Merry Christmas!!!

I cannot believe Christmas is only two days away! It feels like only yesterday we were ringing in 2008. I've been really studying and meditating on the nativity story over the past few weeks and here is the conclusion I've come to: God is gnarly. And so awesome. His timing was so perfect in coming down and being born on this earth. He came down under the names "King of the Jews" and the "Anointed One" at a time when two others thought they were the King of the Jews (King Herod) and the Anointed One (Caesar Augustus). Not a coincidence. He was born to a teenage girl and her newly wedded husband. In a manger. The Lord and Savior of this world was born in the feeding trough of a stable surrounded by farm animals. And God could have sent angels to alert kings, rulers and dignitaries that Jesus was born, but He sent them to shepherds instaed. To poor, nomadic men who spent most of their lives alone. Why? Because God's ways are definitely not man's ways. They are so much better. I too often view the birth of Jesus as this safe, warm event. And while it was joyful and good, safe is something that it was not. Yes, it was safe because God was in control, but can you imagine being Mary and Joseph? I bet they weren't thinking it was safe when they had to make the trek to Bethlehem, and when they found out Herod was out for blood. God is so awesome and Jesus' story and history are so much bigger than I give them credit. I hope you have an amazingly blessed Christmas in which the Lord is able to reveal a new piece of the puzzle of Jesus' birth and life that you hadn't seen before! Blessings!