It was December 1941; the Japanese had just attacked Pearl Harbor. So there was ordered a "Christmas blackout" along the Pacific coast so the bombers couldn't hit those lit-up houses. So, lamps and Christmas lights were gone. For many, what was supposed to be a time of celebration was a time of darkness and dread.
I'm not so sure that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the craziest day to be at Wal-Mart. It may actually be the day after Christmas. Especially if you're engaging in that time-honored tradition of exchanging gifts that you don't want for stuff you actually do.
It's one of the most successful Christmas movies ever - "Home Alone." Actually, it tells the story of a young boy whose parents forget to bring him on a holiday family vacation. Maybe you can relate. Because in your story, you've often felt like the one they forgot. The loneliness that whispers throughout the year screams at Christmas.
OK, call me a relic, but I just can't do the whole fake Christmas tree thing, OK? I'll gladly battle the needles and the sap any day to be able to experience bona fide branches. Why settle for a knockoff when you can have the real thing?
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Babies change everything! Just ask that carefree husband and wife who just became Daddy and Mommy: Diapers, bottles, lots of mashed peas. Call it the "baby revolution!"
There's no sugar-coating it, retailers are running pretty scared this holiday season. A tanking economy could very well make their greatest fear come true, people spending less this Christmas.
You may not have heard of Alexis Goggins, but the people of Detroit think she's a hero. Last December, as a gunman aimed at her mother, this courageous seven-year-old jumped in front of the bullets and was shot six times. She survived, and she saved her mother's life. A child to the rescue!
The carol was written during World War II, and now it’s the dream of every person who has someone they love serving in places like Iraq or Afghanistan - "I’ll Be Home for Christmas." And we pray they soon will be.
My wife has Nativities all over the house this time of year. And our two-year-old grandson loves arranging and rearranging shepherds, sheep and wise men. But most of all, he loves Baby Jesus. He'll just reach into the manger and hold Him in his little hand and then he tenderly kisses Jesus.
What a bummer - it was Christmas Day, and I was in the emergency room with a broken finger. It's tough to have something broken at Christmastime, especially if it's your heart that's broken.
In the midst of all the celebrating, maybe you're feeling the pain of a great loss or a big hurt. This would be a wonderful time for you to experience what Jesus came to do. He said He was sent to "bind up the brokenhearted"; to put together broken pieces only He can put together, beginning with our broken relationship with God, who we're away from because we broke His laws and His heart by doing our life our way instead of His way. Jesus died for those sins. He was broken so we could be restored.
If you want to begin your personal relationship with Jesus this Christmas season, call us at 888-NEED HIM. For all of us broken people, there is awesome healing power in His love.
