Ax handle busted.  Woodpile low.
     Ain’t got much fire tonight.
     The drifts have knocked some fence lines down,
     I trust you’re all right.
     My pot of beans boiled dry,
     and scorched while I was out today.
     Them cows are driftin’ awful,
     Merry Christmas anyway!”
              –S. Omar Barker

    “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”
              –2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT)
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I’ve spent many a day walking in a winter wonderland.  Some of it was work, but much was so I could get out in God’s wonderful creation.  I remember one time, when living on the north side of Colorado Springs I spotted a herd of antelope.  They were down in a little ravine.  I donned my old white hat, put on some painter’s white coveralls, and headed out to see if I could get close to them.  When they spotted me, they took off eastward, out toward the prairie–I decided to follow.  I moved slowly through the ravine, then as I came to a rise that would take me out, I moved to my knees and slowly moved forward.  The antelope had joined a larger herd, but there was one acting like a sentinel watching.  It was a great experience, and I realized that I had been gone just shy of three hours.
    It was cold, there was snow, but I was happy.  Of course it was nice to get back to the apartment to warm up.  I see that so many people worry about the “weather.”  I’m not just talking about the snow, rain, or heat, but they worry about almost anything and if they didn’t have anything to worry about they’d make it up.  Of course now, we have the media to make up things for folks to worry about.
    Listen!  The agenda to destroy Christianity has not changed.  The devil will do his utmost to bring havoc and confusion.  He will allow people to be his pawns in the attempt.  He has used political correctness, now he is adding to that fear, and says that you must not travel, or gather together.  Hmmm, what were the words of that old man?  “Bah–humbug!”
    This time of year we should take time to understand the benefit that Christmas brings to us.  The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is primary, but there are other things presented.  Look at the lights!  Our downtown square is decorated beautifully this year.  Listen to the carols, and for that you might have to find your own.  There is “Christmas music” that has taken away the place of those wonderful carols/hymns that tell the story of the Incarnation.  Ahhh, enjoy the smells, just the thought makes me hungry, but back in the day there was also the smell of a real tree in the living room.  There are smiles, if you can see them through a mask, there is laughter–or there should be.  Enjoy the season!
    Christmas is given to us to remember to enjoy life.  One of the great joys of Christmas is to prevent the remorse of memory.  Take time, now, to enjoy life.  Take time, now, to value the present.  Live in the present with thanksgiving, wonder, and awe this time of year brings.  Christmas teaches that we need to thank God for the things of the day; live in the present by giving thanks, that in turn will put in place pleasant memories.  When God offers us a flower should we not take time to look at it and enjoy its beauty and fragrance?
    Often people become despondent and depressed and the devil would use this time of year to attack in such a way.  The choice is ours.  Sure there are “bad” memories, but we too often forget that there is also a cup of gladness.  We take life for granted, thinking that blessings are owed us, but this Christmas dare to drink and ponder the cup of gladness that Christmas brings to us.
    Listen to the sounds of Christmas, the bells.  Look at the lights, and then at a child’s face when they see them.  Rejoice in the star (Jupiter/Saturn) and then remember that “Star” long ago that shone down on the “Light of the world” lying in a manger.  Think about how someone would think enough of you and take the time to wrap and give you a present.  They put it under the tree simply because they care for you.  Then as you sit at the table that represents all of the bounty that the Lord has given, think a minute before diving into the turkey and dressing of all the happiness that the Lord has given you and how this time of the year represents His Gift.

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
              –Bob Hope

    “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'”
              –Matthew 2:1-2 (NKJV)
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What are you thinking about this Christmas season?  Is your mind filled with the wonder or the season or are you frought with fear because of the virus?  Do you get angry that you have to wear a mask, or do you get angry at those who spurn the use of masks?  The devil will do anything to destroy your joy, to get your mind off the Babe in the manger.
    Are you thinking of hope?  Hope that there is a vaccine from the pestilence that fills the land, or hope in the Son of God, that He was sent from the heavenly Father to redeem mankind?  Hope that there is a soon returning of those who have accepted His sacrifice and look forward to His second advent?
    Does the season fill your heart with peace?  Perhaps anxiety seems to rule.  If so, rebuke the devourer, and turn your eyes to the Savior.  Peace is upon those who have placed Him in their heart.  Are you guided by His Word, then you should have peace, knowing that He has everything under control.
    There has been much ado regarding the “merging” of Saturn and Jupiter tonight.  It is something that doesn’t happen very often, and we are told to look for signs in the skies, but our hope is not to be put in signs.  Turn the eyes of your thinking back to that “Star” centuries ago.  The magi followed the Star with hope; hope that they would find the newborn king.  As they had hope that first Christmas in seeking the king, so should we have hope in the return of the King.

