I never knew this book was even in the Bible. It’s a tiny book, but with a big message of hope and power:

The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. Zephaniah 3: 17

So, I have my own warrior and he rejoices over me with gladness. I think that is pretty cool. And I love the idea of festival. Joy and singing and celebration. I bet God would be a pretty good poker player, and I doubt I’d stand a chance in a trivia game…and then there are charades!

I took a little tour of Christmas this morning, at least in ornaments. I have this really neat Boyds Bear at my desk. He sits with his patched hat and scarf, perfectly happy to be reading a dog-eared copy of ‘The Book of Frosty.’ We all need our heroes.

Christmas cards have been arriving too,

bringing messages from friends and family, and we love to have them displayed to see the lovely scenes and to reread the notes.

On our tree, a wise owl hides in the branches and one of our western ornaments reminds us of long trail rides, and the angel on top proclaims the birth of Christ! Cake and candles please-it is the season of new birth, new life, renewal, and lots and lots of joy.