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You may have heard it said at one time or another in your spiritual journey that you will spend eternity somewhere. The question is, 'WHERE will you spend eternity?' While most Christians will naturally think that if they believe in God, they will be assured of eternity in heaven. It would be wise to look a little deeper.

IT WOULD TAKE A MIRACLE. That's what Christmas is all about— God's miracle. The birth of Jesus itself was no miracle. It was just the normal, run-of-the-mill birth. Painful for Mary? No doubt! All births are painful, even though we men can't even begin to understand just how painful they are. His conception, though, was certainly miraculous. God sent His angel, Gabriel, to tell Mary, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus' (Luke 1:3031). Being beyond astonished, Mary responded, 'Say what!' Well, she said, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' In other words, she said, 'I don't think so; I'm still a virgin.' But then Gabriel told her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God' (Luke 1:35). The miracle was that God the Son would take up residence within Mary and thus take upon Himself the fullness of humanity— minus the sin nature. The miracle was that a virgin would conceive and give birth. The miracle was that this was all foretold through the prophet Isaiah some 700 years earlier when he wrote, 'Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel' (Isa. 7:14). The miracle was that over 3,000 years before Isaiah, God had promised that the Seed of the woman would one day crush Satan's head though His heel would be bruised (Gen. 3:15). And the miracle was that the 'Babe of Bethlehem' grew up and proclaimed, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved' (John 3:16).

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The menus for the week beginning Monday, November 27, are as follows: Monday—Chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, bread, peaches. Tuesday—Chicken noodle soup, carrot raisin salad, crackers, mandarin oranges.

Natalie Knipp found it too hectic working two jobs and her full-time job as a mother. Natalie, along with her husband Chuck and two boys, Carson and Colby, live just north and east of Palco on their ranch, where she helps with the daily ranching duties.