Blog Archives

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2019

12/25/2019

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2019

From Donna and me, now in our ninth
year of online publishing MORGANOFRIVERTON.COM:
The Open Road, we wish you a very merry Christmas,
and a happy new year, 2020.

For most of us the Christmas season is a joyous and enjoyable
one. However, the last four or five years have personally
taught us that even at Christmas time there is also
much suffering experienced.

If you have felt the pain of personal loss, or suffering
for yourself or for those you hold dear, we are now
  able empathize with you.
  We think of you and pray for you, that 2020
will be a much more uplifting year for each of you.

We believe you and we have a Heavenly Father who
truly loves and cares for each of us. Talk to him and
ask for his help. His ability to succor and sustain you
is immeasurable.

With kindest regards and love,

Bill and Donna Morgan

WINTER IS THE TIME FOR YOUTH 605

12/25/2019

  WINTER IS THE TIME FOR YOUTH 605

Winter is the time for youth
   They view not this season
   As common or uncouth
   But believe with all their hearts
That this blustery winter season
Was 'specially created just for them

   Now while winter with its bitter cold
May not be pleasurable for those grown old
For winter truly is the time for youth
   Or so we've been told
   By little ones with frost-bitten toes
And tiny cherry cheeks and ruddy nose

So, we take it for the truth
With great veracity after all Winter is the time for youth
So, go have yourself a (snow) ball

                                           (Written on April 10, 1979, with revisions
                                           made on December 25, 2019)

CHRISTMAS (1979) 712

12/22/2019

, CHRISTMAS (1979) 712

O Christmas past, O Christmas past
With fond memories we retell
The childhood visions we each had
Which in our hearts did swell

There were shining lights upon the tree
That cast a misty glow
And candy canes and tinseled bells
Along with the mistletoe

The good times we had, the friends we made
Are the true joys that shall last
As we bid farewell and fond adieu
To the spirit of Christmas pass

O Christmas present, O Christmas present
May we enjoy thee this year
As we let our children know
That we love them so
And shall always hold them dear

There are presents to give
And carols to sing
Perhaps a romp in the snow
Soft words to say, kind words to do
To help each other grow

Let us relish the time we have right now
Before the evening's spent
And count our blessings one and all
O spirit of Christmas present

O Christmas future, O Christmas future
We eagerly look forward for thee
When the king of kings shall come again
And set the captives free

Once Jesus was just a babe
A-lying in a a stall
But soon we shall see him as he is
Our savior and lord of all

Melt us thy spirit, Lord
That in our hearts may stir
A hymn of great rejoicing
For the spirit of Christmas future

O Christmas past, and Christmas present,
And Christmas yet to come
We are grateful for this time of year
And for the advent of thy son

(First published on December 24, 1979,
with revisions made on December 25, 2019)

ISAIAH 66:18,22 ,23

12/13/2019

ISAIAH 66:18,22 ,23

For I know their works
and their thoughts
It shall come, that I will
gather all nations and tongues
and they shall come and see
my glory

For as the new heavens and
and the new earth, which I
will make, shall remain before
me, saith the Lord, so shall
your seed and your name remain

And it shall come to pass , that
from one new moon to another,
and from one sabbath to another
shall all flesh come to worship
before me, saith the Lord

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT 565

12/13/2019

   WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT 565

                                               It could have happened
   Exactly as it did
   That a tiny babe
   In a manger born
Would become
   The King of kings

     Who would have thought
That God would have sent
His son to earth this way
So meek and mild
   Just another child
   A lying in a crib

     Who would have thought
   Angels would appear
To a simple band of shepherds
Tending their flocks
On a starlit night
   Singing anthems clear

     Who would have thought
Magistrates with wealth galore
   Would leave their specious homes
   And travel from afar
   To search for a babe unknown
But then, wise men seek him still

   (First published on December 21, 1978)

WHAT IF 568

12/13/2019

WHAT IF 568

What if there had been no decree
of taxation two thousand years ago?
Would Mary and Joseph have travelled
to Bethlehem?

What if shepherds had not been tending
their flocks on the Judean hillsides? Who
would have heard the angelic choir?

What if certain intellectuals from the East
had not meticulously studied the scriptures
and ancient prophesies concerning the signs
of the times. Would we still have called them
wise men?

  What if there had been several inns with many
vacancies? Would Jesus still have been born
of humble birth?

And, most importantly of all, what if Christ had
never entered our world as a tiny baby? Who
would have given us the light and the hope
   we so desperately need to lead a full and
abundant life?

Over this Christmas season, we joyously celebrate
God's greatest miracle, the birth of his son,
Jesus Christ.

(First published on December 28,1978)

ISAIAH 66:1,10,12,13,14

12/9/2019

ISAIAH 66:1,10,12,13,14

   Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is
my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
Where is that ye build unto me? And where
is the place of my rest?

       Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with
her, all ye that love her. Rejoice with her all
ye that mourn for her.

For thus saith the Lord, Behold I will extend
peace to her, like a river, and the glory of
the Gentiles, like a flowing stream...

As one who his mother comforteth, so will I
comfort you. And ye shall be comforted in
Jerusalem.

   And when ye see this, your heart will rejoice,
and your bones shall flourish like an herb,
and the hand of the Lord shall be known
toward his servants, and his indignation
toward his enemies.

THE WINTER WRITER

12/9/2019

THE WINTER WRITER

O season of the lusty winds
Of the storm, the rain, the gale
We welcome thee without fright
For the blistery temperatures low
Invite us to write
And to write... And to write again.

Of seasons past
With reminiscence's warm glow
Of warmer days bereft of snow
We find, to extol the virtues of winter
Is quite all right
For the months of the short day
Follow by the longer night
Invite us to write
And to write... And to write again

Regardless of the chilly winter
Give us paper; Give us pen
Set us at our desk and then
Let us enjoy, let us delight
As those windy, wintry days
Invite us to write
And to write... And to write again

OPPORTUNITY

12/9/2019

OPPORTUNITY

It has been written that Chinese write the word
"Crisis" with two characters. One character means
"danger," while the other means "opportunity". Together,
they spell "crisis."

So, then, in every circumstances and every
happening of our lives we discover these three
particulars: Danger, opportunity, crisis.

Danger lies in our apathy or fear of our present
situation or what may lie ahead.

Opportunity lies in our willingness to do what
we can, knowing that our actions will ultimately
change our circumstances.

Every event occurring in our lives may lead to
a crisis or problem to be solved.
Crisis, danger, opportunity
But the greatest of these is...opportunity.

WINTER CAME DOWN

12/1/2019

Winter came down
To our home
Last night
Quietly pirouetting in
On silvery-toed slippers
Of snow
And we,
We were children
Once again