Rudolph

There once was a czar in Russia whose name was Rudolph the Great. He was standing in his house one day with his wife. He looked out the window and saw something happening. He says to his wife, "Look honey. Its raining." She, being the obstinate type, responded, "I don't think so, dear. I think its snowing." But Rudolph knew better. So he says to his wife, "Let's step outside and we'll find out." Lo and behold, they step outside and discover it was in fact rain. And Rudolph turns to his wife and replies," I knew it was raining. Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear!

speedyJarodFalconer at our Christmas celebrations.

FOOTNOTES

1. Today I ran along a track I hadn't tried before, the horse trail from Dunlop (Fessifern pond) toward Parkwood (the horse place near the power station.) Nice views to the West into NSW and to the South to the Brindabellas.

2. Tomorrow I plan to have a run at the Cotter, fairly early. It will be my first run there since the fires nearly four years ago.

3. The Greatest of Gifts
Well Christmas day has been and gone. There's no doubt about it: Christmas is my favorite time of year. I enjoy hanging out with family; just the best bunch of people around. And despite all the busy-ness, I have had time to reflect.

I grew up in the church and have heard the nativity story countless times, but I never really "got" it until my mid forties. Jesus could have been born in a palace, but He wasn't. Instead, He was born in a stable to a teenage couple in an obscure town southwest of Jerusalem. His birth could have been announced to the political and religious leaders of His day, but it wasn't. Instead, the good news was proclaimed to a band of frightened shepherds on a hillside. The greatest of gifts came in the simplest of ways, to ordinary people.

It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of holiday activity that I forget the mystery of the season. Christmas is a needed reminder that God delights in using ordinary people and circumstances to do extraordinary things. I hope the holidays always excite me, and I hope I never lose the sense of awe and wonder that God became flesh to redeem and restore us.

God turns my “has-been” into a “will-be”.

Merry Christmas!