Magical season
A few years ago, a very talented friend of mine spent untold hours building a wonderfully intricate Christmas model out of salt dough. The centerpiece was the stable, but... »
Volume 15.12 | December 2014
Shiny red apples
Christmas 1984 was our family’s third Christmas away from Europe, and the remote village in eastern India where we had moved to help as volunteers had become a second hom... »
Timeless carols
Something I’ve always loved about Christmas is listening to and singing the beautiful Christmas carols that have been written over the centuries. I like them so much that... »
He came to us
Recently, I was reading about the history of Christmas and where our various Christmas traditions come from, including ones that may have originated in pagan rituals or f... »
Repainting the angel
The statuette of an angel holding the hand of a little boy had been placed on a neglected back shelf in an antique shop. It was covered with soot and dust, lost amidst th... »
The Christmas shoes
The Christmas season—undoubtedly my favorite season of the year—holds many unforgettable memories. It was on a snowy December day when I was six years old that our family... »
Those dirty shepherds
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”—Luke 2:8 NIV When I was a child, one of my favorite pictures of Jesus de... »
Sky ballet
It was Christmas morning, and my wife and I were enjoying a break at the end of what had been a hectic December. The view from our hotel balcony—a pristine lake surrounde... »
1,001 gifts for Jesus
Last Christmas, the magical spark never came. I was bothered by all the commercialism that plagues our city months in advance. Somewhere between the flashy ads in magazin... »
What would the Birthday Boy like?
I love my birthday and everything that comes with it—especially the many congratulatory phone calls, text messages, emails, Facebook wishes, and greeting cards from famil... »
The Baby who changed the world
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.—John 3:16 NIV God has given us eternal... »
December: the extraordinary month
December is a month of extras. There’s usually extra preparation work to do at home, extra visitors, and extra expenses. Most of us get extra time off from studies or job... »
Your Christmas gift
I have a special gift for you—one that’s different from anything you’ve ever received from anyone else. It can’t be bought or sold in any store, but I give it freely to e... »