Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

Dec 28, 2006

Our Christmas, Channukah, Kwanzaa, New Years, holidays Contest 

Today’s Announcements

 Dear Prayer Warriors:

Sonny (my grandson) is having his surgery in the morning 12/27/06 to repair his nose...  Please lift him and his surgeon up in your prayers.  He needs physical and emotional healing to get him through this tough time.  Lord I pray that you will guide the surgeons hands and give Sonny strength not to be afraid.

I put Sonny in your hands now Lord and I trust you to care for him and minister to his every need.

I claim these things in the might name of Jesus...  Amen and Amen

I thank each one of you for your prayers!

Love to all,

Barbara Weymouth: weymouth@surewest.net

Donations are needed to help with the operating expenses of running the newsletter and to keep Storytime Tapestry the quality newsletter you are so accustomed to.   

Please note that Storytime Tapestry is a free newsletter to members and there will never be a cost for the newsletter.  Donations are purely voluntary and no member should ever feel guilty for not making a donation at this time.

Today’s Contest Stories

~**~**~

Special Days, Painful Memories

Michael T. Smith

            Trees are placed in stands, lights are strung, and decorations are put in place.

Stockings are hung, carols are sung, and smiles are on most faces. Christmas is here.

However, there are many who have nothing to smile about. They sit in their homes alone

or with their children. They’re missing an ornament this year – a loving spouse and

parent.

            My wife, Ginny, and I have experienced the pain. We know what those special

occasions mean. If you’ve lost a spouse, there are dates on your calendar that hurt. Ginny

and I still see them coming: the day we met them, our wedding anniversaries, birthdays,

holidays, and many more. They are markers in our journey through life. They’re like

asteroids drifting through space on a crash course with our emotions. We try to hide from

them, but there is no hiding. It’s coming! It’s going to hit! We close our eyes and brace

ourselves.

            Most times it’s just a shooting star. It burns out before it hits. There’s a twinge,

like a needle in the arm, and it’s over. The fear of its arrival is worse than the actual hit.

            There are other days on the calendar. They’re not marked. Those are the ones we

have to watch out for. We have no idea what they’ll bring. We look for the marked days

and ignore the unmarked ones. We get careless. Unmarked days strike without warning.

            One day I was moving from one location in our office to another. I was packing

my stuff in a box. On a top shelf I felt something. Dust drifted in the air as I lifted it.

It was a card from my first wife. She gave it to me for Valentines the year before she

died.

            “Happy Valentines! I love you!”

            It was signed, “Georgia.”

            I left work early that day. I was useless. An asteroid got through and nailed me.

            Grief sneaks in when you least expect it. It doesn’t have to be a card. It could be a

note tucked in a book, an old letter, a photo, or a scent of the cologne or perfume they

used to wear. They trigger memories. We relive our life with them and remember the day

they left. The pain returns again.

            Music is another trigger. I remember the song they played when I first danced

with Georgia. The song became “our” song. There were many songs Georgia and I

related to. They were special songs at great moments during our life together. When

I hear one of them now, my heart breaks and tears form in my eyes.

            This is what we experience, but what about the kids? This is their first loss and

it’s a big one. It’s like a slap. It’s unexpected, surprising, confusing, and very hurtful.

A spanking would be more welcome to them. How do the parents do it? How do they

make a child happy? They just lost a spouse. Where do they find the strength for their

children, when they are struggling to get through it themselves?

            As adults, we’ve experienced it before. It may not have been as painful as

losing our spouse, but during our life’s travels, we have probably felt a touch of grief

when we lost a grandfather, an uncle, or other relative. It prepared us a little for the loss of a spouse.

            These little kids have never experienced a loss close to this magnitude. Their

young lives changed. They’re scared. They want their parent back. The idea of death

is something they cannot understand. They think mom or dad has gone on a trip and hope

they’ll return soon. The surviving parent has to put on a strong face and support them.

