2This was the first census taken while b]">[b]Quirinius was governor of C)">(C)Syria.
3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because D)">(D)he was of the house and family of David,
5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
7And she E)">(E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And F)">(F)an angel of the Lord suddenly G)">(G)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10But the angel said to them, "H)">(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a I)">(I)Savior, who is c]">[c]J)">(J)Christ K)">(K)the Lord.
12"L)">(L)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14"M)">(M)Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men d]">[d]N)">(N)with whom He is pleased."
15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
16So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19But Mary O)">(O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20The shepherds went back, P)">(P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
In the hustle and bustle of the season it is so easy and tempting to forget why we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is such a wonderful time, especially as a college student. It gives me an opportunity to spend more than a day and a half at home with my family. This Christmas is especially special since it may very well be the last Christmas I get to spend a few weeks at home with my family. Christmas traditions are so much fun with my family. We start by celebrating Christmas Eve at my grandparents with my aunt and uncle from Goldsboro. Then it's back home with my parents and my brother to watch A Christmas Story. It is by far the best Christmas movie ever. We love it and laugh the whole way through. Well, my mom hates the movie, but she watches and laughs with us. Christmas morning it's up at 7 am to open gifts at the house and then it's back to the grandparents for fried oysters for breakfast and to open a few more gifts. We come back home to straighten up (especially today, we have a house viewing tomorrow!) and rest before heading to my dad's moms to eat lunch and celebrate Christmas with his side of the family.
You can see why it's so easy to take Christ out of Christmas. Not only is my Christmas packed full of time with family but it's the shopping and busyness that occurs before Christmas. Rushing around trying to find the "perfect" gift for friends and family. I am sad to say but I can forget that the perfect gift has already been given to us in the form of a baby in a manger. Christ's birth is so amazing. We often think of Christ as this all powerful man who had the strength to persevere a crucifixion to save the world from sin. We rarely think of him as a baby. Ponder that for a second. Christ was a baby. He didn't have the comfort of being born in a warm inn room. He was born in a manger, a pig's trough. Today, if a baby was born in a manger it would be in the headlines. Take time today to be thankful of Christ's birth. If he had never been born, he would have never died.
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