"The Lord Jesus was born in 4 B.C., which was the year Herod the Great died. He was the tyrant who had the children slaughtered in the region of Bethlehem because of what he heard from the wise men, and so obviously, Jesus had to have been born before Herod died.
"...Dionysius the Insignificant was a Scythian who moved to Rome around A.D. 500 and was the first to propose the change of calendar to mark the years since the Lord's birth. Given the resources available to him, he did remarkably well, but nevertheless he was still off by four years. What this means is that (at the time I write this) it has now been 2,016 years since the arrival of the Son of God among us. It has been about 1,983 years since he died on the cross and rose again, ascending afterward into Heaven. From the right hand of the Father, He has continuously ruled the world since that glorious time.
"Two thousand years into that reign, that four-year glitch should not trouble us. But if any secularist brings it up as a taunt, we may simply observe that this just means that Jesus has been reigning four years longer than we thought." ~ from God Rest Ye Merry: Why Christmas is the Foundation for Everything by Doug Wilson
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I'm getting so excited for Christmas this year I can hardly stand it. ;D I hope you're all having a marvelous time preparing as well!
I'm getting so excited for Christmas this year I can hardly stand it. ;D I hope you're all having a marvelous time preparing as well!
Tell me! What's an upcoming Christmas festivity you're looking forward to?
Does Star Wars: The Force Awakens count as a Christmas festivity? ;)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, though, I'm looking forward to our Christmas program on Sunday. And then I look forward to Christmas Eve services and then dinner afterward at one of my congregation member's homes. I also like Christmas Day services. Usually less attendance, but more mellow in a way, & then a Christmas lunch afterward with my wife.
George,
DeleteWell I haven't seen any of the Star Wars, but if it's a great, thought-provoking and/or special festive activity for you, I think it definitely qualifies! ;)
And your church Christmas activities sound lovely. Our Christmas program is this Sunday, too, and then some of us will be going caroling in the evening. We usually visit several nursing homes and then get together for a party and supper afterwards -- so I'm very much looking forward to all that.
I'm really looking forward to Christmas Mass at our church :) And also to Christmas dinner with everybody!
ReplyDeletejessica,
DeleteChristmas dinners are so splendid! Speaking of practicalities, I actually have a nice set of Christmas dinnerware my dad got me a few years ago (with holly sprays and gold round the edges) and it's such fun to bring it out for all the festivities. :)
Ohhhhhh . . . I love pretty dishes! :)
DeleteHi, I found your site through Hamlette when she made the post announcement about your Cinderella blog party, which I most definitely will be taking part in!
ReplyDeleteAs for Christmas festivity, my family and I are all going to the Olive Garden on Christmas Eve and then we're going ice skating on Christmas Day. It's going to be very different from the rest of our former Christmas traditions, but I'm looking forward to it.
Lovely site : )
Ivy Miranda,
DeleteYay, I'm so glad you did and welcome! And I'm thrilled you're planning to join in the Cinderella party! Feel free to leave comments or questions on the set-up post anytime.
Your Christmas plans -- going to the Olive Garden and ice skating -- sound exciting. I hope you all have a wonderful and memorable time together.
And thank you so much for your kind words and the blog follow and for putting up the party button! (*coughs* Btw, do we, by any chance, both happen to love Ever After?? ;))
Ever After has been one of my favorite movies since I was a little girl : ) I'm surprised I haven't reviewed it yet.
DeleteIvy Miranda,
DeleteI'd love to see your review sometime! :)
Ah, how lovely! Especially "..this just means that Jesus has been reigning four years longer than we thought." :)
ReplyDeleteHmm..an upcoming Christmas festivity...well, we already got together with our extended family and we already had our "Christmas service" at church, but I'm looking forward to watching "It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, having a lovely Christmas day at home with my family, and watching "A Christmas Carol" that night. :)
Natalie,
DeleteThank you! Isn't that great? I've wondered about this topic over the years and I just love his comeback. :)
Also, we own the classic 1951 Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim, but it's been a while since I've seen it. Is that the one your family likes? And Wonderful Life is fun. :) Have you seen You Can't Take It With You? That's another Jimmy Stewart one I really like and always tend to think of as a set with Wonderful Life. Need to see it again! :)
Heidi,
DeleteYes!! The Alastair Sim version is our very favorite!
Granted, we haven't watched too many other versions, but that one has been "ours" for as long as I can remember. :)
Oh my, yes, You Can't Take it With You is another of our favorites! Definitely on my "top 10" (or 20...or 30) list of old movies. :)
Hope you had a marvelous Christmas!
Natalie,
DeleteI had no idea just how many CC's there were till I looked it up recently! It'd be kind of interesting to watch through them all sometime.
And yes!! I have my top three favorite movies and then after that choosing is quite literally impossible. I tried writing down my top ten one time and promptly gave up the valiant effort. As you know ;), I DO have certain titles that are MUCH nearer and dearer than others, but I'm quite certain the number's closer to 20 than 10. :) (*coughs* But I have a feeling we've discussed this topic before... ;D)
Heidi,
DeleteHahaha, YES! The favorite movie list problem...it just gets even harder the older you get and the more movies you've seen. Quite impossible. :P