{"id":3328,"date":"2012-12-18T12:50:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T17:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3328"},"modified":"2012-12-18T12:50:53","modified_gmt":"2012-12-18T17:50:53","slug":"happy-birthday-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday, Jesus!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Happy<\/a>At Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community, we have several activities to celebrate the birth of the Savior. \u00a0My favorite is our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party. \u00a0Our members bring food. \u00a0There is a birthday cake. \u00a0We feast, sing “Happy Birthday” and retell the story of the birth of God’s son.<\/p>\n

It is the timeless recounting of God’s great love for mankind which captures my heart each year. \u00a0A young virgin girl visited by an angel. \u00a0A distressed and heart-broken young lover hears his fiancee’s obviously attempt\u00a0to cover her unfaithfulness with a bazaar and fabricated lie. \u00a0Another visitation from an angel to Joseph and an improbable marriage.<\/p>\n

\"stable\"<\/a>The ruling emperor who demands that the young couple travel to Bethlehem to pay their taxes as the due date for the Son of God approaches. \u00a0An inn overflowing with travelers and the holy child born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a cattle feeding trough.<\/p>\n

Shepherds and an angelic chorus who heralds the birth of the Christ child.<\/p>\n

Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of our country, speaks of these amazing events as myths that cannot be taken seriously. \u00a0Others scoff while men and angels still praise the wisdom of our God who sent the Eternal King to earth in the form of a baby, born in a lowly estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community, we have several activities to celebrate the birth of the Savior. \u00a0My favorite is our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party. \u00a0Our members bring food. \u00a0There is a birthday cake. \u00a0We feast, sing “Happy Birthday” and retell the story of the birth of God’s son.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,739,613,696,7,699,612,715,701,694,689,692,6,687,700,461],"class_list":["post-3328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-party","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-happy-birthday-jesus","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-simple-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-time-management"],"yoast_head":"\nHappy Birthday, Jesus! - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Happy Birthday, Jesus! - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community, we have several activities to celebrate the birth of the Savior. \u00a0My favorite is our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party. \u00a0Our members bring food. \u00a0There is a birthday cake. \u00a0We feast, sing “Happy Birthday” and retell the story of the birth of God’s son.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-18T17:50:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Happy Birthday, Jesus! - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Happy Birthday, Jesus! - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"At Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community, we have several activities to celebrate the birth of the Savior. \u00a0My favorite is our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party. \u00a0Our members bring food. \u00a0There is a birthday cake. \u00a0We feast, sing “Happy Birthday” and retell the story of the birth of God’s son.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-12-18T17:50:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/happy-birthday-jesus.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. 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