Who are your favorite characters of Christmas? Honestly? I think I’m fascinated by each one in the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph with their devotion and determination to live in obedience to God’s call on their lives.
Zacharias and Elizabeth, who after decades, became parents to a singularly unique person in history. Each must have had to come to terms with how different God’s fulfillment of hope for a child looked.
And the shepherds . . . the people group most in Israel overlooked or ignored. And yet, these humblest of men received the gift of Gabriel’s good news. I can only imagine how terrified they must have been when the starry night sky came to life with bright light and angel song. And yet, they believed Gabriel’s words. They hurried to the manger to catch the first glimpses of their Savior in baby form.
The wise men, who studied the stars for years before seeing the sign in the sky that told them the King of kings was born. Their trip through deserts and sand had to be challenging. And yet, these king-makers came to worship the one true King.
As we head into Christmas week, may we each have hearts filled with wonder at the amazing gift of a baby born to die for our sins. We give gifts to each other, but let’s open our hearts to receive and remember the greatest gift—forgiveness and redemption—that Jesus came to offer us.
We are taking a break until January 10th. I’ll be announcing some changes at that time.
We will miss our time with you, but I trust we’ll each begin 2023 refreshed!
In the meantime, I hope each of you has a wonder-filled, restful, glorious, joyful Christmas with your loved ones!
May you have a grace-filled Christmas, Jeanne!
Thanks so much, Lisa! May your Christmas be filled with joy, sweet memories, and love!
So true, Jeanne. The devotion, determination, and obedience of each character is fascinating. May you and your family have a wonder-filled Christmas celebrating the Unspeakable Gift! If I remember correctly, your one son is in an eastern college. I hope he was able to come home! Have a relaxing, rejuvenation break!
Merry Christmas, Trudy! Yes, one of our sons got home from college this past Friday. He’ll be home for three weeks. I hope your season holds rest, refreshment, and joy!
Hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas, Jeanne, and enjoy the break!
Thank you so much, Lesley! I hope your Christmas holds many sweet moments and times of rest!
My favoured Christmas personage,
who’s always filled me with delight,
does not appear (how very strange!)
past mentioning in “Silent Night”,
where he’s grandly introduced
in a prestigious place of pride;
why then, is his role reduced?
Why is he compelled to hide?
Yes, perhaps he’s corpulent,
reflected in his very name,
but is it author’s intent
that he fade away in shame?
That he might stay would be my urgin’,
for I do like Round John Virgin.
Okay, Andrew, you had me hooked and then busting up at your end. I loved this. 🙂 I’m praying for you and Barb as you two work your way through Christmas week!
I like Round John Virgin too!!! LOL!