          “Oh Beautiful Star the hope of light
           Guiding the pilgrims through the night
           Over the mountains till the break of dawn
           Into the light of perfect day
           It will give out a lovely ray
           Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.”
                      –R. Fisher Boyce

    Seek the King.  Seek Him and He will fill your heart with hope and peace.  In the midst of these trying times; times of pestilence, terror, riots, hatred, and bitterness, turn your eyes to the Hope of the world.  Let Him fill your heart.
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I also want to remember those in our military, whether at home or abroad, but all those who are serving; those who are sacrificing in protection of this wonderful nation.  Ponder the prayer by Eddie Rickenbacker as he found himself in an ordeal of being lost at sea for twenty-four days.

         “O Lord, I thank thee for the strength and blessings thou has given me, and even though I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I feared no evil, for thy rod and thy staff comforted me even unto the four corners of the world.  I have sinned, O Lord, but through thy mercy thou hast shown me the light of thy saving grace.
         “In thy care we are entrusting our boys and girls in the Services scattered throughout the entire world, and we know that in thee they are finding their haven of hope.  Be with our leaders, O Lord; give them wisdom to lead us to a spiritual victory, as well as a physical one.  And until that day, be with those at home–strengthen them for whatever may lie ahead…  In Jesus’ name I ask it.  Amen”

    This was a prayer in the midst of World War II.  The world situation has changed, leaders have come and gone, but the truth of this prayer is still valid.  Turn our eyes to the Lord–let Him strengthen us for the days ahead.

The older you got the tougher it got.  You felt the cold more, and you didn’t take to sleeping out on the ground so much.  A man that old should have himself a home, a place to hang his hat while he waited for the sunset.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

    “From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north.”
              –Job 37:9 (NKJV)
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Brrr, it’s cold outside; sure glad this is East Texas.  My toes surely couldn’t handle that below zero temperature anymore.  I’ve seen the snow in the northeast, and it sure is pretty–pretty that is until it begins to turn to slush, or causes the pipes to freeze, or the car won’t start, or when the vehicles get around and it turns black from exhaust.  My thoughts, in fact, my warmest thoughts are of those family members up in the northern lands.  I was thinking, Christmas is almost upon us, that means Winter will proceed it by a few days, next Monday if I’m not mistaken.  It reminds me of a carol written in 1872 by Christina Rossetti that has made a resurgence in the last decade or so.

         “In the bleak mid-winter
          Frosty winds make moan,
          Earth stood hard as iron,
          Water like a stone…”

Water like a stone, that means ice–ice means cold!  Makes my toes ache just thinking of it.  If I had a fireplace I’d put another log on as I feel that frosty breeze bring a chill down my neck.  
    That brings to my mind part of John Denver’s “Season’s Suite:  Winter.”

         “It’s cold and it’s getting colder.
          It’s gray and white and winter all around.
          And oh, I must be getting older,
          All this snow is trying to get me down.
          There’s a fire in the corner slowly dying away…”

Brrr, winter, cold weather and it’s giving me shivers.  But then, it is proper that we celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time of year.  The world was cold as death; dark without the hint of light.  Into this bleak, dark, dreary, cold world came God’s Son.  The world was in the throes of death and now comes God’s Son to defeat death.  There was darkness all around, but now there is a Light.

