My First Christmas in Heaven

I see countless Christmas trees
Around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars
Reflecting in the snow.

The sight is so spectacular,
Please wipe away the tear.
For I am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
That people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can’t compare
With the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you,
The joy their voices bring.
For it is beyond description
To hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart;
But I am not so far away,
We really aren’t apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear
And be glad I’m spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift,
From my heavenly home above,
I sent you each a memory
Of my undying love.

After all, love is a precious gift
More precious than pure gold;
It was always most important
In the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other,
As my Father said to do.
For I can’t count the blessings
Or love he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas
And wipe away the tear
Remember I’m spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

About the author
‘My first Christmas in heaven’ was written by Ben, who died on Dec 14, 1997 at the age of 13 after a 4 year battle with a brain tumor. He wrote this and gave it to his mom before his death.

Chicago Nativity Scene Returns to Daley Plaza

CHICAGO, Nov. 24 – On Saturday, November 28th, at 11:00 a.m. families will gather in Daley Plaza, at Dearborn and Washington Streets in downtown Chicago, to celebrate the annual dedication of the Chicago Nativity Scene.

“The Nativity Scene has been an annual tradition in Daley Plaza since l985 when the beautiful life size crèche was first displayed,” said Terrance Hodges, co- chair of the Nativity Scene Committee.

“This remains the sole religious expression of Christmas on a government plaza in downtown Chicago,” said Hodges. “The God Squad, a group of volunteer tradesmen, will erect the stable and install the lighting as they have for the past 23 years.”

Fr. Stephen Lesniewski of Immaculate Conception Parish on Chicago’s southwest side will bless the crèche. Other members of the clergy will offer prayers to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The children in attendance will have the honor of placing the Baby Jesus in His manger, marking the continued return of the Christ Child to His rightful place in the hearts of the Chicago community.

The bell choir from Santa Maria del Popolo Catholic Church in Mundelein, Ill. will ring in the sacred season, along with the singing of Christmas hymns.

Daley Plaza is a popular destination for Chicagoans and visitors to wrap themselves in the Christmas spirit throughout the festive season. The Nativity Scene committee invites all Chicago area families to join them on Saturday, November 28th, to inaugurate the Christmas season or to stop by Daley Plaza to visit the Christ Child when they come downtown to enjoy the decorations.

The Nativity Scene will remain in Daley Plaza throughout the Christmas season.

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?”, I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here.
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve.

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light.
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me.”

“I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,’
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”

“My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.”

“I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.”

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.”

“For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can?

Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment OIC,
Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum , Iraq.

You can also say thanks by going to this website. Even if you don’t support the war, please let our troops know that you support them. Holiday wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday season.