As the year draws to an end and we prepare to celebrate Christmas, cannot help but imagine what that first Christmas so long ago must have been like and how those who first heard the Good News proclaimed must have felt. A full, pale yellow moon hung low against the velvet blackness the star-spattered sky as the shepherds gathered around their campfires and settled in for a night’s sleep in the hills outside the little town Bethlehem. The familiar, distant sounds of their flocks were the only thing disturbing the silence of what was just another ordinary night marking the end of a long hard day.

On the eastern horizon a mysterious lone star hovered, brilliant and stationary, a yet to be discovered and understood beacon of hope illuminating and proclaiming the most miraculous event the world would ever witness.

Suddenly, a cold wind stirred, bringing with it a soul-penetrating sense of expectancy and unexplainable excitement that drew the shepherds to their feet, the breath from their lungs and their searching eyes skyward. What was it, an approaching storm? But the night sky was clear, not a cloud in sight! Shivering, they drew their cloaks tight around their bodies and waited, but for what?

Then, suddenly, a brilliant light released from Heaven above vanquished the darkness and bathed the surrounding countryside in glorious glow as the shepherds discovered an angel of the Lord standing in their midst! In fear, they covered their faces and fell to the ground.

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign you; You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in manger,” the angel proclaimed with a mighty voice that echoed off the hills and vibrated on the night air.

Then, just as suddenly, there appeared a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was that an ordinary night over 2,000 years ago now reigns forever in the history of mankind as an event never to be forgotten repeated, a night into which a baby was born as the Savior of the world, lying in a manger among the beasts of the earth. Oh what a night!

As the angels proclaimed the birth of Christ so long ago to the Shepherds, let us proclaim Him to the world today. I love to Christmas shop, but Christmas is not about shopping and giving gifts. Christmas is about Christ, a living person who died for us so that we might have eternal life. Let’s keep Christ in Christmas! Merry Christmas to all!

******

Happy birthday this week to: Rodney Smith, Marah Johnson, Cindy Linder, Anna Kate Waters, Bill Wilson, Mandy Weathersby, Jeremy McBride, Caleb Chance, Deirdre Edenfield, Harriett Lewis, Chad Brown, Angie Wilkerson, Tejas Sardar, Allstari Campbell and Carrie Cook.

******

Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Bolton, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Chance Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Donnie Saxon and Mr. and Mrs. Glen Wilkerson.

Military Active Duty List: SPC Grade E4 Arthur Lamont Milton Jr., HHC 1-36 Infantry Support, Friedberg, Germany; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Ft. Stewart; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Maryland; Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Leyete Gulf Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; LCPL Dwain “Cade” Lee, 1st Marine Division Combat Service Support Group Security Element, ArRamadi, Iraq; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; SFC Floyd Bolton Jr., 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; SFC Maria Bolton, 61st Medical Detachment, 21st Combat Support Hospital, 4th Medical Brigade, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; 1st Lt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Small Craft Company, Iraq; Sgt. 1st Class Steven Yager, 362nd Sig. Company, Korea; MM3 Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, AGang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; SFC Ronnie Perryman, E-7, Georgia Army National Guard, Battery A, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, Iraq; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Captain Donald Slade Burke, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta.