Like most kids, Christmas was my favorite holiday. One reason was because of the long school vacation but the most important reason was the gifts. Christmas Eve was the longest night of the year. My brothers and I usually started about four in the morning asking mom and dad, “Can we get up now.” Only to hear dad yell, “Get back to bed.” Through my elementary years I had some of the greatest memories of that time of year. However, as great as that time was I never really understood the real meaning of Christmas. The Christmas story is told […]

(Scroll down to leave a comment on what Immanuel means to you) Finally we have arrived at our favorite time of the year as a family…Christmas time! We wait all year to get out those lights and decorations that mark the beginning of Christmas for us. We love the sights. We love the smells.  We love the tastes. We love the sharing with family and friends. But most importantly, we love the reason for the season and His name is Jesus Christ. Immanuel, God with us I would like our meditation this month to lead us back, by faith, to […]

My best Christmas recollection as a child actually began on summer vacation.  I was about eight years old and my dad and I were walking through the tourist village where we were vacationing. I saw a pair of red, knit slippers with fake leather sole and Indian beads on top. They were those ugly slippers that were basically thick socks with a sole sewn on so you could walk outside.  I repeat, ugly! When I saw them, I said to my dad, “I bet mom would like those,” thinking he would spend the eight dollars and get them for her.  […]

Tests can be challenging. I remember studying relentlessly for a calculus test back in college. The instructor had the goal of ensuring that his students learned certain concepts by the end of the course and had written his test to discover whether or not we had in fact learned those concepts. Happily, I aced it, even the bonus questions. In so doing, I was awarded a perfect score and had the satisfaction of having learned the material for future use in my professional career. God often tests His people with respect to spiritual matters. Why does He test us? Ultimately, […]