Characters at the Cradle: The Birth of Jesus, Mary Treasured and Pondered
Release Date: 01/01/2026
Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: How I Ended Up on a Submarine, Part 1
A Moment of Hope
by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV So how on earth did I end up working on a submarine? Well, it was definitely not my original plan. The war was wrapping up after Japan was bombed, but the military draft continued because there were still many dangers all over the world, especially in the Pacific. My father was with the Army Corps of Engineers, so our family moved around a lot. I was nearing the end of my senior year. I had attended...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: The Hot Running Torpedo
A Moment of Hope
by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick I was barely 18 when I entered the Navy. But I have a lifetime of memories from my tour of duty as a submarine sailor. It’s been such a long time since I’ve thought about that blue whale. It’s funny how things can suddenly come to mind out of nowhere. It’s sort of like the time we had a hot running torpedo on the sub. The captain quickly sent us to the front of the sub where we went below if we didn’t have required duties to bring it under control. There was a very real danger of explosion, and we had 24 loaded torpedoes. If that thing had...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: The Great Blue Whale, Part 2
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “The earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small.” Psalm 104:24b,25 NIV …Continued from Friday… My Dad paused before continuing the story and got real quiet. He was thinking back to the astounding size of the creature he had seen. “I was up in the shears of the conning tower. Back then, if you were on lookout duty, you had to always scan the horizon for threats like enemy ships or aircraft. You would also keep watch for any navigational hazards. We were an extra...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: The Great Blue Whale, Part 1
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick "Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps” Psalm 148:7 It was Christmas Day and the entire family had gathered at our home. Our grandchildren gazed at their great grandfather with wonder as he unwrapped his special Christmas gift. We had just finished Christmas dinner and the children crowded around “Great Grandaddy” as he opened his present. What could it be? The mysterious gift was packaged in an unusual antique box that had to be at least as old as Harper Brame, their ninety-eight-year-old great grandfather, and my father. Great...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: Share Your Family Stories
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:3 NIV Daddy is one of the few remaining World War II era submarine veterans, and the last man still alive from his submarine, the USS Besugo. “Guess I’ll have to turn out the lights,” he smiles. He and my mom vividly remembered the war—they didn’t take our freedoms for granted. So, growing up, neither did we. One of the ways they helped us appreciate our heritage was to tell lots of stories—especially about our family. I grew up hearing about Daddy’s submarine adventures...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: The Roots of My Raising Run Deep
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1 Daddy was always proud of his family. Not only his parents and siblings, but also his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. He often shared stories from his growing up years and said the way he felt about his family reminded him of the old country music song by Merle Haggard, “The Roots of My Raising Run Deep.” Growing up, I was incredibly fortunate to know my dad’s parents, my grandparents, along with a wonderful collection of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Daddy often talked about his...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: Keep Calm and Carry On
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’.” Genesis 2:18 During our growing up years, Mom was more than just Dad’s companion. She was what the Bible refers to in Genesis 2:18 as his “helper.” The original word in Hebrew is ezer, which means a strong, often heroic, source of support. Mom was both strong and kind and she was Daddy’s rock. Mom stopped teaching school when the kids came—family was everything to her. She especially loved Dad’s parents and his three sisters and their...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: Honor Your Wedding Vows
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “Let marriage be held in honor among all…” Hebrews 13:4a When people meet my 98-year-old dad, they often ask me, “What’s his secret?” “How does he look so young and stay so sharp?” Daddy would be the first to tell you that part of his secret is that he had a great wife. When my mom went home to be with the Lord three years ago, she and my dad had been married just shy of 70 years. My mother was bedridden for the last ten of those years. A ruptured appendix and complications from subsequent surgeries robbed the once robust grandmother of her ability to...
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Characters at the Cradle: The Wise Men, Guided to God’s Perfect Light
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick Matthew 2:19-23 is how we will wrap up our study of the Wise Men. Today also completes our eight-week series where we have looked at the many characters who found themselves connected to the cradle of Jesus. Herod finally died in 4 A.D. While in Egypt, an angel of the Lord appeared once again to Joseph in a dream. He told Joseph that it was now safe to return to Israel. Joseph rose and went back to Nazareth in Israel. As I have heard my daughter say to her children, obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings discipline. Thankfully, once again, Joseph obeyed....
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Characters at the Cradle: The Wise Men, Herod’s Demonic Wrath
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick Herod came to the realization that he had been tricked by the Wise Men. He found out that they had departed and gone home instead of coming back to tell him where the new baby king was located. Now, Herod did not know fully who this baby was, but he knew enough to make him afraid. His paranoia heightened as he knew his throne was threatened. Fear makes people do crazy things! The most devastating part of this biblical account is that Herod, in his fury, sent out an edict to kill all male children in Bethlehem who were two years old or under. Herod’s genocide fulfilled the...
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Did you know Jesus is alive? Not just in the Christmas story, but today and forevermore!
As we continue to study the birth of Jesus, the most compelling reality of the Christmas story is that the same wonder and glory that came with his birth is still available to us today. His birth unlocked an eternal promise. Jesus’s birth impacted all of history and all of eternity.
The first coming of Jesus was a foretaste of his second coming. As we read Luke 2:1-21, we should swell with anticipation in our hearts for our soon and coming King!
Today, we are going to look at Luke 2:15-20 where the angels ascended to heaven and the shepherds set out to find the manger. Verse 16 says that the shepherds went “with haste” to find the couple and the baby. Haste. What a powerful word; meaning excessive speed, urgency, hurry. They knew they had been given a very important assignment and they acted swiftly!
I love to presume all that might have happened along the way with the shepherds. Did they have to ask around to find the manger? Do you think they found the innkeeper and asked if he knew of a couple giving birth in a manger? Was this one of only a few mangers in Bethlehem, making it relatively easy to find? Maybe the only manger? Although Luke, once again, left some of these details missing, he was detail-oriented enough to show us the most important thing–that with very little information, these shepherds found Jesus.
When they saw the baby, they remembered the angel’s words. Everything was just as they had told him it would be. After all, angels can’t lie! The shepherds went on to tell Mary and Joseph all that had just happened. The appearance of the angel. The message of how to find them. The angelic choir proclaiming the glory of God. The shepherds returned to their fields praising God. They saw and heard exactly as they had been told by the angel. Their lives would never be the same!
Don’t you know Mary and Joseph must have added this info to their own list of angelic appearances, to the many stories they were already collecting, and to the promises that had been made to them through the birth of their son? This was prophetic fulfillment happening before their very eyes. From that day forward, they surely had a lot to talk about in their newly married lives.
After the birth of her son and subsequent events, what did Mary do? The Bible says that “she treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Do you think she ever shared all of the intricacies with Jesus? Or directly to Dr. Luke? She clearly told someone. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have this account today.
Not only did Mary treasure and ponder, but she also shared it. Because when you know something is life-changing, you can’t help but share it! It changed Mary personally, but it changed everyone around her. And even more, it’s changed all of us today! Praise be to God for this good and Godly woman.