Did That REALLY Happen on the First Christmas?

Have you ever wondered what the first Christmas actually looked like?  We've all seen the scenes in children's books, on Christmas cards, in the movies, at the mall, and in various other places.  But, are those scenes accurate?  Are the story book accounts realistic?   I'd like to share a few things Scripture says about the glorious birth of our Savior.


1.  Mary probably did not ride to Bethlehem on a donkey.  Her family was the poorest of the poor.  They could not have afforded a donkey.  That would be like a Lexus in today's terms.  We know they were extremely poor by the offering she gave for his birth; two pigeons.  That was the very least that could be offered at the birth of a son.  She most likely walked all the way to Bethlehem, unless they were able to borrow a donkey from a friend or family member, which is not stated in Scripture.




2.  There were probably not three wise men.  There were three gifts offered by them, but there was likely a sizeable procession and quite possibly 12 Magi who visited Jesus.




3.  The wise men did not visit Jesus in the stable on the night of his birth.  They traveled around 1000 miles to see him, and the word used in Matthew to describe Jesus was not the word for infant, it connotates more like a toddler.  The three of them were in their 'house' when the Magi visited and brought their gifts.  Herod did not order only the infant boys to be killed, but he targeted all boys under two years old for a reason.




4.  Mary and Joseph did not flee to Egypt immediately after Jesus was born.  He was circumcised on the eighth day, and she performed her purification 33 days after that.  They most likely returned to Nazareth where Joseph had labored for a year to build a home for his new bride.  That is likely the 'house' they were in when the Magi visited them.  There is no Scriptural proof for where they were.

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5.  There was no innkeeper who turned them away while Mary was in labor.  Scripture says that there was no room for them, and it says that while there were in Bethlehem she gave birth.  Scripture does not imply anywhere that she was in labor when they arrived.
The stable was likely a dark, damp, stinky cave.  The manger was likely a water trough hewn out of the stone in the cave.  The swaddling cloth was what they used to wipe the sweat and dirt off of the animals.
We like to make it look all roomy, and light, and comfortable (well ... more comfortable at least), but the truth of the matter is that the King of the Universe CHOSE to be born in the worst of all circumstances, to the poorest of all people, in the most humble of all ways.




6.  The shepherds to whom the angels appeared were likely young people.  It is a job (even still to this day) that is primarily done by the pre-pubescent children in a nomadic culture.  When Samuel came to anoint King David, he was in the fields with the livestock.  He was the youngest son.  When Joseph was cast into the pit by his older brothers, he was shepherding.  It is a very lowly thing to do, and the shepherd must live out in the wilderness with the animals for long stretches of time.  The men of that society rarely continued shepherding once they had children of their own who were able to do it.  It was likely quite a scattered group of rather young people who showed up at the stable on the night Jesus was born.




7.  Speaking of angels, they do not sing.  Not ever.  Scripture never even once mentions that angels sing.  They say, they declare, they proclaim.  But they don't sing.  There goes the scriptural accuracy of about half of our Christmas Carols.




8.  Jesus was not born on December 25th.  We know when Zacharias was performing his duties in the temple, we know Elizabeth was six months pregnant, and we know the shepherds were not in the fields in December.  He was likely born in September.




Jesus, the Light of the World, was conceived during the Feast of Lights.
He came to dwell or tabernacle amongst us during the Feast of Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles).
The Bread of Life was born in Bethlehem ... Bet Lechem (in Hebrew) which means 'house of bread' ... he was born in a bakery!

I love how God takes things so literally!  :-D

Does any of this diminish what happened that night?  Certainly not.  The God of the Universe willingly chose to come to earth as the most helpless and innocent of all human beings.  He chose to live as we live.  He chose to remain sin-free.  He chose to die for our sins.  He CHOSE that out of love for you and for me.

That is something worth celebrating!

Crazy Scary Ride in a Camaro

I'm sure most of you have seen the video of Jeff Gordon giving the car salesman the ride of his life.  It's funny.  I saw it a couple of days ago and laughed.  I even shared it on a friend's wall, but I didn't think anything else about it.  This morning, Brian sent me a PM and pointed out the spiritual lesson in that video.  These are my extrapolations after thinking about it for a bit. 

The guy gets in the passenger seat of the car.  When we decide to serve God, we are no longer in the driver's seat ... we become the passenger.  The Master Himself becomes the driver of our life. 

We go seemingly too fast around curves, we face oncoming traffic, light posts and fences in our way, ramps that don't seem to lead anywhere safe, and speeds that we are not comfortable with. 

