Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled." This is the point at which the orderly and scholarly Luke opens his account of the birth of our Lord. It seems like going a long way off from and around to the end in view. But there are no isolated facts and forces in the world and all things work together. When we see providence start in we never can tell where it is going to come out. If God is about to bless us, he may start the chain of causation that shall at length reach us in some far-off place or land; or if he is about to save a soul in China he may start with one of us in the contribution we make to foreign missions. Caesar Augustus, master of the world, from time to time ordered a census to be taken of the empire that he might know its resources and reap from it a richer harvest of taxes. It was probably between the months of December and March, B. C. 5-4, that such a census was being taken in the province of Syria.
In accordance with ancient Jewish usage, all citizens repaired to the tribe and village from which they were descended, and were there enrolled. In the town of Nazareth in the north lived Joseph, a village carpenter, and Mary, his espoused wife, who though a virgin was great with child, having been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and the mystery having been revealed to her and her betrothed husband. They were both descended from the royal line of David, and therefore to Bethlehem they must go. With us such a journey of eighty miles would mean no more than stepping on a railway car at nine o'clock in the morning and stepping off at noon. But with them it meant a toilsome journey on foot of several days. Slowly they wended their way southward, led on by the irresistible hand of Caesar, far away on his throne. The ancient Hebrew prophecy of Micah and the imperial decree of Caesar thus marvelously fitted into each other and worked together. Mary must have known of this prophecy, and we know not with what a sense of mystery and fear and joy she drew near to the predicted place where the Messiah was to be born.
Bethlehem sits like a crown on its rocky ridge. At length its walls and towers loomed in the distance, and then presently up the steep road climbed the carpenter and his espoused wife and passed through the gate into the village. When they came to the inn, it was already crowded with visitors, driven thither by the decree of Caesar that had set all Palestine in commotion. In connection with the inn, generally the central space of its four-square enclosure, but probably in this case a cave in the limestone rock, was a stable, or place for the camels and horses and cattle of the guests. Among these oriental people it was (and is) no uncommon thing for travelers, when the chambers of the inn were fully occupied, to make a bed of straw and spend the night in this place. In this stable, possibly the very cave where now stands the Church of the Nativity, Mary and Joseph found lodgings for the night. It was not a mark of degradation or social inferiority for them to do this, though it was an indication of their meager means, as wealthy visitors would doubtless have found better accommodations. by James Henry Snowden
Thursday, December 5, 2024
The Wonderful Night Draws Near
The Week Before Christmas
The Week Before Christmas
Why, goodness me!" said Percy Gunn,
"Christmas is just a week from SUN!
"This present business is no fun."
Then he sat down to count his MON.
But after paying what was due,
His surplus dollars were but TUE.
Then Percy sadly shook his head,
Thinking of one he fain would WED.
The weather was depressing, too;
For first it friz, and then it THU.
And presents also he must buy
For sisters, aunts, and smaller FRI.
No answer could he find to that.
He sat and thought and thought and SAT.
And sitting still was Percy Gunn
When Christmas came, and it was SUN!
Monday, December 2, 2024
How to make ''soft-serve'' ice cream cone ornaments
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| Three ways to finish decorating these cotton batting soft-serve ice cream cones. Left, strawberry and vanilla swirl. Center, toffee crunch. Right, mint and vanilla with candy coated chocolate chunks. |
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| What the cotton batting cones look like before painting. |
These soft-serve ice cream cones are perfect for a tree decked out in candy, ice-cream and baked goods! Kids will enjoy finishing them with all kinds of craft materials too: seed beads, glitter, trims, paints etc...
Supply List:
- recycled egg carton (cardboard)
- cotton balls
- masking tape
- white school glue
- transparent glitter
- acrylic paints
- hooks for hanging
- brown paper bags
- I cut apart quite a few cardboard egg cartons while making these ornaments. Inside of each egg carton there are four sections that are shaped like cones. Cut these out and tape two together so that the shape you will be working with looks like a long tube, tapering at both ends.
- Mask all of the surfaces before layering the lower half with glue and brown paper bag scraps.
- Leave the upper cone for the layering of cotton batting and glue. Work the cotton in a spiral shape resembling soft-serve ice cream. This is the same spiral technique that I used for the cotton batting ice sickles here.
- I then painted the ice cream cones different colors. Some are pink and white, others chocolate and still more left white with glitter and sparkling balls.
