{"id":4676,"date":"2021-12-25T08:54:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-25T15:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4676"},"modified":"2021-12-25T13:38:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T20:38:56","slug":"a-summers-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4676","title":{"rendered":"A Summer(s) Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Suzanne, Steven, Don, Debbie, Ken
Max, Baron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bible Verse for Today: \n <\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when she saw him, [the Angel]<\/em> she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of\ngreeting this was.  Luke 1:29 NKJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Herod the king heard this,<\/em> he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew\n2:3 NKJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Here we are Christmas Day in Mississippi at my nephew\u2019s house with his family and my brother who flew in from Colorado yesterday. Debbie and I drove here from Atlanta yesterday and we find ourselves in a house with family all with the same last name. That is a first for many Christmases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

         However, this was not the\nplan. We were looking forward to our first Christmas in Atlanta joining with Stephanie\nand family and the rest of the Munn family. However, son-in-law Nathan tested positive\nfor COVID and all of a sudden, we found ourselves \u201ctroubled\u201d by the circumstances\nthat threw a curve ball into our otherwise anticipated and well-planned Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Our original plans were to\nspend Christmas with family at Stephanie\u2019s home and then travel to Mississippi\nfor a visit with family here on Sunday. Suzanne, Steven\u2019s wife, learning of our\nsituation invited us to \u201ccome on down\u201d and join them for Christmas Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, we made some quick adjustments. Packed our clothes, stopped by Stephanie and Nathan\u2019s home (Nathan is sequestered in the basement) to open some gifts ahead of schedule and then head to Madison, Mississippi arriving Christmas Eve night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         This interruption in our\nplans caused to me think of the first \u201cChristmas\u201d and the events recorded in\nthe Bible. The narrative in Matthew and Luke is filled with events that were \u201ctroubling.\u201d\nDisruptions. Sudden changes in plans. Angelic visitation and supernatural\ndreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Mary was troubled, Joseph\nwas in distress, Herod was troubled. (And when Herod is not happy\u2026no one is\nhappy!) The shepherds were frightened by the light the shattered the darkness. Joseph\nand Mary had to make a difficult, unplanned trip to Bethlehem, only to find\ncrowded streets and filled hotels. But in it all God was in control, working\nout His divine plan so that scripture would be fulfilled and that believers\ndown to this day can understand, as Benjamin Franklin reminded this patriot\ncolleges, \u201cGod governs the Universe.\u201d God\u2019s Word can be trusted. His plans will\nprevail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         No, I am not viewing our\nsudden change in Christmas plans as part of a divine orchestration of events.\nBut only an opportunity for me to stop and consider how in the midst of the\nnostalgic, romanticized, mystical notions around modern Christmas (which we do\nall enjoy), the reality is that Christmas reminds us of real life. Challenges.\nQuestions. Hardships. Fear. Disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         So, if this Christmas\nfinds you in situations that are not of your choosing and less than ideal, you\ncan be assured that God is still with you in the middle of the \u201cmess.\u201d The most\npowerful words of one of my favorite Christmas songs O Holy Night, contains the\nphrase, \u201cHe knows our needs, to sorrow He\u2019s no stranger.\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         <\/em>May you experience\nHis comfort and joy this Christmas Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bible Verse for Today:    But when she saw him, [the Angel] she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.  Luke 1:29 NKJV When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:3 NKJV \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Here we are Christmas Day in Mississippi at my nephew\u2019s house with his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4680,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676\/revisions\/4680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}