Don’t you just love the details and decor of the Holiday season? The twinkling lights, the beautifully iced cookies covered with colorful sprinkles, the excuse to gather people together in playful sweaters or traditional plaid? Personally, I love the fresh pine scent from the tree and candles in my house, and the smell of cinnamon from baking my grandma’s bread recipe. I’m not embarrassed to say I start listening to my Christmas playlist in November. And because I love giving gifts, I take on the challenge of finding the unexpected, soon-to-be favorite item for my family.

Yet, I struggle with how to keep Christ front and center, since He is the reason for the season.

In hopes of bringing more of the Christmas story into my family’s traditions, I went and admired my nativity set. It was given to us as a wedding gift. Which, at the time I thought was an odd gift, but now I cherish setting it up, front and center on my dining room buffet. It’s a modest set, with plastic figurines and a small wooden shed. Over the years, I’ve added an undecorated evergreen tree, more of a backdrop than anything else, and a few more angels. I like the simplicity of it. I like the plainness of each piece, knowing what a juxtaposition their appearance is to the importance they hold.

I pause to examine the figurines on the periphery, starting with the beautiful angels.
They were at the beginning of this story, nine months earlier, explaining God’s salvation to Mary and Joseph during their engagement (Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-24), and again now, they announce the baby’s birth as the “Good news that will cause great joy!” The angels also announced that the baby is the “Savior, the Messiah, the Lord.” Can’t you just see the intense white glow around them as they shout this great news to the shepherds? And they return to Heaven, worshiping and praising these words:

“Glory to God in the highest Heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

Imagine those shepherds, out in the fields, a typical quiet night under the stars, until the sky begins to glow with a great army of angels, and one angel speaks to them! The Lord chose them, men from a lowly station, to be the first to hear the arrival of His son. Not only do they hurry to find Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, they become the first evangelists, glorifying and praising God, sharing all they have seen.

My nativity set has animals and the wise men who come later in scripture (Matthew 2:1-12), but in the birth story, there are only three more people mentioned, the new family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. They were alone, no doctor, midwife, not even her own mom to help her. I imagine she is scared and wondering why their family isn’t there. Yet, my guess is she can sense the Lord’s presence. If the angels and heavenly host are nearby moments later singing praises and glory, I bet they were administering to Mary at the birth of Jesus, along with God and the Holy Spirit. My guess is that as she was recovering from the delivery, she could see the bright, spectacular stars too. And the joy she must have felt as visitors came to meet her son, the Son of Man! These are my guesses, from the Scripture that describes the night: “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

What a gift she received. The gift of Love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

It is all these God-inspired moments and His love that I want to remember during the Christmas season. That the reason we celebrate Christmas with gift-giving is because of the “indescribable gift” that God gave to us (2 Corinthians 9:15). We celebrate Christmas by stringing lights because the Light of the world has come to us (John 1:4; Isaiah 9:2). We celebrate Christmas with carols and choirs because they are expressions of joy and follow the examples of Mary (Luke 1:46-56), and the angels and others. We celebrate Christmas by decorating evergreen trees with stars and angels and tinsel because of the eternal life Jesus brings (John 4:14), and all the beauty that is associated with Jesus’ birth.

So, this year, as you read the Birth of Jesus, hear the song “O Come All Ye Faithful”, or look at your decorations of the season, I hope that the Christmas story will come alive deep in your soul. As you see some over-the-top Christmas decorations, you instead admire the humbleness of God incarnate, born to peasants in an animal barn. As you are in the “hustle and bustle” of the final preparations, you can set aside time to enjoy the peace Jesus offers. And like me, you will seek to keep Christ front and center, sharing (or accepting for the first time) the best Christmas gift possible: the gift that Jesus is Savior, Messiah, and Lord, that He offers peace, eternal life, and love from the Lord.

The Christmas Story to read to your family as a new tradition on Christmas Day:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest Heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:1-20).

To this day, our we call Jesus our “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, because He fulfills the prophecy the Israelites were searching for:

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

That’s a wrap for 2025 and a Merry Christmas to all our loyal weekly readers and our new friends. We are completing our eighth year writing Good Word Project together. We cannot explain how blessed these blogs are to each of us. In these words we share, we’ve each grown so much closer to the Lord, and to each other.

Thanks to each of you! We appreciate every comment you submit, every forward on social media you make, and every personal text you send. You make this project a joy!

Merry Christmas,
Love, Erin, Jennifer, Julie & Kristie