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Hey everybody, this is Aubrey Chavez from Faith Matters. As we move into Christmas

week, we wanted to offer something a little different. So today's episode is a reading

of In the Bleak Midwinter, written and read by Peter Conti Brown, and originally

published in the Faith Matters magazine, Wayfair. It tells the true story of a Christmas

that unfolded in

unexpected ways, marked by absence, uncertainty, and pain. And it is also a story about how grace

finds its way to us, through presence, through each other, and through the quiet mystery of ordinary,

imperfect people becoming God's healing hands in the moments when we need it most. We hope that this opens up space for you to feel whatever this season is bringing, and to notice the quiet ways that love might be showing up. And from all of us at Faith Matters and Wayfair, we're wishing you a Christmas filled with the peace of this season and moments of deep connection and joy. And now here's Peter Conti Brown. The toboggan of the Christmas season is now at the

top of the hill. For the next 10 days, there will be an indescribable magic in the Conti Brown air.

It has indeed already begun. There's snow in our backyard. I'm about to have a snowball fight

to end all snowball fights. Here's a free parenting tip. After the age of five, you should hold your

children to adult standards in snowball fights. It's good for them and feels fantastic to win so easily.

We're listening to Bean Crosby threatened listeners with adverse possession of their front

porches unless he receives his figgy pudding, whatever that is. Nikki, my wife, the vegetarian,

is threatening to remove our traditional Brazilian peccania

from the Christmas Day menu

...