Christmas 2011 is just about behind us now.  One can hope that it truly was merry and bright for more than felt it's uneasiness.  Things turned out well at my house.  Hectic is a good word to describe the last few days.  We may actually eat our way through most of the groceries we bought.  Having different parts of the family stop by sure helps put a dent into the refrigerator.  Our lights tend to stay up for another week.  We will see if they come down next Saturday.  My youngest will probably be ready to put up the Valentine's decorations.  He is rather insistent on being current with the upcoming holiday.  What he fails to realize is just how much Christmas stuff there will be to put away.  Undoing all of the holiday display is a job that takes a full day or more.  I admit to feeling a tad melancholy during the process.

We did have church this morning.  I do not want to sound like one casting blame on those who did not attend.  My irritation at this passed along with my youth.  A few brave souls did show up to spend a few minutes together.  Being weird is part of my personality to be sure.  It just seems to me that even a short time in worship is appropriate on Christmas.  This seems doubly true when it falls on a Sunday.  Carols were sung, words were spoken, prayers were offered in our gathering.  Maybe one or two people would make time during the day to reflect on that manger scene.  My genuine hope is that God was pleased through our efforts.

I did something unusual for me during the service.  Normally, my scripture readings come from a contemporary translation.  A more traditional version is used when it fits the moment better.  But it felt right today to read from the old King James Version.  It was good enough for Linus to quote so it was my decision to read from that old text.  My mind sometimes has a hard time with the old language.  Good thing that the story of Jesus' birth reads clear without much need to translate.  It's not that I have something against that beloved version.  God only knows where we would be if it never existed.  But my mind thinks less in Old English and far more in the tongue of today.  Just be sure that I truly enjoyed reaching back for my Bible in King James English.  You can imagine that is not the point of this story.

I knew there were some Bibles of mine tucked away from that translation.  What I opted to do is to use my oldest one in my collection.  Turns out it was a gift to me in the year 1965.  My grandparents inscribed it to me on Christmas day of that year.  My mind does not recall the actual moment of receiving that present.  Yet here we are 46 years later and it turns out to be still hidden away for safe keeping.  So not only did I read the first Christmas story in the language of Linus but it came from a treasured heirloom.  Let me also admit to a few bittersweet moments over the last 24 hours or so.  Probably no one thought on that day so many years ago that the Bible would even be still in my possession.  Surely no one could imagine it being used on another Christmas day so many years later.  It was.  I may have to use it again before long.  How amazing that something so old can feel like new again.  That's a nice feeling at the end of this wonderful day. 

Bro. Trey