Christmas 2018 blog post #1

For a while now – okay, probably since last Christmas – I’ve been thinking about the theme I should write about during this month. Over the years, I’ve done carols, cookies, cards (that be the big three, I guess), the first Christmas, Christmas past, Christmas gifts. I won’t admit that I’ve run out of themes, but I still need to come up with something original.

A couple weeks ago, on the Christian radio station I listen to, they were talking about Advent calendars. You know, where each day you open a door in this calendar and there is a little gift inside. Then there’s the reverse calendar, where every day you do something good for someone, or maybe donate a different food item to the local food pantry. I was driving to work that morning, when the DJs were talking about this, so I may have totally gotten this wrong, but one of them said something about thinking of something each day which is about the true meaning of Christmas. Which you would think, from the Christian standpoint, would be only one thing, and not 24.

Baby Jesus, the Son of God, was born on the first Christmas Eve, so that He could grow up and die to save us all from our sins. Seems pretty clear-cut, but I’ve been thinking about it. 

Then the other day, when I realized that I better get working on this if I am going to roll out a whole series of blog posts, I also realized what really is important this time of year. Yes, first and foremost, it’s about that Baby in the manger. But I looked at my calendar for the month of December and it is already just about full, not even counting the shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking, baking, mailing, and working.

That’s when I really came up with the theme for this year’s Christmas blogs. Three days a week until the end of the year, I’ll post a well-known Bible verse along with just a few words of why it reminds me of Christmas.

 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2 King James Version)

If only because we might as well start at the beginning. The beginning of this Earth we inhabit and the beginning of the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And just like the earth was without form when it started out, we are without form without Jesus in our life.   

Christmas 2003, Val with her dog Pepper and Nick with his dog Shadow. My plan was to share a past Christmas picture on each post, but when I was looking back, I couldn't find any from 04, 05 or 06. I think those were the years just before digital but right after I stopped keeping pictures in photo albums, so their whereabouts are anybody's guess.