Reading 1 Is 9:1-6

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

Gospel Lk 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When I hear that first reading at mass, my heart swells with joy, and I can barely contain my excitement, and my tears. Each family has special traditions and observations that make the holiday a holy day, and a truly memorable day, unique to them. I think we Treepers have managed to forge bonds, and find traditions of our own, drawing strength from each other, sharing the bad times and the good, making each other laugh, and praying for the needs we present here to our friends.

Merry Christmas Treepers, from each and every one of the Admins here in the Tree. God bless us every one.

If you are like most of us, you are already making treats for the holidays. At the very least, you may want to get the shopping done early. We are starting the recipe thread now, so that we can get a head start on the best ideas for our feast.

It would be wonderful to get the usual regional favorites, but since we have some international posters, how about some recipes from Switzerland, France, India? One of my co-workers gave me a great bread recipe that is always served at his family dinner, along with other favorite Czechoslavakian traditional foods. I will share that recipe too.

What are your favorite childhood memories of Christmas dinner? My family still does a huge breakfast after midnight mass. Yes, at 2 in the morning, I am cooking ham and eggs, biscuits and gravy, and usually some hash browns too. All because that’s what my husband grew up with, and now my sons won’t grow out of it either.

We will try to bump the thread every day or so between now and Christmas, so keep those favorites coming.

Post your videos, pictures and stories here. It’s time for holiday cheer and hope.

He is almost here. Just two more days to prepare our hearts for the birth of the Child Jesus. From the snow laden branches of the Tree, we wish you and your family the best of days and spirits as we await the Lord.

Gospel Lk 1:39-45

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

The Latin word Gaudete means rejoice.  Rejoice Sunday, as we prepare for the birth of the Christ Child in our hearts.

Gospel Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

Gospel Lk 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
“The LORD our justice.” (more…)

What would turkey day be without turkey and all the trimmings? Surely we have all been very happy to see Grandma come through that door with her oh so delicious dressing (here in the south it is not  stuffing!) How about Aunt Bessie’s sweet potato casserole or Uncle Smitty’s corn pudding? Emilie’s pumpkin cake, Pam’s chess bars, Becky’s dream turkey (Long, sad story. Short version: Thanksgiving dinner was very late that day!) It would be so wonderful to have some regional favorites throw in. What part of the country actually roasts chestnuts by the open fire? I always pictured a snowy scene outside a large picture window in the background, with gently rolling wooded hills. How far off is my childhood mental image?

We Treepers wish all of you a fun filled week of holiday preparations. These are the best of times!

Today we wish the best of days to our own “ytz4mee”… blogger, warrior, and mighty voice for conservative principles. Yatz is a woman on the go, and you never know from where she may be popping in from time to time as she swings by and grabs a limb on the Tree. She has inexhaustible energy,  and passionately gives voice to the principles we all hold so near and dear. Today, we hope she’ll pause in the pursuits of  battle,  settle down under the Tree,  and join us for some coffee, a bit of peameal bacon, and a generous helping of cake as we join in celebration of her birthday. (I’ll bet someone might even stop in with a Silver Bullet or two and a bottle of Jack a little later in the day, just to keep things going.)

Yatz not only contributes to the Treehouse, she also maintains her own blog, “Stop Shouting”, where she has earned high praise from Prof.  Jacobsen,  and was the recipient of the much coveted “Instalanche” for her article,  “My Rebuttal to a Progressive who Admonished Me to Play Nice ….”.  I think in light of the latest election results, her article deserves to be revisited.  Please, pour yourself another cup of morning coffee, and enjoy…..  (more…)

We have all heard that heroes come in all shapes and sizes; sometimes the most unassuming person rises to the occasion and meets the challenge. And sometimes it is a very special type of animal, a rescue dog. In the aftermath of 9/11 bombings, the world’s largest deployment of rescue dogs were used to search for survivors, working tirelessly with their handlers, searching  the ruins, and according to witnesses, giving great comfort to the workers. Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas has published a book called Retrieved, featuring the surviving dogs in their final years. Read more and check out the pictures of these wonderful dogs here in this Daily Mail article. (more…)