Christmas Star

This is a re-post of something I wrote last year.

The Star of Bethlehem is only mentioned in chapter two of the book of Matthew. However, this idea of a bright star leading the wise men to the birth of Jesus Christ has become an iconic symbol of the Christmas season.

Is it possible to determine what exactly the star was that heralded the arrival of the Savior? Some astronomers have tried to analyze the sky around the time of Jesus's birth to find out if there is a scientific explanation for the Christmas Star.

To track down the real Star of Bethlehem, we first need to know roughly the date of Jesus' birth. As a matter of convention, people generally say that Jesus was born on December 25, 1AD. However, most scholarly evidence suggests this is not accurate. Due to a miscalculation in the calendar made by a sixth-century monk, Dionysius Exiguus, Jesus was probably born sometime between 7 and 1BC, with 4BC being the most often used date. Additionally, the time of year for Jesus's birth also points to a warmer month than December. One reason for this is that the shepherds were out in their fields tending to their flocks when the angels came to them. This would happen in a warm month but probably not a winter month such as December.

Three main astronomical objects could be responsible for the appearance of an unusually bright star. These include a comet, a supernova, or a conjunction of planets. Comets were recorded in both 5 BC and 4 BC. The comet in 4 BC, in particular, is a good match because it fits with the year most commonly believed to be the actual time of Jesus's birth and the comet that appeared that year did not have a tail, making it more "star-like."

A supernova also occurred within the above time frame. Recorded in March and April of the year 5 BC by Chinese astronomers, a supernova appeared in the constellation Capricornus. This "star" that suddenly appeared glowed for approximately 70 days- long enough to guide the Magi to Bethlehem, before fading again.

In addition, conjunctions of planets occurred throughout the years mentioned above, but the one most often cited as a good possibility for the Christmas Star is the one which occurred on June 17, 2 BC. On this date, Venus and Jupiter appeared so close together in the evening sky that they would have appeared to be one very bright star in the constellation Leo. This would have been a significant sign for ancient astrologers. Leo was considered the ruler constellation, and this impressive conjunction would have certainly been noticed by the wise men of the time.

The bottom line is that no one really knows what the wise men saw. It could have been a comet, supernova, or planetary conjunction. Or perhaps it was a true Christmas miracle. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I love that God has instilled in us a sense of curiosity and a desire to figure things out. I also love that He has told us that we won't be able to figure everything out and that we don't have to.

Deuteronomy 29:29
“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

What ever the explanation may be, the real miracle of Christmas is that God loved us enough to change the rules of the game and give us His Son. Love wins. Merry Christmas.

I'm playing a version of this song at church on Sunday.



There's just something about this song that I connect with. Yep. I like it.

Santa 2009

Harper went to see Santa last night. She knows who Santa is and has been talking about him (Tan-ta) for several weeks, so I didn't think she would have any issues about sitting on his lap. As we stood in line, she was very excited to meet him. She also made friends with the two little girls behind us in line (one of them asked me if Harper had happy feet because she kept dancing around). Finally, we were next in line and Harper's eye's got big. She was smiling and excited to meet the big guy. However, as soon as we stepped onto the red carpet that surrounded his chair, she got very apprehensive about the whole thing. She didn't cry, but she looked a little nervous. By the end of their time together, Harper warmed up to him and we ended up getting a good picture.

It's All About The Box

But, I said please...

Little Actress

Harper has a flair for the dramatic.

Crossing Guard Frustration

So... I've been a little hesitant to write this post because, for the most part, I make a conscious effort to keep this blog positive and encouraging. Today's post is mostly complaining and maybe a little bit funny. So, I guess you should take it with a grain of salt.

Last week, I had a facebook update regarding the crossing guards at St. Bernard Academy. It was not a very nice update. Here's the background. I have passed by these particular crossing guards many times before. However, in the past 8 months or so, I haven't had reason to go by them because I take a different way into work when I drop Harper off at baby school. But last week, Rob took Harper to school one morning, so I went the old way to work. Now I am well acquainted with the way these crossing guards work. They try to intimidate and bully motorists into respecting their authority. Don't get me wrong. I am all for being especially careful around schools. I have a child. I am sensitive to how other people's actions could potentially affect my child. Therefore, I try my best to respect the rules of the road and slow down in school zones. But without exception, every time I pass by these crossing guards, they blow their whistles at me and pretend to write my license plate number down in their little notebooks.

So...last week, I decided to do a little experiment. Knowing that the crossing guards are hypersensitive, I planned to go 10mph in the 15mph school zone. As I approached them, I slowed down to 10mph and before I even got 2 feet into the "red zone", the crossing guard started blowing her whistle and making wild arm gestures at me. I slammed on the brakes even though I knew I was going well under the speed limit. Her whistle blowing and arm gestures startled me so much that for a split second I thought "crap, I just ran over a kid or something" (but that would have been impossible because there wasn't a kid around for 500 yards and I WAS GOING 10MPH).

After my minor heart attack, I continued driving and she continued to tell me to slow down (I was still going 10mph). I am not an angry driver. I don't talk or gesture to other drivers or pedestrians while I'm driving. However, as I drove by the crossing guard, I held up 10 fingers and said "I AM GOING 10MPH"!

So...that's my crossing guard story. I really have no idea why I get harassed by them. The only thing I can think of is that the turbo in my car makes it sound like it's driving ridiculously faster than it is - but that's a big stretch. I dare any one in the Nashville area to drive past these crossing nazis without getting whistled at. Maybe that last sentence was a bit harsh. I'm going to stop now.

Our First Book Signing

Harper and I went to our first book signing the other day. Our friends Emily and Katie came too (It probably wasn't their first book signing. They're more cultured than I am). A few weeks ago, I got Emily the Pioneer Woman's cookbook as a Christmas present. Then I found out that the Pioneer Woman was coming to Nashville on her book tour, so of course we had to go meet her. It was a fun time. As I mentioned before, I have never been to a book signing before, but I'm pretty sure that the crowd the Pioneer Woman draws is more friendly than most other crowds. People even brought baked goods and were sharing with those around them in line. All in all, we probably stood in line for about an hour and a half and we probably spent about 20 seconds with P-Dub. I was hoping to extend our time with her by revealing that we knew (and Emily is related to) Allison and Ryan (you know..."Dreamy Pastor Ryan" and his beautiful and talented wife). But alas, my name dropping didn't get us any extra perks. I will say that we had a very nice conversation with the Pioneer Woman's sister, Betsy, and friend, Hyacinth, who accompanied her. The bottom line is that it's fun to give Christmas presents, especially ones that come with an "experience." Hopefully, Emily will be trying out her new cookbook sooner rather than later (hint, hint).