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| This beautiful LED Nativity scene was a late Christmas gift from a family member. Isn't it beautiful? |
I wonder how many of you are still enjoying the sights and sounds and joys of Christmas? I always like to take my time and revel in the wonder of the Christmas story...it doesn't just stop at midnight on December 25th. That's really when the story fully begins and continues on into our lives forever. Jesus' birth was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah over 700 years prior to His birth, and He was called "Immanuel", which means, "God with us." That word or name is not past-tense. It is present tense, or continual, meaning that God is always with us.
Isaiah 7:14 KJV
"14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Matthew 1:18-25
"18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
John 1:14 ESV
"14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
"14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
For further reading, check this LINK "Why Is Jesus Called "Immanuel", by Mary Van Weelden.
So Christmas doesn't stop at midnight on December 25th. Christ's presence continues on with us every day, forever! Immanuel, God with us! And that's very good news!!
And sometimes Christmas gift giving doesn't stop at midnight on December 25th either. As you saw at the beginning of this post, that lovely LED nativity was a gift from my hubby's brother and family. We had a pre-scheduled family gathering on Saturday with hubby's brother and family and my sister and her hubby at a restaurant 1/2 way between our homes, since we live about 2 hours apart. Sadly, by then my hubby was feeling pretty sick with this cold/flu bug, so he was unable to go. Since I was already a week into it, I felt like (hoped) I wasn't contagious anymore and felt well enough to make the trip with Benton and Rose. I just tried not to get too much into anyone's face and I pray no one else will get this bug. Here's a few pictures from our time together:
Our whole gang at the table.
Yours truly with Benton and Rose
My hubby's brother Bill and wife Peggy and son Nicholaus. Sadly, their daughter Shannon was unable to attend as she was not feeling well either.
My sweet sister Doris and me. I call her my "little big sister", because she's my big sister, but she's littler than I am!
And sweet Doris and her hubby Art, who we missed at Thanksgiving because he was not feeling well.
That's why we try to get together every chance we can, because we are all getting older and it's just really hard to get us all together at once due to health and/or other issues.
We exchanged some special gifts with each other, (which we took home and opened later) and one thing that has become a tradition with my sister in law Peggy is that she usually sends a special gift for Lily Grace! (Yes, Lily Grace is a well loved little member of our family!) There's just something about a cute little doll that brings out the child in all of us!
It was an adorable little Poodle Skirt and top with a pair of saddle oxford shoes! Lily was duly appreciative and sent a thank you message to Aunt Peggy right away when we got home.
And if you've been following along for very long, you also know that my sister Doris usually gives me a new addition to the little family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage every year for Christmas! Thankfully, this year was no different, but we both had a bit of a surprise/shock when she purchased the gift:
Notice it says on the box top: "30th and FINAL in the Madame Alexander Series!"
What???? 30th and FINAL???? Does that mean what we think it means? This is the last time they will be making the Madame Alexander doll Christmas ornaments? Oh my goodness! It has been my sister's tradition for the last 12 years to give this special ornament gift to me on Christmas! And now there will be no more. Apparently they have been doing this for 30 years, but we didn't start at the beginning, so there are a few missing, with the exception of the two I purchased recently from our friend Sue at Photowannabe, which I already wrote about HERE recently. I do not have any intention of trying to complete the collection by looking for others, and will be thankful and content with the little family that I already have living at Pamela's Victorian Cottage. But it's just kind of sad to think that my sister and I won't have this special little tradition to look forward to anymore. However, I am just thankful that I still have my sister, and that is special enough a gift for me!!
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| This was another gift from my sister last Christmas, and it's still so true today! |
That being said, of course, every new addition to Pamela's Victorian Cottage means that there must be a story behind it! Since this is going to be the last new member to the family, the story needs to be extra special. Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be any more stories from Pamela's Victorian Cottage...just no new members to the family...(unless there are "adoptions" or special "visitors" along the way...you never know). So, without further adieu, let's shift the stage and head over to the little village surrounding Pamela's Victorian Cottage and see what's going on, shall we?
When we last saw the family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage, they had just welcomed two new "cousins" from across the country, Miss Winter Wonderland, and Miss Amy March.
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At the close of their journey to meet the family, they all gathered together at the little church in the country and were amazed to see the Nativity of the new born Baby Jesus. It was quite an awesome sight and they all bowed down and sang a song of adoration to the Baby Jesus before heading back home while singing "Silent Night" and preparing their hearts for Christmas and wondering at all they had seen and heard.
Little did they all know, while they were preparing for their Christmas celebration, God had another surprise in store for them.
Throughout the years, the lovely "Auntie from the City" has always brought special gifts and surprises to her sister, "the little Mother", and the family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage. The family was looking forward to her visit as always, and wondering what wonderful gifts she might bring this year.
But it seemed as though she was delayed for some reason, and they were beginning to become concerned that something might have happened to her.
