Giving The Twelve Days of Nativity

Have you started any new traditions with your family this year? My daughter in law and her family celebrate what they call The Twelve Days of Nativity. Her grandmother left a wish to share the gospel through the nativity secretly. Each year they are trying to fulfill that wish. They bought 2 nativity sets. One is for an elderly widower in our church. The other is for a family not currently in church. Each day a piece of the nativity set and corresponding scripture is secretly left at the home of the family being gifted. I thought it was such a wonderful idea that I would share it with you. 

You may begin any time during December. If you begin early, the family will have the complete nativity set to enjoy and remind them of the true meaning of Christmas during the days leading up to Christmas.  If your family and friends celebrate the coming of the wise men in January, you may want to time the gifting so that the shepherds come on Christmas and the wise men come later. A third option may be to finish the gifting on Christmas Eve. 

You should be able to copy and print the scriptures from this post or paste them into a document that you can save from year to year. 

Day 1 - With this first passage send the empty stable.

Luke 2

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

Day 2 - Send Joseph.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

Day 3 - Send Mary.

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Day 4 - Send the baby Jesus in the manger. 

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Day 5 - Send sheep.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Day 6 - Send an angel(s).

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Day 7 - Send 1 shepherd.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Day 8 - Send another shepherd.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Day 9 Send first wise man.

Matthew 2

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Day 10 - Send the second wise man.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Day 11 -  Send the third wise man. 

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Day 12 - Send representations of the three gifts. 

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

If your nativity sets contain camels or donkeys, you may want to send them on Day 9 and end with the third wise man especially if the wise men are already carrying their gifts. 

My daughter in law is having a great deal of fun hearing her friend try to figure out who is sending the gifts and why. 

Blessings at this and every Christmas,

A special thank you to the family of

 Agnes Chapman (November 30, 1937- December 4, 2014)

for sharing her Christmas wish with us. 

Gail Cartee

Hide and Seek in Plain Sight

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

Have you ever played hide and seek in the dark? It can be a lot of fun until you run over a birdbath or a lawn chair or whatever and go stumbling and tumbling into the hedges and ponds. We know we are looking for someone but we can’t see the obstacles in our path if we play in the dark.

We all live our lives in the dark spiritually until we understand who we are seeking. We look for things to satisfy us. We look for people we think will satisfy us. We look for jobs that pay lots of money in hopes of finding the price that will satisfy. Hopefully, we realize that who we are looking for is actually God, who has been waiting for us all along.

Deuteronomy tells us that if we start right now and seek the Lord, we will find him. We must seek him with all our hearts and with all our souls. He is not hiding, but he is waiting in plain sight. We can’t let the things of this world or family or friends keep us from seeking God. We must put first things first. Matthew tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto us. What things? All the things we put before God, the obstacles that keep us from finding the God our hearts desire.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; Isaiah 55:6

What obstacles stand in your way? From right now seek the Lord.

Hey Kids:
How many times have you played Hide and Seek?
Each time we play it's fun and full of giggles.

Seeking God is never-ending, though it's not a game. It's a lifelong endeavor.
The more we learn about the Lord the more fun, the more joy we find in the Lord.

How can we go about seeking the Lord on a daily basis?
I know you've already answered," read the Bible." But I'm thinking there are other things that you encounter every day that help you find the Lord.

When you try a new science experiment, are you amazed how God made that piece of science work?

When you lie on your back and look up at the stars, are you amazed at the patterns God put in the sky? Do you wonder how people navigate with the stars?

When you see a newborn baby, are you amazed at how a child is formed so perfectly? Do you wonder what plan the Lord has in store for that child?

Are you seeking the Lord's plan for your life? Seek the Lord. He'll always amaze you.

Blessings,

Gail

Prayers with Actions

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13 KJV

We always say, "Thank a vet. Pray for our veterans." But do we accompany those thanks and prayers with actions?

Several years ago, a teacher in our district asked his students to make Christmas cards for veterans in a VA hospital. I believe it was his dad who was willing to take the cards to the hospital. Over the years, this one small request turned into the whole school making cards. Now the entire district sends thousands of cards each year to veterans who otherwise may not receive any other Christmas wishes. There are even opportunities for parents to sign cards at school events. Some of the cards go to veterans' hospitals nearby. One of our veterans makes an annual trip to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC to deliver cards. 

Men and women in veterans hospitals may be far away from family and friends and find themselves alone during the holiday season. Cards from students and their families can mean a lot. Jesus said if we have done it unto the least of these our brethren, we have done it unto Him.

Parents, you may want to investigate the address of a veterans' hospital or visit one if you live nearby. Other ideas may be to send cards to someone who is currently serving overseas who won't be able to be with family this year. Your Sunday School class, scouts, home school association or other groups may want to join in the mission. 

Thank you to all who serve and who have served.

Gail

Hey Kids

Making cards are fun and easy. 

Fold a piece of copy paper in half.

Open the card and write your message before you decorate.
Close the card. Draw a large triangle on the front of the card. 

Put a small amount of glue in the triangle. 

Crumple small scraps of green tissue paper and place on the glue to make a 3D Christmas tree design. 

Stick colored foil stars to the tissue paper tree. 

Change it up any way your artist inclinations lead you.

You may not know who gets your card, but Jesus sees and is thankful you were willing to bring the message of Christmas to someone.

Jesus Cares

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8 NLT

We’ve seen so many tragedies on the news and on the internet this year - hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornadoes, shootings, and bus related accidents. Some have lost their lives, others their homes and communities. Lately, things are hitting close to home for us. One of my friends has a child desperately ill. A child in our school lost his mother. No matter the storm, Jesus sees them all. He cares and “bottles our tears”, records them. Does that seem hard to imagine? We record things that are important to us. We tell the best and the worst in our private diaries. Our tears stain those recordings. Jesus also sees and feels our deepest sorrows.

I recently finished reading Blue, part of the Baker Mountain Series by Joyce Moyer Hostetter. Blue is mid grade historical fiction set in Hickory, NC during WWII. Ann Fay, a thirteen-year-old girl faces similar tragedies and joys just as we do. Her dad is drafted and is sent to fight the Germans. Her four-year-old brother contracts polio. After carrying the weight of the family while mom is away at the hospital with brother, Ann Fay also succumbs to the virus.

Hostettler’s books deal with war, illness, death, loss, race relations, and bullying. She deals with each situation realistically; the fear, the ignorance, and the hateful side, but also with faith, neighbor helping neighbor, church involvement, strangers with words of encouragement.  All those things help get us through the hard times and as Ann Fay would say “make us tough as hickory.”

Hey Kids:

Is one or both of your parents deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan?

Does someone you know have cancer or some other devastating disease?

Have you lost a classmate or family member?

Have you prayed about the situation, written about it, shed tears on the pages?

Maybe it’s time. Jesus the Great Comforter stands ready to catch your tears for His bottle, knowing and remembering your sorrow.

Blessings,

Gail