2012 Christmas Card (Part 2)

For a very long time, I have sent Christmas cards to good friends every year. Ever since I started making my personal Christmas card creations, I have included a card in a card. Silly, I know. This year conspired against that tradition in so many ways that it inspired change… and the following poem. So now there’s just a card, and… well, the following as an explanatory enclosure:

‘Twas the week after Christmas
 
by David Alan Hoag  --  December 26, 2012

‘Twas the week after Christmas; the month had been hard
And to my dismay, I’d mailed nary a card.
Insane overtime; all while singing “Rudolf”
Then (can you believe it?!?) my boss makes me golf!

Hang all of the house lights; no down-time for me,
Fetch stuff from the rafters then assemble the tree.
Untangle the tree lights that mess with my head
For once one bulb is fixed, the next one is dead!

The shopping, the baking; but then I needn’t boast
Except for a small bit, my dear wife does the most.
Now… boxing and wrapping… not something I do;
A small point of fact: My wife does all that, too!

Then grandkids arrive and things really get busy
With pick-ups and drop-offs, it makes one quite dizzy.
I’d describe every detail, but that would take years
And suffice it to say, you’d be quite bored to tears.

And Christmas IS NOT all the stuff that’s on sale,
Or staying on schedule with cards in the mail.
It’s sharing God’s message of LOVE, PEACE, and JOY
And God’s GIFT to the world… in a small baby boy.

You might think that I’m late with my message this year,
But, I say that I’m early with Holiday cheer.
When I say this is early, well here’s what I mean:
Merry Christmas to you… in two thousand  thirteen!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

2012 Christmas Card (Part 1)

Christmas is come and gone.

Since 1997, I’ve handed out my Christmas card creations to everybody that I can connect with. If you missed getting a card from me this Christmas at Messiah, it’s because I’m no longer partnered in ministry there. I still extend my Christmas message to everyone I see during this season… at the market, pumping gas, at work, at the post office… everywhere. This blog allows me to connect with a few other people, too. If you simply MUST have this year’s card in physical form, just email me, and I will send you a pdf file that you can print out, fold, and then hold in your hot little hand. For everyone else, here is this year’s Christmas card from me:

Front:

Seasons Rememberings...

 

Inside:

Seasons Rememberings

by David Alan Hoag  –  October 17, 2012

It’s hard to remember
This time of the year
Precisely why
We’re all wishing “Good Cheer!”

It’s hard to remember;
Is this the Season?
The Kwanzaa time,
For sharing and reason?

It’s hard to remember;
Is Hanukkah here?
Dreidels and food
And Menorahs appear.

It’s hard to remember;
Has Ashura passed?
I must recall
Did I mourn with a fast?

It’s hard to remember;
With reindeer and sleigh
Flooding the stores
Since before Labor Day!

It’s hard to remember;
Dozens of choices.
How can you choose
With so many voices?

Your heart can remember;
A star up above.
With a small babe…
God redeemed us, with love.

-------------

Merry Christmas to You!

Remember the peace, love, joy, and healing
that was embodied in the birth of a baby so long ago.

If we open our hearts, that spirit can fill us, too.

The real Christmas present
is the one many of us forget to unwrap,
and even if we do, we often neglect to try it on.

It’s guaranteed to fill any sized heart.

May Christmas bring you…
love, peace, and uncontainable joy
to fill your heart, and your New Year, too!

Dave Hoag