Christmas Eve

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'." Matthew 1:23.

As we were sitting in church this morning - a single service combining our traditional with our contemporary services, which are normally separate - our contemporary service's worship leader played and sang a lovely piece on the piano that really helped me focus inwardly and remember that despite all the commercialism, the fun and frivolity, the true meaning of Christmas is a very special thing.

I hope you'll bear with me this week, as I will probably be much more reflective than normal, and the posts will be fairly short and (I hope) meaningful.

Now is the time for being with family and friends if you can, praying for those who can't, and celebrating the joy of life.

Our pastor said this morning there is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is external. Joy is internal.

I wish you happiness, but I also wish you joy!

Merry Christmas!

=) JB