If you are a fan of Beth Moore, wedding anniversaries, or if you are simply like me and need to be encouraged that marriage can be beautiful and is worth waiting for, then check out this blog called “Twenty-Nine Years.” It’s wordy, because Beth desperately needs an editor, but her words are a treasure.

When are the ‘12 Days of Christmas’?
A) The 12 days after Christmas: December 26 to January 6
B) The 12 days around Christmas: Christmas Eve to January 4
C) The 12 days before Christmas: December 14 to December 25

If you answered A then you are correct.

I found this information from THIS WEBSITE:

The Twelve Days of Christmas is probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). In some traditions, the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas (December 26th). In these traditions, the twelve days begin December 26 and include Epiphany on January 6.

The origin and counting of the Twelve Days is complicated, and is related to differences in calendars, church traditions, and ways to observe this holy day in various cultures. In the Western church, Epiphany is usually celebrated as the time the Wise Men or Magi arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). Traditionally there were three Magi, probably from the fact of three gifts, even though the biblical narrative never says how many Magi came. In some cultures, especially Hispanic and Latin American culture, January 6th is observed as Three Kings Day, or simply the Day of the Kings (Span: la Fiesta de Reyes, el Dia de los Tres Reyes, or el Dia de los Reyes Magos; Dutch: Driekoningendag). Even though December 25th is celebrated as Christmas in these cultures, January 6th is often the day for giving gifts. In some places it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Since Eastern Orthodox traditions use a different religious calendar, they celebrate Christmas on January 7th and observe Epiphany or Theophany on January 19th.

Being Puerto Rican, the Christmas season ends on January 6th for me. Our Christmas decorations stay up until January 6th. On Three Kings Days, or Epiphany, I’ll write about how it is and was celebrated in my culture.

What was the very first white elephant gift?

A white elephant! In the early 17th century, white (albino) elephants were regarded as holy in Thailand and other Asian countries. To keep a white elephant was very expensive and yielded no profit. The owner had to feed the elephant, care for it and provide access for people who wanted to worship it. If a Thai King became dissatisfied with a subordinate, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the recipient.

The post below was written by one of our very own high schoolers at UPC.  I was so impressed and moved by it, that I just had to share it with all of you.  One of the most beautiful things to me is when I see one of our youth who truly grasps the meaning of the gospel.  I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did.  It’s fun to read it in the words, and from the perspective of a teenager.  Thanks for letting me share this, Erica.

Take a second, and imagine this…

The government comes and tells you, you have to go to the city you were born in. Luckily enough for you that is about 70 miles away. But wait! No cars, airplanes, trains, boats, etc… no, no, no! you have to walk..

all those miles and miles and miles,

through mountains and other exciting landscape. Sound like fun? Ya um you have no choice.. its the government. So you have just walked for days on end to your tiny little hometown.. and i mean tiny, it probably isn’t on any map. How bout this- you ( or your wife if you’re a guy) are about oh.. 9 months pregnant? Yay! aren’t you excited! so along with being tired, probably hungry and thirsty, you( again, or your wife) feel sick, and have some extra weight to carry this long distance..exhausting! so you finally get to your home town, you are exhausted obviously, and you look around.. hmm now what?? theres no where to sleep.. well.. oh look a barn! you walk in and theres some cows in the corner, some sheep over to the side.. all of them of course sitting in their own filth.
ew…
well you start to say well.. this is all we got.. pull some clean hay together.. if you can find some.. and oh gosh…

the baby’s coming.. so you go through child birth right there in the middle of all of this animal filth ( mind you you did just walk 70 miles.. you’re tired) and then you have this baby crying all night…

hm?

not exactly what Hallmark makes it seem like.. is it?

now lets be someone else :
So… there’s this baby.. born in a filthy barn, from these people who live somewhere else.. and you’re just walking down the street, minding your own business.. you know nothing about this baby, and these guys come up to you and say.. OMG! dude.. this baby is King of the universe… ya.. you would be like.. umm??? the crazy ward is over there buddy… how on earth could this baby be king?? Don’t you think a king is born in a palace? and covered in purple velvet?.. I’m pretty certain you would simply walk away and get on with your business.
OH! but wait!!

