Hello My Friends,

As we all scurry around at this busy time of year, making sure that we've gotten all of the "right" gifts, I thought that you might enjoy taking a moment to read the Real Story of Christmas...

The Christmas Story

As told by Matthew

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

--Matthew 1:18 - 2:23 NIV

Hello My Friend,

Here's a Wonderful Christmas song which a Dear Friend here at Adland chose to share with me just recently. To me at least, it illustrates so well the Real Meaning of Christmas. I Thank her from the bottom of my heart for sharing it with me, and I Thank God for allowing me to have such a Special Friend in my life.

First, here's the story behind the song:

While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four-year-old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "Where's the line to see Jesus"?

My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus.

My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus... with goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville... still no response.

Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD's, iTunes, anything... we had nothin'. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious.

We headed back into the studio this past spring... this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs... the real deal.... and here we are today. Getting iTunes set up, a web site put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together... remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.

Please Click on the Link Below for...

"Where's the line to see Jesus"?

Have A Blessed Christmas My Dear Friends,

Phil

A Christmas Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson Christmas Prayers

Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Hello LaNell,

Thanks my Friend, for the Wonderful Christmas Wishes and the Beautiful Prayer.

May You Have A Very Merry Christmas & A Blessed New Year,

Phil

Hi Everyone,

Although there doesn't seem to be many of us left here at Adland these days, I do hope that all of my Friends have a lovely Christmas and a Blessed New Year in 2011. Hope everyone's also palnning on a big meal for the Big Day, so just in case anyone's still interested, here's a few Comments on this year's Christmas Dinner at my house, part of it at least.

To get everyone's appetite rolling right along, here's one of my favorite Dips.

Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1 10-ounce bag baby spinach
• 1 cup packed fresh basil
• 3/4 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 ounces Neufchatel cream cheese
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, squeezed dry and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 or 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• Baked chips, for serving

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Directions

Preheat the oven to 450. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Stir the spinach and basil into the boiling water and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge in the ice water. Drain and squeeze dry, then roughly chop.

Puree the beans, cream cheese, garlic and chicken broth in a food processor until smooth, scraping the sides as needed. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in the spinach and basil, artichokes, parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Add the cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste.

Mist a deep 1-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread the dip mixture in the dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake until golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with baked chips.

For the Main Dish, this Roasted Ham, glazed with a sweet and spicy mixture of cherry, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, will take center stage on your holiday table.

Cherry Glazed Ham

Ingredients

• 1 (10 pound) fully cooked whole ham
• 1 cup SMUCKER'S® Cherry Preserves
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
• 3 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Place ham on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degrees F oven about 1-1/2 hours (or until thermometer registers 140 degrees F).
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the cherry preserves, vinegar, corn syrup, and spices. Cook and stir until boiling. Reduce heat; simmer two minutes.
3. Stir in almonds. Remove from heat. Put 3/4 cup of the glaze to the side.
4. About 15 minutes before the ham is done, spoon some of the remaining glaze over the ham, basting occasionally. Remove from oven; place on a heated serving platter.
5. Stir the water into the reserved 3/4-cup glaze; heat and serve along with the ham.

Green Beans and New Potatoes have always been a favorite around my house.

Green Beans With Ham Hock and New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 ham hocks
• 3 pounds green beans
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 pounds small red new potatoes
• 2 tablespoons seasoned salt

Directions

In a large pot, fill with enough water to just cover ham hocks and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add beans and sugar and continue cooking another 25 minutes. Add potatoes and salt and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes more. Remove hocks from pot and remove meat from the bone. Add meat back to the pot, add salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Along with the Green Beans, Momma always said you have to have a little Corn.

Southern Creamed Corn

Ingredients

• 8 ears corn, husked
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 tablespoons butter

Directions

In a large bowl, cut the tip off cob. Cut the kernels from cob with a small paring knife. Using the back of the blade, scrape against the cob to press out the milky liquid.

Whisk together sugar, flour, and salt and pepper, to taste. Combine with corn. Add the heavy cream and water. Mix.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat bacon grease. Add corn mixture and turn heat down to medium-low, stirring until it becomes creamy, about 30 minutes.

Add the butter right before serving.

Honey and Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. Mix the olive oil, honey, rosemary, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl, and stir the sweet potato cubes in the mixture to coat. Remove sweet potato cubes with a slotted spoon, and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 45 minutes. Turn oven heat up to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and bake until browned, another 15 minutes

And, finally for Dessert, a Tasty Little Cake in Bite-Size Portions.

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

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• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

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Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Have A Wonderful Family Christmas My Friends,

Phil