I experienced a bit of Immanuel this past weekend. Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), and we took our children to visit with the elderly residents of Emmanuel Convalescent Home this past Saturday. The kids woke up early on their Saturday morning, came to church, baked cookies, made Christmas candles and potpourri jars for the residents. We wanted to teach our children that Christmas is for giving more than for receiving gifts from others and to show them how blessed they are to grow up in this kind of community with one another, where they are never lonely or neglected. It was amazing to see them; they weren’t scared at all, each of them boldly approached the grandpas and grandmas they met, said a hearty, “Merry Christmas!” and shook and held their hands. They sang Christmas carols with all their hearts. We shared with them that Christmas is when God came near and we wanted to share that joy with them by coming to be with them. Their faces lit up as they saw the kids and it made us all realize again the precious gift of the good news that we possess that we can share with others.