         “To you, who were spiritually dead all the time that you drifted along on the stream of this world’s ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God), to you Christ has given life!  We all lived like that in the past, and followed the impulses and imaginations of our evil nature, being in fact under the wrath of God by nature, like everyone else.”
              –Ephesians 2:1-3 (Phillips)

    Death has been defeated, yet those who do not accept Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, are doomed to feel its cold, icy grip.  The Holy Spirit has come to bring us warmth, to fill us with His love.  Oh, sure winter still brings physical cold with snow, ice, and chilling winds.  Jack Frost and Old Man Winter still play havoc, but there is now a Light in the darkness, and with that Light is a warmth that comes to the soul.  Yes, there is still physical death, but now that coldness that grips the corpse had been defeated and we can look expectantly to that heavenly realm from whence that divine Babe came.  Plus, there is that small gift in the midst of winter and the “virus” that has beset the world.  Jack Frost, won’t be “nipping at  your nose” for you are wearing a mask when going out (ahemm).

That old North wind, howlin’ high up in the timber,
     The only choir that I remember,
     I was ridin’ on the line.
     One lone star hanging over the horizon,
     Like the one that led the wise men,
     As they followed heaven’s sign.
     Snow-capped peaks, like the angels in their glory,
     Seem to sing the ancient story,
     As the wind blows through the pines.
     Driftin’ along,
     To the soundn of spurs a-jinglin’
     Like silver bells a-ringin’
     Christmas on the line.”
              –Michael Martin Murphy

    “Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem.  It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!”
              –Matthew 2:9-10 (NLT)
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Ravi Zacharias once said, “There’s nothing worse than nostalgia except amnesia.”  Well, I’m afraid that I can’t remember all of my 70 plus Christmases, but I will take a moment here, and you will have to indulge me since I’m writing and you’re reading, to display a little nostalgia.
    Fifty years ago, I spent my first Christmas away from home.  I was in a little country home in Pennsylvania, meeting my wife’s-to-be parents.  Annie had survived Thanksgiving at my place in Colorado and now it was my turn.  I don’t remember a whole lot about that Christmas.  I don’t recall if we had snow or not, I don’t think we did, but I do remember going out with the family to cut a tree.  It was misting rain.
    Ah, Christmas!  I have taken to heart over the years that a person can celebrate Christmas wherever they find themselves.  I was fortunate to grow up in the area of snow-capped peaks, and it was rare if we didn’t have a white Christmas.  If for some reason the snow had not come for that day, all we had to do was look to the west to see the high mountains of the Rockies.  Almost any night you could hear the wind blowing through the pines and spruces that were around us.  
    Church and Sunday School was always special at Christmas.  We had our little Christmas programs, and always a bag of goodies when we left church.  Each bag was filled with a popcorn ball, most likely made by my Grandma.  We sang robustly, and sometimes off-key, but to the Lord.  The carols I learned at a young age, and they became entrenched in my mind, if not in my heart by my teenage years when the youth would go caroling to members of the church.  Ahhh, Christmas!
    There was a Christmas in Florida.  We were too poor to travel either to Pennsylvania or Colorado, plus I was the lowest ranking person in my position at Tyndall AFB.  Since then we have spent more than a few Christmases here in Texas.  The cactus and gravel is sure hard on Santa’s sleigh, but he always seems to make it all right.  It’s not the quite the same going out to the hills or mountains in the snow or having a snowball fight, but nothing has stopped Annie’s Christmas baking or having a wonderful treat along with hot cocoa on Christmas Eve.  Ahhh, Christmas!
    I’ve heard of folks out in West Texas, where there’s nary a spruce or Douglas fir taking an old tumbleweed and dressing it up Christmas style.  Nothing can stop the celebration of Christmas or the decoration of the tree, no matter the kind.  See, it’s not the tree, nor the ornaments and decorations that make Christmas.  It’s knowing that the heavenly Father loved and thought of us enough to send His only Son that wondrous morning.  Ahhh, Christmas!  We should be like the angels and start praising the Lord, whether through song, or humble quietness.
    Take a minute this Christmas season to walk outside, whether you be in the desert of the Southwest, the woods of East Texas, the freezing plains of the Dakotas, the high country of the Rockies, or along the coast.  Look at the sky, breathe the crisp air, gaze at the stars and think back to that first Christmas night when Joseph and Mary, weary from traveling stopped in the stable.  Remember that night when the Savior of the world was born, and laid in a manger.  An infant whose footsteps would one day take Him to another type of tree; one where He would be nailed and give Himself for the sins of mankind.  Be alone for a moment with God and look up at His marvelous universe and think of that night and of the Savior.  Ahhh, Christmas!