The calendar and my morning worship book (dated) tell me that days are racing by toward the 25th – Christmas Day. Our dining room table is filled with gifts to be wrapped and sent out TODAY to Illinois and Florida. The Christmas cards are almost ready for sending, too. I need to go to the post office. Yesterday, I worked on a grocery list of needed items for the holiday.

Our newest great-grandson, born in November, will be introduced to his great-grandparents over the holiday, and we are excited to see him in person! It makes me think of newborns and how precious they are to hold and to love. Our Emerson was born in a sterile environment and went home to a beautifully appointed nursery, while the King of the universe was birthed in a stable with farm animals nearby and did not have a warm and beautifully appointed nursery or a home. Mmm. There was a plot to kill Him, not to meet and greet or to be held and snuggled.

This time of the year is my favorite – the carols and excellent music, the brightly wrapped gifts beneath a glittering Christmas tree, and perhaps on Christmas morning, a blanket of freshly fallen snow, reminding us of how we can be wrapped in a blanket of Christ’s righteousness. What a gift!

May the birth and sacrifice of Jesus be uttermost in your heart and mind this Christmas, and may the love of family and friends be the warm assurance of Christ’s love, is our prayer for you.

With love,

Ron and Nancy