The little mother told the family that they would not become alarmed, but they would pray for her and certainly God would bring her safely home in due time.
As she was hurrying along her way through the woods she came across a very beautiful young girl, waiting there amongst all the wildlife and woodland fairies and friends.
When Auntie saw her she asked how she came to be there, and the little girl answered that some beautiful ladies brought her and told her to wait and someone would soon come along to take care of her! She wasn't sure who the beautiful ladies were, but they were very kind and they assured her that she would never be alone, and that very soon she would belong to a wonderful big family filled with much love and joy. And she said, "And look at all these wonderful little friends I have found! They've all been so kind and they wanted to introduce me to this amazing family here in the stable! They said the baby's name is Jesus, and these are His parents Mary and Joseph, and that they also have traveled a long way and came here when it was time for the baby Jesus to be born. And guess what? They said that the Baby Jesus came here to save us all and live right here in our hearts! Isn't that wonderful?" "Oh, and one more thing," she said, "the beautiful ladies said that they also call the baby by the name of "Immanuel", which means, "God With Us!", and that He will never leave us alone!"
Then they looked up and saw the "beautiful ladies" that the little girl had seen before,
and they began singing with all the rest of the woodland creatures,
"Joy to the World! The Lord is 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!"
(you can sing along here if you wish)
2. Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns;
Our mortal songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy.
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.
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"Oh! That was so beautiful, wasn't it?" the little girl exclaimed.
"Yes, it certainly was wonderful! We've been witnesses to something very extraordinary here tonight, that is for sure!" cried the Beautiful Auntie from the City. "However now it is getting very late, and my family will be very concerned that I have not yet arrived, so I must be going. But what about you? Where are you headed? Do you have family expecting you?"
The little girl looked around at all the woodland creatures and the little Holy Family, and she said, "Well, I guess this must be my new family. But I'm not sure. The Beautiful ladies said that someone was coming for me and that he or she would take me to my new home..."
Auntie looked around and knew something deep inside her heart...she knew that she was supposed to take the young girl with her and introduce her to her new family...the wonderful little mother and family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage. She knew that they would welcome her with open arms, and would give her a happy new home...but that these special little friends in the woods and the Baby Jesus would always be a part of her life from then on as well.
And so Auntie looked at the little girl and said, "I believe you are supposed to come with me! There's a wonderful family waiting for you just over the hill." And so they said good bye to all the woodland creatures and the little Holy Family, but they all said, "We will see you again! Don't worry! We will ALWAYS be here for you!"
And soon they arrived at the wonderful home that the Beautiful Auntie told the little girl all about. She knew the family was already waiting for her to arrive in time for Christmas, so they marched right in through the back door and Auntie called out, "Hello! We're Here!" All the family came running and the Little Mother exclaimed, "Oh, Sister, I thought you'd never get here! We were all praying for your safety! I couldn't imagine where you must be! But Oh! Who is this you have here with you?"
Auntie replied, "It's a most remarkable story! You see, I found her in the woods by the old church, and the Angels were there, and all the woodland creatures, and there was the Baby Jesus right there with His family! And the angels said that she should wait there for someone to meet her and take her to her new home, and I knew that I must be the one they were waiting for, and well, here we are, and I never even asked her name!"
"Noel! the little girl cried with joy!, "What a beautiful name!, But what does it mean?"
"Well, the little mother replied, "It means, Christmas, or Birth, or a shout of joy heralding the Savior's Birth! It is a very happy word, calling to us to "come and see what God has done!"
"Oh, I love that!, cried Noel. "I want to always tell everyone what God has done! He rescued me and brought me to a safe and happy place where I can live happily ever after!"
Suddenly everyone gathered around and they started singing this most beautiful song entitled, "Noel"...it was a new song that many had not heard before, but it seemed as though the angels were singing it with them and soon they were all wanting to sing about Jesus' Birth and share the joyous news with everyone!
You can sing along with us too, if you want...
Love incarnate, love divine
Star and angels gave the sign
Bow to babe on bended knee
The Savior of humanity
Unto us a Child is born
He shall reign forevermore
Noel, Noel
Come and see what God has done
Noel, Noel
The story of amazing love!
The light of the world, given for us
Noel
Son of God and Son of man
There before the world began
Born to suffer, born to save
Born to raise us from the grave
Christ the everlasting Lord
He shall reign forevermore
Noel, Noel
Come and see what God has done
Noel, Noel
The story of amazing love!
The light of the world, given for us
Noel
Noel, Noel
Come and see what God has done
Noel, Noel
The story of amazing love!
The light of the world, given for us
Noel, Noel
All too soon the song was over and the angels flew back to their special places until they were needed again to help someone else. Noel got to meet all her new family members and was welcomed with open arms into her forever home.
What a wonderful Christmas it was for everyone!
Noel! Come and see what God has done!!
Immanuel...God With Us!
Amen.
Noel: Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Chris Tomlin / Edward Martin Cash / Matthew James Redman
Noel lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
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