As I write this, snow is softly falling, creating a blanket of pristine white--the quintessential image of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. So much unlike the original; the day the Prince of Peace quietly entered our world. What many of us celebrate now, surrounded by the comfort of family and friends, was then, for the Christ-Child, anything but comfortable. For a young man and his virgin betrothed, it was an untimely birth, in an unfamiliar place. The Bread of Life would spend His first night in an animal feedbox, for there was no room for Him to be born among the comfortable. Those who slept quietly in the inn were likely oblivious to the divine visitation just outside their earshot. The Gift was among them, yet they did not recognize it as such (John 1:10).

If you attended a Year of Living Courageously Workshop, you'll want to encourage your pastor to attend this workshop designed expressly for them.