EPIPHANY - aka The Twelfth Day of Christmas

" When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house,

they saw the young child with Mary his mother,

and fell down, and worshipped him:

and when they had opened their treasures,

they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh."

Matthew 2: 9-11 ASB

There are many who would attempt to discredit the Christian faith by arguing over details in the event of Christ's earthly birthday. They love to point out that Jesus was not born on December 25th and the Epiphany is not the date that the wise men found Jesus.

However, they fail to realize that the dates and time line do not change the event itself. Jesus was born and King Herod sent his wise men to find Baby Jesus.

The day we have chosen to celebrate this miraculous birth is not as important as the reason we choose to celebrate.

When we received our first baby as foster parents years ago, we were not told his birth date. The system was much different than it is now. Everything was a secret even though we were allowed to choose his name. This would not happen today.

When he became ill and we rushed him to the ER we were only able to give an approximate age/BD, our educated guess based on the few facts that we were privy to.

Whether it was Monday on the 20th or Wednesday on the 22th mattered not so much. DSS was mum in the area of foster parent info regarding children in care.

We learned the actual birth date from a kind doctor who had contacted the hospital where our baby was born. Had he not gotten sick we might have celebrated on the day he came into our home. Did this matter to our ability to love or his need to be loved? Of course not.

Discussions regarding the exact date are simply Satan's way to distract and confuse.

Find an answer to the why December 25 here.

The First Day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, I went shopping with one of the loves of my life, my daughter.

We drove to an equestrian town with decorated horse statues scattered about. We explored little antique shops and dined in a blast from the past deli. The most memorable moment of the day was breaking and paying for a small piece of depression glass. So delicate and fragile that when it landed on the carpeted floor it shattered into a million pieces. I wish I had been quick thinking enough to tell the staff that I broke the piece. Then I would have achieved hero status in my daughter's eyes. LOL We made a hasty exit from the potential of additional disaster and headed out to peruse more stable wares. Good times!



I heard that many were busy taking down their Christmas decorations today and I am a little dismayed that Christmas is considered over instead of just beginning. I will not begin putting away the beautiful lights until the new year is upon us. To each his own; however, when it comes to celebrating the arrival of my Lord and Saviour the joyous occasion can continue even beyond Epiphany.

" When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him."

Matthew 2: 10-11

CHRISTMAS IN YOUR HEART

"He who has not Christmas in his heart,
Will not find it under a tree." Roy L. Smith

~

I often wonder what people are celebrating

when I observe the massive amount of lights,

snowmen and other inflatable decorations

covering the yards.

If they were all believers

and followers of Christ,

then the world would be

a great deal kinder

than it is.

What are they celebrating?


Homes are overflowing

with new toys, clothing

and electronics.

If they do not believe

in the Jesus

whose birth we honor...

What are they celebrating?


I wonder...

although I do not mind.

They resemble toddlers

who wave flags

at military parades.

The little ones do not know

about freedom

or valor.

Yet, they are swept along

by the excitement.

One day

the Christmas celebrants may understand

what it is they are celebrating.

I pray for that day to come.

~

"Behold, You desire truth in the inner being;
make me therefore to know wisdom
in my inmost heart."
Psalm 51:6

It's Beginning to FEEL a Lot Like Christmas

The past few weeks I have had great difficulty writing my thoughts because they were filled with personal tragedy and heartbreak. Not completely of course, most of the time the hope in my heart overcame those thoughts; however, whenever I put fingers to keyboard the deeper emotions would rise to the surface and I was not at liberty to share those thoughts. By the time I swept them away I didn't have anything I felt I could express. But God does provide us a way to deal with heartbreak. And that is through time. I have always heard people say time heals and I still don't agree. I know that God heals, but He did give us time and as each day passes He shows us that if we stay focused on Him our hearts grow stronger even if they have not healed.

I have always loved Christmas. As a child it was the only day of the year when I received a new toy and the only day when our family appeared "normal" to my eyes. The first year I was married my husbands grandfather passed away which allowed my husband to get leave from the Navy and allowed us to travel home. But it didn't feel like Christmas. It was different. The next one consisted of a 5 minute phone call from Greece where my husband was stopped on his tour with the Navy. Needless to say that was not the Christmas of my dreams either. A few years later we spent the Christmas season at the hospital and a Christmas Eve funeral left a huge scar on my heart. After that there was always a hint of sadness surrounding Christmas. I still loved the music and the lights and seeing faces light up when gifts were bestowed. It was just different. If someone experiences tragedy in December it somehow seems worse because "Christmas is coming". And if that tragedy involves a baby the pain appears magnified by this time of promised joy through the birth of a baby.

Today, with the assistance of my grandson and husband, I decorated my daughter's pink tree in her former bedroom. Though she is married this will always be her tree. My grandson began to sing "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree" and suddenly it did begin to feel a lot like Christmas. When we finished it was so beautiful and it was just what I needed at the moment.

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:12