Uphill idealist

Luke 2 The Birth of Jesus 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not

Is it the snow or the lights like in this song, that make Christmas feel like Christmas to you? Over the years the way I've marked this season has shifted and changed. As a child, I'd eat a piece of candy from the Advent Gingerbread house each day to count down to Christmas. This year, with the celebration of Advent a local neighbor had a digital sign to count down to Christmas day. There are baked good exchanges, cards from old friends in my mailbox and annual mission projects that are worked on and thankfully now fulfilled; all these mark the season for me. As Christmas Eve swiftly approaches, my mind is turning to what Mary and Joseph might have been experiencing on the road that first Christmas. To them and the world - it all was new! As I come again to the eve of Jesus arrival, there are the familiar things of this season; but I will try to imagine and live in the new expectation of what this Christmas brings. Little Christ Child - may I celebrate not only what I know and

This morning, I had the fun of bundling together the hat,mitten or glove and scarf sets for local teen Moms and infants. The gifts are being delivered on Wednesday. At this point we still need 13 sets of gloves and 12 scarves. Here are the complete bundles... and here are the ones still needing scarves and gloves for the teen Moms. Thank you all for your help with this cozy mission effort!

Robert Deeble is offering a free download of his version of "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel." It's a unique take on the hymn... hope you enjoy the tunes.