Every year when I reread the Christmas story, something different stands out, sometimes it’s Mary’s faith, sometimes Joseph’s obedience, sometimes the angels, sometimes the shepherds.
What part of the Christmas story speaks to your heart the most this year?
Wesley put it best:0-
“ Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man ! “
The creator of every thing became a helpless baby.
Since I’ve become a mother, Mary’s part in the Christmas story has really stood out to me. It’s humbling to think God entrusts imperfect human women to raise precious children, let alone one imperfect woman to raise his only Son!
That the angelic announcement was made to shepherds rather that the religious and political elite.
amen 
may god be with you
What stands out most in the Christmas story to me is Joseph’s quiet obedience. He never speaks a word in Scripture, yet his actions speak volumes. In a world that prizes visibility and applause, Joseph reminds me that faithfulness often looks like quiet obedience..doing what’s right even when no one sees, trusting God’s Word above appearances. His willingness to protect, provide, and believe what the Lord revealed in dreams speaks deeply to the kind of steadfast faith we all need.
Well…the census, actually. The Bible contains the story of two censuses, one in Israel and one in Tuscany. A census can be enumerated by anyone who is Aristotelian enough to count rationally with binary logic, so once you have two separate censuses over an interval of time, you have four columns as in two pairs of parallel lines. A census has to be ordained, which means made four square on a map, like Acre or Agincourt are both four square on the map, and processed over a timed interval. American census takers collect their data once a decade.
Besides taxes and staying alive long enough to die for your country, it’s good for integrating the civil war reconstruction. If they get tired of you in Washington DC, Paris might be available to census for. It just depends on how badly you want to see Siam again.