http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2311      Epiphany. In Latin it meant coming. But in our house, it has come to mean going. January sixth is the day we traditionally untrim the tree and undeck the halls.      It’s a tradition based more on practical considerations than any spiritual content. By the t... Sun, 6 Jan 2008 05:33:23 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2311 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2157 traffic tied in knotted snarls stores filled with bustling elbows rushing pushing Emmanuel streets, slick with dried oak leaves air brisk cold sleety drizzle God With Us family evicted from SRO worn clothes, empty stomachs huddled in alley behind WalMart Emmanuel – God With Us sin... Tue, 25 Dec 2007 04:52:15 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2157 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2150 He ran the streets of Nazareth, played and fell, skinned his knees, climbed tamarisk trees, picked fresh figs to eat just like his brothers. He sat and read and wondered, asked his mother questions about the sky, wind, and foxes, and how he was born just like his brothers. He hid behind th... Mon, 24 Dec 2007 04:50:15 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2150 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2136 Before the clocks of time began to tick before the Son saw shadows on the earth he saw his birth in Bethlehem and told his prophets so. But did he know that stable cold would make his thin unswaddled legs begin to shake that hunger pangs would make his tummy hurt and riding on a donkey all ... Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:55:31 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2136 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2129 Another baby boy was born in Bethlehem that Christmas morn. His birth, no angel choir told. No royal wise men brought him gold or myrrh or frankincense to hold. The searching shepherds would have found no manger here; but all around the little one, a family stood and marvelled how the Lord G... Sat, 22 Dec 2007 05:48:43 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2129 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2122 Waiting, waiting, years of waiting. Waiting for the promised glory. Waiting for the final story. Waiting, waiting, years of waiting. Waiting for the coming light. Waiting for the end of night. Waiting, waiting, years of waiting. Waiting for the world’s release. Waiting for the k... Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:39:10 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2122 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2101 Why? God, why? Seven years ago I was a bride, I left my father, home and tribe. He filled my cup. Love burnt our days and house and hearts and passion lit our nights. And now my Mahlon’s dead and Boaz will not come. Why? God, why? Let me die too. The rose can’t live without th... Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:44:23 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2101 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2052 Casper, look, what do I see there in the western sky? A star appears, a newborn star, a brilliant star, but why? You know the constellations in all their bright array, how planets keep their courses, stars their circles stay. You are a learnéd sage and wise, trained to read the signs... Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:31:07 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2052 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2038 This Child sleeping in his crib, what will he become? Will he who told Isaiah, Joel and Daniel what to say and from beginning knows the end, be a prophet proclaiming hope and bring his erring people back to God? This Child sleeping in his crib, what will he become? Will he who rules the na... Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:32:14 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2038 http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2031 Within the stable, Joseph stands and watches over mother, child and feels the world is reconciled within the stable.                                  Joseph stands and brushes Mary with his hands and thinks, T... Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:50:27 PST http://billbatcher.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=2031