Per Noel's message on Saturday, I turned off the TV last night, made a fire (in the fireplace) and sat down and read through the Christmas Story. If you've never read The Book of God, it does a great job meshing history, the bible and great storytelling to turn parts of the bible into more of a narrative. I think I've read the Luke account so many times, that it's easy for me to gloss over it. In The Book of God, The Christmas story starts way back with Zachariah, Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary and then weaves all of the stories together. It puts a great historical and political framework around the story in terms of what was happening in the Roman government. The book does an amazing job describing some of the Jewish religious rituals, their symbolism and how the story of Christ's birth, life and death tie into them. Enough about the book.
For the first time in a while, I had some quiet to sit and listen to God and try and connect with the larger story of Christmas. I spent some time thinking and listening - something that's tough for me to do - I don't do quiet well.