We sit, sometimes scared crazy, in the passenger seat, while The Master drives with expert precision.  Avoiding the obstacles, sometimes much nearer than we would be comfortable with, flipping a perfect U-Turn at the appropriate times, and flying up the ramp without knowing what is coming. 

Imagine what would have happened if the salesman (us) would have grabbed the steering wheel just ONCE thinking he could do a better job of driving the car.  What a disaster would have taken place! 

The poignant part of this video takes place in the last couple of seconds when the salesman finds out just who was driving the car.  His immediate response was that he wanted to do it again.  He FINALLY realized that the man behind the wheel really did know what he was doing.  He'd probably driven that course many times in preparation for this particular journey.  Nothing changed except his own trust factor, but it totally flipped everything 

We MUST remember at all times that the Lover of Our Souls is behind the wheel of our lives.  He has our best interest at heart.  He does NOT intend to hurt or harm us.  He DOES know what's coming.  He knows what's at the top of the ramp ... that there is a long straight loading dock with a nice ramp at the other end ... even though we cannot see it when He moves us in the direction of a supposed 'cliff'.

We must learn to sit back and enjoy the ride, just as that man would have enjoyed it and whooped with joy, rather than exclaiming profanities. 

We are riding with the best driver in the history of history.  Enjoy the ride.  :-D

A Christlike Church

Last weekend, I had the neatest experience.  I went with a friend to his church.  It's what would be considered a mega-church on the West side of Denver.  It was a pleasant service with a talented worship team.  I enjoyed the atmosphere. 

Between the songs and the preaching, they took a break to talk about an upcoming event.  It's called 'Shine - The Big Party'.  They talked about Jesus telling the party host to invite people who never get invited to parties.

That's exactly what they do every year. 

They remove the chairs from the auditorium and turn it into a dance floor with disco lights, baloons and streamers.  It's a big gala event.  Everything is beautifully decorated. 

1300 volunteers make the night possible.  They bring in handicapped people from the community, dressed in donated formal wear, looking like a million bucks, and treat them like royalty for the night. 

Here are two short videos of the highlights of the past two years.  The smiles on thier faces are truly priceless!

http://www.flatironschurch.com/shine/

The church said, 'What if we tried to demonstrate to our community, this is what the heart of god looks like?  It's going to be extravagant.  It's for the people who have never been invited to a banquet or a prom.' 

Honestly, I don't know that I have ever heard of a church doing something more Jesus-like.

I'm sure it's one of many reason why their church has so many packed-out services and so many people attending.  Bravo to them for doing something fantastic for people who cannot ever repay them.  Some of them cannot even say 'thank you'. 

I believe this is the first time EVER that I actually wished I lived in the Denver area.  I'd love to be part of a body of believers who puts their time, money, and effort where their mouths are.  They are truly being Jesus to their community, and I could not be more impressed!

More importanly than that, I believe God is impressed.  And that's what really counts. 

To Online Date, or Not to Online Date ... That is the Question

Let me begin this post by admitting that I'm 42 and single.  For years, my friends have tried to talk me into finding a man online.  Until recently, I have refused. 

Last month, on a whim, I used this photo and put myself on a dating site.  I figured if anyone contacted me, I'd end up with a man with an excellent sense of humor, or I'd end up with nobody at all. 

I also added a couple of 'normal' photos so people would see that I was just being silly.   (See below)

It worked.  Within less than a week, I had over 500 men view my profile.  I was getting comments, winks, and flirts on a very regular basis.  Considering the fact that I wasn't seriously looking for a man, it was kind of fun to read their profiles and giggle. 
 

After exchanging instant chats with two or three of them, one gentleman stood out to me.  We exchanged email addresses, and the correspondence began.  He was from Denver, and was an electrical engineer.  He was raised in Europe, and went to college in Australia.  He had an adult daughter who talked him into trying the dating site.  He was taller than me, nice looking, a bit older, and appeared to be very successful. 

The first thing I noticed in his email was that his spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure were appalling.  I wondered what kind of education he could possibly have gotten to become an engineer, yet not write one completely correct sentence in a lengthy email.  Red flag #1.

Within a week, he told me that he was convinced that I was the girl for him.  He was in love.  He said he believes in love at first sight, and fell for me when he saw my 'beautiful' profile photo.  I, however,  do NOT believe in love at first sight.  I believe there is lust at first sight.  Affection or interest can be pretty quickly attained.  Love, on the other hand, takes time to develop.  Love is desiring someone else's greater good over your own.  In one week of emails, there is no way on earth that this guy cared more about my good than his own, and I knew it.  Red flag #2.

