A Christmas Poem

I happened upon an Ideals Christmas book of poetry at a going out of business book sale. It's filled with pictures, stories, poetry that call to mind the era of Norman Rockwell or Charles Dickens.

Amid the pages was nestled a poem that I would like to share with you. It's titled: Let the Stable Still Astonish and is written by Leslie Leyland Fields.

Let the stable still astonish:

Straw–dirt floor, dull eyes,
Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;
Crumbling, crooked walls;
No bed to carry that pain,
And then, the child,
Rag-wrapped, laid to cry
In a trough.

Who would have chosen this?

Who would have said: “Yes,
Let the God of all the heavens and earth
Be born here, in this place?
Who but the same God
Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms
Of our hearts

And says, “Yes,

Let the God of Heaven and Earth

Be born here –

In this place.

----Leslie Leyland Fields

Hope

This week I listened to a Devotion about Advent Week. This was a pretty new concept to me since my church doesn't especially celebrate this. But I really like the ideas of focusing on hope, peace, joy, and love throughout December.

Hope is the first week of Advent. I hope you enjoy this short video clip about Hope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-pZYNv8pRQ&feature=related