A pastor attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country.
The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast:
"Lord, I hate buttermilk," the farmer began.
The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going.
"If you can only make Christmas exciting with material things, how will the children get a thirst for God? Bend the efforts of your imagination to make the wonder of the King's arrival visible for the children."
Two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal.
It was a particularly tough football game, and nerves were on edge. The home team had been the victim of three or four close calls, and they were now trailing the visitors by a touchdown and a field goal. When the official called yet another close one in the visitors' favor, the home quarterback blew his top.
"Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world."