The simple phrase “when Herod was dead,” ties the events of Christ’s birth to history, reminding us, that the world Jesus was born into was fallen and sinful. This helps keep our view of the nativity rooted in reality, removing our views of a Hallmark birth, which is more fantasy than reality.

About the photo in the header: it was taken down in Galveston and is simply a sand castle that we discovered walking on the beach on Christmas Eve. We loved it, and kept coming back to it through the day. It survived the next high tide, and you cans see it in the sunset picture on the post about Sexual Immorality if you look hard enough.