            At Christmas, Ginny and I host a party for the local members of our widow and

widower’s group. This party is especially for those who have young children. It is those

children who tear at my heart. They have lost a mommy or a daddy. Their Christmas’ are

changed forever.
            I dressed as Santa and handed little gifts to the children. I’m afraid one of them

will ask Santa, “Can you bring my Mommy/Daddy back?”

            What would I say?

            The answer I prepared and, thankfully, never had to use, “God needs angels for

special duties. When he needs more angels, he looks down on earth and selects people to

help him. Your Mommy/Daddy must have been very special, because he called them up

to be an angel. You should be very proud he chose your mommy/daddy.

            “The best thing is, because they’re angels, they have the power to look down and

protect you all the time. They are always with you. You can’t see them, but if you close

your eyes and pray to them, you will feel them, and maybe even hear them whispering in

your ear.”

            I hope I never have to use that story, but if I do, I pray it works.

            I can only ask for God to take care of and bless the little ones.

            Michael T. Smith

mtsmith@qwestonline.com

~**~**~

The Gift

Bill Walker

missouriesage@yahoo.com

The gift, the great gift.  It is Christmas time.  A time set aside for gifts, both gifts given and received.  People are running from store to store, looking, thinking and buying so called gifts for others and even for them selves.  Yes people will buy gifts for their very own at this time of year. 

We some times miss the true meaning of the year in all the run abouts.  We do not in any way have a real clue as to the year, or the real date of Jesus' birth date.  But it is a date we picked way back some where in time.

I think there is a gift we some times forget, in all this mickey mouse run abouts,, and more over I think we have really lost the meaning of much of it.

The real gift is one of love.  We need only look at the Bible, and read just a few lines and do some deep thinking.

It is the greatest gift of all time.

John 3;16.   For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten SON.

Now we all should know every last word of that,, if you don't you should.

Let us think what gift can you give in return? 

We also need to think about any gift.  What is a gift if it is not accepted, received, and taken with loving hands? 

This is a gift of love God gave, not to the world, but to all flesh, living then, past, and for ever, as long as the world turns.  God so loved all that he had made, he does not wish for any thing he made to just die.  If you will remember, he looked, and said it is good.  God does not lie.  I guess if you stop and think, this what he called good, covers every thing, that we have, and can see. The stars, the moon, the earth, the things in and on the earth. Before there was we are told, nothing.  With out God, there is nothing. 

So what can we give God in return?  We really have nothing.  Every thing really belongs to God. The house, the car, the diamond on your finger. Every thing you call yours, it belongs to God.

But we read God gave you one gift.  He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him. should not perish, but have ever lasting life.

Our gift to God is very simple.  To take the gift,  and in return give thanks for the gift.  Remember, we have no gifts that can be returned, as we really own nothing.  But we can give thanks, for the Greatest Gift ever given.

All the gold, all the frankincense, all the myrrh, all the treasures of the earth, and yes the world,  belongs to God.

So all you can give back is love.  While we are on the word love.  I don't think my dogs has any money, or things they can give me for Christmas.. But they do have a thing called love. Love.  a little thing called love. 

If all you have is love, and well wishes for others, you have the true meaning of Christmas..

As the Greatest General of all time once said in that terrible war. "Sir, I wish those people was home for Christmas, and we were also."  General Robert E.Lee.

Tinker and Poo; The Boys Write

http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-35741-5

~**~**~

The Introduction of a King

By Nell Berry        11/26/04

As I stepped out into the coolness of the evening, I could feel the Presence of Someone, Something that surrounded me. My heart was pounding and I could hardly breathe.

Then suddenly the Presence was before me, His arms were outstretched as if to embrace me. I was no longer afraid. My heart was still pounding from excitement, but there was an inexplicable peace that enveloped me. He drew me to Him and I felt the strength of His arms around me. Still there was a sense of no physical body there, just the Presence of Him.

He said in a voice that was as many waters, “Do not be afraid. I am sent from the Lord. You have been chosen by God to carry to full term a manchild. You will call His name Jesus. (Which is Emmanuel, God with us.)

My name is Mary. I have been visited by the Holy Spirit and He has told me I am to have a Child, the Savior of the world, though I have never known a man.

