''Ring in the Christ that is to be''

 Poem by R. H. S.

"Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

"Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

"Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

" Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

"Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be."

Simplicity of The Narrative

       Though  surcharged  with such  tremendous  meaning, carrying  a  heavier  burden of  news  than  was  ever  before committed  to  human language,  yet  the  simplicity with  which  the  story  is  told is  one  of  the  literary  marvels  of  the  gospels. This  event  has  inspired  poets  and  painters and  has  been  embroidered  and  illuminated with  an  immense  amount  of  ornamentation. Genius  has  poured  its  splendors  upon it  and  tried  to  give  us  some  worthy  conception of  the  scene.  But  the evangelists  had no  such  purpose  or  thought,  and  their  story is  told  with  that  charming artlessness  that is  perfect  art.  They  were  not  men  of  genius, but  plain  men,  mostly  tax  collectors  and fishermen  untrained  in  the  schools,  with no  thought  of  skill  or  literary  art.  Yet  all the  stylists  and  artists  of  the  world  stand in  wonder  before  their  unconscious  effort and  supreme  achievement.  No  attempt at  rhetoric  disfigures  their  record,  not  a word  is  written  for  effect,  but the  simple facts  are  allowed  to  tell  their  own  eloquent and  marvelous  tale.  The  inspired  writers mixed  no  imagination  with  their  verities, for  they  had  no  other  thought  than  to  tell the  plain  truth;  and  this  gives  us  confidence in  the  trustworthiness  of  their  narrative. These  men  did  not  follow  cunningly  devised fables  when  they  made  known  unto us  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord Jesus  Christ,  for  they  were  eye-witnesses of  his  glory.  by James Henry Snowden

• Investigating the Eyewitness Accounts of Jesus Christ (Part 1) - J. Warner Wallace  and Part 2
• Good Reasons to Trust the Gospels As Eyewitness Accounts

Who were the wise men and why were they called Magi?

        The term Magi was anciently used generally throughout the East, to distinguish philosophers, and especially astronomers. Pliny and Ptolemy mention Aribi as synonymous with Magi; and it was the opinion of many learned in the first ages of Christianity, that the Magi who presented offerings to the infant Savior in Matthew 2:1 came from Southern Arabia for it is certain that "gold, frankincense and myrrh,'' were productions of that country. They were philosophers among whom the best parts of the reformed Magian system, which was extensively diffused, were probably preserved. They were pious men, also, who had some acqaintance, it may be, with the Hebrew prophecies, and were favored themselves, with divine revelations. They are to be regarded as members of the old patriarchal church, never quite extinguished among the heathen; and they had the special honor to present the homage of the Gentile world to the infant Savior. - Hend. Buck; Watson

A Byzantine mosaic of the three Magi depicted in Persian clothing.

Assemble and Paint An Alpine Christmas Cottage Ornament

The backside and frontside of our Popsicle Alpine Cottage.
It has been painted and the glitter added.

       To make an alpine Christmas cottage out of Popsicle sticks you will need the following supplies: tacky craft glue, twine for the hanger, acrylic paints in white, red, brown and green, a small bottle brush wreath, two cotton balls, transparent glitter, 10 small Popsicle sticks, 21 Larger Popsicle sticks, masking tape, hot glue and white school glue. 
       Clamps to hold wooden craft sticks in place while these dry come in handy for this project!