From that point on, his emails became more and more amorous.  He would describe in detail the life he'd like to have with me some day.  He would tell me that I'm his best friend. He quoted scripture frequently, and brought God into the conversation on a regular basis.  He told me he not only owns a house in London, but also has one in Paris.  His emails were wildly romantic, and in some aspects, he seemed too good to be true.  Red flag #3.  (Things that SEEM too good to be true, usually ARE!) 

After about two weeks, he said he had to go to Spain to work on rebuilding the largest oil refinery in Europe.  He called me one time, and it was from a Spanish phone number, I reverse looked it up.  We spoke for about five minutes, and that was the whole phone call.  His accent was so strong I could hardly understand him.  I could hear some British and some Australian in it, but the base accent sounded VERY African to me.  In my next email, I asked him if he had spent time in Africa, because that was the accent I picked up.  He ignored the question and went on and on about what a wonderful life we would have together someday.  Red flag #4.

I'll skip to the end.  Almost a month into this email exchange, he told me that he was bidding on another engineering job that would pay 5 million Euros.  If he got it, we'd be set for life.  If he didn't get it, he would never ever be happy again for the rest of his life.  What?  Seriously?  Losing one contract would cause him to be unhappy for the rest of his life?  Lame!  Red flag #5.

A couple of days later, he emailed me a semi-official looking document showing that he had been awarded the contract, but he had to come up with $10,000 US Dollars to pay all the fees, and he only had three days to come up with the money.  Come on!  How many companies HIRE a contractor, and make the contractor come up with $10,000 in fees to be awarded the contract?  None. "You beg and borrow to get $10,000 and I'll turn around the next day and write you a check for five million." ???  Right! 

The next day, he emailed me and said that he was only able to raise $5,500 of it, and he needed me to loan him the other $4,500.  If I did, it would 'secure my own future'.  As soon as he was finished with this contract, he'd fly back to the states and we could go house shopping. 

Okay, let me say it again, SERIOUSLY????  I'm a single mom.  I have two teenage boys and work a very full-time job to make ends meet.  I live from paycheck to paycheck as I'm trying to pay down my own debts.  And this 'yahoo', in all earnestness, asks ME for $4,500.  I had told him that I shop thrift stores and yard sales.  My vehicle is 15 years old.  Unless he never read what I wrote him, which is a definite possibility, he knew that I'm not some rich American woman.  I, of course, wrote him back immediately saying that I was sorry, but I did not have ANY money I could loan him, let alone $4,500. 

I didn't hear another word from him for several days.  I sent him a quick email saying something like, "So that's it?  This was all a scam to get money out of me?  I'll be praying for you, whoever you are."

Three days later I got an email from him calling me evil (repeatedly) and saying that I was a wicked awful woman who was not really a Christian.  He misquoted scripture saying that we are required to give to everyone who asks us.  It was a shocking email.  I've never ever been called any of the horrible things he called me in that email.  I did not respond, and have not heard from him again ... Praise God!

Thus ends my illustrious career of online dating.  Forever.  I have NO desire to go through anything like that ever again.  I know some people have had great success, but I'm certainly not one of them. 

I wanted to get this post up to warn any other ladies out there to watch out for turkeys like this one.  I could publish his name, but I'm certain it's not his real name.  He probably has many false names, and has multiple scams running at a time, with multiple 'rich American women', who are wicked and evil and won't give him money.  Ugh. 

So long online dating.  I'm leaving you forever.  I'll go back to the old-fashioned way of meeting a man in person, liking him, getting to know him, and falling in love .... naturally.  Face to face.  :-D

Blessings to you all today,
~Gwen

There is always a silver lining ... even in a cloud of smoke!

Greetings,


Bad things happen to good people.  We all know that.  We've each experienced it on a personal level at some point in our lives.  This past month, the good people of Colorado have lived through it.  Unfortunately, we have had a record fire season, with as many as 12 named fires blazing at once.  The High Park fire near Fort Collins overtook the Hayman fire as the most destructive in our state's history, destroying 259 homes and claiming one life.  We all grieved with our fellow Coloradoans as it was happening. 


