Setting the Stage

With every great Christmas production comes a well thought out plan. I like to start dreaming about Christmas right after Easter. And just ask Robert...if we're not talking about Christmas in July, I'm sweating! What will we sing? What will we wear? What time will the show be? What will the stage look like? Details, details, details... Someone has to wrap their mind around every detail involved with putting together an event. And then, the teams must be assembled. The right players to carry out that well thought through plan. Then choir begins working. The orchestra starts practicing. The kids are dancing. The actors keep memorizing. Months of preparation and hard work. But for me, there is always one particular element that always makes me realize the show is just around the corner. That is the SET! How appropriate that our set team started working exactly 30 days from Imagine Christmas. What a great way to start the countdown! And in a couple of hours of work, they got me more excited than even before. Magical...whimsical...imaginary! They got it! They are working the plan. I just visited with these talented folks for just a few minutes, but what I saw heightened my anticipation for IMAGINE CHRISTMAS big time! The set is the first visual element that the audience will see. It begins their journey even before the show begins. The stage must be set and then match all the hard work that the performers have been doing. If it's not right, then the audience might be distracted and miss some part of the message. Well trust me, our set is going to be amazing! Thanks to the hard work of Joe, Wanda, Machelle, Tiffiny and Marla! What a great crew!

Now, imagine this...the team of all teams is assembled. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are gathered around a big white board and they are laying out the plan. (Yes, we are using our imaginations here.) God's plan of redemption is being formulated. There are names, dates, places. Every detail must be discussed...nothing left to chance. They must decide the perfect time in history for the Christ child to make his entrance. His people were waiting for a Savior, a Redeemer, the Messiah to deliver them from the persecution of the Roman empire. A census, taxes, the right girl, the right man, in the right place at the appointed time. Details, details, details. Important details that will alter mankind's eternity. These players and props were heaven picked and God ordained. A perfectly set stage for history - HIS story. They were Imagining the First Christmas. The perfect Christmas.