{"id":307,"date":"2010-12-21T18:39:47","date_gmt":"2010-12-21T18:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/experts.patheos.com\/expert\/frederickwschmidt\/?p=307"},"modified":"2010-12-21T18:39:47","modified_gmt":"2010-12-21T18:39:47","slug":"something-new-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Something new for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her mother in church and asked,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMommy, where is Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deeply formed by her faith, the little girl\u2019s mother pointed to the Tabernacle where the reserve sacrament is kept.<\/p>\n<p>The little girl was silent for a moment and then declared,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I grow up I\u2019m going to buy him a bigger box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This Christmas, consider getting something that cost you nothing, but may make all the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Get a bigger box for Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Just what that might mean in your own life, I can\u2019t tell you.<\/p>\n<p>But you knew instantly \u2014<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her mother in church and asked, \u201cMommy, where is Jesus?\u201d Deeply formed by her faith, the little girl\u2019s mother pointed to the Tabernacle where the reserve sacrament is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Something new for Christmas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Something new for Christmas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"What God Wants for Your Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Frederick Schmidt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Frederick Schmidt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/\",\"name\":\"Something new for Christmas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21\"},\"description\":\"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Something new for Christmas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/\",\"name\":\"What God Wants for Your Life\",\"description\":\"Thoughts on the perennial demands and changing shape of Christian spirituality.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21\",\"name\":\"Frederick Schmidt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Frederick Schmidt\"},\"description\":\"The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is inaugural holder of the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation and a Senior Scholar at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. He is also Vice Rector at Good Shepherd, Brentwood, TN; an Episcopal Priest; spiritual director; retreat facilitator; conference leader; and writer. He is the author of numerous published articles and reviews, as well as several books: A Still Small Voice: Women, Ordination and the Church (Syracuse University Press, 1998), The Changing Face of God (Morehouse, 2000), When Suffering Persists (Morehouse, 2001), in Italian translation: Sofferenza, All ricerca di una riposta (Torino: Claudiana, 2004), What God Wants for Your Life \ufeff(Harper, 2005), Conversations with Scripture: Revelation (Morehouse, 2005), \ufeffConversations with Scripture: Luke \ufeff(Morehouse, 2009), and The Dave Test (Abingdon, 2013). He and his wife, Natalie (who is also an Episcopal priest), live in Arrington, TN. They have four children and eight grandchildren.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/author\/fredschmidt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Something new for Christmas","description":"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Something new for Christmas","og_description":"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/","og_site_name":"What God Wants for Your Life","article_published_time":"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00","author":"Frederick Schmidt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Frederick Schmidt","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/","name":"Something new for Christmas","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-21T18:39:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21"},"description":"One of my students recounted a story that, I\u2019m told, is widely known in Roman Catholic circles.\u00a0 So the story goes: A little girl was sitting with her","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/2010\/12\/something-new-for-christmas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Something new for Christmas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/","name":"What God Wants for Your Life","description":"Thoughts on the perennial demands and changing shape of Christian spirituality.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/ddfdcfcb384439499b89f4fc91aa3f21","name":"Frederick Schmidt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/683afd03c0a0abb940f8fe5cb3183269?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Frederick Schmidt"},"description":"The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is inaugural holder of the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation and a Senior Scholar at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. He is also Vice Rector at Good Shepherd, Brentwood, TN; an Episcopal Priest; spiritual director; retreat facilitator; conference leader; and writer. He is the author of numerous published articles and reviews, as well as several books: A Still Small Voice: Women, Ordination and the Church (Syracuse University Press, 1998), The Changing Face of God (Morehouse, 2000), When Suffering Persists (Morehouse, 2001), in Italian translation: Sofferenza, All ricerca di una riposta (Torino: Claudiana, 2004), What God Wants for Your Life \ufeff(Harper, 2005), Conversations with Scripture: Revelation (Morehouse, 2005), \ufeffConversations with Scripture: Luke \ufeff(Morehouse, 2009), and The Dave Test (Abingdon, 2013). He and his wife, Natalie (who is also an Episcopal priest), live in Arrington, TN. They have four children and eight grandchildren.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/author\/fredschmidt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/240"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whatgodwantsforyourlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}