A couple of weeks ago at church, a sweet elderly lady said, "Isn't it so special to have a new baby around Christmastime?" I agreed with her; I knew exactly what she meant.

It's also been special to me to have been newly pregnant around Christmastime, as I was with both Eisley and Paxton. Unfortunately, as a result I also tend to get a little nauseous when I hear certain Christmas songs or see holiday commercials  Morning sickness has a way of ruining things for you. {If you come carolling and I toss my Christmas cookies, you were warned.}

Yes, I often look stare at my babies or think about my pregnancies in a special way during this time of year. What was it like for Mary to marvel at her darling, precious baby and to know she was looking at the face of God in the flesh?

I think my babies are all pretty special and precious. What mother doesn't? But they're not perfect. They are marvelous, but they are not like baby Jesus.
Today was the third Thursday in the month, which meant I was logged on to my Amazon Vine account at 1 p.m. sharp {when they post the lists, it's like a virtual Black Friday opening at Walmart every time} to pick items to review. My lists to chose from have been sort of boring for the last few months {free diapers and toilet paper are always welcome though, even if you do have to leave a thoughtful review...about toilet paper}, and today I chose a smoke/carbon monoxide detector, a toy for Paxton, and an electric leaf shredder {which has Justin excited, so it wasn't a total loss}.

One additional item I chose from the leftovers list of things nobody wants{which is all books and supplements and the occasional box of feminine products--now that I will NOT ever review} was this book. The title intrigued me. I'm very curious to read what this author has to say. Apparently, he has researched infants and has come to the conclusion that "humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality."

 He goes on, when asked if babies are born good or evil, "Both! We are born with empathy and compassion, the capacity to judge the actions of others, and a rudimentary understanding of justice and fairness. Morality is bred in the bone. But there is a nastier side to our natures as well. There’s a lot of evidence that even the youngest babies carve the world into Us versus Them—and they are strongly biased to favor the Us. We are very tribal beings. Our natures are not just kind; they are also cruel and selfish. We favor those who look like us and are naturally cold-blooded towards strangers."

I'm truly interested to read this book, and I'm approaching it with an open mind, knowing this author isn't trying to make any sort of religious point. The Christian in me, however, can't help but think that this author is possibly inadvertently supporting the Old Adam, sinful by nature, in-need-of-a-savior truth that Christianity maintains.

So, you've found evidence that we are born with a dark side? Well, duh. We've known this since there were only two of us walking the earth. Still, I'm very interested to see what his research says and looking forward to reading it.

I often hear unbelievers point out how awful things were in the Bible {usually in attempt to minimize Biblical arguments when discussing morality with Christians}, they always point to the Old Testament. The Old Testament and all the awful things that went on in our Bible. Of course things were awful! People were damned by the law. There was no Gospel to show us grace. They were waiting for their savior, wondering if God would keep His promise. The Old Testament is important, I believe, because it's a necessary contrast to the New Testament. The Bible, when looked at in it's entirety, points to Christ. The Gospel has little meaning if we cannot see how bad things were without it.

{Basically, that one stand alone verse about slaves or women or whatever in the OT does not make or break the Bible.}

Yes, I do believe we are all born under the disease of sin. All of us were once tiny, seemingly innocent babies in our mother's wombs. There was only one baby who defied human nature--which is inherently sinful--because He was also God. God made man. A humble, tiny little human. I wonder what it was like to be Mary? To hold the one perfect and sinless baby who was ever born? Can you imagine raising a child who never sinned? Did she even need to do much "raising" at all? It's a fascinating thing to think on, as a mother especially.

That's why this time of year has become special to me, even more so since becoming a mother and holding my own tiny babies in my arms. They are precious to me. Curiously, they are even more precious to Him. My sinful nature, and the sinful nature of my babies, does not get me down like one might think. God himself came to us, in the form a tiny baby. We are sinful, but we are also loved so much that our very creator lowered Himself to our depths just to fight for us. He won, our infant King.

So during Christmastime, I like to stare at my babies and think on these things.