Last Tuesday evening, in the midst of sizeable fires down in the Four Corners area, up by Florissant, and near Leadville, the Waldo Canyon Fire outside of Colorado Springs took a major turn for the worst.  A fast moving storm and high winds accomplished the unthinkable and pushed the fire down into a populated part of town.  People were being evacuated with no advance notice.  Houses were literally bursting into flames.  "It looked like a volcano had erupted, with the lava flowing down over the hills" observed terrified bystanders.  Jumping two firelines, it got a foothold in Colorado Springs itself.

In five hours, a record 26,000 people were safely evacuated.  At the same time, 347 houses were being obliterated by the flames.  Even though the acreage of this tragedy was not nearly as significant as High Park or Hayman, sadly, it claimed the record for being the most destructive in Colorado History.  In addition to the houses, it leveled the Flying W Ranch, a well-loved historic landmark, and threatened the United States Air Force Academy.  The grieving in Colorado Springs was overwhelming.

My 14 year old son and I had travelled to Florissant for a meeting on Tuesday evening, at the same time as the wind was carrying the Waldo Canyon fire into Colorado Springs.  We had been having quite a conversation on the way home, unaware of the mayhem and tragedy on the other side of the pass, less than 30 miles from us.  We were discussing what 'stuff' was really important, and what was not.  It was an excellent conversation.  One of those teachable moments that all parents hope for.


He came to the conclusion, on his own, that if our house were to have burned down while we were at our meeting, that would be okay.  He would have lost his computer, his knife and sword collection, everything in his room, and all the 'things' that make our house a home.  He also realized that the list of items he would collect, if we were to get an evacuation notice, was amazingly short.  So long as Mom (me), his brother, and he himself were okay, the rest of it was all just 'stuff'.  It was a very mature moment for him, and a proud one for his momma. 


Little did we know that hundreds of thousands of people were compiling similar mental lists at the exact same time.  The residents of the greater Colorado Springs area had no idea how far into town the fire would rage.  People had been evacuated as far east as I-25.  Many others voluntarily left due to the smoke and the threat of further growth.  Each of those people had gathered up whatever they could fit into their vehicles, or whatever time would allow, and had walked away from everything else that had been so dear to them only hours before.

I expect a lot of people took stock of their lives and realized that 'stuff' is replaceable.  It's just 'stuff'.  The things that really matter have breath in their lungs, and love in their hearts.  I'm certain that some of them, when they were finally allowed to survey the damage done to their homes, regretted lost weekends, evenings, and holidays spent at work earning more money to buy a bigger home.  Now, all that extra work was nothing more than a pile of ashes, and their children had grown up without them.

I cannot imagine the grief and sense of loss those people are currently experiencing, but I do think that some time in the past week, each of them thanked the Lord that they were able to make it out alive, with the one thing that cannot be replaced; their lives.  Only two people were lost in the fire, and sadly, their families are dealing with a much deeper level of pain.  I pray for them fervently.


Somewhere in Colorado, a husband kisses his wife goodnight for the first time in years, realizing that she means more to him than any material possession he could possibly obtain.  A mother turns off her favorite television show and actually talks with her son, grateful that he is safe and in her presence.  A teenager ignores his iPod in favor of a conversation with an evacuee who has been staying with his family waiting to be allowed back into their home.  An elderly woman, whose heart has been softened, clutches a photo album to her chest, weeping over the photos of her loved ones who are thousands of miles away.  She picks up the phone and takes the first step to repairing bridges in their relationship.


There is a silver lining in this cloud of smoke.  It manifests in the form of an awakening.  An awakening to our priorities.  An understanding of what actually matters and what doesn't.  I'm not the only one who took a long hard look at the 'stuff' in my life and realized it's just 'stuff'.  It's not worth missing out on important moments to obtain. 

The truly important things in my life sleep down the hallway and snore loudly.  They don't care if we have an extra $100 in the checkbook as much as they care if their Mom is around when they need her most.  I, for one, intend to keep my priorities in check.  I've been awakened.  Have you?


Blessings,
~Gwen

My First Published Novel

Greetings,

This past week has been an amazing ride.  I got my first book published.  It's already for sale on Amazon and B&N.  Can you believe that? 

Several years back, I was listening to a Chuck Missler Bible Study, and felt like I was supposed to write a book about the battle of Jericho and the events leading up to it.  My response was, "Yah.  Right.  Like I know ANYTHING about writing a book."  The feeling didn't go away.  As a matter of fact, it intensified.  I grabbed a notebook and a pen and began writing down ideas and notes.  They were coming to me literally faster than I could get them on paper.  Characters.  Plot.  Sub-plot.  Descriptions.  It was pretty amazing.

