A NEW YEAR’S BLESSING May God make your year a happy one, Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain, But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes; Not by making your path easy, But by making you sturdy to travel any path; Not by taking hardships from you, But by taking fear from your heart; Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, But by keeping your face bright even in the shadows; Not by making your life always pleasant, But by showing you when people and their causes need you most, And by making you ready to be there to help. God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead..

It would be impossible for me to name my favorite Christmas Carol—they are ALL my favorite! But certain musicians can really knock it out of the park and sometimes make me hit “replay” on the CD. Put it this way — when Andrea Bocelli sings “What Child Is This,” I know it is Christmas. One of the most moving and beautiful Victorian carols, “What Child Is This,” can trace its history back farther than the days of the infamous Henry VIII. Though the song was registered to a Richard Jones in 1580, legend has it that the notorious King Henry might have written the original lyrics himself as he courted Anne Boleyn. The song’s association with King Henry was forever tied to “Greensleeves” when William Shakespeare used it in his play, “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

IT’S CHRISTMAS! A Stocking for Jesus We celebrate each Christmas Jesus Christ’s great birth. We remember the gift He is to us And that our souls have worth.

On December 24, 1865, Phillips Brooks was half a world away from home and feeling older than his thirty years. Only six years into his ministry, Brooks had been called upon in May to give the funeral message over President Abraham Lincoln.

THIS AND THAT * Even though Academy Award winner, singer, actress, songwriter and producer Irene Cara has passed away far too soon, her songs will “Live Forever.” * May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve. * Are you all watching the Christmas movies on the Great American Family Channel? * Have to laugh that actress, and I use that term VERY loosely, Alyssa Milano gave back her Tesla because of Elon Musk purchasing Twitter, and then bought a VW ev.

“The First Noel” is one of the oldest Christmas ballads still sung today. The song first appeared in print in 1833; however the song goes back at least three hundred years prior to that. The origin is also unknown as both France and England claim it as a part of their heritage. The spelling of “noel” would seem to indicate a French connection, though there seems to be quite a lot of evidence pointing to this carol migrating from Britain to France rather than the other way around. What cannot be doubted is the faith and spirit of the song’s writer; his Christian witness comes alive each time the old carol is sung!

THIS AND THAT * If you are Christmas shopping for me, I am a size seven day Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas and Cocoa Cay. * The Olde Tyme Christmas Parade was absolutely fantastic! Kuddos to the committee members who worked so hard getting the community to come together for this special occasion.

Keeping with the past two years, in the month of December I have been sharing the stories of how some of our beloved Christmas carols and songs came to be. The information comes from a little book I own: “Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas,” by Ace Collins. In this third year of sharing these stories, I am starting off with the song that will probably be sung the first Sunday of December, aka the first Sunday of Advent, in nearly all churches everywhere. The song, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is one of the most appropriate songs for Advent. It also happens to be one of the oldest Christmas carols still sung today. This popular hymn dates back to the ninth century and represents an important and ancient series of services celebrated by the Catholic church.

MERRY DECEMBER! * Happy Merry December! * You may or may not know this about me, but I love to collect pens. I guess I shouldn’t say I love to collect them; what I should say is that I always take a pen if someone is giving them away for free to advertise their business.

Several seeks ago I shared with a Bible study group that lately, I’ve been feeling so much anxiety, with gut-wrenching worry as I watch the evening world news. I really didn’t WANT to watch the constant bad-news stories, but at the same time, I also couldn’t NOT watch. I think some would call it an addiction, but I don’t categorize it like that. My friends that evening at Bible study all knew exactly the feeling I was having, and most of them said they just don’t watch the world news anymore. But I want to know what’s going on in the world, at home and abroad. However, since that conversation, I have tried to watch less news and instead, fill that time with something else—walking the dog, for example. I’m also trying to read some kind of “uplifting” news daily to fill my head and heart with happier thoughts.