“Twas the week before Christmas, so much to be done, but the adventure begins with lots of great fun! “Let’s make cookies” I heard one of the kids say, “Christmas is only 5 days away”.

There was measuring and pouring, and sounds of the beater, the children were fighting, and Sharon yelled, PETER!!!!  When what to his wandering eye should appear, none other than….Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than…two.  :)

But seriously he arrived not a moment too soon, to witness the children’s flour typhoon. Despite the big mess, it all came together, beautiful gingerbread cookies that looked like old leather. They tasted delightful and smelled even better; the recipe had been received in a letter. Then Sharon said, “Oh Tamara, Allyson, Nathaniel and Pete, come into the kitchen for your holiday treat!” Then it was time to decorate, as in the golden days of yore. We have stockings, lights, and decorations galore; there are none who could say our tree is a bore.

Time to sit by the fire and listen to all the stories of Christmases past, the ones enjoyed best when not told too fast. Stories of hanging stockings by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. Then there was the Christmas Tree Tale, and how it took twenty men to get it down the long trail. It finally arrived; all ready to dress, and when it was finished it was most beauteous! But we like the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the Bible the best; Matthew and Luke were chosen above the rest, to give us the details only God could provide, even though for 2,000 years they were said to have lied. So after the reading had come to a stop, the children all asked for some Christmas gumdrops.

“I’m afraid it’s time for bed”, Daddy said quietly; “now get up those stairs before I spank thee!” The children flew up the stairs like the down of a thistle, and then a Nerf Mega dart went by my head like a missile. I looked up from the foot of the stairs, Nathaniel was standing there as if he hadn’t any cares; I wanted to get him back, but since he had missed, I didn't even have him added to the naughty list. So Mama in her kerchief, and I in my cap, settled ourselves in for a long winter’s nap. Then suddenly I awoke and I shuddered with fright, as I looked out the window on that cold, dark night. I saw a BRIGHT star wistfully blinking, and I said to myself, “What have we been thinking?” Could this be the very same one, which guided the shepherds to God’s one and only son? 

This baby who was born so long, long ago, was no ordinary child, for God had said so.

In His word, it says that He would, send us all a savior, as only He could. Jesus was His name, the name of a King, the name that we should all raise up and sing! So this Christmas, may you we humbly implore, to think of Christ who will redeem and restore. If you will trust Him will all of your heart, He’ll save you, cleanse you and make a new start! Jesus, without question the most influential figure in all of history; how we warrant this greatest of gifts, remains an utter mystery.

John 3:16 says it best, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (The World is you and me!)

Some say the Wise Men’s gifts were the first and best, but God beat them to it, when He gave us the object of their quest. JESUS!!!

God Bless you this CHRISTmas and throughout the year!

Peter, Sharon, Tamara, Allyson and Nathaniel <><