My favorite gifts were all from Christ the Lord:
The midnight Scrabble game where U and I
Were side by side and face to face and high
On Christmas Spirit, cherishing the Word;
That great game of Oahu that I won;
That great game of Oahu that I lost;
The time I spent pretending to be Frost
Seeking a rime and landing on a pun;
The yummy apple pie perfectly baked,
Second to  ̶M̶a̶r̶t̶h̶a̶ ̶S̶t̶e̶w̶a̶r̶t̶'̶s̶  none, and made with TLC;
The morning coffee brought to me at 3
P.M. by her who kissed me as I waked.
My favorite gifts have everything to do
With, Bethany Elvira Vitters, you!

Lord show us the way
That we can best celebrate your day,
Should it be fun
For all of us to feel as one?
Or should we be sad
Knowing that we may at times have been a little bad?
May we please drink,
So that into depression we do not now sink,
Aware of course
That too much imbibed turns our chatter into morse.
How about the food,
Or would too much eating be quite rude?
Forget that thought,
As we need consume these lovely things we bought,
Also these folk
Will badly need the victuals for all the
alcohol they soak.
Sorry - now back on track,
Forgive the decorum I so very clearly lack;
But it is a joy
To share this feast with loved ones and on that I shan't be coy,
For while it is your day,
There is one further thing I must now say:
It wouldn't be the same
If we didn't come together in your name.
Thus please forgive any transgression
During what will surely be a long and roudy session,
For we toast but once a year
In the presence of so many we hold dear.
Hence let us raise our glass,
Before yet another Christmas simply pass,
To hail your glorious birth
And such a great excuse for this unbridled mirth.

There is one thing most of us would agree,
We do not like those who are selfish, and live a life of greed.
Through most of the media outlets. evil, filtered through mind manipulation,
Is recruiting more followers, every day, slowly removing, Jesus Christ,
From his own birthday, Christmas Day.
I was at a local watering hole, on Friday night, a longtime friend,
Walked in, a fluffy white beard, red pants, black boots, Santa Clause, right,
The holiday, is to honor the birth of Jesus Christ.
If you were showing respect, and dressed up like Jesus, today,
Many would laugh, others may start a fight.
When asked, most people believe in God, Jesus is his son, he sent, To save our soul, our soul, that is who we are, how often today,
Do you hear, save my soul, compared to, save my ***?
Many like to gamble, a bad bet, if you think we would be here today,
Without the first Christmas day.
It’s been many moon’s ago, over 2023 years ago, where was your soul?
The populated, parts of the world, were at, what many are chasing,
Wanting today, one central government, that controls you, everything, you have, do, or say,
One fact, they want to eliminate, teaching history,
In schools today, It was so bad before Jesus, most everything is lost,
Everyone wanted to forget the past, they even changed the, calendar, to B.C.
Today people like to name drop, talking about famous people,
No one, comes close to Jesus, he and his father, God, they have,
In the past, and in the future, always will be the first, and second spots.

We see and hear about broken families today, Jesus was conceived,
By a ******, his mom Mary, Joseph, her man, right by her side,
A hard working carpenter, The world has been so turned around since then,
Still going on today, How many men would consider living, staying, with,
A ******, today, love has changed from feelings of the person, their soul, to what I can get, run around and show,
We, our souls, have past, and future life’s, Christmas, is a time, to think, pray and believe,
Many want the most expensive gifts, just for tell and show,
Find discover, your own soul, the gift God gave each of us, you want to be, popular, you will never forget someone, who took time,
To touch you with their soul! Those expensive, gifts, large amounts Of money, are chump change,
Compared to eternity, have patience, believe, help others,
Show appreciation, we are here to build our soul, to perfection, Through our, actions words and thoughts, from our mind.
Jesus is still around us, incognito today, there are also prophets, Teaching, angels, who watch over us, and help in our moments,
Of serious need. The word has been out there, for a long long time,
Jesus, will be back,
On center stage, a second time, to save his father’s creations,
Will the calendar, change again, with memories of us forgot,
Believe, live by what you say, Merry Christmas, AKA,
Happy Birthday Jesus, celebrate, the most wonderful holy day,
                                        Merry Christmas

                                      The Original: Tom Maxwell © 12/16/2023 A.D.

I envy the faithful

Those who have a sense of belonging
Those who believe there is meaning and
trust there is no end to this life.

I envy the warmth

Those who feel secure within this world
Those who fear nothing and have everything
planned out for them.

I envy the idea

That there is some cosmic parent
Watching over, loving unconditionally, and
wrapping their believers in a soft, wool blanket.

And there are moments
When I can no longer endure my own existence
Where I hope and I pray and I bargain and I wish
to any greater entity that might hear my whispers in the night

Please just make the pain stop.

There's nothing warm or cozy about contemplating
your own meaningless oblivion,
or realizing you will never again see your dead
friends, family, or pets in a land filled with milk and honey.

I have no comfort in believing
I am special in some cosmic way
I am nothing, you are nothing
sinner, saint, priest, or atheist – we all just become food for the worms.

I think about you
from time to time,
admittedly more
often than not -
Making frail attempts
to sweep my thoughts
passed the place where
you carved a spot.
I hope you're happy now
and living well
I hope your mind
is quiet and free -
that your safe and warm
and your soul reborn
to be whoever
God calls you to be.

Christ on the cross was maximumly heroic:
He was braver than braves that slay goliath foes,
Or warriors facing deadly threats with stoic
And stony faces, standing nose to nose.  
At Golgotha the sin of all the world was laid
On Him who, though despised, was more victorious
Than a general at his own ticker-tape parade,
Thronged by a grateful nation joyous and uproarious.
Had Christ destroyed his enemies with a thought
(An option for Him), He would've suffered a defeat
Since all the lessons the Lord of Glory taught
Would've been dismissed as having been taught by a cheat.
It would've been the easy, cowardly fashion
Of escaping the pain that proved His Godly passion.

I heard the voice of the good shepherd say;
"I did your sad and weary soul salvage,
lean on me, I did for your freedom pay.
Lean on me, and come to God with courage."
The soft voice of Jesus tenderly speaks,
when in moments of pain, my sadness peaks.
His assuring words give my poor soul rest,
as I lay my wearied head on his breast.

I heard the voice of the good shepherd say;
of the life giving bread he freely gives
to all the redeemed in whose hearts he lives.
I came to him as hungry as I was,
and my spiritual stomach he did sate.
His soft spoken voice always pleads my cause,
his love for me is always up to date;
thus on him only I can hang my fate.

I heard the voice of the good shepherd say;
"I am the only sacrificial lamb,
no one else can duplicate my good role."
I once was lost, but he rescued my soul,
he did protect my fallen soul from harm.
When from his sheepfold I stubbornly strayed,
with no regard for the price he gladly paid,
he lovingly sought me out without delay.