- I painted the sugar cones last using a very small paint brush to sketch the diamond pattern.
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| Mint and chocolate soft serve sugar cones. |
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| Caramel, vanilla and strawberry ice creams |
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| Nut, candy or berry combined with syrup. |
Recycling plastic apples for the tree...
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| The faux caramel apple with glittery finish. |
Turning plastic apples into decorative candy apples for the Christmas tree is an easy way to reuse something for a better purpose. After all, who uses plastic apples to decorate with anymore? But in a Christmas display these look good enough to actually eat!
Supply List:
- cotton balls
- white school glue
- permanent ink marker
- plastic apples
- masking tape
- copper/caramel colored acrylic paints
- Elmer's gold glitter glue
- wire for the hangers
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Use the permanent ink pen to draw a wavy line around the apple, marking the place where the caramel is molded over the surface.
- Mask off every thing above the line.
- Glue and bind with masking tape the wire attaching it to the plastic apple stem.
- Now unravel your cotton balls and layer white glue and cotton on top of the masked areas, so that these will give the faux melted caramel dimension.
- Layer the batting over the stem as well and twist it onto the wire. Let dry.
- Paint the faux caramel with acrylic copper paint or something comparable.
- Squeeze Elmer's gold glitter glue on the painted surface to add a little extra bling.
- Shape the wire into a hook.
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| Left, plastic apple. Next, ink pen marks for the caramel. Center, masking taped surface. Right, after the cotton batting was layered over the tape with glue, I let it dry and then painted it. |
Layers of cotton batting and glue are used to shape the caramel.
See more ways to transform fake fruit into something special:
Sunday, December 1, 2024
The Town of Bethlehem
The land of Palestine is divided from north to south by a central range of mountains which runs up through this narrow strip of country like a spinal column. About five miles south of Jerusalem a ridge or spur shoots off from the central range towards the east. On the terminal bluff of this ridge lies the town of Bethlehem. On the west it is shut in by the plateau, and on the east the ridge breaks steeply down into the plain. Vineyards cover the hillsides with green and purple, and wheat fields wave in the valleys. In the distant east, across the Dead Sea, the mountains of Moab are penciled in dark blue against the sky.
At the present time, 1919, the town has eight thousand inhabitants. Its flat-roofed houses are well built and its narrow streets are clean. It is a busy place, its chief industry being the manufacture of souvenirs of olive wood which are sold throughout the Christian world. Its principal church is the Church of the Nativity, which is built over a cave that is one of the most sacred and memorable spots on the globe. It is believed that this cave is the place where Christ was born, and a silver star inlaid in the stone floor is intended to mark the exact spot. It was then used as the stable of the adjoining inn, and in its stone manger the infant Jesus may have been laid.
At the time of this event Bethlehem was a mere village of a few hundred people. It might have been thought that Jerusalem, the historic metropolis and proud capital of the country, the chosen city of God and seat of the temple and center of worship, a city beautiful for situation, magnificent in its architecture, sacred in its associations and world-wide and splendid in its fame, should have been honored with this supreme event in the history of the Jews. But an ancient prophet, while noting its comparative insignificance, had yet put his finger on this tiny point on the map and pronounced upon it a blessing that caused it to blaze out like a star amidst its rural hills. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." And so proud Jerusalem was passed by, and this supreme honor was bestowed upon the humble village.
Great men, as a rule, are not born in cities. They come up out of obscure villages and hidden nooks and corners. They originate closer to nature than city-born men and seem to spring from the very soil. The most noted birthplace in Scotland is that of Burns: it is a humble cottage with a thatched roof and a stable in one end of it. The most celebrated birth- place in England is that of Shakespeare, and again it is a plain cottage in a country village. Lincoln was born in a log hut in the wilds of Kentucky, Mohammed was the son of a camel driver, and Confucius the son of a soldier. The city must go to the country for its masters, and the world draws its best blood and brains from the farm. It was in accordance with this principle that the Savior of the world should be born, not in a city and palace, but in a country village, and that his first bed should be, not a downy couch, but a slab of stone. by James Henry Snowden
- "Oh little town of Bethlehem'' carol by Phillip Brooks
- The Old City of Bethlehem
- Star Full of Bethlehem - clip art for church bulletins...
- Is there a rational explanation of the Star of Bethlehem?
- The old road from Jaffa's Gate...