This is the Daily Article podcast, published by the Denison Forum for Culture-changing Christians.

To receive the Daily article directly to your email inbox each weekday morning, visit

thedailyarticle.com. Now here's today's news, discerned differently.

The Washington Post reports that the coronavirus pandemic has produced a bumper

crop of wedding engagements. For example, at the Grand Canyon, one of the world's most

popular spots for marriage proposals. Inquiries about bookings and proposal packages have

doubled since last year. A jewelry retailer

reports that the third quarter of this year saw double-digit percentage growth in engagement

ring sales compared to the same period in 2019. And we're not even to Christmas yet. According to

experts and social media sites, Christmas Eve and Christmas

Day are the most popular days of the year to propose marriage. Christmas is especially welcome

during a pandemic, but the season is good for us even in more normal years. For instance, studies

show that decorating our homes for Christmas can make us happier people.

Counselors say such decorations help us reconnect with happy memories from our childhoods.

Even if we have lost a loved one, decorating for the holidays may remind us of good times with them in the past,

and make us feel more connected with them in the past and make us feel more connected

with them in the present. Of course, celebrating Christmas in a pandemic is challenging. From the

Nutcracker to church pageants, holiday productions have gone virtual this year. Here's the good news.

Jesus has not. As meaningful as experiencing the Christmas holidays can be,

experiencing Christ himself is far better. But there's a catch. To encounter the baby of

Bethlehem, we must reverse our cultural thinking. From the time we were small children,

we've been taught that Christmas is about us. What do you want for Christmas? Is the question

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