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For one boy at an elementary school in California last Christmas, the school party was one he will never forget. As everyone watched a video greeting from Bobby's dad who was serving in Iraq, his dad suddenly walked in the room and scooped up Bobby in his arms. He got a father for Christmas!

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Our son's family was packing up boxes of toys and clothes to give to reservation kids for Christmas. Suddenly, our five-year-old grandson disappeared, until he re-appeared in an empty box by the front door. When Daddy asked him why he was in the box, he said, "I want to give myself." Wow!

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When my friend Rich was about seven, his parents really splurged on his Christmas gift. They got him a big boy bike! What a moment that Christmas morning when they wheeled it into the living room, only to have Rich say, "Thanks, but I don't want it."

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You've got to think twice before you turn on the news these days. Who knows what the latest bomb shell is going to be? We're traveling where there's no map! We need some good news, and that's exactly what Christmas is all about. The angel who announced Jesus' birth said, "I bring you good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10). And it's really good news in these times when so many problems seem unfixable, and so many things are spinning out of anyone's control.

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Our Christmas tree isn't just decorated with lights - it's covered with memories. A baby's first Christmas ornament, crafts our kids made, places we've seen - even our son's football mouth guard made into an ornament.

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Two and a half feet of snow had just left a million people without power where we were! We checked into the motel before the storm, but now as I stood at the front desk the phone rang incessantly. The answer was the same every time, "Sorry, no room," click. Those are tough words to hear.

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"Hark, the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King." Nice Christmas song. But that "King" thing is where we have a problem with Jesus.

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We just happened to have meetings in the Northeast when Hurricane Sandy slammed that region. We were blessed to find a room in one of the few hotels that wasn't shut down by the storm. Later, in the lobby, I saw displaced people coming in - only to be greeted by this sad sign: "We have no rooms."

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We'd stopped in the rustic little chapel of this wonderful Christmas theme park. And that's when Santa came in. No bag of toys, no ho-ho-ho. As I glanced across the aisle, there was Santa on his knees, hands folded, eyes closed in fervent prayer.

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Everywhere I go in our town, there are lights! Just like Snoopy's doghouse, there are Christmas lights all over everything - houses, and stores, and yards, and water towers, and public buildings. Lots of places that would usually be pretty dark are suddenly all lit up.