My mind cannot comprehend this. I believe it and I know it is from God. Still I do not understand how this thing can be. How does a virgin, who has never been with a man in the sexual sense have a baby?

Why did god choose me? Why am I to be favored among women? I am not special. I am just a lowly maiden of the Jewish tradition and in the lineage of David.

I must go to my cousin Elizabeth and talk to her about this.

My parents do not understand either. Maybe she can give me some answers. I know Joseph does not understand either, although he too, was visited by an angelic being. He has accepted it and we are still betrothed. But he is quite uneasy about it.

So now I am going to Judah to see my cousin Elizabeth and her husband the priest, Zecharias.

When I entered the room where Elizabeth was, I no sooner had greeted her and she began to speak in a loud voice, “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb and what is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of they salutation sounded, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Something came over me. I began to speak words I did not know. It was as if another were speaking. I spoke boldly and with such strength, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior for He hath regarded  the low estate of His handmaiden; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things and Holy is His name, and His mercy is to them that fear him from generation to generation……”

Such alien sounding words and phrases, where did they come from? My heart again was pounding in my chest, as if it were going to break through the chest wall. The blood rushed to my head and I became very unsteady on my feet.

Elizabeth, too was in a state of shocked disbelief at the words that came out of her mouth and mine.

We immediately sat down and tried to reason what it was all about.

But the only answer we came up with was the Holy Spirit must have been speaking through us.

I remained with Elizabeth about three months and helped her when she was very big and unable to move as well as she once did. She was well up in years and having a child is taxing even for the young.

 Now I must go back home to face Joseph and my parents. I know they have their doubts about my story of how the angel appeared to me. What else can I do? If Joseph does not believe me and he chooses to divorce me, they well might stone me to death. For that is the custom, if a maid is found to have had relations with a man, she is taken outside the city and stoned to death.

Ah, but Joseph knows I am telling the truth because the angel appeared to him also and told him I was going to have a child; that the Holy Spirit had come upon me and impregnated me with God’s seed. Oh, how humble of spirit it makes me, to think that God would choose me, a lowly peasant girl, to bear and deliver the Savior of the world. My heart bursts with joy and I tremble at the thought. My Lord and my God, how I love Him; How I trust Him.

The only thing to do is get married before the appointed time. My Lord will take care of the rest.

It is nearly time for my delivery now and we must go to Bethlehem for the census. Caesar Augustus has decreed that all people must go up to their home town for the census. So, even though I am great with child, I must go with Joseph. It will be a long, long journey. Being in this condition is not conducive to a pleasant ride on a donkey. But I must endure for the sake of the Child.

Here we are in Bethlehem; such a long uncomfortable trip. My back aches and I feel like I have been chiseled out of stone and placed on the back of this donkey. Thank You, my Lord for the end being so near. Please help us find a suitable place for this Child to be delivered. Let it be clean and have plenty of water for cleansing and I have brought along plenty of material to use to wash the Baby and to wrap Him in. Just let us find the appropriate place.

Joseph is going to talk to the inn keeper to see if we may stay here tonight. Please hurry Joseph, the time is near.

Joseph came back and said there was no room in the inn. We must look elsewhere. Now we will have to go to another inn, there are so many people here tonight because of the census.

Yes, Lord, we will try another one.

Holy Spirit is leading Joseph to this inn. I wonder if they will have a comfortable room for us.

Joseph says the inn keeper says there is no room in this inn either. Oh, but he says we may use the stable where the cattle feed. Alright, Lord, as long as there is plenty of clean straw to lay a blanket on so I may lie down. My back is still aching. I fear the time is near.

Oh, it does feel so good to lie down after being on that donkey for such a long time. Yes, the pains of birth are beginning. I have a long wait till this Child is born.

I look into the face of my Son; so beautiful, so sweet. He does not cry or fuss the way other babies do. He smiles and has the face of an angelic being. Oh, I love Him so much already. I just want to hold Him and sing to Him and rock Him, but there are others to consider. Joseph too wants to hold Him.