Ok so there’s these guys right? Ya, they’re basically known as the poor, dirty, unworthy people in the city. No one listens to them, they have no respectability.. well… they’re a little better than the tax collectors but… who wants to be compared to them?? So these guys are just chillin’ in a field on night and suddenly these enormous, muscular warriors comes up out of nowhere.. now.. idk about you.. but I think I would be kinda freaked out… They have shields and swords.. like they were in battle and just decided to walk over..
um.. ah?!
You can imagine what these guys are thinking.. either *dang.. i shoulda taken my medicine this morning* or *holy crap.. i wonder when i can make a run for it*.. And then these warriors start telling you not to be afraid, peace on earth, a savior is born…

oh snap!

these are angels…(once again… not quite as hallmark depicts eh?) So.. i mean they have to be pretty excited! i mean come on.. who wouldn’t be excited about getting a message from God that the Savior of the world is here?! So obviously they go to find out what it is. So they go to the barn and meet the baby and the parents

Now.. back to the the skeptical person, the one thinking… *the king is born in a barn?!* Well now, you see all these shepherds ( remember, gross, filthy, unworthy people) walking up to the “king of the universe”.. hmm.. doesn’t sound too credible…
So this kid grows up, just a quiet little kid. He doesn’t study at the church, he’s not prodigal or anything. He takes after his fathers job.. making furniture… Then when he turns about …30.. he starts traveling, spreading the good news (if you have heard the term “gospel” it means good news). Never saying blatantly, but implying (heavily.. like come on.. its hard to miss) that he is the Son of God. He teaches about God, about loving others.. He heals people. Raises some from the dead. Soon enough, he’s got thousands of people coming to see him regularly. He picks 12 men to be his closest followers, his best friends. To them, he talks openly, teaches them. All the while, those skeptical people are pretty ticked.

This guy is telling them that they are hypocrites,

proud,

not what God looks for.

They are looking for every way to get this guy gone…
I mean come on, he’s making them look bad.
So after some hard work, they succeed. They take him before a judge, and the judge, who wants to please the people, hands him over to them. He lets them do whatever they please. So they take this man and whip him, until he’s almost inside out. They twist together a ring of thorns, put it on his head, and press the thorns into his skull. They make him carry this huge tree sized piece of wood weighing 75-125 pounds across town(while he’s bleeding and dieing). They take some long nails, and a hammer, and plunge them through his hands and and feet, into that wood. They raise it into the air. He can’t pull up his body to even breath. He suffocates. He is up there for hours, clinging to life. His loved ones stand below,
watching,
sobbing,
praying.
“It is finished” he says with his last gasping breath. He doesn’t mumble this… he doesn’t just say it to his mother. He yells it. This man, bleeding, suffocating, yells ” It is finished” and dies.
It is finished…
He was done…
He had to go through that suffering, for us. It was the only way. He sat in heaven with his father, watching us. He loved us sooooo much, but we would reject him
He loved us, but because of our actions, we could never be with him.

God is a loving Father, who longs to be with us. He is also a just Judge, who has to punish the wrong things that are done…this is a problem for us, because we have done bad things..
It was the only way.. He had to die.. He had to take our place in order for us to be able to be with him
to spend time with him
to speak with him
for eternity

It is finished…

all it takes, is your decision… what do you want to do for eternity?

Black Bean Chili (vegetarian) - Alisa Villarreal

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup coursely chopped red bell pepper
2 tsp finely chopped jalepeno
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp veg oil
2 cloves garlic pressed
2 cans (15.8 oz) black bean - drained/rinsed
1 can (16oz) refried beans
1 can vegetable broth
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin

Chop onion, bell pepper and jalapeno. Heat oil (3qt saucepan) on medium, add onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno, cook 3 min. Add all other ingredients except cilantro. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.