I spent about three months researching everything I could find about the location, time period, customs,  pagan beliefs, and all the information that was sprinkled throughout scripture.  It was a tedious process, and I was determined to make this book as accurate as was physically possible. 

I began writing the book in the evenings, after my boys had gone to bed.  I know me.  I'm one of those people who jumps in with both feet, and I knew the project would consume if I let it.  I had to promise myself right off the bat that I would only work on writing it when it didn't interfere with my time with the boys.  So, for the next several months, I got very little sleep. 

Once I felt like it was 'shareable', there were several family members and friends from church who agreed to read it, and they all gave me glowing reports.  I was encouraged by their responses.  Writing a book was not one of my lifelong dreams or goals.  I just felt like I should do it, so I did. 

I posted it on a website where publishers go looking for new material, and was offered two publishing contracts.  Neither of them were what I was looking for, so I turned them down.  Since then, I have occasionally offered it to friends and aquaintances to review at their leisure, but aside from that, it's been just waiting on the proverbial back shelf.  As a matter of fact, I've written another novel already, and have recently started a third. 

It's funny how God sometimes makes us wait WAY longer than we would expect.  After three years of inactivity, everything came together in one weekend, and the book was literally published and for sale on the two largest book-selling websites in FOUR days.  Did you catch that?  Three years of waiting, and when God was ready for something to happen, it all came together in four days.  That's amazing to me!

I am grateful for the encouragement and advice offered by various friends, family, and facebook aquaintances.  This has been such a fun experience!

If you'd like to get a copy.  It's being offered for a limited time for only $2.99 on Amazon as well as on B&N.  The paper copies will come out later.  They take a lot more formatting and production time.

http://www.amazon.com/Jericho-A-Historical-Novel-ebook/dp/B007I6DU88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331175026&sr=8-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jericho-gwen-chermack/1109366965?ean=2940013913523&itm=18&usri=jericho

I look forward to hearing your feedback about the book.  My sincere prayer is that you are blessed by what you read, and discover a different facet of this familiar Biblical narrative.  Please be sure to rate the book on Amazon or B&N after you have read it.  Apparently that's the way it will move up in the standings and gain a larger audience.

http://www.facebook.com/JerichoAHistoricalNovel

The link above will take you to the FaceBook page for the novel.  It will serve as a forum for feedback and discussion.  Please join me there!

Blessings to you all today!
~Gwen

...And he's thanking ME???

Greetings,

Every so often, we have one of those immensely humbling moments in life.  Saturday evening was one such moment for me. 

For the past five years, Colorado Friends of NRA has sponsored a group of veterans and wounded warriors on a Colorado elk hunt.  We have blessed approximately 50 men, who have served their country, with the opportunity to spend a week, all expenses paid, at a hunting lodge, stalking the elusive wapiti. 

This year, a local hotel donated a banquet room so we could have a community meet and greet.  About 70 people showed up to shake the hands of the veterans and thank them for their service.  It was a very touching scene. 

I had the honor of presenting one of them with a rifle on behalf of the Colorado Friends of NRA program and volunteers.  We got him a beautiful Weatherby NRA Edition rifle with a Leupold scope, a case, and a box of shells.  We had all the hunting veterans come up front and introduce themselves.  They each told a bit about their military service, and the crowd applauded them wholeheartedly. 

Jason was the one they had chosen amongst themselves to receive the rifle.  He served four tours in Afghanistan and three in Iraq.  He has been shot eleven times.  He had to leave the room more than once because he got overwhelmed with it all.  We all, as a group, presented him with the rifle, and more than one of those manly men teared up. 

He took the rifle, shook my hand, and said 'Thank You' to me.  He then hugged me and told me "Thank You' again.  Really?  He was thanking me?  He served seven tours in a battle zone and took eleven bullets ... potentially for me ... and he's thanking me for something as insignificant as a rifle?  Really?

I truly wish words could express the feeling it gave me.  We gave him a rifle, and all of them an elk hunt.  Even still, it was minuscule in the scheme of things.  Each of those men was willing to give his life, and everything short of that, to protect his country.  Serving his country.  Loving his country. 

It felt good to be giving something back ... I just wish it could have been more. 

This brings with it a heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to all our service men and women from myself, from Colorado Friends of NRA, and from this whole great country that you all protect with your lives.  It is not going unnoticed or unappreciated! 

Blessings,
~Gwen