Happy and Merry Christmas to You All!

This is a short blog posting, I hope. I had been working on two different postings over the past
three weeks, but the Christmas Season just kept plowing on. I wasn't able to put the finishing
touches on them. I was too caught up in this hectic time and did not have an opportunity to get
them on line. They were close to being ready to post, so maybe I can get both of them up dur-
ing the next few days. That would be something new for me!

During the past two weeks people have been wishing me a happy Christmas; a few people said
merry Christmas to me. Over the course of eight Christmas seasons here in Scotland, I have re-
ceived the former more often than the latter. But people have mentioned to me that the wishing
of a merry Christmas is becoming more common. It doesn't matter to me; I accept both of them!

It's the day after Christmas and I am laying low today, and perhaps tomorrow, too. I thought I
would be suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Christmas Syndrome, but I'm not. I actually feel
pretty good after seven and half hours of sleep last night. I do feel a little mentally worn out. I
churned out six messages and four services for the period between Friday, December 21, and
Tuesday, Christmas Day.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are theologically- and biblically-rich times that set the scene
for the proclamation of the beautiful and true reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had fun
preaching about who Jesus was and why He came, especially to people who rarely come to
church during the rest of the year. I enjoyed preparing messages and crafting services, especial-
ly the Service of Readings and Carols at St Fergus Parish Church on Christmas Eve.

From Friday to Christmas Day I led or was involved in six services. I spoke at the St Fergus Pri-
mary School's Christmas Assembly at the church; twice at St Fergus Parish Church services; and
at three other church services in the area. There were three different themes that I kept referring to
in various ways: Jesus is the Reason for the Christmas Season; Jesus' birth in Bethlehem that first Christmas is God's Supreme Gift of Himself to us; and behind the Manger is the Cross of
Christ. During this past Christmas Season I kept repeating the sounding joy.

Happy and Merry Christmas to you and yours,