by Don Freeman | Dec 24, 2021 | Devotional
Just after midday they had entered Bethlehem, their long-awaited destination. Joseph had settled Mary on a small hill near the north entrance gate and gone in search of now-urgently needed accommodations. He spent the whole afternoon asking, asking, pleading, but...
by Don Freeman | Dec 23, 2021 | Devotional
Today, the news from those returning from Bethlehem was not encouraging. All rooms were taken. Many Bethlehemites, too, like Joseph and Mary, had been obliged to leave for their ancestral towns for the census. In fact, it appeared that all of Israel was traveling to...
by Don Freeman | Dec 21, 2021 | Devotional
Having asked around the village how long others thought the journey to Bethlehem would take, Joseph added three days to the predictions, wanting to accommodate Mary in her condition. However, those extra days had already elapsed, with the rest stops getting longer and...
by Don Freeman | Dec 18, 2021 | Devotional
The basic ingredients are so simple, but with results that are so heavenly, so sublime, so close to perfection you could almost levitate. I’m drooling for that quintessential sugar-lover’s concoction: fudge. You just take several cups of brown sugar, a huge dollop of...
by Don Freeman | Dec 16, 2021 | Devotional
I wonder if the appeal of river/ocean cruises and guided land tours is that, as a passenger or tourist, beyond enjoying every detail of the trip, its sights and experiences and meals and accommodations, there is no burden to make decisions, no organizing necessary, no...
by Don Freeman | Dec 14, 2021 | Devotional
Our anniversary was approaching and all we knew was that we were to be ready and dressed up by 7:30 PM. More details would follow. The scheme was cooked up by friends at the school in France where we were installed as missionaries. We weren’t sure what to think about...
by Don Freeman | Dec 11, 2021 | Devotional
I wonder if there’s a way to measure anxiety during circumstances where the only available ‘activity’ is waiting. Would it be measured in BTU’s, watts, ergs, calories . . .? You know, in the OR waiting room as a loved one undergoes a delicate, hours-long surgical...
by Don Freeman | Dec 9, 2021 | Devotional
Two concurrent, contrasting themes run the length of Scripture: God’s power and purity and persistence and perfect planning, right alongside mankind’s jealousy and murder and warfare and sexual improprieties and rival kingdom building and ego flaunting. Then there’s...
by Don Freeman | Dec 7, 2021 | Devotional
On this brilliantly sunshiny Tuesday, life is good, and simple, and easy, right? OK, awesome/brilliant. Since we’re fresh from a good night’s sleep, and we’ve already had an intake of our favorite caffeine source (at our house the coffee’s on a timer so it’s ready by...
by Don Freeman | Dec 4, 2021 | Devotional
It’s what’s after the big move, with the boxing and planning and repairing and cleaning and shuffling and decluttering and staging and coping with an ever-emptying house and ever-disappearing essentials (but once that box is taped shut, ain’t nobody opening it). It’s...