Now there are people coming to see Him. How did they know about Him? They said the angel of the Lord told them about the Star in the east and to follow it and it would lead them to the Christ Child. They were watching their sheep on a hillside and the sound of angels singing startled them; then the angel went to them and told them to follow the star.

Now there are wise men from the East coming to bring gifts for the King. How did He become King all of a sudden? He is my baby Son and His name is Jesus, Yeshua, Emmanuel; God with us.

Now I understand. He is the King of the world. He was born for a special time, to lead His people out of bondage, to save them from their sinful nature and give them eternal life. Glory be to the Father and to His Son forever and ever. AMEN

Nell Berry

lberry001@centurytel.net

Poetry Contest Corner

~**~**~

Christmas Lost and Found

by Sharlett F. Hunt

Sometimes I think of Christmas Lost,

It happened just today,

These thoughts that come unknowingly,

While watching children play.

I think of Christmas days gone by

When angels failed to sing,

When hopes and dreams of future

Were just a fleeting thing.

No God, no family to call my own,

Oh, what a miserable life!

So bound in total bondage,

An existence filled with strife.

Through hardship comes an awareness

A valuable lesson to learn,

That Christmas Lost is Christmas Past

And never shall return.

I'll take this newfound knowledge

To start a brand new day,

With peace and hope at Christmastime

And Love to light the way!

Sharlett Hunt

Sharlette863@aol.com

Readers Feedback

 Michael Smith's "Memory Tree" is a wonderful piece. It brought back so many memories of ornaments from my childhood. During our marriage, Ray and I have collected ornaments on our travels and each year when we decorate the tree, we tell the stories of each one, the place where we purchased it, and that leads into the special stories of that country or state, or the event. Thanks, Michael, for the memories.

Contest Submissions that have been posted only, this means only the stories that have been published in Storytime Tapestry and not the articles that are still waiting in the queue.  The list gets bigger each day as more and more stories are added.

Please refer to the archives: http://archives.zinester.com/98907 if you want to reread an article before voting.

Name:                            Title:                              Date published

Ortiz-Lopes, Tannia           From Devine To Human                                     Dec 17 (see special treat)

Blaine, Pamela                     The Very Best Gift Of All                 Dec 17

Shaw, Bob                             Buttermilk                                                           Dec 17

Aro                                         A Visit From Tanner Claus                              Dec 17

Joseph, Brian                       The Gift of Giving                                                Dec 18 (see special treat)

Walker, Bill                         Rainbow Ridge Special Report, Gizzy             Dec 18

Gold, Ron                              Christmas Kindnesses                                       Dec 18

Gold, Ron                              A Merry Jewish Christmas                              Dec 18

Haley, Ellie Braun               Mother                                                                   Dec 19(see special treat)

McCallum, Arnot                The Little Red Sock                                            Dec 19

Bryant, Sharon                    The Meaning                                                        Dec 19

Bryant, Sharon                    The Shoe Store                                                    Dec 19

Byrant, Sharon                    You Walk With Angels                                     Dec 19

Berry, Nell                           A Christmas Prayer                                           Dec 19

Foster, Leeuna                     Tis the Season to go Shopping                          Dec 20

Gifford, P.S.                          A Very Special Christmas                                Dec 20

Mazzella, Joe                       Through His Eyes                                               Dec 20

Meeks, Carol                       The Most Reverent Night                  Dec 20

Meeks, Carol                       A Baby Boy Was Born                                       Dec 20

Meeks, Carol                       Christmas Day                                                     Dec 20

Newman, Bruce                   The Glue of The Universe                  Dec 20(see special treat)

Meeks, Carol                       Oh Israel, Oh Israel                                           Dec 21

Meeks, Carol                       Even The Animals Know                                    Dec 21

Meeks, Carol                       Christmas Blessings                                         Dec 21

Meyers, Dan                         Noel - The Dyslexic Christmas Angel            Dec 21(see special treat)

Cavalera, Robyn                   Dear Santa                                                            Dec 21

Cavalera, Robyn                   Happy Birthday Jesus                                        Dec 21

Bryant, Sharon                    The Sweater                                                         Dec 21

