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The King's Singers - Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
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Read (Again)
Matthew 1:18-21  Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
REFLECT
Courageous love--a love that would embolden the one Joseph named “Jesus” (a name that means, “God saves”) to follow the Holy Spirit – in the form of dove! – into the wilderness to begin his ministry (Matthew 3:16 - 4:1).

Courageous love – that lifts up the lowly, fills the hungry with good things, trusts the impossible, and protects the vulnerable – is the love at the heart of Christmas. And it’s the same love we wait for, and call for, to inspire our hearts and change our lives.
FUN FACTS
 The same gene that determines the color of a chicken’s earlobe also determines the color of her egg. Red earlobes means brown eggs, blue earlobes means blue eggs, and white earlobes means white eggs.

 Chickens experience a rainbow of feelings. For example, they mourn when another chicken in the flock dies, and they show signs of depression if they are removed from the flock and have to live alone.

Chickens (all birds, really!) experience REM sleep, which means they dream. The question now is: what do chickens dream about? Are they working out social problems as they sleep? Consorting with angels, like Joseph? Reliving a pleasant memory? Or soaring like an eagle?
Conversation Starters

When does love need an extra dose of courage? 

Where in your life do you wish you had more courageous love?
BE INSPIRED & INSPIRE
 
Birds are amazing travelers, migrants who circle the planet every year.

Make a list of songbirds (even two or three will do!) who spend the summers near you and have flown south for the winter.

Research where they go, and what it looks like in that corner of creation.

Draw a picture of them in their summer homes, and put it up on the fridge so you can keep them in mind, imagine their journey – and welcome them back in the spring!
“Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow" by Wintley Phipps
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