We open our arms to receive the fullness…

Christmas is both a humble holiday (God becoming a man, the manger, the stable) and a catastrophically extravagant holiday (the multitude of heavenly hosts, the virgin birth, GOD becoming a man!, the powerful King Herod wreaking havoc, the dreams, the rescue, the miraculous star, the astronomers who came with brilliant gifts).

Christmas is both giving (God giving His Son; Mary and Joseph giving their obedience; the wise men giving their gifts; the shepherds giving their worship) and receiving (Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds, and all of us undeservedly receiving our Savior, our Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward men).

Christmas is both far (His gift for all the world – for the little girl in Indonesia and the old man in China) and near (His gift for my husband, our daughters, and me).

May we seek the best way to embrace all of Christmas…

the beauty of keeping it humble and holy,

the honor of making it a true celebration!

the peace of receiving spiritual gifts from God,

the brotherly love of receiving physical gifts from others,

and the joy of giving to God and giving to others, both far and near.

May we all keep this blessed holiday in the way our Savior leads us.