Well, the Big Day is almost here, and things are likely to be a bit quiet here at TC until after Christmas. (Unless some of my fellow contributors decide to pull themselves away from the eggnog for a Christmas Eve post, that is.) So let me take the opportunity to wish you all a blessed Christmas from the TC crew!

I hope that you’ll take a break from blog-reading over the next few days to reflect on the original story of Christmas. Whether you’ve heard that story a million times or have never gotten around to reading it, it’s worth pondering. Because that familiar tale actually happened thousands of years ago, we can today know the joy and freedom of the incomparable Christ.

So take a few minutes, in between family get-togethers and gift-opening and church choir practice and last-minute shopping, to remember that story. And give thanks to God for the grace he offers us through Jesus Christ.

And because I can’t end on too cheery of a note, here’s a word of Christmas Caution from Ben Franklin:

How many observe Christ’s Birth-day! How few, his Precepts! O! ‘tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.