Foster, Leeuna                     The Gifts of The Giver                                        Dec 22(see special treat)

Deming, Barbara A Special Christmas Ride                 Dec 22

Roney, Barbara                    Christmas Nostalgia                                          Dec 22

Roney, Barbara                    Baby Jesus                                                           Dec 22

Walker, Bill                         That Night                                                            Dec 22

Allin, Bill                              Christmas: Most of it Doesn’t Matter             Dec 22(see beyond the Mirror)

Meeks, Carol                       Year 1995 for me                                                Dec 23

Walker, Bill                         No Room                                                                Dec 23

Berry, Nell                           The Birth of A King                                            Dec 23

Berry, Nell                           Seasons Change                                                  Dec 23

Berry, Nell                           Did Mary Really Know                                       Dec 23

Westerfer, Clara O’ Christmas Tree                                             Dec 23

Roach, Carol                        I Should be Happy but I am not                          Dec 24(see Carol’s Corner)

Holbrook, Mariane              Little Alma’s Christmas Present                    Dec 24(see Special Treat)

Walker, Bill                         The Broken Runner On St. Nick’s Sled        Dec 24

Walker, Bill                         Blue Christmas                                                   Dec 24

Walker, Joe                         What Would Santa Do?                                     Dec 24

Berry, Nell                           You Think You Got a Problem                          Dec 24

Berry, Nell                           The Light of Christmas                                     Dec 24

Dowd, Hartson                      Christmas Eve                                                      Dec 24(see fascinating facts)

Smith, Michael                    Little Bell                                                             Dec 25

Roach, Carol                        Hannah’s Special Christmas                            Dec 25(see Carol’s Corner)

Fox, David                              I’m Triply Blessed                                              Dec 25

Deming, Barbara Christmas Memories                                         Dec 25

Bryant, Sharon                    Don’t Tell Anyone You Know Me                     Dec 25

Walker, Bill                         Christmas, 1914                                 Dec 26

Cassady, B.J.                        Christmas, 2002                                 Dec 26

Walker, Joe                         The Still Small Voice of Christmas                Dec 26

Smith, Michael                    Christmas, Dealing with Loss                          Dec 26

Young, Ina Townsend          Goodbye Home                                                      Dec 26

Cassady, B.J.                        Christmas on the Frontier                                Dec 27(see special treat)

Smith, Michael                    Memory Tree                                                       Dec 27

Shaw, Bob                             A Christmas Puppy                                             Dec 27

Liles, Norma                        From the Manger he Speaks                             Dec 27

Bryant, Sharon                    I Want to Write The Story                                Dec 27

Gibbs, Nancy                        Ordinary People                                                  Dec 28(see special treat)

Berry, Nell                           The Introduction of A King                               Dec 28

Walker, Bill                         The Gift                                                 Dec 28

Hunt, Sharlett                      Christmas Lost and Found                                Dec 28

Smith, Michael                    Special Days, Painful Memories                      Dec 28  

Storytime Tapestry Angels

Angels on earth, they exist they are out there.  Angels come in all ages, shapes and sizes, civil status, and religion.  Their nature is love and their purpose is giving to the less fortunate of this world.  Storytime Tapestry angels are no exception.  These angels are loyal members who have contributed to the upkeep of Storytime Tapestry newsletter so that Storytime Tapestry can continue come to your email box 350 days of the year.

Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt

Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker

Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley

Surinder Jandu

Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

Chief researcher/historian: Hartson Dowd

Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Booher, Paula; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Costner, Joan Clifton; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Dees, Mary; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria;  Dowd, Hartson; Dowd, Helen; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Gold, Ron; Goodier, Steve; Grisham, Mary-Ellen; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Henry, Linda Ann; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Marlor, Janice Bumbalough; Mazzella, Joe; Meeks, Carol; Mizrany, Mary Carter; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Pringle, Sandra Lewis; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Smith; Michael; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy;

Wainland, David; Westerfer, Clara; White Robert;

Storytime Tapestry Staff

Carol Roach - Founder/publisher

Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

Clara Westerfer – moderator

Bob Johnston - moderator