I love the last stanza from Christina G. Rossetti's beautiful song, "In the Bleak Midwinter" which she wrote in 1872. My children learned this poem when they were young. You may like to encourage your children to learn it, too.
“What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give him—
Give my heart."
Maybe one of my grandchildren will recite this poem on Christmas night. After our big Christmas Dinner at midday and speeches and toasts, we will wait until the later in the day to have dessert. After this we’ll have a family concert where adults and children will sing or recite poems. Then we’ll have Quizz time--children against the adults! The competition will be fierce!
Love from Nancy Campbell
Are you going through a stressful time? Are you in distress? Please don’t despair. God wants to tell you something. He has promised that you will come into a large place through your distress. Your anguish can overwhelm you or lead you closer to God. Look to God; He is bigger than this problem you face.
What we want to do with our children, is not merely to control them and keep them in order, but to implant true principles deep in their hearts which shall rule their whole lives; to shape their character from within into Christlike beauty, and to make of them noble men and women, strong for battle of life.
I’m sure you love God’s promise: ”As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” But have you read it in context? It’s in the passage of the prophetic blessing upon the tribe of Asher which says: “Let Asher be blessed with children” and then it concludes with “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:24, 25). Isn’t that amazing?
"We fancy that God can only manage His world by big battalions abroad, when all the while He is doing it by beautiful babies at home. When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants opening, GOD SENDS A BABY INTO THE WORLD TO DO IT. That is why long, long ago, a Babe was born in Bethlehem."
Satan loves to blind our eyes to God’s wondrous plans and truths. Because he is at war against women (Genesis 3:16), he loves to blind them about the power of their womb.
AN IMPORTANT POST FOR ALL PARENTS TO READ!
Without God we live in darkness. He is the one who said, "Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Jesus is the Light of the world. He is "THE TRUE LIGHT,WHICH LIGHTS EVERY MAN THAT COMES INTO THE WORLD" (John 1:9). Every person who is born into this world is without excuse regarding their relationship with God. Every new baby is born with a God consciousness, a light from God our Maker. We have a conscience that knows what is 
Judas Maccabee and his brothers were continually fighting battles to save Israel and every time they faced armies far larger and stronger than themselves, but their trust was in God.
Hanukkah is also called the "Festival of Lights" because of the relighting of the Menorah. This was a huge thing that happened that day, because the Jews knew that God had commanded the lights in the Holy Place to BURN CONTINUALLY. They were to never to go out--and they had been out for a long time! God said it was a statute that must continue for all generations (Exodus 27:20-21 and Leviticus 24:1-4).
The verse that spoke to me this morning as we read our Scriptures about walking in the light was Psalm 89:15: “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” Oh to walk in God’s light. What awesome fearfulness. And yet what joyful blessedness. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).
This morning we read Scriptures about God’s Word being our light. Did you read these Scriptures too? Psalm 19:8 says: “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” If we want true understanding about life and any matter at all, we’ll find it in God’s Word. I love the HCSB translation which says: "The command of the Lord is radiant, making THE EYES LIGHT UP." Don't you love that? God’s precious Word not only makes our eyes light up, but
A brave mother watched her son being killed. No, not just killed but cruelly tortured. They cut out his tongue, scalped him, cut off his hands and feet, and then maimed and helpless, fried him alive! In the same manner they tortured and killed her second and third sons. The third son cried out, "I have received these limbs from heaven, and I give them up for the sake of God's laws." Another cried out, "We are prepared to die rather than 
Do you enjoy reading the “light” Scriptures together with your family each day? This morning at our Family Devotions we read the Scriptures about shining the light of Jesus to the world. We read one of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible: “But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).
Why do we call this celebration "Hanukkah"? Because "Hanukkah" is the Hebrew word for "dedication." When Judas Maccabee (the hammer) and his army eventually crushed their enemies, Judas and his brothers said, "Let's go up to cleanse and rededicate the sanctuary" (1 Maccabees 4:36). The temple was desolate, the gates burned, and even shrubs were growing in the courts like a forest! But they restored the sanctuary, built a new altar
Did you read the Day 2 Hanukkah Scriptures “Jesus is the Light of the World” this morning? We read them at our Family Devotions, each one taking a turn to read a Scripture. We were so blessed to be reminded again that Jesus is the One who brings light into the darkness of this world.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God was never reticent to speak the truth, even in the face of death. When he came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, he walked in Solomon's Porch (on the eastern side of the temple) and people gathered around him.
(Day 1 of Hanukkah)
This is the week of HANUKKAH which actually began last night. It’s now Day One and we celebrate it for eight days. For the last few years I have posted devotions about Hanukkah and readers have asked if I will do it again this year. I’ll send Day One post to you soon. We enjoy celebrating Hanukkah in our family each year. Why?