Nativity scenes and Christmas cards make the birthing place of Jesus like something out of a “Tennessee Made-for-Television Christmas Special” with Garth Brooks sitting on a bale of hay strumming some of our Holiday favorites in a clean barn with domesticated animals and seats for the children to drink their hot chocolate. Clearly this was not the case for Joseph and Mary. The conditions were crude. We can assume animals were present, but the text never confirms it. Animals probably were at some time housed there since Jesus was placed in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. The whole place smelled not only from animal droppings, but also from poverty, scandal, insignificance, helplessness, humiliation and embarrassment.

Randy Smith

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains, Meats		Crockpot, Beans	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1/2	lb	Bacon
1	c	Chopped onion
1/2	c	Brown sugar
1	tb	Dry mustard
2	cn	Pork and beans
1	cn	Green lima beans
1	lb	Hamburger
1/2	c	Catsup
1	ts	Salt
1	tb	Vinegar
1	cn	Kidney beans; drained

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown bacon, hamburger and chopped onions. Add remaining ingredients and
bake in slow cooker for about 2 hours.
Posted to recipelu-digest Volume 01 Number 411 by James and Susan Kirkland
<kirkland@gj.net> on Dec 28, 1997

A Message from our Provider:

“When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence and holiness of God. #Henry Blackaby”