PRAYING HANDS

There are hands that help and comfort,
Hands that plan and teach,
Hands that rest and hands that strive
For a goal just out of reach,
Hands that grasp and hands that give,
Hands that work and play,
Friendly hands and loving hands
That soothes life's cares away.
But praying hands are dearest
In the sight of God above
For in their sweet and earnest clasp
Are reverence and love.
No hands can do an unkind act
Nor cause another care
Nor sin against Our Father's love
When they are clasped in prayer.
Author Unknown

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
Babatunde Olatunji

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.
Ruth Ann Schabacker

Remind me Lord, that your gifts to me are meant to be shared in love, with others.
1 Samuel 16:23

Once in an age, God sends to some of us a friend who loves in us, not a false-imagining, an unreal character, but, looking through all the rubbish of our imperfections, loves in us the divine ideal of our nature, -- loves, not the man that we are, but the angel that we may be.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
Eleanor Powell

God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. William Arthur Ward

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
Saint Augustine

If you believe in something, you support it. If you support something, the time comes when good wishes and cordial words are not enough and your hand reaches for your pocketbook. Then the fun begins. For giving is fun. If you refuse to give, your support is wavering; and if your support wavers, it can't be that you believe in that something in any strong way. Maybe our account books, after all, offer the honest list of those things in which we really believe.
Author Unknown

The only gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!
Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.
Jean Anouilh

The kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:21

Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.
George MacDonald

A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it's easy to exchange.
Author Unknown

Our friends are the people whom we choose; usually friends are the same sort of people as ourselves. My neighbor is the man whom I do not choose; he is the man whom God gives to me. He is the man who happens to live in the house next to mine; he is the man who happens to sit opposite to me in the train; he is the clerk who works at the desk next to mine. I have no right to say that he is no concern of mine, because, if I am a Christian, I know that he is the man whom God has given to me.
Stephen C. Neill

We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Seneca

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm

Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face.
St. Francis of Assisi

Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.
George Elliot

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
Roy L. Smith

True generosity requires more of us than kindly impulse. Above all it requires imagination – the capacity to see people in all their perplexities and needs, and to know how to expend ourselves effectively for them.
I. A. R. Wylie

Change always comes bearing gifts.
Price Pritchett

He is a Christian who tries to be the kind of neighbor Christ would be, and the kind of citizen Christ would be, and who asks himself in all the alternatives of his business life, and his social life, and his personal life, What would the Master do in this case? The best Christian is he who most reminds the people with whom he lives of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who never reminds anybody of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a Christian at all.
George Hodges

Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 7:38

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room.
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what’s true,
One life can make the difference,
You see, it’s up to you!
Author Unknown

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
Matthew 1:18-24a

Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making.
Leigh Hunt

No person probably ever made so ardent a personal appeal as Jesus. He discovered a whole new world of emotional life, a new expansion of joy. It is his distinction that he has for us permanently expanded the bounds of individuality. So that now when I open and turn over with reverent joy the leaves of the Gospels, I feel that here is enshrined the highest achievement of man the artist, a creation to which nothing can be added, from which nothing can be taken away.
Havelock Ellis

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6–7

Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all the philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of the school, he spoke words of life such as were never spoken before, no since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he has set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, works of art, learned volumes, and sweet songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. Born in a manger and crucified as a malefactor, he now controls the destinies of the civilized world, and rules a spiritual empire which embraces one third of the inhabitants of the globe.
Philip Schaff

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.
W.T. Ellis

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the Shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feel the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
And to radiate the Light of Christ, every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say. Then the Work of Christmas begins.
Howard Thurman

The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each other's burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.
W. C. Jones

Hark! The Christmas bells are ringing-
Ringing through the frosty air-
Happiness to each one bringing,
And release from toil and care.
How the merry peal is swelling
From the gray old crumbling tower;
To the simplest creature telling
Of Almighty love and power.
Ankle-deep the snow is lying,
Every spray is clothed in white,
Yet abroad the folk are hieing,
Brisk and busy, gay and light.
Now fresh helps and aids are offered
To the aged and the poor,
And rare love-exchanges proffered
At the lowliest cottage door.
Neighbors shaking hands and greeting,
No one sorrowing, no one sad,
Children, loving parents meeting,
Young and old alike are glad.
Then while Christmas bells are ringing,
Rich and poor; your voices raise,
And-your simple carol singing-
Waft to heaven your grateful praise.
Author Unknown

We miss the spirit of Christmas, if we consider the incarnation as an indistinct and doubtful, far off event unrelated to our present problems. We miss the purport of Christ’s birth if we do not accept it as a living link which joins us together in spirit as children of the ever living and true God. In love alone – the love of God and the love of man – will be found the solution of all the ills which afflict the world today. Slowly, sometimes painfully, but always with increasing purpose, emerges the great message of Christianity: Only with wisdom comes joy, and with greatness comes love.
Harry S. Truman

Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.
Augusta E. Rundel

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus,
That we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness
Of the shepherds, and 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 clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful
thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
Norman Vincent Peale

We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
1 John 4:16

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love! Hamilton Wright Mabie

The way to God has properly been described as ‘letting oneself fall,’ and has been compared with the first flight of a baby eagle, pushed out of the nest by its parents, and then discovering to its amazement that the invisible ocean of light in which it is dropping is capable of bearing it up. The presence of God which surrounds everyone is like this invisible ocean which bears us up more surely than do all visible means of security.
Karl Heim

There’s more, much more to Christmas
Than candlelight and cheer;
It’s the spirit of sweet friendship
That brightens all the year;
It’s thoughtfulness and kindness,
It’s hope reborn again,
For peace, for understanding
And for goodwill to men!
Author Unknown

Heavenly Father, in this time of hustle and bustle, thoughts of shopping and gift giving, skating and sledding, snowman making and laughter, cooking and company, cards and letters, memories and smiles, help us to remember the gift that you gave to us that blessed night so long ago. May we share with others the love that you shared with us. Bless us with patience and peace, forgiveness and love. May we see the angels that you send, not as interruptions in our schedule, but as creations in your image to touch and to love. As the snow trickles down from the sky this Christmas, shower us with a faith that lets nothing stand in the way of growing closer and closer to you every day. Ignite in us new desires, hopes, plans and dreams that will lead us all to you. Amen.

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries.
W.J. Cameron

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.
Norman W. Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas"

I need never feel abandoned or afraid.
I am totally, eternally secure in Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that can change that blessed assurance.
Romans 8:38, 39

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.
Harlan Miller

O God, help me to remember what Christmas is all about. Help me to look up and follow your star all year - every year. Help me to lead others to you. Amen.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need.
I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

You go no where by accident.
Wherever you go, God is sending you.
Wherever you are, God has put you there.
He has a purpose in your being there.
Christ who dwells in you has something
He wants to do through you where you are.
Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.
Richard C. Halverson, Chaplain of the United States Senate

O God, help me to touch someone today with my eyes, my words,
my smile, my voice, my laughter, Your word.
Change my life, so I can make a difference.
Let my actions bring someone closer to you.
Help me to make Christmas last all year.
Help me to use my gifts for Jesus.

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