The angel said to them, “Good news! The Messiah is finally here, bringing peace and hope that’s for everyone.  Here He is, we’ve mysteriously teleported you to the location and stood you directly in front of him.  See?  Just look down.  There he is!”

No wait, rewind…let’s try that again.   The angel said to them, “Good news!  The Messiah is finally here, bringing peace and hope that’s for everyone.  To find him, go look for a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, having been laid in a feeding trough.”

I remember reading through a devotional book years ago that instructed me to daily look for ways God was present in my day, in the life of my family and those around me.  I was looking for something He did every day, some answer to prayer – big or small, something that reminded me of Him or showed me in a fresh way how amazing, beautiful, powerful or creative He is.  Purposefully looking was the key; every day I had at least one thing I could write in my journal and when I looked back over the list later I was so encouraged to remember how God had been so near, so faithful, so good.

In the book “The Last Battle” in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, it is the end of the age and an epic struggle takes place between those who have held to the truth and still believe in Aslan (aka God) and those who have been misled into following a false god.  The final conflict of the story takes place in the dark of night around a campfire that crackles in front of a dingy stable.  Somehow, as the prince and children in the story, dwarves, centaurs, talking animals and all were tussling and battling, Continue reading →