Christmas Countdown, TV Schedule and Quick Thought – Saturday, December 16, 2023

9 Days Until Christmas!

Song: “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” by Josh Groban
Christmas Album: “A Jolly Christmas,” by Frank Sinatra
Christmas DVD: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Netflix Movie: “The Knight Before Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Going My Way”
Disney+ Movie: “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
Hulu Movie: “Catering Christmas”
Hallmark Movie: “Silver Bells”

On TV:
New programming in bold
• Myrtle Beach Bowl, Georgia Southern vs. Ohio, 11 a.m., ESPN
• Celebration Bowl, Howard vs. Florida A&M, noon, ABC
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 2:15 p.m., AMC
• New Orleans Bowl, Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana, 2:15 p.m., ESPN
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1994),” 3 p.m., FXM
• Cure Bowl, Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m., ABC
• “Christmas at the Plaza,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Shop Around the Corner,” 4:15 p.m., TCM
• “Fred Claus,” 4:30 p.m., AMC
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 4:35 p.m., Freeform
• “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas,” 5 p.m., Freeform
• New Mexico Bowl, New Mexico State vs. Fresno State, 5:45 p.m., ESPN
• “The Secret Gift of Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Merry Liddle Christmas Baby,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “Holiday Affair,” 6:15 p.m., TCM
• “The Santa Claus,” 7:15 p.m., Freeform
• LA Bowl, UCLA vs. Boise State, 7:30 p.m., ABC
• “Elf,” 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., AMC
• “The Grinch,” 8 p.m. and 9:45, FXM
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8 p.m., CBS
• “Sealed With a List,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Holiday Proposal Plan,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Wizard of Oz,” 8 p.m., TBS
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 9 p.m., CBS
• “The Christmas Detective,” 9 p.m., OWN
• Independence Bowl, California vs. Texas Tech, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
• “The Santa Claus 2,” 9:25 p.m., Freeform
• “Frosty Returns,” 9:30 p.m., CBS
• “A Christmas Intern,” 10 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Santa Summit,” 10:01 p.m., Hallmark
Recipe: Meemaw’s Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Matthew 1:18-24

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:19

Reflect

So much attention is focused on Mary at this time of year, and that’s only natural. After all, she was specially chosen by God to give birth to His only Son. But so little attention is actually focused on Joseph – and that’s also fairly natural. Since God was the actual Father of Jesus, Joseph is kind of the “odd man out.” Jesus wasn’t really his child, but without Joseph, this story of Christmas couldn’t be complete.

I’ve said on previous days that Mary’s life was at stake because of her premarital pregnancy. Under strict Jewish law, sex outside of marriage was often punished by stoning the guilty party to death. But even before he had an angel-influenced dream, Joseph protected Mary by seeking to quietly deal with her situation. He had every right to demand her death, but he showed godly character instead.

The amazing thing is that God was providing for what Jesus needed even before He was born. He knew that Joseph was a good man who would protect Mary so that Jesus could be born. He also knew that Joseph would be a good earthly father for Jesus, someone who could model manhood, teach him the important qualities in life and also provide a solid, stable home for his family.

The Lord provides for each of us the things we need, even if we don’t realize we’re going to need them. If you look around yourself, you’ll see the evidence of this – things that you have that you didn’t even really have to think about, right down to the air that you breathe.

In nine days, you’ll open presents, some of which may be things that you asked for. But before you get to the Christmas tree, start thanking God for providing the little things that you didn’t ask for. Put your heart in a spirit of thanksgiving so that no matter what you receive on Christmas, you can be truly grateful for what you unwrap.