Matthew 1:1-17New International Version (NIV)

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

"But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

December 19, 2014

NPR Staff

This Christmas Eve (click here) people all over the world will log on to the official Santa Tracker to follow his progress through U.S. military radar. This all started in 1955, with a misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command, now known as NORAD.

Shoup's children, Terri Van Keuren, 65, Rick Shoup, 59, and Pam Farrell, 70, recently visited StoryCorps to talk about how the tradition began....

Norad Track Santa (click here)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (click here)

The author of " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" was born in New York in 1779 and any closer to 1776 it might have written the US Constitution himself. The biography is at the bottom of the poem.

Clement Clarke Moore's famous poem, which he named "A Visit From St. Nicholas," was published for the first time on December 23, 1823 by a New York newspaper, the Sentinel. Since then, the poem has been reprinted, translated into innumerable languages and circulated throughout the world.

Clement Clarke Moore was born in 1779 to a well-known New York family. His father, Reverend Benjamin Moore, was president of (what is now) Columbia University and was the Episcopal Bishop of New York. Moore's father also participated in George Washington's first inauguration and gave last rites to Alexander Hamilton after Hamilton was mortally wounded in an 1804 duel with Aaron Burr. Moore himself was an author, a noted Hebrew scholar, spoke five languages, and was an early real-estate owner and developer in Manhattan...

Sorry to hear Former President Bush has become ill.

I don't want to make light of a serious situation, but, 90 years of living does have it's set backs. Wasn't it just this year when he skydived again? So, with all the excitement of the holidays, the food and beverages, he tipped the scales a little bit.

I can only guess, but, since he has a heart condition we all know about, he might have a little fluid in his lungs and maybe some puffy ankles. He might even have a touch of pneumonia.

Those were the classic symptoms my maternal grandmother had in her coming century birthdate. She lived to be 94 years old, but, every year about the same time and it right after the holidays she'd get shortness of breath, too. They'd check her blood count and sometimes she'd even need a transfusion of a pint. So, we called it her "Annual Tune-Up." A few days and she was ready to go for another year.

I hope the senior Bush has a speedy recovery. He might not be able to be home for Christmas as he needs to be ready to go home, not must maybe ready to go home. A little medical attention is good for the soul from time to time. I wish he and Mrs. Barbara Bush a Merry Christmas. 

The former President should have no problem finding many socks to hang by the chimney.

December 24, 2014
By Bruna Nessef

George H.W. Bush (click here) is currently hospitalized after experiencing a shortness of breath earlier this evening.

The former president was taken by ambulance to the Houston Methodist Hospital as a precaution, his spokesman Jim McGrath said tonight, adding that the 90-year-old will be held for observation. No other details are available at this time.

Bush began experiencing health problems back in 1991 when, as president, he entered the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. Doctors diagnosed him as having Graves Disease, a thyroid condition that his wife, Barbara Bush, also had.

However, H.W. seemed to be in good spirits recently, and even celebrated his 90th birthday by skydiving from a helicopter over Kennebunkport, Maine, back in June. Bush made the jump at 6,000 feet, accompanied by former members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights....