Are you enjoying Christmas time?

Then stay with us for Christmas Stories.

Welcome as we take another look into the life and message of Elizabeth Elliott,

who called us to live to a higher standard each day and not be satisfied with just throwing a little religion into life.

As our series continues, we'll hear

from family, from friends, from others who were influenced by the life and message of Elizabeth

Elliot. A thank you for taking time to come along with us today. Well, have you enjoyed Christmas time so far this year? We'll be hearing Christmas

stories today. We hear about a man who for 50 years is still following an old pattern of

waking up at 4 in the morning. About building Christmas memories at home or at Grandpa's house,

and about giving to someone you love. Stay tuned for that. Later on, we'll hear about the first

hymn. You might be surprised what that was. According to F.W. Borum, it was a hymn from the Apostolic Age. Also joining us,

Johnny Ericson Tata talking about Elizabeth's love for hymns, and Elizabeth will actually sing for us.

Stay tuned for that, an old favorite. Right now, though, let's get to that first in the series of Christmas stories as we hear about Christmas Day in the Morning from Pearl Buck.

I hope that all of my listeners will find something amusing, something inspiring, and something worth hearing.

The first story is by Pearl Buck, Christmas Day in the morning.

He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o'clock, the hour at which his father had always called

him to get up and help with the milking. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still. Fifty years ago,

and his father had been dead for 30 years, and yet he waked at four o'clock in the morning.

He had trained himself to turn over and go to sleep, but this morning, because it was Christmas,

he didn't try to sleep. Yet what was the magic of Christmas

now? His childhood and youths were long past, and his own children had grown up and gone. Some of them

lived only a few miles away, but they had their own families, and though they would come in as usual

...