Valerie Hess

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7851561

The following came in on my daily prayer e-newsletter for China as we count down the days until that country hosts the 2008 Olympics. May we who celebrate Christ’s birth take this lesson to heart. Merry Christmas! 

Mrs. Yang is slim, young looking and elegantly dressed in silk trousers and a patterned blouse, but she is actually 73 years old, and the survivor of 10 years in a labor camp.  She explains, “We must sing to keep up the spirit …” Most Chinese Christians know at least a hundred songs by heart!  When Mrs. Yang sits down to a meal, she sings a hymn.  When she reads her Bible, she starts and finishes with a hymn.  When she was locked into a cell with no light, she sang hymns.  She encourages the church in the West to practice this “habit of holiness,” of singing to God by oneself.

I offer this prayer from an unknown source: Save me from haste and confusion, from wrongful desire, and the net of evil.
Amen!

“…to live calmly in the middle of chaos, productively in an arena of waste, lovingly in a maelstrom of individuality, and gently in a world full of violence.”

Joan Chittister

If you want to know the history of the real Santa Claus, go to http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23. St. Nicholas is a much loved saint of the Christian church. It is a shame that his life and faith have been corrupted in to the commercial Santa Claus we have in North America today. It would be wonderful if the Church reclaimed this day and all that St. Nicholas stood for. The web site will give you everything you need to do that in your own life and family.

We celebrated this day every year with our children. We would read to them about St. Nicholas’ life. They would put out their shoes on the night of December 5th. In the morning, they would find a small Christmas tree in their room for them to decorate and a bit of chocolate in their shoes along with a fun pair of Christmas socks or earrings.  It was a fun way for them to learn more about the life of someone who helped many people often in secret as well as adding another good family tradition.