May this Christmas find us humble in success, patient in adversity, hopeful in discouragement, and generous in prosperity.
May we give thanks rather than complain, encourage rather than chide, and heal rather than wound.
Let us overcome want with generosity, defeat loneliness with friendship, and conquer hate with love.

Mike Anderson, Lake Elmo, MN

May these short days be a feast for your senses and spirit.

May you claim a few minutes
From the retail extravaganza
To retreat and rest from the world.

May you have good food,
Good company,
A warm, safe home,

And sunlight,
And starlight,
And moonlight on snow.

Michelle Wood, Minneapolis, MN

This season is about light in midwinter's depth
Warmth in the winter's cold and relief from pain and sorrow
It is the season of the joy Beethoven put to music
That joy whose magic power can reunite what custom and nations have divided

Patricia Pipkin, Osseo, MN

Great Grandmother,
Through your words, I journey to another time...
Through your eyes, I see the brightest of all stars.
Through your love, you've given more than memories,
Through your soul, be always filled with peace and life.

You are my true Christmas angel and my most treasured gift.

Lynn Larson, Richmond, MN

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and best wishes for a solution to our national problems such as impeachment and the bombing of Iraq. We all hope that these problems be resolved soon. May God bless all of our good intentions, whatever they may be.

Darin Tysdal, Richfield, MN

Each Christmas for over thirty years, an anonymous Santa left a gift on my family's front porch. This unselfish act brought anticipation and joy to our holidays, and a gave us a sense of being appreciated. We'll never know who he was. His kindness reflects the true spirit of Christmas.

Carol Trube

A Cause For Optimism
A strong-hearted bird once appeared in the world - the Dove of Peace. This dove, though, trails a badly broken wing; yet, because of the dedication of a few stalwarts with careful hands and hearts, in this country and that, the Dove of Peace, with splints of powerful love, still flies!

Mary Jacobsen, Webster, WI

Especially during the Christmas season, I sit in awe before magnificent art works, I listen rapt to inspiring sermons, my soul soars when I hear heavenly music. Thankful I am for the poet's message:

"They also serve who only stand and wait."

Fran Anderson, Hackensack, MN

The light flickers in my mother's eyes,
And I remember the women who risked their lives,
In a time when the Jews were afflicted by Greeks,
And Jewish lives depended upon the Maccabbees.
But behind the scenes of their fateful acts,
It was the women who kept the nation intact.

Nechama Breningstall, St. Louis Park, MN