What does Christmas look like.....then & now...

One of my treasured childhood memories of Christmas 

is visiting a live nativity that my church did each year....

The breathtaking view of a simple stable 

with a baby laying in a manger of hay.....

.....people there to come and adore Him....Jesus...the reason for the season.

...hearing the classic hymns playing softly in the background........

"Away in the Manger.....no room for a bed...

..the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head...."

...as a little girl of 8 years, I dreamed that 
one day maybe I could be Mary....

Now I am a grown woman and I gaze around at what Christmas 

looks like just 30 years later......and my heart is sad....

The nativity scenes.....they are few and far between..

..most of made of plastic now.....

The signs around town display where Santa will be visiting next 

so all can come and take their picture with them 

and tell him what they want for Christmas this year....

The big focus on GETTING rather than GIVING....

The stores are selling elves that watch 
over you to see if you are being good.....

But God is already watching you and His arms are wide 

open in love....ready to meet your every need....not the 

"wants" of a new gadget or the newest fashion "must-have"....

So, what does Christmas look like around you?

Does it remind you of your past? 

This generation is critical because we still remember 
when it was OK to tell

someone "MERRY CHRISTMAS" 
instead of "HAPPY HOLIDAYS"....

...when it was OK to say you believed in JESUS and 

that Christmas is when we celebrate his birthday!

So this year.....my calling is to bring the Christ back into CHRISTmas....

More about giving and less about getting...

So we all went to the manger together....

....a Christmas event that families can attend & take their picture not with Santa but with the King of Kings....the best gift that was given!

December 2014 was the first MIRACLE IN THE MANGER event....

...and nearly 100 people came to adore the newborn King.....the images captured that day are filled with the beauty of His glory and they take my breath away....follow the link below to see some of the images of the Christ child and some of his treasured children....

MIRACLE IN THE MANGER.....