Luke 1:26-38
          In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”

          Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour 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 Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.”

          “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

          The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called {Or So the child to be born will be called holy,} the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

          “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

          Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:5-25
          In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well on in years.

          Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers were praying outside.

          Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. {Or from his mother’s womb} Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

          Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well on in years.” The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

          Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realised he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home.

          After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

          I’m a big fan of putting routines into place that make accomplishing your goals and desires as automatic as possible. I’ve been doing that for years, since about the time I realized that my children would absorb more about life and values and priorities from the day to day minutiae than from all the lectures, object lessons and rants my husband and I would give them. I purposefully set in place routines and established norms to help them (and me!) maintain order, learn discipline and live out our faith.

          This wasn’t an easy lessen for me. I’m a spontaneous, let’s have fun as often as we can type of person. It took me a long time, well into my adulthood, to realize that establishing routines would actually create an atmosphere where spontaneity could thrive. Example: Every morning, within twenty minutes of getting out of bet, I am dressed and ready for my day. That ensures I’m ready for whatever unexpected event occurs. I also fold clean clothes while watching tv in the evening with my family, combining a mindless chore with some (mindless?) relaxation and family time. These routines simplify my life, revealing time and opportunity for planned and unexpected activities.

          When my children were small, I endeavored to structure our days so that they learned spiritual values and principles even as they went about their daily playtime and chores. I placed Scripture verses in strategic places, we prayed before meals, read from the Bible at the start of every day. Even our ways of disciplining expressed our values. A part of every punishment, every reprimand included a time to apologize to God. This emphasized the truth that all wrongdoing is first an act of rebellion against Him.

          This time of year marks an important foundation of our faith, something I wanted my children to know and understand. I wanted them to know the facts surrounding the birth of Christ, just as I wanted them to know and experience the reality of Him in their lives. True to form, I established a tradition to accomplish that. Each year, we read the Christmas story . . . with a twist. Each evening for many days leading up to Christmas, we would read a small portion of the story, starting with the angel appearing to Zechariah. As we read, the children acted it out and placed the appropriate figures in place. (When I set out Christmas decorations, I arranged areas for Bethlehem, Nazareth, Judea hill country, Jerusalem and the East, ready for the nativity figures.) In the early years the story might have seemed lost as the boys were more engrossed in dive-bombing the angels in place than in hearing and contemplating their messages, but in reality those antics made the story come alive for them, becoming a true part of their lives.

          That is what I want to do for you this Christmas season. (Minus the dive-bombing angels. ) Between now and New Year’s Eve, I will be posting a portion of the Christmas story. I might add a thought or two of my own, but most likely I will just share the story from Scripture. Beginning the 8th, something will be posted each Tuesday and Thursday until Christmas Day, when the posts will increase to daily, (No post on Sunday.) I hope you enjoy experiencing the events in this way, one at a time each in its own spotlight.

          May you know peace and joy this season!