Welcome to a wonderful time of the year!  We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Let us stop and think for a few moments the problems Mary went through being chosen to give birth to the Son of God. The angel said that she had been chosen to receive a great blessing from God.  Mary was a young teenager, not married and expecting a child.  What do you think the people of Nazareth thought of this young lady? Mary was saying that she had never been with a man and was expecting the Son of God!  Who in the world would believe a story like this?  Now you can understand why Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country for a few months.  Being in the will of God is not easy, but it is always the safest.  We are blessed because of the obedience of this young woman of God.  I encourage you to read thee Christmas Story to your family before you open your gifts this year.