Our Journey to Bethlehem

This weekend, the Blanco family experienced Christmas in a new way. We went to Current Church on Saturday night, which hosted a live Biblical experience, called “Journey to Bethlehem.” From the time we entered that church, we were treated like part of the production, and we loved it! We were placed in the “Abraham family,” and ushered outside into the frigid air after refreshments and a brief overview. Soon, the reality of what Mary and Joseph and all the other Israelites experienced on their way to be “counted” in Bethlehem, began to sink in! The girls and I held hands nervously, but with a twinge of excitement, as we experienced firsthand the evening of a traveling Jew from our various hometowns to Roman-led Bethlehem!


Everyone was dressed in the garb of that day, complete with beards and sandals, and though we were “tourists,” we were participants in the adventure! As we followed our guide, Benjamin, and his wife, Hannah, we not only met horses, sheep, camels, donkeys, and goats along the way, but we also began hearing the word of the coming Messiah. Not only was He prophesied to come to earth, but He was going to save us from Roman rule. As we were stopped along the way and checked by the dreaded Roman soldiers, we began to see why relief from their cruel rule would be miraculous! Later on, we came upon the traveling Maggi, who graciously showed us the gifts they were bringing the new King – they were so elegant and royal in their wealthy robes and headpieces!

We passed shepherds in the field, who spoke excitedly of the rumored Messiah. Just then, angels appeared in the far field and in the incredible glow of light, prophesied the coming King! Moving on, we shivered in the cold, and at another checkpoint, our money was taken for “taxes.” Benjamin was livid, as we were told about the census, but not about more taxes! There was just enough money to find a place for the family to stay somewhere in Bethlehem, and to give each child a shekel to spend at the town market! The kids excitedly held their shiny coins, and as we entered the market, vendors began their sales pitches, “Ten shekels for this plump chicken!”

From the marketplace, the kids left with wooden tops, handmade necklaces and other goodies. We moved on to find a place to stay, and soon realized there was no more room! The man at the inn told us about the stable around back that maybe had a little room left, but to keep quiet, as a young woman had just given birth to a baby boy there earlier that night. As we rounded the corner, a trio of village worshippers sang greetings to us. And there, in the back of that humble shanty, a young mother held the Savior in her arms, gently rocking him as her husband looked lovingly on. A donkey stood just feet from them, calmly chewing. Tears came to my eyes as this experience came to a close, and I realized that we had lived just a moment in the real experience of Jesus’ first night here on earth.

Did You Know?

DID YOU KNOW?

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... The one in the middle is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?
As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

DID YOU KNOW?
As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see on the wall right above where the Supreme Court Judges sit, is a display of the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C. 
James Madison, the fourth president, known as 'The Father of Our Constitution' made the following statement:
'We have staked the whole of all our political Institutions upon the capacity of mankind for Self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to The Ten Commandments of God.'

DID YOU KNOW?
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777. Fifty-two of the fifty-five founders of the Constitution were members of the established Orthodox churches in the colonies.

DID YOU KNOW?
Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of merely interpreting the law, would begin making law an oligarchy, which is the rule of a few over many.

How then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this Country is now suddenly wrong and Unconstitutional?


(This is borrowed from a mass mailing, and I would give credit to the author, but no author was stated.)