If we were having coffee together, I would have just poured you a fresh cup from a pot that just now finished brewing. Mmmmmm. My house smells wonderful. I think one of the reasons I love coffee so much is the aroma and all the memories it arouses. In my family, coffee was the main drink at our meals. And if company came over for a visit in the evening, we served coffee. So did all of our friends.
Also, in times of stress or when we were working through a problem together, we’d often put on a pot of coffee. Somehow, just sitting around the table together drinking the warm aromatic beverage — and maybe munching a cookie or two — just added a positive element to the atmosphere. And right now, I’m enjoying remembering all those times.
You would undoubtedly be drinking your coffee from a Christmas cup. I have loads of them, you know. And after all, it’s still Christmas. The official Twelve Days of Christmas celebration is not over until the end of the day today, January 5. I like to celebrate the whole season, and I’m still enjoying my Christmas tree and the Christmas lights on my front porch.
Tomorrow is Epiphany. I love that holiday. That’s the time during the year that Christians celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ came, not just for the Hebrew people, but for everyone in the world. The Gentile world (those who were not part of the Jewish heritage) recognized Him and worshiped Him as the Savior as well, and that’s why we celebrate the coming of the Wise Men to pay Him homage.
Many people don’t realize that the Wise men were gentiles from the Middle East who had studied the scriptures so carefully that they recognized that one particular brilliant star as the sign that had been prophesied hundreds of years prior to Christ’s birth. That star was their sign that Christ had finally come, and that’s why they made the journey to bring Him gifts. They didn’t arrive to visit Jesus and His family until Jesus was already about two years old. We often include the visit of the Wise Men with that of the shepherds at the manger, but the official celebration of their visit is actually scheduled into the church calendar for January 6.
Epiphany means “a sudden or great revelation,” and that’s why we use that term to commemorate the revelation to the Gentiles that Jesus Christ is the Savior for the whole world. So if we were having coffee today, I’d be talking about the wonder and joy of that revelation. And I’d also probably share that I’ve been working on some new videos for my YouTube channel that will spread the great news of that Gospel farther and wider.
Well, my first cup has cooled while I’ve been writing this post, so it’s time for a warm-up. I’m headed for the kitchen — and maybe a cookie as well. I hope all of you had a joyous Christmas season, and I wish you the best New Year ever in 2019.
Thanks to Eclectic Ali for hosting our coffee share.
coffee photo courtesy of Mammela @ pixabay.com
The Happy Wordcrafter 
Darn, the twelve days are up and today is Epiphany so after today I don’t have an excuse for leaving my tree up 😉 I hope you have a good new year 🙂
I have been known to leave mine up until my birthday, which is February 1. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I think ours might stay up that long this year….
Hi Sandra,
It’s always great to meet another story teller. I’m among those who are nearly clueless about poetry, but dearly love a good story. I tried, early in 2018 to define a framework for a story collection that I was sure I could write. i settled on short, 2000 words or less, humorous, autobiographical, 1st person (like a couple of friends telling stories over lunch) kinda rowdy – but wholesome. Our whole family are firm Christians so I have a hope that these stories can build some ridges for me to meet and communicate with people.
I’d be honored if you were to check them against your ideas of what makes good, compelling stories. Not all are meant to be funny though. One I meant to be inspirational. If you do decided to check a few out, please make sure that “Jaquie’s Story” is one of them.
2018 was a success for me because I wanted to finish with a working blog site for my story collection and have about 50 ready to share. I made both. I’ve had the kind of feedback I was hoping for, but know there is always room for improvement.
I’m still working for a living, so don’t get as much time to write as I would like. But perhaps, you might want to be one of those who offer some good ideas for improvement as long as I can entertain you with a few laughs along the way.
Blessings regardless.
Hello, Gary. Thanks for visiting. I know I’ll enjoy visiting your site and reading some of your stories. I can’t promise for sure how soon that will be, since besides writing books, I also work two other jobs and run a ministry, and time gets a little short. In fact, I had been feeling bad about hardly even clicking on my own websites lately and posting something new. But I enjoy good stories, and I love encouraging other Christian writers. The world needs us now more than ever. So I will, for sure, get over there soon. I’m hoping, now that we’re past the flurry of the holidays, I’ll be able to get back to regular visits to other bloggers.
As for your stories helping you connect with people, I’m sure you’ll find that to be true. In the 8 years I’ve been blogging, I’ve found that building a good, strong friendship with other bloggers from around the world, many of them not Christians at all, has opened doors to their receptivity of my writing that includes the Christian message. As we’ve interacted in all kinds of blogging endeavors, whether it’s been serious messages or just a 100-word writing challenge that used a weird picture as a prompt, the connections have grown very strong. And because of that, many people who would never bother to read something about Jesus Christ, will still come over and read anything I have to say about Him. The Internet is definitely a tool for opening up the world to a better understanding of the Lord and His love for them.
Love the coffee pic! It will always be such a comforting aroma..
Yes indeed! Thanks for visiting and reading.