<\/p>\n
T<\/em>was the night before Christmas and the service begun<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The church was all decked out, for holiday fun!<\/em><\/p>\n Church members were nestled all snug in their pew<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0With wreaths and lights and poinsettias in view<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The auditorium was warm to instill Christmas cheer<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And singers were ready with carols near and dear<\/em><\/p>\n Then up at the front with sermon notes handy<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A Christmas message, for sure, from old Pastor Andy<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The music was great and the message…okay<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0But everyone\u2019s thoughts were for the breaking of day<\/em><\/p>\n For morning would come with presents and joy<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Mom getting clothes and Dad, of course, toys<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When out on the parking lot there arose such a clatter<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We sprang from our seats to see what\u2019s the matter<\/em><\/p>\n Running out through the foyer and down the long hall<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We stood in the doorway to watch, one and all<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A few feet away was a broken down car<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dented and scratched, an eye-sore for sure<\/em><\/p>\n Then out stepped a man from this beat up ole caddy<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And three youngsters inside, they each called him \u201cDaddy!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The little old driver was lively and quick<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Worked fast on the engine and gave it a kick<\/em><\/p>\n You might think he cursed if you did not listen close<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0But, sitting on the bumper, a real prayer he spoke<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor TASHA, and SHELLY, for LISA and I<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0God, we don\u2019t ask for much, just to get by<\/em><\/p>\n We\u2019ve nowhere to go and no presents to share<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0But we need this old car to get out of cold air<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTheir mother has left us, and I\u2019ve made some mistakes<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0But, I love them so much it makes my heart ache<\/em><\/p>\n I can\u2019t give them a thing except a night on the road<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0There\u2019s no Christmas for them, just darkness and cold<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo please hear me God, I feel so alone<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I don\u2019t have a future, I don\u2019t have a home<\/em><\/p>\n I just need for you to make my car start<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And maybe some help for the pain in my heart\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Rubbed dirt off his hands; shut the hood with a jerk<\/em><\/p>\n And laying his finger aside of his nose,<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0He wiped off a tear, and down the street he drove<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quiet and shocked we retreated inside<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0To our tinsel and greens and soft candlelight<\/em><\/p>\n And the words of a carol seemed to ring out just then<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Saying \u201cPeace on earth, and joy to ALL men\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We looked at each other with confusion of heart<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Our Christmas experience now saddened in part<\/em><\/p>\n By a man and his girls on a cold Christmas night<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0With miles before them and no end in site<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christmas should be about praise and thanksgiving<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Not \u201cHow in the world can I make a living?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But, those near our churches will miss Christmas this year<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Unless we all tell them the Reason for cheer<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Out past the front door and beyond these four walls<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The message must go with a very loud call<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cFor those lost in sin your Saviour is near\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We must show the World…King Jesus is here!!!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n With words of love, acceptance and grace<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And a helping hand to finish the race<\/em><\/p>\n Loving the world with our words and our deeds<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We prove Christmas love by meeting their needs<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Go tell it on the mountain<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Over the hills and everywhere<\/em><\/p>\n Go tell it on the mountain<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0That Jesus Christ is born!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Twas the night before Christmas and the service begun<\/p>\n The church was all decked out, for holiday fun!<\/p>\n Church members were nestled all snug in their pew<\/p>\n With wreaths and lights and poinsettias in view<\/p>\n The auditorium was warm to instill Christmas cheer<\/p>\n And singers were ready with carols near and dear<\/p>\n Then up at the front with sermon notes handy<\/p>\n A Christmas message, for sure, from old Pastor Andy<\/p>\n The music was great and the message…okay<\/p>\n But everyone\u2019s thoughts were for the breaking of day<\/p>\n For morning would come with presents and joy<\/p>\n Mom getting clothes and Dad, of course, toys<\/p>\n When out on the parking lot there arose such a clatter<\/p>\n We sprang from our seats to see what\u2019s the matter<\/p>\n Running out through the foyer and down the long hall<\/p>\n We stood in the doorway to watch, one and all<\/p>\n A few feet away was a broken down car<\/p>\n Dented and scratched, an eye-sore for sure<\/p>\n Then out stepped a man from this beat up ole caddy<\/p>\n And three youngsters inside, they each called him \u201cDaddy!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[20,274,442,123,440,441],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1428"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1432,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1428\/revisions\/1432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}