Have A Joyous Christmas

All is calm,

all is bright.

My sweet and wonderful friends,

Christmas is almost here.

Can you feel the joy,

the excitement,

the anticipation?

How I love the twinkling Christmas lights,

the smell of cookies baking in the oven,

the cozy nights sitting by the Christmas tree

while the snow gently falls to the ground.

How I love curling up by the fire

with a charming Christmas story,

playing family games late into the evening,

and seeing the joyful smiles of others

when they wish you "Merry Christmas."

While I love all of these things,

the most precious thing I love about Christmas

is the celebration of the birth of our Savior.

It's truly a delightful time of the year,

isn't it, my friends?

'Tis a joyous season. . .

one filled with rejoicing.

Even the angels sang and rejoiced 

over the newborn King.

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

- - Charles Wesley - -

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

See Him in a manger laid

Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

With us sing our Savior’s birth.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

- - French Carol - -

And she brought forth her firstborn son, 

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, 

and laid him in a manger; 

because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country 

shepherds abiding in the field, 

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, 

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: 

and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, 

Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy, 

which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day 

in the city of David a Saviour, 

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; 

Ye shall find the babe 

wrapped in swaddling clothes, 

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel 

a multitude of the heavenly host 

praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

- - Luke 2:7-14 - -

There's a song in the air! 

There's a star in the sky! 

There's a mother's deep prayer 

and a baby's low cry! 

And the star rains its fire 

while the beautiful sing, 

for the manger of Bethlehem 

cradles a King!

There's a tumult of joy 

o'er the wonderful birth, 

for the virgin's sweet boy 

is the Lord of the earth. 

Ay! the star rains its fire 

while the beautiful sing, 

for the manger of Bethlehem 

cradles a King! 

- - Josiah G. Holland - -

What a beautiful scene is drawn for us 

in this joyful Christmas hymn!

As we visualize once more

the glorious chorus of angels,

the brilliant star, 

and Mary watching over her babe

in the lowly manger,

we feel like joining the "heavenly throng"

in their "tumult of joy"

to greet our Savior and King!

- - Kenneth W. Osbeck - -

Sing, my friends!

Sing with exuberance!

Sing as though you were actually joining 

the angels in their song that continues to ring.

The shepherds had an angel

The wise men had a star

But what have I, a little child,

To guide me from far,

Where glad stars sing together

And singing angels are?

Christ watches me, His little lamb,

Cares for me day and night,

That I may be His own in heaven;

So angels clad in white

Shall sing their "Glory, glory"

For my sake in the height.

- - Christina Rossetti - -

O come all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him,

Born the King of Angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.

Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

- - John Wade - -

Are you feeling the Christmas JOY,

sweet friends?

It's contagious!

Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

- - Isaac Watts - -

Did you know that Joy to the World

is a paraphrase of the last part of Psalm 98:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, 

all the earth: make a loud noise, 

and rejoice, and sing praise...

Let the floods clap their hands: 

let the hills be joyful together

Before the LORD; 

for he cometh to judge the earth: 

with righteousness shall he judge the world, 

and the people with equity.

- - Psalm 98:4, 8-9 - -

Although it was originally a song of rejoicing

for Jehovah's protection of His chosen people

and the anticipation of the time

when He would be the God of the whole earth,

this psalm was intended by Watts 

to be a New Testament expression of praise.

It exalts the salvation that began when God became incarnate

as the Babe of Bethlehem

who was destined to remove the curse of Adam's fall.

The text was originally titled

"The Messiah's Coming and Kingdom"

when it first appeared in a hymnal of 1719

by Isaac Watts.

- - Kenneth W. Osbeck - Amazing Grace - -

Sweet friends,

I hope this post has brought you much joy.

I hope you are rejoicing over the birth of Jesus.

What a precious, precious gift we have been given.

The time has come for me to take a break from my blog

to enjoy this blessed Christmas Season with my family.

It is my hope that you have a lovely Christmas 

filled with love and tender moments.

We celebrate at Christmas

that Christ was 

BORN,

but also that He

LIVED.

- - Craig Christensen - -

Love and hugs to you, friends.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Ornament Swap Reveal

Nothing can compare

to Christmas in the air.

A very happy day to you,

sweet friends!

Last month I hosted a Christmas Ornament Swap

and today is the big day for the reveal.

It's the day we get to see oh-so-many sweet

Christmas ornaments and treasures

that were sent across the states.

Won't you join in on the festivities!

Pour yourself a nice cup of hot cocoa,

hot apple cider, egg nog, tea, or coffee

and enjoy the pictures.

You may even want a piece of fudge

or a cookie. . .maybe even two.

{{smiles}}

Before I share what I received from the lovely Ronny,

I want to thank the 63 sweet participants.

It was truly a joy to host this event

and I appreciate you ladies for joining the fun.

Now let's get this Christmas party started!

Ronny was the sweet and incredibly thoughtful lady

that sent me my ornament package.

Get this, my dear friends,

Ronny sent not one, not two, not three,

but four Christmas ornaments!

Just look at these beauties. . .

And not only did she send three ornaments,

she also placed them in darling little boxes.

My oh my, what a darling lady!

This reindeer is ever so pretty with its glitter

and the lace butterfly clips beautifully 

onto the Christmas tree.

She blessed me with this amazing pink ball.

Oh friends, it's even more lovely in person.

The top has gemstones around it

and the pink shimmers and shines in the lights.

And this winter bird. . .

what a dainty little piece.

The bird is glass 

and has snow inside of it.

She looks very pretty

sitting in my Christmas tree.

Ronny also included a beautiful snowflake doily,

a hand towel with a cardinal on it,

and these delicious coconut chocolates.

The chocolates. . .well, they were very, very, good.

And I just ate my last one while typing this.

They didn't last long. . .

and I may not have shared with my husband and son.

Oops. . .

A very big, heartfelt thanks 

to my new friend Ronny!

I felt ever so spoiled and blessed by her.

I had the pleasure of sending to Mari

from Life in a Simple Cottage.

Here are the goodies I sent her way. . .

Enjoy the many pictures below, my friends.

I am sure you will oooh and ahhh

and the lovely Christmas treasures.

For the bloggers that joined the swap,

please find the link-up at the end of this post.

* * * * *

To Lisa - From Peg

To Penny - From Cheryl

To Kelly - From Mary Anne

To Jacqueline - From Ann

To Sue - From Diana

To Deb - From Chris

To Shirley - From Cheryl

To Sam - From Wanda

To June - From Marlene

To Debbie - From Sue

To Diana - From Kate

To Chris - From Debby

To Lynn - From Shirley

To Carol - From Angela

To Gina - From Regina

To Cindy - From Abby

To Marlene - From Wanda

To Peg - From Jackie

To Marina - From Sharron

To Dixie - From Debbie M.

To Wanda - From Becky

To Mary Anne - From Marina

To Krishna - From Janae

To Cheryl - From Adria

To Abby - From Allison

To Darla - From Kelly

To Allison - From Debbie

To Mrs T. - From Ashley

To June - From Maria

To Adria - From Nora

To Janae - From Rebekah

To Jody - From Penny

To Ashleigh - From Marilyn

To Sharron - From Darla

To Regina - From Sam

Thank you for visiting.

I hope you enjoyed seeing 

the many Christmas ornaments and treasures.

You will find a link-up below

for the bloggers who joined the swap.

If you have time,

I hope you are able to visit their blogs.

When you click on a blog link

it will likely send you to a page

that says it will redirect you to the blog.

Simply wait 5 seconds and voila!

You'll be redirected.

Love and hugs to you, friends!