I think that I have hit all the high points in Hebrews.  You know that reading my blog is no substitute for reading Hebrews yourself.  I encourage you to do that.  My favorite Bible to read--just for the joy of reading--is the Living Bible.  It isn't a translation.  It is a transliteration.  It puts everything into words of today.  How we would say it if we were writing it.

I no longer put up a tree.  I have three little trees that I set on the buffet and on the entry table. When it was just Ken and me, I quit decorating.  I try to go to one of my children's houses every year.

I was thinking of Christmas times in the past, and one of them stood out in my mind.  It was the year that Chatty Cathy was all the rage.  She had a pull string that activated her voice.  Finding one was hard.  Everyone sold out.  Finding three was harder.  My mom and dad had come to Virginia for Christmas that year with my four year old sister.  (She was a very unexpected bundle of joy.  I was 21 when she was born.)  My two girls were four, and five.  (Becky and Lisa--my sister--were born seven days apart.) After days and days of looking, we finally found three Chatty Cathys.

Becky--who always wants to know what will happen if she tries something--pulled out the string and cut it off.  Chatty Cathy only got to chat for a couple of minutes.  That was the shortest-lived Christmas present anyone in our family ever got.  All that effort to find a Chatty Cathy for her!!  All that was left was a good story.

We look for those special gifts because the wise men brought precious gifts to Jesus.   I love the phrase that was coined a few years ago, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  When you bought something, some of the stores put your purchase in a bag that had that printed on the outside.

I always say, "Merry Christmas" at the checkout stands.  It may be the only time they hear it anymore.  If they say "Merry Christmas" back to me,  I say, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  I usually get a smile.  Join me.