Dear Reader:

It is hard to believe that Christmas Eve has arrived! Today I will be making last minute food preparations for tonight when we gather over at the house following the 5:00 Christmas Eve Service.

My story is re-written, revised and ready to tell. A copy of the story will be available for everyone to read tomorrow….my annual Christmas gift to you. “Why the Elephants Came to the Stable.”

Quinn Caldwell, the author, I have used in his book “All I Want for Christmas” is a minister at Plymouth Congregational Church in Syracuse, New York. He is a published writer, popular speaker, and a  daily devotional contributor for Stillspeaking Daily Devotionals.

I have thoroughly enjoyed his Advent/Christmas devotionals this year and I hope you have too. Every Christmas Eve, he  would re-tell The Christmas Story….but not without first sharing this introduction he wrote years ago. Enjoy!

“If you came to this place expecting a tame story,

you came to the wrong place.

If you came for a story that does not threaten you,

you came for a different story than the one we tell.

If you came to hear of the coming of a God

Who only showed up so that you could have a

nice day with all your loved ones,

then you came for a God whom we do not worship here.

For even a regular baby is not a tame thing

And goodness that cannot threaten complacency and evil

is not much good at all,

And a God who would choose to give up power and invincibility

to become an infant for you,

certainly didn’t do it just so you could have dinner.

But

If you came because you think that unwed teenage mothers

are some of the strongest people in the world

If you came because you think that the kind of people who work 

third shift doing stuff you’d rather not do might attracts an angel’s

attention before you, snoring comfortably in your bed, would.

If you came because you think there are wise men and women to be found among undocumented travelers from far lands and that they might be able to you show you God

If you came to hear a story of tyrants trembling while heaven comes to peasants.

If you came because you believe that God loves the animals as much as the people and so made them the first witnesses to the saving of the world…

If you came for a story of reversals that might end up reversing you…

If you came for a tale of adventure and bravery where strong and gentle people win, and the powerful and violent go down to dust, where the rich lose their money but find their lives and the poor are raised up like kings..

.If you came to follow the light even if it blinds you.

If you came for salvation and not safety, then, ah, my friends, you are in precisely the right place.”

So what are you here for?

…………………….

Pretty powerful thoughts, huh?

So until tomorrow Merry Christmas to one and all!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*These photos of the paper whites I gave Anne symbolize quite beautifully the power of God’s life given for us on earth….to grow and bloom.

• Ben is still in the hospital but continues to improve…I told him  he had already experience two Christmas miracles….having his neighbor home who could rush him to the hospital…and getting the “miracle drug” that helps reverse strokes. God was at the right place at the right time. Thank you for your continued prayers….hopefully all the test results should be back today and Ben will know where he stands with the mild stroke he endured and future treatments..