You.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke two, verse 19 one of the favorite questions people ask each other during the Christmas season is this one. What is your favorite thing about Christmas? There are no wrong answers. Some love the lights. Others love decorating the tree. Some love the smell of Christmas cookies baking in the oven and mulling spices simmering on the stove. For many, it's Christmas dinner with family and friends. A lot of people love the carols. Some love sending and receiving Christmas cards and gifts. It's hard to pick one thing as our favorite thing. And if you're like most, you give an answer to the question and then something else comes to mind and you think, oh yeah, I like that, too. Truth is, there is so much to like about the Christmas season that it's hard to pick just one thing we like best. One of my favorite things about the season is the memory of making divinity with my mom when I was a kid. Some call it divinity fudge. Some call it sea foam. It's the same thing, a billowy white candy confection made of sugar, corn syrup, egg whites and vanilla. Some people add chopped walnuts to the mix as well. You beat the syrup, then slowly stir in everything else, whipping it all together until it holds its shape. Then you grab a couple of spoons, scoop the mixture out and drop it on sheets of waxed paper. You have to act quickly before the candy sets up and dries. It is a frantically fun time, and the fluffy candy is so heavenly and sweet that it can be said to be divine, which is probably why many call it divinity. I'm sure there was a lot that Mary remembered about that first Christmas season, and if asked for her favorite thing apart from the actual birth of Jesus, of course, she would probably have had as much trouble pinning down a perfect answer as we do. Was it the visit from the angel Gabriel who announced it all? Was it the visit of the shepherds? Was it the star that led the magi to Bethlehem? How about the gifts that those magi presented to the young toddler when they bowed down to worship him? No wonder Luke simply writes that Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Christmas can't be confined to just one thing. It is a whole lot of things working together that make it so memorable and loved.

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of Community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to [email protected]. Have a great day, and we hope you'll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens God's word to bring us another thought for the day.