Christmas- an average holiday?

It's the most awe-inspiring time of the year. A time when we reflect, contemplate, meditate, and stand in awe of the miracles that surrounded the birth of God incarnate.


His virgin conception.
His miraculous protection from Herod.
Bethlehem as His birthplace.
His heritage coming from King David.


Even the fact that Mary was a virgin was miraculous, in a time where the evil soldiers of Herod could take any girl they so chose for any purpose.


And the wonder of Christmas is not peace, but love. The greatest love ever. A love that drove him to the horrific cruel cross.


Another great miracle...Joseph and Mary from Nazareth are called away from their hometown to travel the 80-something journey South to a tiny town where their ancestors had originally lived 40 generations before. All to fulfill a prophecy given over 400 years earlier by the prophet Micah that He would be born in Bethlehem. 


That His bloodline was pure. There was a catch in the geneology of Joseph. Joseph's lineage traces back to David's son Solomon, giving Christ the Davidic covenant of an everlasting kingdom. However King Jeconiah (Coniah) , son of Josiah, was told by Jeremiah that none of his sons could carry the line on, and the throne was given to his brother.
"Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."
 ~Jeremiah 22:30
God is wonderful! He even found away around His own divine punishment of Jeconiah's sin! Mary's family line followed through David's son Nathan. 


What is THE miracle of Christmas?
The answer is found in Matthew 1:21

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins."

Tradition!

During the holiday season, many people reminisce of Christmas past, remembering mostly the family tradition. As Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" our traditions are important because they tell us who we are, and give us a place, a foundation we can always trust. A firm base, like a stone, on which we can always rely. 

However, the wonderful truth of Christmas, is that God gave us something we can rely on for eternity. Something not thought up by man, nor something that could ever be repeated. Something that would be declared through the future, and remembered forever. What could be this important? Christ. 

In this Christmas season, let us remember who is the true meaning of the holiday, and every day.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Movie Quotes!!

O.K. everybody, these are really, really, tough.


Rules:
Have fun!
No looking up the quotes online.
You are allowed to ask family members- this includes that sibling who is probably looking over your shoulder (or in the hall mirror)...this one's for you Jo!
These are all Christmas movies.


1. "What your about to see is true. The names have not been changed, because nobody believes me anyway."


2."A house is only what it's occupants make it."


3."A great big shiny aluminum Christmas Tree!"


4."Pish...no one needs the mink coat but the mink!"


5."And a happy New Year to you...in jail!"


6."Speak to me...Charlie...are ya hurt?"


7."They're going to miss us."


8."How can I tell him when I do not know which way is Connect-i-cut?!"


9."Wait a minute...she's got to find her happiness." *girl screams and faints*.


10."There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side."


11."When what's left of you gets around to getting what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting even if it's worth what you've got left."


12."What of the food that I am accustomed to?"
"Very accustomed to!"


13."Oh, yes, and we love having you.. Uh, when are you leaving?"


14."God bless my little broken body!!"


15. "If I'm willing to let my wife have a splitting headache in the morning, the least you can do is have a little headache tonight!"


16. "There is one role I have never played: God."
      "God, sir?"


17."Perhaps he only slightly crazy... like poets, painters, or some of those men in Washington."


18. "Uncle Banjo will pull a few string for you!"


19. "Some say yes, and some say no."
      "Well, what do you say?"
      "I'm inclined to agree with them."


20."Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl."




Good  Luck  Break a Leg!!

Just Another Day?

Ever feel like this?

Or this?

"I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; 

and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."

-Ecclesiastes 1:14

Anne, in Anne of Green Gables once said:

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

And though I don't care much for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, but she did have something to say on this particular topic:

Tomorrow is another day. 

There is an old gospel song that also speaks of tomorrow:

I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from it’s sunshine,
For it’s skies may turn to gray.

I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

Lastly, remember what David wrote in Psalm 118:24:

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. The tree lights, baking cookies, advent candles, Hanukkah, the radio playing carols, watching Christmas movies, candles, finding just the perfect gift for everyone on my list, wrapping presents, decorating the house, inside and out. In fact, Brianna and I decided we wanted to put lights on the roof this year. Pa said he would let us, as long as we did the actual hanging of the lights. We agreed, and Pa has ordered 500 lights for us to deck out the roof with!!

Hanukkah is a very much overlooked holiday in Christian circles. Many Christian, I believe, fail to realize that we worship the Jewish Messiah. Jesus was a Jew, born of a Jewish mother. He would have been raised memorizing the Torah, or books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). It was during the Hanukkah celebration that Christ proclaimed "I AM the Light of the World".