Merry Christmas

from the Wood Family at Wears Valley Ranch

Back row (l-r) Peter, Susan, Jim, Elizabeth holding Andrew & Hannah's Naomi, Stephen & Camile with their Uzziah, Preston. Front row (l-r) Maggie, Clayton with Wyatt, Danielle with William, Hannah with Joanna, Andrew with Titus, Paul.

Immanuel

Shattering the darkness

He is the Light

Into the silence

He is the Eternal Word

When lies become loud

He is the Truth

In a world of need

He is our Plenty

Into the conflict

He is our Peace

Our Joy, our Hope,

He is our Righteousness

When we did not know what to ask

He is still the Answer

Jesus!

Jim Wood

December 21, 2013

About Us

Wears Valley Ranch provides Christian homes, education, and counseling to children from families in crisis. Our vision is to see every child inspired to follow Christ, healed from the past, and equipped to reach their full potential.

Learn more at our website, www.wvr.org, or call us at 865-429-KIDS.

Several times this season I have recalled an incident from my teen years in Montreat, NC. Heavy snow had fallen overnight, and Christmas morning we awakened to winter wonderland. While the rest of the family remained seated around the dining room table, I hurried to finish breakfast and asked to be excused so that I could be the first to make footprints in the snow.

The white blanket that covered the neighborhood seemed to muffle all sound. The college students were out of town for the holidays, and most of the homes near ours were empty. There was an amazing stillness in the air. I had walked about a hundred yards up the trackless road when suddenly I heard a brilliant acapella chorus loudly singing, "Joy to the world! The Lord is come!" Then silence. That is all I heard. As I waited for the next line, I was startled to hear only the stillness that had preceded the song.

I then began to contemplate where the sound originated. Who would play only that much of a beloved carol and not continue the verse? How would they have broadcast it so clearly, so well amplified? It sounded as if the choir was only a few feet away. But I was surrounded by empty houses and snow covered trees. I quickly took a mental inventory of our neighbors and finding no plausible explanation of this sudden burst of song, I began to walk back home. My neurotic childhood fear that I might have missed the Rapture quickened my pace.

I burst into the dining room asking, "Did you hear that?" No one had a clue what I was talking about, even when I tried to explain it. I phoned our Pentecostal neighbors to confirm that they were home as well. With no explanation of the music, I thought again of the lyrics. Like an angel chorus proclaiming the truth of His coming, it is left to us to do what remains: "Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him room; and heaven and nature sing!"

Wishing you a Joyous Christmas! May the peace of Christ be yours throughout the New Year. We are grateful for your prayers and for the mercy of our Lord. God has spared us all to serve Him, and we do not take that for granted. After Paul's ordeal this last year, we are especially mindful that each day is a gift. May the Lord bless you abundantly as you yield everything to Him!

Jim Wood
Wears Valley Ranch