Confessions of an Author

Mary’s Story continues “… After eight days, Joseph came and circumcised the baby. We were in the main part of the house by then, and when Joseph appeared with the sharpened knife, I knew what he was going to do. How the baby wailed! It felt cruel, though I knew it was the right thing to do, even in this strange place we must obey the Jewish laws. We also formally gave him the name Yeshua, the name we had been told to give him by the angel, all those months ago.  I wondered if Joseph minded, people would know it wasn’t a family name. (I also had no one called Yeshua in my own family, though I did know a boy from my childhood with the name.) After forty days, we had to travel to Jerusalem, to pay for redemption at the temple. As Joseph was from the tribe of Judah, we had to pay five shekels of silver. We couldn’t afford a lamb, so bought two pigeons to sacrifice. It was nice to leave Bethlehem and to have some exercise at last, to see people and to take my baby into the world. ...

Mary’s Story Mary’s Story by Anne E Thompson “I travelled to Bethlehem in a small cart. Every bump (and there were many) was agony. As I was jolted along, I was racked with pain. The baby’s time was near, you see and the pain was almost unbearable. Later, they would sing songs about a cute donkey carrying me. Nice thought! I don’t think there’s any way you could’ve got me on a donkey. As each contraction cramped every muscle in my torso, I huddled up like an animal, and prayed for it to be over. I could see Joseph, watching me as he walked alongside. He really didn’t have the first idea what to do. Oh, how I wanted my mother. I yearned for her to be there, holding my hand, telling me everything was alright and would be over soon. When we arrived at Joseph’s uncle’s house, the women folk came and helped me inside. The room was crowded. All Joseph’s male relatives from miles around had come to the house, for shelter and food. The women were busy cooking supper and the m...

So, Mary Rode on a Donkey. Right? So, Mary Rode on a Donkey – Right?   The Nativity story is always told at Christmas time and you probably think you know it well. So, to test your knowledge, and because quizzes are fun, here is a Christmas Quiz. Read the statements below and decide if they’re true or false, using what we know from the Bible accounts. It did of course happen a long time ago, so using our historical knowledge of that period, some answers will have to be “probably true” or “unlikely”. The answers are below……Can you get them all right?  AN ANGEL TOLD MARY SHE WOULD HAVE A BABY.  ANGELS HAVE WINGS.  ANGELS HAVE MAGIC WANDS.  JOSEPH WAS PLEASED AND EXCITED WHEN MARY TOLD HIM SHE WAS HAVING A BABY.  MARY AND JOSEPH WERE MARRIED WHEN MARY HAD THE BABY.  MARY AND JOSEPH LIVED IN NAZARETH.  MARY RODE ON A DONKEY WHEN THEY TRAVELLED TO BETHLEHEM.  JOSEPH KNOCKED ON LOTS OF DOORS, LOOKING FOR SOMEWHERE TO ...