Christmas Day-Joy to the World

December 25

 Nativity of Our Lord

Read John 1: 1 – 14

It’s here! It is Christmas! We celebrate the gift of God’s own self to us by giving and receiving gifts of love with each other. We open our eyes and see our Savior in human form reaching out for us from the arms of the cross. O praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Sing ‘Joy to the World’ with all the gusto you can muster. Don’t worry if you are off key, God is exactly on target.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; 

Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room

And heav’n and nature sing, And heav’n and nature sing, 

And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ, 

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, 

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

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, Far as the curse is found, 

Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove 

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, 

And wonders, wonders of His love.

For the Family:

Now pick up and distribute those packages you placed under the Tree of Promise . There should be a package for each one. Slit the tapes or seals and open it to see your gift. There you see the nativity placed on a cross. It tells the whole story. God came, in human form, to die for you! Hang each of these crosses of love on the Tree of Promise and give thanks to God that you too have seen His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten Son. (if you did not make a cross gift package, share the story of the importance of gift -giving that reminds us of the Gift-Giver!)

Bible Journaling:

Joy to the World
Christmas Day
add a favorite card
Bible Journaling
Connie Denninger

If you are not a Bible Journaler- 
this is a wonderful way to mark 
the Visual Journey of Advent.
Design by Pat Maier.
Using the images for the Tree of Promise Devotions
 by Natalie Grace Hartwig 
and with a simple image- 
telling the Visual Faith story of Advent 2016.
Files for Advent calendar and
 Tree of Promise devotions found here
From the Kitchen:

Slice the breads you thawed last night. The Pulla will be better slightly toasted. Have your morning beverage of choice and finish making the salad. If some one at your home must be gluten free, make some blueberry muffins for them. That’s what I plan to do for Berith. I’ll eat a few myself, they are really good fresh out of the oven.

GLUTEN FREE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 Cups almond flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

2 TBS canola oil

2 TBS plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh blueberries

• Pre-heat oven to 425. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners
• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together with dry whisk or fork
• Beat liquids together in small bowl and stir into dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
• Fold in blueberries
• Spoon into muffin tin by heaping tablespoons. Works best for 24 mini muffins.
• Bake at 425 for 5 minutes then reduce temp to 350 and bake for additional 15 – 20 minutes until muffins are lightly golden and dry on top. 

Muffins keep well for up to 2 days. Freezes well. Best served warm.

Tree of Promise Devotions
Natalie Grace Hartwig