Feast of First Fruits (Resurrection), and Shavuot (Pentecost). If His birth were a similarly central event it would likely occur on Nisan 1, the beginning of the Jewish calendar.
4) The birth year of 6 BC is suggested by an unusual occultation of Jupiter by the Moon in the constellation Aries that the Magi, or Zoroastrian astrologers, would have noticed in the spring. This would point them to the birth (occultation) of a king (Jupiter) in Judea (Aries).
5) The Tabernacle took nine months to complete like the period from conception to birth of a baby. It was set up on Nisan 1, “on the first day of the first month” (Exodus 40:2 NIV).

As Jonathan Cahn mentioned at the end of the video every time we receive Jesus it is day one, a new beginning. That would include today, December 25th, as well. And so I wish you a Merry Christmas and a new beginning.

Events

The winter solstice doesn’t bother us.
It happens this time every year.
It comes and goes. A few might care to know,
But no one feels any fear.

A birth we celebrate about this time
That happened once in ancient days
Still moves the heart with joyful gratitude.
We rise with shepherds singing praise.

Apple Strudel – Carrot Ranch

I gave my brother peeled apple slices. He placed them one-by-one on the strudel dough that we older ones helped stretch across a cloth on our dinner table. He put some in his mouth. Then came the raisins to scatter on the dough. When it was finished I held him so he could watch our mother lift the cloth underneath the strudel, roll it into a long, thick pastry that fit on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven.

We made many strudels for Christmas and everyone helped.

I’ve never had a dessert that tasted so good.

Linked to Carrot Ranch where Charli Mills offers the theme of family traditions.

Also linked to Crystal Grimes’ Holiday Blogging Party.

Christmas Gift

Reality is wonderful,
Terrifying, too.
What seems so weak, so powerful,
Is filling all of you.

Linked to dVerse Meeting the Bar. Bjorn is hosting with the theme of Christmas gift poems.

Fearless

Fearless since what’s there to fear
Yet fearful of what might appear
But likely won’t. With death around
May Christmas cheer help hope abound.

Linked to dVerse Poetics. Laura Bloomsbury is hosting with a list of words ending in ‘less’ to include in a poem along with, hopefully, “a soupçon of hopefulness for Hope is the message in this first advent week!” I picked the word ‘fearless’.

Advent Darkness

This darkness isn’t such that I
Can brighten it by light I bring.
No laws of nature taint the sky.
No bonds bind it so it can’t sing.

The power failed, but should we wait
For what might not come speedily?
Some of us would hesitate,
But darkness helps our hearts to see.

We’re thankful for the light that’s near.
Praise sound, but not with our ears solely.
Our voices stir the darkness here
Repeating, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”