The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years... Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart. - George Matthew Adams
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I believe we'll be having a pretty steady cold rain tomorrow morning and continuing throughout the day. Good! We'll sit inside and sip coffee and enjoy the warmth inside.
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Nicholas is in the front room assembling an early Christmas present from a friend: a camping tent. Yes, he'd going to try to construct it in our living room. Peter is upstairs sorting out his stocking stuffer gifts in order to pop them in everyone's stocking in a few hours. Jill is in the bedroom, taping up the final list of presents while Julianne sits and chats about Dora the Explorer. I'm going to go outside in a few minutes and start our "Yule Log" fire, even though it's mainly a tepee of wood from the yard, not an actual log. Our Christmas lights are on and the tree is lit. We'll be sitting down in a few minutes to enjoy a time in the fireplace room. I am so thankful that Jill has a temporary respite from her illness. The stress of college has left Nicholas temporarily, and Peter enjoys not having to study anything at all. Julianne is cooing over a tiny white tree with blue lights that I assembled just for her.
This has the makings of a nice holiday. Only five and a half hours to go.
Amazing to me...
The way that God chose to show us salvation's plan. It could have been by force, with a Messiah riding hard from the clouds, sword in hand and a fire-breathing steed beneath Him. God could have made salvation a high-intelligence attainment - a Rubik's Cube challenge with the afterlife as the prize for the intellectually gifted. God could have made salvation available through the arrival of an appealing personality with a velvet voice and a winning smile. Who doesn't love an attractive face?
Instead He came as a child among a brutish race. He made Himself vulnerable to the short-sighted and selfish race that populated this Earth. In doing so, He made it possible for every man, woman and child to see Him attainable. Race, color, creed - they all broke down in the pursuit of the carpenter's son.
He made it posslbe, and we celebrate this fact.
Don't ever let the gift-giving get in the way of this truth.
