The "N" Word

December in our family means Nativity. But it's not just a little manger scene. It's so much more. Andy is the main player in getting it set up, which involves directing a crew of about 40-50 men and women the last Saturday in October and the first three Saturdays in November. It's pretty exciting to see a whole town of Bethlehem take shape. Andy and I kid around that I become a Nativity widow because all his Saturdays are spent on - yes, you guessed it - the "N" Word! It's a lot of work, time and expense, but in the end, it's so worth it. Where else can families bring their children to an activity that focuses on the real meaning of Christmas. Every year gets better and better. I make it a point to go through every year just to be reminded of the reason for the season. The Bible story comes to life and I am always blessed by the truths presented.

I've been thinking this season about how the God of the universe made Himself so small that He was able to enter the egg of a virgin woman. The God who hovered over the waters at creation, entered the waters of the womb. Amazing...what a miracle. And just as amazing is the spirit behind the act. The God of heaven emptied Himself and became a servant. He did not come to be served, but to serve.

We've had record attendance this year. The weather was mild which probably contributed to the higher attendance. Usually, out of the seven nights we run the Nativity, there are at least one or two nights that have to be canceled because of the weather. But not this year.

The first weekend, Kira took a turn at playing toddler Jesus. In that scene, the wise men bring their gifts to present to the King of the Jews. It's a cute scene and she did well.

The second weekend, Amy and Ricky came down to go through it. They brought Ricky's family and 2 deaf friends. I had lined up 2 deaf interpreters to go with us and interpret the dialog for Ricky's mom and dad and their friends. That worked out very well and they were able to enjoy the Nativity, too. After we saw the scenes, the cousins enjoyed being together and we all enjoyed the togetherness.

A big cookie for a little girl

Ummm...hot chocolate

So what is my role during the Nativity? I answer the phones in the office. This can be very interesting. These are the calls from people who are on their way and are lost. Every year there are some poor lost souls out there who call and want me to tell them where they are. Whew! It can be challenging to try to figure out where they are, then guide them in to the Living Nativity. There are moments of quiet so I take along a book to read. It's also a good time to get our Christmas letter written, addressed and stamped. People like to stop in and "visit" with me so it's really not a boring job even though I feel somewhat out of the action.

This year we had good weather and didn't have to cancel any of the 7 nights. That makes for record attendance. It was our best year ever with a total of 16,462 people who saw the Living Nativity in 2011.

Living Nativity

Our story begins at the very beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Out of nothing, God made everything. He formed our world and all the universe. He separated the seas from the dry land and covered the earth with luscious vegetation. He filled it with every imaginable kind of creature. And then the Lord God created a man and a woman in His own image and placed them both in the paradise of the Garden of Eden. But the first man and woman disobeyed and rebelled against Him. By their sin, they severed the close relationship they had with God. God was forced to expel them from the pure environment of the Garden. They had rejected God and led the human race into sin. But even as God cast them out, He promised that one day a Savior would come not only for them, but for the whole human race.

Through the centuries God spoke through His prophets to remind the people that the Savior was coming. Isaiah, writing in 700 BC, proclaimed that the Savior would be God Himself and be miraculously born to a virgin. "The Lord Himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Emmanuel, 'God with us'." The prophet Micah predicted the specific town in which He would be born. "But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Each of the hundreds of prophecies heightened the world's expectation for this coming Savior who God promised would one day come.

As the time neared for the promised Savior to come, God sent an angel to a young virgin girl named Mary. "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High."

The angel of the Lord also appeared to Joseph, Mary's fiance: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping a lonely watch over their sheep. Suddenly, the night was interrupted by a brilliant light and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God...
BETHLEHEM

And so it came to pass, that in the humble stable, in the presence of donkeys and sheep, that Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world as a tiny baby. There he lay...God clothed in human flesh, the Savior, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. And they called his name Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins.

Months after Jesus' birth, King Herod's palace in Jerusalem was honored by the presence of princes from the East.

These princes, or "wise men," expressed their desire to see and worship the Child. A star had miraculously led them from their own homeland of Persia or India. When they found Jesus, these mighty princes, honored and feared by men, bowed before Him and worshiped Him.

To be continued...

Gobble, gobble

Not much to tell this week. We ate left over turkey nearly every day: Andy had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy for lunch on Monday, we both had that on Tuesday night for dinner, he had it again on Wednesday for lunch. On Thursday - something different - I made turkey noodle soup for dinner. I cut up the rest of the turkey and froze it so I can make another batch of soup later...much later. Actually, we both like turkey so we didn't really mind having so much left over.

On Tuesday, Andy and I went up to Christian & Christy's. Andy helped Christian put some finishing touches on his house project. They put up the soffits and fascias. Christy and I worked on a project in the house. She had been wanting to switch the girls' and boys' rooms around. Most of the work came in moving girls' clothes to the boys' closet and vise versa. We also moved the beds and cleaned and vacuumed under them. We found all kinds of little treasures!

Tonight Amy and Ricky came down to see our church's Living Nativity. They brought Ricky's parents and sister and her family. I went through the Nativity scenes with them. It's such a blessing to see the story of Jesus dramatized - it always speaks to my heart. And it's also exciting to see it with the children. Joanna was interested in the sheep but got tired of being carried. She wanted to get down and run around. But Chase seemed to be understanding what was going on. Of course, everyone loved the cookies at the end. Joanna was stuffing as much into her mouth as possible. She's funny and very entertaining!