In the Bleak Midwinter

By Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

 

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

The Men's Garden Club that Was But Isn't

Here's a blast from the past--a short posting about a men's garden club.  It took less than a year in the 1940s before the guys held their first ladies' night--and the ladies judged the refreshments prepared by the men--and gave every "chef" a blue ribbon.  Smart women!  The story will take you only three minutes to read.  Click HERE to go to my posting on the University of Maryland Extension's "Grow It! Eat It!" blog.