A Puppy's 12 Days of Christmas

by Elise Lewis

On the first day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

The Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the second day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the third day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Ten Christmas cards I should a mailed

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Eleven unwrapped presents

Ten Christmas cards I shoulda mailed

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

A dozen puppy kisses And I forgot all about the other eleven days.

Love came down at Christmas

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Stars and angels gave the sign.

--Christina Rossetti

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold,

everything is softer and more beautiful.

--Norman Vincent Peale

I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time;

a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time;

the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year,

when men and women seem by one consent

to open their shut-up hearts freely.

--Charles Dickens

Somehow, not only for Christmas
    But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
    Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing
    The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
    Returns to you glad.

--John Greenleaf Whittier

Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people,

and to remember what other people have done for you ...

to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old ...

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world ...

stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death...

Then you can keep Christmas!

But you can never keep it alone.

--Henry van Dyke

~AS WE COUNT OUR BLESSINGS~

Lest We Forget

As we give thanks this Christmas

For abundant blessings from our God,

We remember those less fortunate,

Across this land which we now trod.

There are many who are homeless

Some people are living on the streets,

Many have no place to lay their heads,

Some do not have enough food to eat.

There are many who are hurting

Veteran's left with memories, some with scars from wars,

Soldiers are away from their friends and loved ones,

Fighting in a foreign land, alone beneath the stars.

Many souls are sick and hurting

Seeking healing and help from above,

We remember those suffering and the elderly,

And pray they will find help, in the Savior's love.

There are people who are grieving

Over a loved one who was recently called home,

All they have is cherished memories,

As they sit in silence all alone.

Across this land souls are perishing

Lost in sin without knowing salvation's plan,

There is hope for all in Christ Jesus,

When we reach out to the fallen, with a helping hand.

So as we count our blessings

Giving thanks to God above,

Our heart remembers others,

Who need the power of God's great love.

If we pray for one another

Seeking God's will and grace from above,

Our Lord will hear and send the answer,

On the wings of heaven's holy dove.

May we always remember the less fortunate

Souls who question their lot in life,

Jesus loves them, this we know,

One day they will understand sufferings and strife.

As we recall abundant blessings,

Naming them one by one,

We give thanks for the greatest blessing of all,

The free gift of salvation, God's only begotten Son.

Remembering others is God's plan for our lives

'Christ is Christmas' within our hearts, in every season.

When holiday celebrations are over, and a new year begins,

We will still have the joy of our salvation, Jesus is the reason.

God sends His ministering angels, to help those on earth

He knows just what the need may be,

Our Father also uses His children to reach out in love,

Many souls come to the Savior, as God's light of love they see.

Blessings in Christ,

An elderly Italian man who lived on the outskirts of Rimini , Italy , went to the local church for confession.

When the priest slid open the panel in the confessional, the man said:

"Father.. During World War II, a beautiful Jewish woman from our neighborhood knocked urgently on my door and asked me to hide her from the Nazis. So I hid her in my attic."

The priest replied: "That was a wonderful thing you did, and you have no need to confess that."

"There is more to tell, Father.. She started to repay me with sexual favors. This happened several times a week, and sometimes twice on Sundays."

The priest said, "That was a long time ago and by doing what you did, you placed the two of you in great danger, but two people under those circumstances can easily succumb to the weakness of the flesh. However, if you are truly sorry for your actions, you are indeed forgiven."

"Thank you, Father. That's a great load off my mind. I do have one more question."

"And what is that?" asked the priest.

"Should I tell her the war is over?"