‘This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.’ Matthew 1:18-25(NLT)
‘“For this is how God loved the world: He gave#3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave. his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ‘ John 3:16(NLT)
Most of us grew up with some traditions at Christmas. For me, it was decorating the tree and the house inside and out. It was Christmas Eve at church; family, food and presents. Nancy’s traditions were slightly different but overall included the same things. That first year we were married we somehow decided to make our own traditions. We brought some things forward from our past but wanted to create traditions just for us and our future family.
Keeping Jesus at the center of it all was something we both agreed on. I wish I could tell you that we had a formula that made it easy but we did not. There are a lot of distractions around Christmas and we found we had to be very intentional to keep Jesus first. Doing devotionals together, attending church weekly and on Christmas Eve have all helped. The first Christmas we were together, Nancy’s mom gave us a nativity set that has been a part of every Christmas since then. It is such a great visual reminder for us of keeping Him at the center.
Probably our favorite thing together is late Christmas Eve night. It’s just the two of us in front of our Christmas tree in our living room with only the lights of the tree illuminating the room. That time together is very special. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we are silent, reflecting on all God has done for us.
If you don’t have a tradition for just the two of you, what about starting it this year? It can be whatever you want but the idea is to have something that is special for the two of you and keeps your focus on Him. This is part of an Awesome Marriage Christmas!
Today’s Challenge:
Decide together on a new tradition that connects the two of you and focuses on Him.
Going Deeper:
During December read the story of Jesus’s birth in Matthew and Luke together. It is very familiar to many of us, so read it slowly over a few days in a different translation than you usually read. Ask God to give you new insights into this well-known story and share those with each other.
from An Awesome Marriage Christmas by Dr. Kim Kimberling