“Honey, I can’t find the snowman ornament. I looked through all of the boxes several times already.” Mom sat on a chair surrounded by open boxes and tins. “What do you mean? There are several snowmen in those boxes.” “Not just any snowman. The snowman you gave me for our first Christmas. It was our first ornament.” “Oh. That snowman.” [...]

Sometimes the best gifts don’t come wrapped in tidy packages with ribbons and bows, but this year’s gift started off that way. Mom and I sat in the living room floor on Christmas morning wrapping the last of the presents. These were small knick-knacks – things my mom had forgotten to wrap earlier. The lights from the tree were glimmering. [...]

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. “Dad, why are we here?” Ring. Ring. Ring. “To draw attention to the donation kettle. People are more likely to give to a person than they are to just a bucket.” Ring. Ring. Ring. “Yeah, but why are we here?” Ring. Ring. Ring. “Because everyone needs to do their part. A lot of [...]

“I want to be a shepherd! They get to carry big sticks.” Luke swung his hands, pretending to hit Carl with an imaginary stick. “Not me. I want to be a wise man. They get to wear a crown!” “They’re not real. It’s just a plastic crown. I saw ‘em last year.” Elizabeth spun her head to toss her hair [...]

Jason slid back into the shadows as he watched Pastor Ben emerge from the sanctuary. He didn’t want to slow down, as the wind seemed to slice his ears like a blade. A brief delay was better than running into Pastor Ben, though. He talked a lot  and Jason didn’t trust religious people very much. Better to hang back in [...]

I love Christmas. And I love Christmas stories. I laugh every time I watch Elf, A Christmas Story or Christmas Vacation. I get goose bumps when I watch It’s A Wonderful Life. I consider reading The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Night Before Christmas or Dicken’s A Christmas Carol beside a lighted Christmas tree a pure delight. And, as a Christian, [...]