Yes,  the Christmas season has arrived!
How can I tell?
The local light rock FM radio station is playing all festive/all the time.
The CP Rail Holiday Train rolled past our home on the weekend.
We received our first Christmas card in the mail.
Two candles have already been lit for the Advent Sundays.
Am I ready?
Now that our ministry trips are finished for the fall, I can settle in to my Christmas preparations. First step: put away the Thanksgiving decorations!  Next, begin the big task of writing and sending cards to family and supporters of our ministry.  I've already made a shopping list on my I Phone (quite proud of myself on that!).  In essence, I have progressed with preparations and am not as behind as I thought I was!
A couple mornings ago, I realized that although signs of Christmas were all around me and I had already participated in a couple holiday parties, my heart wasn't there yet.  So I turned to Matthew chapter 1 for my quiet time and intentionally focused on the birth of Christ.  I was struck with the uniqueness of the immaculate conception once again.  NO ONE else in history can claim to have been conceived by the Holy Spirit in an unmarried woman's body.
I was also impressed again by the geneology in chapter 1 that named five women specifically.  Each one was noted because they were not Jewish or became pregnant in an unusual circumstance.  I am fascinated that the Lord Jesus, Son of God, had a less than perfect human ancestry.  If He was born purely, how could He be from such a dysfunctional background?
But this all can make sense if I believe in a sovereign and omnipotent God.  Is it difficult for Him to send His Son through a young woman's virgin womb?  Or is it difficult for Him to bring all the prophesies to fulfill the promises to Abraham, Judah, David, Nazareth, Bethlehem and yes, even Mary and Joseph?  God can weave His will through the wills of humanity and bring history and future together in perfection.
Yes, the Christmas season has arrived.  And I am making my heart ready for the wonders and unfathomable mysteries of Jesus, the Christ, Son of God and Son of man...