...is my favorite part of the Christmas season, no doubt. My house is stripped of the red and green trappings of advent, but the nativity remains atop the mantle in the living room, backlit by candles. Okay, so it's not a mantle...it's an entertainment center. Give me some points for imagination ;)

Those three wise guys with the gifts were probably the first real disciples of Christ. They followed a star to where the baby was layin' there in the manger and laid down their gifts, which were extravagant to say the least.

I remember the first time that the meaning of Epiphany was introduced to me. It was in a small chapel with stained glass windows and the Sunday night crowd that consists mostly of the elderly who never miss a rat killin'. Something changed deep inside of me that night as I considered the rest of the story. From that point on, the transition from Advent to Lent to Easter and through Pentecost became the part of my soul that worships the One God quietly each day. It's the same one that people of other faiths look to for strength and pupose and hope. The rest is just details.

I heard somebody famous say today that we should "love each others' histories."
I agree.

^j^