The front and back of the Christmas cottage before the painting and other details are added.
See cross-bracing craft sticks on the back; the beginning Popsicle sticks
are first glued on top of these for strength and accurate position.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Line up 10 large Popsicles side by side and then use masking tape to hold them together right down the center of the group. 
2. Now glue two more Popsicles, spaced two inches apart perpendicular to the rest, to hold the bulk of the sticks in place permanently. Let these dry in place. Remove the tape once everything has dried.
3. Build a roof in the same way using five Popsicle sticks. Clip the ends on each side to form a pitched roof.
4. Glue on two supporting sticks on top of the right and left sides to form an inverted "V'' shape that reinforces the pitched roof line. See photos above for correct placement. Let these sticks dry.
5. Now glue the roof and front of the alpine cottage together, overlapping just one Popsicle at the ends. The cross-bracing on the walls of the cottage should face to the back of the ornament. The cross-bracing along the roof-line should be facing the front of the cottage.
6. Now glue on the large window and shutters to match the scaling you see in the detailed photos above.
7. Draw, with a soft pencil, a wavy line across the roof cross-bracing, in order to mark the place where you will be gluing the ''snowdrift'' across the roof. 
8. Unravel a cotton ball and glue this directly to those wooden sticks carefully in order to keep the snow in place.
9. Cover the entire pitch of the roof on the backside of the ornament and layer unravelled cotton batting on top of it. Let all of the cotton dry while the cottage is standing on it's bottom edge.
10. Apply more glue and transparent glitter if you like.
11. Next, paint the wooden surfaces to match those shown in the photo above. 
12. For our window, I cut window mullions in a diamond shaped pattern from white paper and glued these to the painted surface for more detail.
13. Hot glue on twine for hanging to the backside of the ornament.
14. Hot glue on a white, bottle-brush wreath to the front above the window.
15. Glue on more glitter snow inside the nooks and crannies of the window pains and shutters too!

More ideas for dollhouse window treatments:

• Mullion Garden View Windows
• A brick dog house for winter weather

A Historical Event

       The  story  starts  with  the place  and  time  of  the  Savior's  birth.  Jesus  was born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea, in  the  days  of  Herod  the king.  There  are  many myths  and  legends  floating through  the  world  that  are  often  beautiful and  useful,  but  they  hang  like gorgeous  clouds  in  the  air  and  are  ever changing  their  shape  and  place.  They are  growths  of  the  imagination  and  lack historic  roots  and  reality.  They  are  chary of  names  and  dates  and  hide  their  origin in far-away  mists.  However  powerfully and  pathetically  they  may  reflect  the needs  and  hopes  of  the  human  heart,  they are  unsubstantial  as  dreams  and  afford no  foundation  on  which  to  build  our  faith. Heathen  religions  are  generally  woven of  this  legendary  stuff.  The  Greek  and Roman  divinities  were  all  mythical.  But the  scientific  spirit  has  swept  these  imaginary deities  out  of  our  sky  and  rendered belief  in  them  impossible.  Our  religion must  be  rooted  in  reality  and  cannot  live in  clouds,  however  beautifully  they  may be  colored.  We  refuse  hospitality  to  anything but  fact.  Give  us  names  and  dates, is  our  demand.
       The  Bible  responds  to  this  requirement. Christianity  is  an  historical  religion.  The gospel  narrative  begins  with  no  such  in- definite statement  as  "Once  upon  a  time'' but  it  starts  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea.  The town  is  there  and  we  can  stand  on  the very  spot  where  Jesus  was  born.  The  narrative places  the  time  of  his  birth  in  the days  of  Herod  the  king.  History  knows Herod;  there  is  nothing  mythical  about this  monster  of  iniquity.  These  statements are  facts  that  no  keenest  critic or  scholarly  unbeliever  can  plausibly  dispute. So  the  gospel  sets  its  record  in  the rigid  frame  of  history;  it  roots  its  origin down  in  the  rocky  ledge  of  Judea.  Christ was  not  born  in  a  dream,  but  in  Bethlehem. We  are  not,  then,  building  our  faith on  a  myth,  but  on  immovable  matters of  fact.  This  thing  was  not  done  in  a  corner, but  in  the  broad  day,  and  it  is  not  afraid of  the  geographer's  map  and  the  historian's pen.  The  Christmas  story  is  not  another beautiful  legend  in  the  world's  gallery of  myths,  but  is  sober  and  solid  reality; its  story  is  history.  Our  religion  is  truth, and  we  will  worship  at  no  other  altar. by James Henry Snowden

 

The Birth of Jesus by The Bible Project.